http://www.hindu.comNew York (PTI): Wine can be food for health as long as you are smart about how you drink -- one goblet daily may help in preserving your memory for long.
A team of international researchers has carried out a study and found that a glass of wine everyday delays dementia in those who are at risk from Alzheimer's disease as they are already having memory problems, the 'ScienceDaily' reported.
"While many studies have assessed alcohol consumption and cognitive function in the elderly, this is the first study to look at how alcohol consumption affects rate of progression of mild cognitive impairment to dementia," according to lead researcher Vincenzo Solfrizzi of University of Bari in Italy.
Mild cognitive impairment is a transitional stage between normal ageing and dementia used to classify people with mild memory problems and no significant disability.
Click here for the whole story
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Diet Linked To Cognitive Decline And Dementia
ScienceDaily (Nov. 12, 2007) — Research has shown convincing evidence that dietary patterns practiced during adulthood are important contributors to age-related cognitive decline and dementia risk. An article published in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences highlights information on the benefits of diets high in fruit, vegetables, cereals and fish and low in saturated fats in reducing dementia risk.
Adults with diabetes are especially sensitive to the foods they eat with respect to cognitive function. Specifically, an adult with diabetes will experience a decline in memory function after a meal, especially if simple carbohydrate foods are consumed. While the precise physiological mechanisms underlying these dietary influences are not completely understood, the modulation of brain insulin levels likely contributes.
This deficit can be prevented through healthful food choices at meals. The findings suggest that weight maintenance reduces the risk of developing obesity-associated disorders, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and is an important component of preserving cognitive health.
The work shows another benefit of maintaining healthful eating practices with aging – the same ones proposed by most diabetes and heart & stroke foundations. “This type of information should be able to empower the individual, knowing that he/she can be actively engaged in activities and lifestyles that should support cognitive health with aging,” says Carol Greenwood, author of the study.
This study, entitled “Dietary Influences on Cognitive Function with Aging,” is published in volume 1114 of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences: Healthy Aging and Longevity
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071106164725.htm
Adults with diabetes are especially sensitive to the foods they eat with respect to cognitive function. Specifically, an adult with diabetes will experience a decline in memory function after a meal, especially if simple carbohydrate foods are consumed. While the precise physiological mechanisms underlying these dietary influences are not completely understood, the modulation of brain insulin levels likely contributes.
This deficit can be prevented through healthful food choices at meals. The findings suggest that weight maintenance reduces the risk of developing obesity-associated disorders, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and is an important component of preserving cognitive health.
The work shows another benefit of maintaining healthful eating practices with aging – the same ones proposed by most diabetes and heart & stroke foundations. “This type of information should be able to empower the individual, knowing that he/she can be actively engaged in activities and lifestyles that should support cognitive health with aging,” says Carol Greenwood, author of the study.
This study, entitled “Dietary Influences on Cognitive Function with Aging,” is published in volume 1114 of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences: Healthy Aging and Longevity
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071106164725.htm
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Families, science take on Alzheimer's
Connie Midey
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 25, 2007 12:00 AM
In the 1980s, when Maria Reed began showing signs of Alzheimer's disease, there was little to help her medically.
But her husband, Phoenix physician and Surgicenter co-founder Wallace Reed, found other ways - music therapy and daily walks among them - to hold the disease at bay and enrich her remaining years.
"He was her primary caregiver," says Vikki Reed, the youngest of their six children, "and he gathered a team around him to help, people who could communicate with her non-verbally and see her abilities as well as her disabilities." advertisement
Although a cure still has not been found, medical options look more promising today, says psychiatrist Eric Reiman, executive director of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute and director of the Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium.
The non-profit Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Phoenix, one of seven institutions in the consortium, conducts research and provides services for people with memory and thinking problems and for their families and caregivers.
"There is extraordinary excitement right now about the possibilities," Reiman says, "and extraordinary urgency to find those treatments as soon as possible."
More than 5 million Americans have the progressive and fatal brain disorder, a number expected to reach 7.7 million by 2030, says the Alzheimer's Association, which will benefit from a Memory Walk on Saturday at two Valley locations.
