Rex
Bencher
The loss of contact with reality and emotional regulation is why setting up Enduring Guardian and Power of Attorney documents early on, while they are still lucid, is so helpful.
More news coming!!!
- Thread starter SeaEagle9413
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Rex
Bencher
And he's so certain of his versions of reality and I've begun preferring his to mine. He's in a really happy stage of dementia now. He's accepted the confusion and it no longer worries him. The final stage seems to be approaching fast as he sleeps more and more of the day.
But when he's alert his guard is down and he's more loving and appreciative than he's ever been prepared to show before. And he's just told my wife (his daughter) he's going to marry his best friend, and asked with a smile if he had her permission to ask her. He no longer understands he has dementia and will dispute any suggestion he has it.
I was given a book to read when my mother was diagnosed, I think it was called the 36 hour day.
Not for all but for most there's 7 stages, I can't exactly remember them all but there's forgetfulness, not being able to manage taking care of yourself , confusion, off with the pixies, anger, fading away and then they are gone ( but not yet gone).
I watched my Mum lay on a bed staring at the ceiling for 18 months , the end part of what went for 7 years.
Life can be bloody cruel!!
Loaded dog
Well used Member
Sh1t!
I can tick the first six boxes.
I can tick the first six boxes.
Rex
Bencher
Thanks mate, but my wife's the master and I'm the mere pupil following her lead. The grieving's largely been done as bits of him, in terms of memories and abilities, have progressively slipped away, big chunks at a time. We've surrendered to what is uncontrollable and inevitable, but he's not gone yet as the light's clearly still on behind those eyes. MFBs situation is far more challenging than ours has been.
Fluffy
Journey Man
Rex
Bencher
Hey mate. I'm not you, so I don't know whether what I'm going to say has any meaning for you. But I'll try saying it anyway.
Perhaps the most difficult part in all this is the meanings we take out of what is happening. We see our loved one staring at the ceiling and maybe imagine suffering. But do we know whether there is suffering? or the extent of any suffering? and for certain?
Our own suffering seems to be the difference between how things are, and how we imagine things should be. As long as we have any image different from how things are, we are pretty much guaranteed to suffer. That's what I see anyway. Acceptance is the letting go of our images and facing life as it is, warts and all, and not demanding it be any different than it is. Acceptance is the kindest, most stress free place I've ever visited. That stance of surrender to what is has helped me through this, and the death of my parents. I wish the same place of peace for you, however you get there.
Rex
Bencher
Glad to hear that Mark.
Bearfax
Grizzly old fart
Little item out of one of the recent Alzheimer's research material from Cornell Uni that may be interesting
****
Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder for which, despite years of research, there are no effective treatments or cures.
However, recent breakthroughs in molecular genetics have shown that the disease may spread, like an infection, across closely connected areas of the brain. These findings underscore the need for research aimed at tracking its spread to the earliest points of origin in the brain, so therapies that target those areas can be developed.
An international collaboration between Nathan Spreng, Cornell assistant professor of human development and the Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow in the College of Human Ecology, and Taylor Schmitz of the University of Cambridge's Cognitive Brain Sciences Unit, sheds light on the basal forebrain region, where the degeneration of neural tissue caused by Alzheimer's disease appears even before cognitive and behavioral symptoms of the disease emerge.
Their paper, "Basal forebrain degeneration precedes and predicts the cortical spread of Alzheimer's pathology," is published Nov. 4 in Nature Communications. Data used for their work were obtained from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database.
The basal forebrain contains very large and densely connected neurons that are particularly vulnerable to the disease. Schmitz and Spreng show that, as Alzheimer's progresses, degeneration of the basal forebrain predicts subsequent degeneration in temporal lobe areas of the brain involved in memory. This pattern is consistent with other research showing that Alzheimer's indeed spreads across brain regions over time, but the study challenges a widely held belief that the disease originates in the temporal lobe.
"We're hoping that this work pushes a bit of a reorganization of the field itself, to reappraise where the disease originates," Spreng said. "That could open up new avenues for intervention; certainly it would for detection."
Their report is the product of a two-year study of a large sample of age-matched older adults. Within this sample, one group was cognitively normal, according to standard tests, while others were characterized by different levels of cognitive impairment:
A sampling of spinal fluid from healthy adults can detect an abnormal level of beta amyloid, indicative of Alzheimer's, Spreng said. Test results showed that temporal lobes looked the same regardless of amyloid level, but the basal forebrain showed notable degeneration among those seemingly healthy adults with abnormal amyloid levels.
