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Being Bilingual May Slow Progress of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is one that runs in families. Your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease depends, in part, on how old you are, how many of your close relatives have the disease, and what genetic mutations you inherited from your ancestors. A recent study shows that being bilingual seems to slow the progress of this disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association website, there are ten signs to look for that may indicate that a person is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. These signs include memory loss that disrupts one’s daily life, difficulty in completing familiar tasks, confusion with time or place, new … Continue reading →

Final Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease

The final stages of Alzheimer’s disease can be the most challenging for friends and family of a person with the disease. If you need to, take a look back at the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Stage 6 is known as “moderately severe” or “mid-stage” Alzheimer’s disease. In this stage, cognitive decline is severe. A person at this stage may experience: Significant personality changes, including hallucinations, delusions, suspiciousness, paranoia, and/or compulsive, repetitive behaviors. Awareness of recent experiences, events, and surroundings is lost. Personal history is recalled imperfectly. May forget names of family and … Continue reading →

Advanced Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is divided into stages in order to help people understand the progression of the disease. We’ve already looked at the earliest stages — from no cognitive impairment to the point where a diagnosis may occur. Now it’s time to look at the next stages of the disease. Stage 4 is what doctors may call “mild” or “early-stage” Alzheimer’s disease. Symptoms of moderate cognitive decline can include: Decreased knowledge of recent events. Impaired ability to perform challenging mental math — like counting backwards from 100 by sevens. Decreased ability to perform complex tasks, like planning a party or managing … Continue reading →

Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is divided into stages in order to help people understand how the disease might unfold in a loved one. However, not everyone experiences the same symptoms at the same rate! On average, a person with Alzheimer’s disease passes away within four to six years of diagnosis. Some people live on for as long as twenty more years after a diagnosis. In general, Alzheimer’s disease is divided into mild, moderate, and severe stages. Experts have developed a more detailed list, even including pre-Alzheimer’s mental states: Stage 1: No impairment. A person experiences no memory problems that are evident to … Continue reading →

Watching Alzheimer’s Progress From Afar

Back when I lived in New Jersey, I was one of the main caretakers for my grandmother. I lived with her, so it was usually easy enough for me to handle insulin injections for her diabetes, daily meds (for various health conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease), grooming, and light cleaning. In May 2007, I moved out. I was feeling too stressed and frustrated with the caretaking duties, and starting to have disturbing dreams about hurting her deliberately. That was when I said enough was enough. I didn’t want there to even be a chance of those dreams becoming reality. It’s been … Continue reading →

Exercise More Forget Less

A new study says adding even a few minutes of exercise to your daily routine can help improve your memory and brain function by a measurable amount. We all know exercise can help us lose weight, relieve stress and boost energy, but this particular study set out to prove that engaging in moderate exercise (“moderate” being the operative word here, and I will explain why in just a bit) may also be used as a weapon in the fight against diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. The study included more than 1,700 adult participants aged 65 and older who didn’t … Continue reading →

Caretaker Stories: Moments of Lucidity

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Friends and family who have experienced the progression of Alzheimer’s disease say that things get a lot easier once the person with the disease stops remembering. I can definitely see how that can be the case. People with the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease are often combative and difficult to deal with. As example, I offer my own experiences as caretaker for my grandmother. In the early days of the disease, she was very defensive about gaps in her memory. If she couldn’t remember something, it was because nobody had told her. Sometimes, her brain would come up with a … Continue reading →