Category: Alzheimer’s Disease

Thanks for the Memories

Thanks for the Memories.  This was a song made famous by “Les Brown and his Band of Renown.”  In the 1960’s and 70’s I recall Bob Hope specials on television with Les Brown conducting his signature song.  I was of course a neonate at the time, so my recollection depends upon the generosity of my elders.  Unfortunately, truth be told, I recall these TV specials from childhood and early adolescence.  I was indifferent to his music at the time,  yet I still recall Les Brown’s name and can hum his tune.  What purpose could there be in retaining this trivial information?

Consider memory as a storage house of our five senses.  Smell is strangely the most powerful initiator of old memories, with hearing, touch, taste and vision not far behind.  The greater the interconnection of the senses, the greater the chance of the memory being retained and recalled.  For example, reading about building a model airplane is easily forgotten.  Reading then watching someone else build the plane solidifies the memory.  Actually assisting someone else build the plane after reading and watching further enhances recall and subsequent successful performance.  The auditory memory channel was strengthened by the visual, and locked into place by the motor/tactile.  Each sensory channel leading into the storehouse is strengthened by repetition.  It appears that repetition across days is better at storage than repetition across minutes, or even hours.  Consolidation of memory during sleep may be a factor, but this has yet to be proven.  Two hours of effort-full practice a day over ten years typically leads to mastering nearly any skill.  Like a road or river, the greater flow produces a larger pathway.

Hence, the successful regulation of cell to cell communication by way of gap junction modulation represents a novel approach to the treatment of these two serious conditions and extending the life expectancy of the patient. order cheap viagra In this way, discount levitra Sildenafil boost the sexual stimulation in the central nervous system (brain). So, it is rightly called the viagra free sample . levitra cannot be afforded by all. However, the two weren’t united until relatively recently. viagra store usa “Les Brown & his Band of Renown” were televised every six months to a year; deepening this auditory and verbal memory pathway.  These TV specials were viewed by the whole family, associating other auditory, tactile and visual information with the events.  Not only did the TV specials reflect my personal history, but the unique time in history that served as a backdrop for these specials.  The war in Vietnam took center stage at the time.  Episodic memory refers to the storage and recall of personal events-laughing with the family.  Semantic recall refers to the storage and recall of events that are outside of oneself-the Vietnam war.  Writing an autobiography requires precise episodic recall, whereas playing Jeopardy requires excellent semantic recall.  There is obviously some blurring between these two categories, yet people who suffer with deficits strictly in the episodic or semantic mode are well known.  It is likely that my  recall of the TV specials was enhanced by interconnected personal and historical memories of the events.

Perhaps retaining the memory of “Les Brown and his Band of Renown” was not so trivial after all.  In order to commit any type of information to memory, the use of multiple senses over several days will increase the amount and strength of memory storage.  Linking personal with extra-personal events further solidifies memories into long-term storage.  Memories that remain strong over many years expose their importance.  Many people want to forget strong memories.  Perhaps listening to their call across the years is wiser than ignoring their pleas.  Please leave comments in the space provided below.

Alzheimer’s Disease-What You Need to Know

If you suspect a loved one has a dementia, a progressive deterioration of memory and other cognitive skills, please consider these recommendations.

The primary consideration in all such circumstances is the safety of the loved one.  There may be months of time between calling a specialist and receiving an appointment; perhaps longer before a meaningful diagnosis is achieved and treatment is initiated.  As I have pointed out many times, there is no guarantee of treatment effectiveness.  Even after treatment, your loved one may still suffer with the same symptoms, or worse, the initial treatment appears to cause a decline in the patient’s condition.  It is this last group that calls my office in the most desperate fashion.  Typically, the decline is not from practitioner incompetence, but poor standardized treatment protocols for victims of senile dementia.  The focus is almost exclusively on medications for memory, and these come with a host of side-effects that may be worse than the symptoms for which you sought treatment.  Unfortunately, in the last twenty years of assessing victims of senile dementia, I have not witnessed an institutionalized patient regain functionality through the use of  memory boosting medications.  As a caregiver of a dementia victim, do not believe that memory medications will slow or halt the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Knowing that it may be months until meaningful help arrives, consider a few simple steps to make your loved one safer in their home.  The risk of fires and falls are preeminent.  I strongly suggest unplugging stoves anytime someone is inattentive or actually confused.  This includes barbecues and working fireplaces.  Microwave ovens are generally safer, since they will usually blow a fuse before starting a fire, but you may want to observe the loved one’s actual use of the device before making that determination.  Smoking in bed is almost a cliche, but it is a very real danger, and all confused people should be supervised while smoking.  Matches or lighters should never be in their possession.
Individuals with a smaller amount of your time to pay impart the benefits of web-based teaching techniques. low price viagra Servicing the car and discover for source purchase cheap viagra using best quality engine oil and brake oil is a worthy gas saver tip. ) You can install a gas saver device. Otherwise, it is buy cialis not obtainable as an over-the-counter pill. Their service levitra samples opacc.cv gives better consumer loyalty and issues identified with apparatus dysfunction are rectified.
Falls are the bane of every caregiver, and the source of most nursing home admissions.  Kitchens and bathrooms are the big culprits, with sharp corners and hard surfaces everywhere.  A consult with a physical therapist is an excellent early intervention to determine your loved one’s ability to safely ambulate.  As with all behavior, past behavior is the greatest predictor of future behavior.  If your mother has fallen twice in their home, it is likely that a third will occur.  The interval between falls is very important.  If you as a caregiver notice a doubling or trebling of fall occurrences, than consider rapid follow-up with a physician to rule out common causes of weakness and imbalance.  Here again, consulting with a physical therapist is very important.  The use of an assistive device for ambulation is not always straight forward.  Consider the charitable act of giving the demented person a walker for balance.  Unless trained on how to use the walker over a number of sessions, the walker may increase the number of falls.  Negotiating transitions between floor surfaces and maintaining a forward upward gaze is critical to the use of a walker, and it is not always self-evident.

What if your loved one’s ambulation is so good they are wandering away from home?  This is an intolerable situation from a safety standpoint.  If the person is confused, simply putting curtains over the door will decrease exit seeking, but not entirely prevent the same.  Installing double dead bolts will keep the person inside, but may seal their fate if a fire is started.  The best solution, and most expensive, is to purchase an alarm placed on the patient’s body and corresponding sensors placed on every door.  Please keep in mind that this only is effective if someone is able to respond to the alarm in under five minutes, or the patient is unaware how to remove the bodily alarm.  Even in the nonverbal seventh stage of a senile dementia, I have witnessed these poor people remove alarm bracelets from arms and ankles, as they have no idea as to the purpose of the alarm.  The only iron-clad way to keep a demented person safe from exit seeking is to have eyes on them 24 hours a day-7 days a week.

There is no realistic method to keep a demented person completely safe.  Even in facilities dedicated to the treatment and maintenance of the terminally demented, falls and exit seeking are a fact of everyday life.  All a caregiver can do is try their best.  Please avoid trying so hard that sheer exhaustion nullifies your effectiveness as a caregiver.  Comments are always welcome in the space provided below.