Spreng admits that being able to predict who will get the disease doesn't mean a lot without a protocol to treat and, ultimately, cure the disease. "And it might induce more anxiety," he said. But the more knowledge that can be gained now, he said, the better.
"Future molecular genetics work holds strong promise for developing therapeutic strategies to prevent the spread of pathology at stages of Alzheimer's preceding cognitive decline," Schmitz said. "Our clarification of an earlier point of Alzheimer's propagation is therefore of utmost importance for guiding endeavors to combat this devastating disease."
Story Source:
Materials provided by Cornell University. Original written by Tom Fleischman. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
****
Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder for which, despite years of research, there are no effective treatments or cures.
However, recent breakthroughs in molecular genetics have shown that the disease may spread, like an infection, across closely connected areas of the brain. These findings underscore the need for research aimed at tracking its spread to the earliest points of origin in the brain, so therapies that target those areas can be developed.
An international collaboration between Nathan Spreng, Cornell assistant professor of human development and the Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow in the College of Human Ecology, and Taylor Schmitz of the University of Cambridge's Cognitive Brain Sciences Unit, sheds light on the basal forebrain region, where the degeneration of neural tissue caused by Alzheimer's disease appears even before cognitive and behavioral symptoms of the disease emerge.
Their paper, "Basal forebrain degeneration precedes and predicts the cortical spread of Alzheimer's pathology," is published Nov. 4 in Nature Communications. Data used for their work were obtained from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database.
The basal forebrain contains very large and densely connected neurons that are particularly vulnerable to the disease. Schmitz and Spreng show that, as Alzheimer's progresses, degeneration of the basal forebrain predicts subsequent degeneration in temporal lobe areas of the brain involved in memory. This pattern is consistent with other research showing that Alzheimer's indeed spreads across brain regions over time, but the study challenges a widely held belief that the disease originates in the temporal lobe.
"We're hoping that this work pushes a bit of a reorganization of the field itself, to reappraise where the disease originates," Spreng said. "That could open up new avenues for intervention; certainly it would for detection."
Their report is the product of a two-year study of a large sample of age-matched older adults. Within this sample, one group was cognitively normal, according to standard tests, while others were characterized by different levels of cognitive impairment:
- Individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who did not progress to Alzheimer's disease;
- MCI individuals who progressed to Alzheimer's after one year; and
- Individuals classified as having Alzheimer's throughout the duration of the study.
A sampling of spinal fluid from healthy adults can detect an abnormal level of beta amyloid, indicative of Alzheimer's, Spreng said. Test results showed that temporal lobes looked the same regardless of amyloid level, but the basal forebrain showed notable degeneration among those seemingly healthy adults with abnormal amyloid levels.
Spreng admits that being able to predict who will get the disease doesn't mean a lot without a protocol to treat and, ultimately, cure the disease. "And it might induce more anxiety," he said. But the more knowledge that can be gained now, he said, the better.
"Future molecular genetics work holds strong promise for developing therapeutic strategies to prevent the spread of pathology at stages of Alzheimer's preceding cognitive decline," Schmitz said. "Our clarification of an earlier point of Alzheimer's propagation is therefore of utmost importance for guiding endeavors to combat this devastating disease."
Story Source:
Materials provided by Cornell University. Original written by Tom Fleischman. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
One of my relatives has dementia and essentially has regressed to when she was a little girl. Lots of fear and clings to her daughter like her daughter is her mum and even calls her daughter mummy. We loved her and spending time with her, we found it pretty fun and could forgive the outbursts the "Who the F is that" was particularly funny.
It must be awfully confusing, but I think its one of those things that is so much harder on those around the person with dementia than it is on the person.
One of the more shocking documentaries on this is Terry Pratchetts. It wasnt his "living with Alzheimers" one but the "Choosing to Die". He felt that there would likely be a point in his life that he would have to face the choice to die than carry on given his diagnosis. He didnt get to that point and wrote almost until the end, but the documentary was particularly confronting. A brilliant mind lost to a disease that attacks that mind.
It must be awfully confusing, but I think its one of those things that is so much harder on those around the person with dementia than it is on the person.
One of the more shocking documentaries on this is Terry Pratchetts. It wasnt his "living with Alzheimers" one but the "Choosing to Die". He felt that there would likely be a point in his life that he would have to face the choice to die than carry on given his diagnosis. He didnt get to that point and wrote almost until the end, but the documentary was particularly confronting. A brilliant mind lost to a disease that attacks that mind.
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