Those figures drive Reiman and his consortium colleagues - about 120 in all - in their search for solutions.
Inspired by "generosity of spirit and scientific desperation," they're making breakthroughs such as identifying genes that may be involved in Alzheimer's, Reiman says, and developing brain-imaging techniques to detect the disease years before its onset and track its progression in those who already have it.
Today there are a number of ways to target amyloid plaques, the microscopic brain abnormalities found in Alzheimer's patients, Reiman says, and there is progress in medication and vaccine therapies.
"If these treatments turn out to be safe and well tolerated," he says, "and if one intervenes early enough and targets the right form of amyloid, we may have a dramatically effective treatment sooner rather than later."
That time could come within 12 years, he says, but people needn't feel powerless in the meantime.
Studies suggest that lifestyle measures that protect the heart also may protect the brain, delaying, if not preventing, Alzheimer's disease, Reiman says. Those measures include staying physically active, lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, eating healthfully and using one's mind.
"Mental exercise may either decrease development of some of the microscopic abnormalities in the brain," he says, "or it may promote cognitive reserve, making you better able to compensate so you don't see (the disease) until a little bit later. My guess is it's a combination of the two."
Ckick here to read the whole story
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 25, 2007 12:00 AM
In the 1980s, when Maria Reed began showing signs of Alzheimer's disease, there was little to help her medically.
But her husband, Phoenix physician and Surgicenter co-founder Wallace Reed, found other ways - music therapy and daily walks among them - to hold the disease at bay and enrich her remaining years.
"He was her primary caregiver," says Vikki Reed, the youngest of their six children, "and he gathered a team around him to help, people who could communicate with her non-verbally and see her abilities as well as her disabilities." advertisement
Although a cure still has not been found, medical options look more promising today, says psychiatrist Eric Reiman, executive director of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute and director of the Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium.
The non-profit Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Phoenix, one of seven institutions in the consortium, conducts research and provides services for people with memory and thinking problems and for their families and caregivers.
"There is extraordinary excitement right now about the possibilities," Reiman says, "and extraordinary urgency to find those treatments as soon as possible."
More than 5 million Americans have the progressive and fatal brain disorder, a number expected to reach 7.7 million by 2030, says the Alzheimer's Association, which will benefit from a Memory Walk on Saturday at two Valley locations.
Those figures drive Reiman and his consortium colleagues - about 120 in all - in their search for solutions.
Inspired by "generosity of spirit and scientific desperation," they're making breakthroughs such as identifying genes that may be involved in Alzheimer's, Reiman says, and developing brain-imaging techniques to detect the disease years before its onset and track its progression in those who already have it.
Today there are a number of ways to target amyloid plaques, the microscopic brain abnormalities found in Alzheimer's patients, Reiman says, and there is progress in medication and vaccine therapies.
"If these treatments turn out to be safe and well tolerated," he says, "and if one intervenes early enough and targets the right form of amyloid, we may have a dramatically effective treatment sooner rather than later."
That time could come within 12 years, he says, but people needn't feel powerless in the meantime.
Studies suggest that lifestyle measures that protect the heart also may protect the brain, delaying, if not preventing, Alzheimer's disease, Reiman says. Those measures include staying physically active, lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, eating healthfully and using one's mind.
"Mental exercise may either decrease development of some of the microscopic abnormalities in the brain," he says, "or it may promote cognitive reserve, making you better able to compensate so you don't see (the disease) until a little bit later. My guess is it's a combination of the two."
Ckick here to read the whole story
Monday, October 22, 2007
Alzheimer’s disease early detection close
BY ELIZABETH BASSETT
October 22, 2007
A blood test that could warn somebody if they’re at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease could be on the horizon within five to 10 years, said Dr. Steven DeKosky, an expert and researcher of the disease.
DeKosky, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh, talked about advances in research of the disease and the implications for treatment. The presentation by DeKosky was part of the UNT Health Science Center’s Distinguished Speaker Series, which took place on Oct. 16. After the presentation, he and a panel of local experts further discussed the future of Alzheimer’s care.
