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Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month
Hello All and Happy November!
For those of you that don’t already know, November is Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month. Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disease that slowly destroys an individuals memory and thinking skills, and eventually the ability to carry out simple every day tasks. Research has stated that Alzheimer’s disease accounts for about 50-80 percent of dementia cases.
Alzheimer’s disease is known to be the most common cause of dementia among older people (symptoms first appearing after age 60). Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning affecting the areas of thinking, remembering, and reasoning, as well as behavioral abilities affecting a person’s daily life and every day activities. Dementia ranges in severity from the mildest stage, when it just begins to affect a persons memory and ability to function independently, to the most severe stage, when the person must depend completely on others for basic activities for daily living.
Alzheimer’s Stages:
Mild: Memory loss worsens, changes in other cognitive abilities appear. Many problems at this stage include but are not limited to getting lost, taking longer than usual to complete normal everyday tasks, using poor judgment, and having mood and personality changes.
Moderate: Major changes are evident in the areas of language, reasoning, sensory processing, and conscious thought. Memory loss and confusion worsens at this stage, and people begin to have difficulties remembering familiar people and places.
Severe: By this stage, the brain tissue has shrunk significantly, and individuals are unable to communicate and depend completely on others to care for them.
Caring for an individual with Alzheimer’s disease can be difficult and can have high physical and emotional affects. Educating yourself and becoming well-informed about the disease is an important strategy to help deal and care for individuals with Alzheimer’s. For more information about support groups, services, and studies about Alzheimer’s disease contact:
Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center
P.O. Box 8250 Silver Spring, MD 20907-8250
1-800-438-4380
or visit http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/alzheimers-disease-fact-sheet
Talk to you soon!
-Lindsay
