A Wiser Mind » Research

Reading and Resource List

Rick — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:50:17 +0000

If you are concerned about caring for a person living with dementia, or if you’re simply interested in brain aging and health, we’ve developed a list of resources and books to review.

Reading list:

The Mind & The Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force, by Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D. and Sharon Begley

Train Your Mind Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves, by Sharon Begley

Keep Your Brain Alive, by Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D. and Manning Rubin

The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Care for Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Loss Later in Life, by Nancy L. Mace M.A. and Peter V. Rabins M.D., M.P.H.

Visiting Mom: An Unexpected Gift (A guide for visiting elders with Alzheimer’s) by Sherry M. Bell, Ph.D.

The Alzheimer’s Sourcebook for Caregivers by Frena Gray-Davidson

New Hope for People with Alzheimer’s and Their Caregivers by Porter Shimer

Mom, Are You There? Finding a path to peace through Alzheimer’s by Kathleen Negri

Web Resources:

A WiserMind: www.aWiserMind.com

Alzheimer’s Association: www.alz.org

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America: www.alzfdn.org

National Parkinson Foundation: www.parkinson.org

Parkinson Disease Foundation: www.pdf.org

National Multiple Sclerosis Society: www.nationalmssociety.org

National Stroke Association: www.stroke.org

Disclaimer, please read:

The body of knowledge of dementia and dementia-care changes on a daily basis. Approach all sources with an openness and awareness that there are likely alternative views available and more current research that might change views or statements contained in any publication.

The preceding is a list of resources that you may wish to review on the subjects of cognition preservation, Neuroscience, and Alzheimer’s care. These resources have been suggested by a variety of sources and, as such, A WiserMind does not endorse any of the views or statements contained therein. This list is not intended as a substitute for qualified medical and expert advice. If you feel you need medical advice, you should consult a doctor immediately.

Alzheimer’s Symposium Notes

Rick — Tue, 04 May 2010 05:42:28 +0000

We were quite honored to have the opportunity to present, Enhancing Dementia Care with Person Centered Therapies at the May 3rd Alzheimer’s Association Education Symposium in Denver Colorado. During the presentation I promised to post the session notes on the website for download. I’d like to thank everyone who attended and asked such great questions. We also appreciate your feedback and support.

Click the following link to access the presentation handouts: Enhancing Dementia Care-April 2010-Handouts

2010 Alzheimer’s Facts and Figures Report Available

Rick — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:09:15 +0000

The Alzheimer’s Association has just published its 2010 annual Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. This report details the escalation of Alzheimer’s, which currently impacts over 5 million Americans. Facts and Figures conveys the burden of Alzheimer’s and dementia on our lives and our economy from individuals, families, local and state government up to the nation’s healthcare implications. The report details recent research that indicates higher risks of developing Alzheimer’s for certain ethnic and cultural groups.

Some of highlighted items from the report are:

There are indications that management of cardiovascular risk factors, such as high cholesterol, Type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity and physical inactivity may help avoid or delay cognitive decline.
One in eight people aged 65 and older (13%) have Alzheimer’s disease
- 16% of women 71 and older have Alzheimer’s
- 14% of men over 71 have Alzheimer’s
- The higher frequency of occurrence in women over men appears to be only related to the fact that woman typically live longer than men.
People with fewer years of education appear to be at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The underlying causes of this difference is debated amongst researchers.
Populations in the Southern, Midwestern and Western areas of the United States are expected to experience increases that will result in 30- to 50-percent (and greater) increases over the next 15 years.
Western states including Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming are forecast to experience a doubling (or more) of their populations with Alzheimer’s by 2025.
- Colorado is estimated to have 72,000 Alzheimer’s citizens today, that number is expected to grow to 110,00 by 2025.
A study of community-based seniors reports that most have changes in their brain that suggests the presence of dementia-causing diseases.
New studies show that the underlying causes of dementia are far more complicated that previously believed.
It is expected that there will be 454,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s diagnosed in 2010.
The number of people 85 or older is expected to quadruple in the next 40 years.
Alzheimer’s is the 5th leading cause of death in seniors 65 and older.
In the 6 years from 2000 to 2006 there was more than a 46% increase in Alzheimer’s deaths. During that same period that was an 18% decrease in stroke deaths and more than a 2% decline in breast cancer deaths.
Almost 11 million people provide unpaid care for individual with dementia…that’s more than 3.5% of the US population.
In 2009 unpaid caregivers provided 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care (estimated to be valued at nearly $144 billion at $11.50 per hour).
The report also includes a special report on Race, Ethnicity and Alzheimer’s disease. It reports that African-Americans and Hispanics seniors appear to be more likely than older Caucasians to have Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Some studies indicate that African-Americans have more than double the odds of developing Alzheimer’s. High blood pressure and diabetes, are more common in older African-Americans and Hispanics . It is possible that these conditions which are risk factors for Alzheimer’s account for some of the differences in frequency of diagnosis.

Internet Brain Boost

Rick — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:18:52 +0000

A recently published UCLA study has indicated that using internet search engines like Google might help improve brain function in middle-aged and older adults. The study author, Dr. Gary Small said, “We found that for older people with minimal experience, performing Internet searches for even a relatively short period of time can change brain activity patterns and enhance function.”

Dr. Small, a professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and the author of “iBrain,” worked with 24 cognitively “normal volunteers” aged between 55 and 78. Before beginning the study, half the participants used the Internet daily, while the other half had very little experience.

After an initial fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) brain scan, volunteers practiced Internet searches an hour every other day for two weeks. The practice searches involved using the Internet to answer questions about various topics by exploring different websites. After the study period, volunteers then received a second brain scan using the same Internet search task but this time with different topics.

Study volunteers with little Internet experience showed brain activity in regions controlling language, reading, memory and visual abilities as well as areas of the brain known to be important in working memory and decision-making.

Teena D. Moody, the study’s first author and a senior research associate at the Semel Institute at UCLA, concluded that, “the results suggest that searching online may be a simple form of brain exercise that might be employed to enhance cognition in older adults.” Moody further proposed that performing Internet searches required the ability to hold important information in the brain’s working memory and to extract the important points from competing graphics and words.