“We’re probably where cardiac docs were in the ‘60s,” DeKosky said
of Alzheimer’s research. By the
1970s, though, cardiac specialists saw a dramatic drop in deaths due to better treatment and prevention of heart disease, and DeKosky said research
currently being done about Alzheimer’s could soften the blow to the health care system as the baby boomers become older.
“This disease is capable of breaking Medicare and Medicaid all by itself,” DeKosky said. The national Alzheimer’s Association estimates that in 2002, Medicare and Medicaid together spent more than $50 billion on beneficiaries with the disease, and as more people are diagnosed, the spending will go up.
Alzheimer’s disease, which affects more than 5 million Americans, was first described by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in Germany, who treated a woman named Auguste, who became the first recognized Alzheimer’s disease patient.
The problems with recall and memory in Alzheimer’s patients come from two abnormalities that form in the brain: plaques and tangles. Plaques are formed by long chains of proteins that deposit in the spaces between brain cells, and tangles are made of abnormal proteins inside brain cells and are associated with cell death.
“You can have Alzheimer’s disease without tangles, but you can’t have Alzheimer’s disease without plaques,” DeKosky said
cick below for the whole story
http://www.fwbusinesspress.com/display.php?id=6600
October 22, 2007
A blood test that could warn somebody if they’re at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease could be on the horizon within five to 10 years, said Dr. Steven DeKosky, an expert and researcher of the disease.
DeKosky, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh, talked about advances in research of the disease and the implications for treatment. The presentation by DeKosky was part of the UNT Health Science Center’s Distinguished Speaker Series, which took place on Oct. 16. After the presentation, he and a panel of local experts further discussed the future of Alzheimer’s care.
“We’re probably where cardiac docs were in the ‘60s,” DeKosky said
of Alzheimer’s research. By the
1970s, though, cardiac specialists saw a dramatic drop in deaths due to better treatment and prevention of heart disease, and DeKosky said research
currently being done about Alzheimer’s could soften the blow to the health care system as the baby boomers become older.
“This disease is capable of breaking Medicare and Medicaid all by itself,” DeKosky said. The national Alzheimer’s Association estimates that in 2002, Medicare and Medicaid together spent more than $50 billion on beneficiaries with the disease, and as more people are diagnosed, the spending will go up.
Alzheimer’s disease, which affects more than 5 million Americans, was first described by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in Germany, who treated a woman named Auguste, who became the first recognized Alzheimer’s disease patient.
The problems with recall and memory in Alzheimer’s patients come from two abnormalities that form in the brain: plaques and tangles. Plaques are formed by long chains of proteins that deposit in the spaces between brain cells, and tangles are made of abnormal proteins inside brain cells and are associated with cell death.
“You can have Alzheimer’s disease without tangles, but you can’t have Alzheimer’s disease without plaques,” DeKosky said
cick below for the whole story
http://www.fwbusinesspress.com/display.php?id=6600
Thursday, September 6, 2007
MRIs in a person with mild cognitive impairment shows promise
Over the past couple of years in my conversations with people with dementia, I’ve come across a lot of confusion over MRI’s and the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Many were surprised to learn that their brain MRI’s were perfectly normal AND they had Alzheimer's Disease. One woman was told by her physician that because her MRI was normal, she couldn’t possibly have dementia.
The truth is, especially if you’re in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, there will likely be no cellular loss visible on your MRI. You can be forgetting how to drive home a mile from your house and the MRI image of your brain can look completely normal. How can this be?
It used to be the standard thought that amyloid plaques and/or neurofibrillary tangles got deposited in the brain, and these deposits “gunked” up the neurons and caused them to die. And this neuronal death caused Alzheimer’s.
Here’s the new thinking.
The cognitive deficits–the symptoms of dementia–occur BEFORE the plaques form, before the neurons die. In the brain of someone with Alzheimer’s, there is too much of a soluble protein called Amyloid Beta 42. Either too much is made or not enough is cleared away. When too much is present in the synapse, these individual little peptides stick together and form small oligomers. These oligomers of Amyloid Beta 42 lodge in the synapses and interfere with synaptic transmission—the ability of neuron #1 to give it’s electrochemical information to neuron #2. Through a complex molecular cascade, these oligomers are specifically impairing neurotransmission through NMDA receptors, a very important kind of transmission necessary for something called Long Term Potentiation.
So these oligomers of Amyloid Beta 42 lodge in synapses and prevent good neurotransmission from neuron #1 to neuron #2. And behaviorally, new information isn’t learned. Or old information can’t be accessed. Synaptic plasticity suffers. Over time, because these synapses aren’t working properly and because of inflammation and other problems, those nerve axon terminals will retract. Eventually, unable to function, the neurons will die, leaving behind empty space (the atrophy seen on an MRI) and possibly heaps of Amyloid Beta 42 in amyloid plaques.
So it all starts as an attack on the synapses. The degree of dementia correlates only with synapse dysfunction, not with neuronal loss, not with number of plaques, not with atrophy on an MRI.
The cure for dementia then, the kind of treatments that will be disease-altering, will
1. Impede production of Amyloid Beta 42, or will
2. Increase clearance of already-produced Amyloid Beta 42, or will
3. Prevent Amyloid Beta 42 from sticking to itself so it can’t form oligomers, or it will
4. Rip these already-formed oligomers apart.
The beauty and the hope in all of these treatments—people suffering from symptoms of dementia can be treated BEFORE they’ve experienced any neuron death. If the synapses are fixed, neurotransmission can work again. Function can be restored!
The truth is, especially if you’re in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, there will likely be no cellular loss visible on your MRI. You can be forgetting how to drive home a mile from your house and the MRI image of your brain can look completely normal. How can this be?
It used to be the standard thought that amyloid plaques and/or neurofibrillary tangles got deposited in the brain, and these deposits “gunked” up the neurons and caused them to die. And this neuronal death caused Alzheimer’s.
Here’s the new thinking.
The cognitive deficits–the symptoms of dementia–occur BEFORE the plaques form, before the neurons die. In the brain of someone with Alzheimer’s, there is too much of a soluble protein called Amyloid Beta 42. Either too much is made or not enough is cleared away. When too much is present in the synapse, these individual little peptides stick together and form small oligomers. These oligomers of Amyloid Beta 42 lodge in the synapses and interfere with synaptic transmission—the ability of neuron #1 to give it’s electrochemical information to neuron #2. Through a complex molecular cascade, these oligomers are specifically impairing neurotransmission through NMDA receptors, a very important kind of transmission necessary for something called Long Term Potentiation.
So these oligomers of Amyloid Beta 42 lodge in synapses and prevent good neurotransmission from neuron #1 to neuron #2. And behaviorally, new information isn’t learned. Or old information can’t be accessed. Synaptic plasticity suffers. Over time, because these synapses aren’t working properly and because of inflammation and other problems, those nerve axon terminals will retract. Eventually, unable to function, the neurons will die, leaving behind empty space (the atrophy seen on an MRI) and possibly heaps of Amyloid Beta 42 in amyloid plaques.
So it all starts as an attack on the synapses. The degree of dementia correlates only with synapse dysfunction, not with neuronal loss, not with number of plaques, not with atrophy on an MRI.
The cure for dementia then, the kind of treatments that will be disease-altering, will
1. Impede production of Amyloid Beta 42, or will
2. Increase clearance of already-produced Amyloid Beta 42, or will
3. Prevent Amyloid Beta 42 from sticking to itself so it can’t form oligomers, or it will
4. Rip these already-formed oligomers apart.
The beauty and the hope in all of these treatments—people suffering from symptoms of dementia can be treated BEFORE they’ve experienced any neuron death. If the synapses are fixed, neurotransmission can work again. Function can be restored!
Sunday, September 2, 2007
New book helps those with dementia
New book helps those with dementia
by Myrna Fearer DANVERS HERALD
Thursday, January 18, 2007 - Updated: 05:00 PM EST
Susan Berg loved taking pictures of her two sons when they were babies. Now, the activity director at Hunt Nursing and Retirement Home on Lindall Street has found a way to turn some of those pictures into a learning tool for people with dementia.
“Adorable Photographs of Our Baby: Meaningful, Mind-stimulating activities and More for the Memory Challenged, Their Loved Ones, and Involved Professionals,” is a book that is designed to stimulate interactive conversation between those with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and caregivers, therapists and anyone else who has the patience to work with this population.
“I’ve used photographs before; they love babies,” said Berg, who has cut out pictures from magazines and other sources for picture books she’s made for the dementia residents at the nursing home. “Even these people with dementia are hard-wired for emotions. They love babies and kids. Put them in a room and they react.”
Berg’s book, however, isn’t a book of just 14 colorful pictures of cute babies. Each picture was chosen for a purpose. Each one is accompanied by suggestions for its use, just like a manual for classroom teachers. Berg has included ideas for getting the folks involved in the activity pictured and also encouraging those with dementia to come up with their own reasons and comments. She stresses there are no right or wrong answers. Berg has shared ideas she has employed successfully in her own work.
“It took me about two years to do this,” said Berg, who went through thousands of baby photos before she arrived at the 14 she chose. “I tried to pick pictures highlighting the primary colors, pictures that are colorful and large.
“I also thought about a day, going through daily activities, pictures that stimulate conversation and thinking. It’s important that you keep them mentally active so their cognitive decline is lessened.”
Berg, a native of Wisconsin, earned her bachelor’s degree in medical technology from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Marriage to Stanley Berg, a mortgage loan officer, brought the couple to this area. They’ve made their home in Danvers for 34 years, where they’ve raised two sons: Joe, 27, works in a law firm, and Alex, 25, is graduating from George Washington University Law School.
Berg spent many years volunteering at the Great Oak School when her sons were young. She also taught after-school classes. When the family moved into a house with a pool, Berg took swimming lessons at the Danvers YMCA, earned her lifeguard certification — one of the oldest in the class — and for a time, was a lifeguard at Bally Fitness.
“I had worked in a lab for 12 years and I knew I didn’t want to be in a lab,” said Berg, who also was a computer instructor. “I decided to look into the COTA (certified occupational therapy assistant program) at North Shore Community College. It was a long wait to get in; it’s a very popular program.”
Berg finally gained admission to the two-year program, adding an associate’s degree to the bachelor’s degree she already held. Her first job, in 2000, was at Peabody Glen, which has a certified dementia unit. When there was an opening at Hunt Nursing and Retirement Home in 2001, Berg accepted it and has been there 5 1/2 years.
“I really take this job very seriously,” Berg said. “I also do a lot of work at home.”
Through the years, Berg has become expert on working with people with dementia and willingly shares her knowledge. She says keeping them mentally active is a must, keeping them from undergoing a catastrophic event is important. It’s also important to remember that everybody has something good about them and always build on their strengths.
“They have no reality orientation,” she explained. “If they think it’s 1960 and they’re 35, that’s fine. This is a happy place. We don’t talk about bad news. It does absolutely nothing for the person and they end up feeling bad but they don’t know why. Emotions are the last thing to go.”
Ever attuned to current resources for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, Berg realized there was still something missing, a book like hers. Berg has taken her knowledge and all the expertise she has amassed through the years and self-published, “Adorable Photographs of Our Baby.” She also has published large flash cards to accompany the book as another teaching tool.
Books, at $15.95each, are available at the Hunt Nursing & Retirement Home, through the author, Sea Bay Game Co. and Amazon.com. Flashcards are $12.95. A portion of the proceeds from the sales will go to the Alzheimer’s Association.
by Myrna Fearer DANVERS HERALD
Thursday, January 18, 2007 - Updated: 05:00 PM EST
Susan Berg loved taking pictures of her two sons when they were babies. Now, the activity director at Hunt Nursing and Retirement Home on Lindall Street has found a way to turn some of those pictures into a learning tool for people with dementia.
“Adorable Photographs of Our Baby: Meaningful, Mind-stimulating activities and More for the Memory Challenged, Their Loved Ones, and Involved Professionals,” is a book that is designed to stimulate interactive conversation between those with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and caregivers, therapists and anyone else who has the patience to work with this population.
“I’ve used photographs before; they love babies,” said Berg, who has cut out pictures from magazines and other sources for picture books she’s made for the dementia residents at the nursing home. “Even these people with dementia are hard-wired for emotions. They love babies and kids. Put them in a room and they react.”
Berg’s book, however, isn’t a book of just 14 colorful pictures of cute babies. Each picture was chosen for a purpose. Each one is accompanied by suggestions for its use, just like a manual for classroom teachers. Berg has included ideas for getting the folks involved in the activity pictured and also encouraging those with dementia to come up with their own reasons and comments. She stresses there are no right or wrong answers. Berg has shared ideas she has employed successfully in her own work.
“It took me about two years to do this,” said Berg, who went through thousands of baby photos before she arrived at the 14 she chose. “I tried to pick pictures highlighting the primary colors, pictures that are colorful and large.
“I also thought about a day, going through daily activities, pictures that stimulate conversation and thinking. It’s important that you keep them mentally active so their cognitive decline is lessened.”
Berg, a native of Wisconsin, earned her bachelor’s degree in medical technology from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Marriage to Stanley Berg, a mortgage loan officer, brought the couple to this area. They’ve made their home in Danvers for 34 years, where they’ve raised two sons: Joe, 27, works in a law firm, and Alex, 25, is graduating from George Washington University Law School.
Berg spent many years volunteering at the Great Oak School when her sons were young. She also taught after-school classes. When the family moved into a house with a pool, Berg took swimming lessons at the Danvers YMCA, earned her lifeguard certification — one of the oldest in the class — and for a time, was a lifeguard at Bally Fitness.
“I had worked in a lab for 12 years and I knew I didn’t want to be in a lab,” said Berg, who also was a computer instructor. “I decided to look into the COTA (certified occupational therapy assistant program) at North Shore Community College. It was a long wait to get in; it’s a very popular program.”
Berg finally gained admission to the two-year program, adding an associate’s degree to the bachelor’s degree she already held. Her first job, in 2000, was at Peabody Glen, which has a certified dementia unit. When there was an opening at Hunt Nursing and Retirement Home in 2001, Berg accepted it and has been there 5 1/2 years.
“I really take this job very seriously,” Berg said. “I also do a lot of work at home.”
Through the years, Berg has become expert on working with people with dementia and willingly shares her knowledge. She says keeping them mentally active is a must, keeping them from undergoing a catastrophic event is important. It’s also important to remember that everybody has something good about them and always build on their strengths.
“They have no reality orientation,” she explained. “If they think it’s 1960 and they’re 35, that’s fine. This is a happy place. We don’t talk about bad news. It does absolutely nothing for the person and they end up feeling bad but they don’t know why. Emotions are the last thing to go.”
Ever attuned to current resources for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, Berg realized there was still something missing, a book like hers. Berg has taken her knowledge and all the expertise she has amassed through the years and self-published, “Adorable Photographs of Our Baby.” She also has published large flash cards to accompany the book as another teaching tool.
Books, at $15.95each, are available at the Hunt Nursing & Retirement Home, through the author, Sea Bay Game Co. and Amazon.com. Flashcards are $12.95. A portion of the proceeds from the sales will go to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Book helps people talk to dementia patients
Published: January 17, 2007 11:22 pm
Book helps people talk to dementia patients
By Amanda McGregor
THE SALEM NEWS (SALEM, Mass.) and other newspapers throughout the country
DANVERS, Mass. — Jorgelina Zeoli’s elderly mother lit up when she leafed through a new book and flash cards of baby photos, designed for dementia patients.
The “Adorable Photographs of Our Baby” picture book features large print and simple sentences alongside photos of babies splashing in a sudsy bath, lying in a crib, making a mess in a high chair, licking a chocolatey mixing spoon and singing, among other activities.
“I showed the pictures to my mom, and the change in her expression was just extraordinary — it was really a magical moment,” said Zeoli, whose 88-year-old mother suffers from advanced dementia. “This is a response that doesn’t need to involve reasoning or memory.”
The book was self-published last month by Susan Berg, a longtime Danvers resident and employee at the Hunt Nursing and Retirement Home.
Music is one of the most useful tools to stimulate patients with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, but Berg saw a lack of visual, conversation-stimulating exercises — a big problem since 4.5 million Americans currently suffer from dementia.
People often don’t know what to talk about with dementia patients, Berg said.
“What I see, unfortunately all the time, is families pulling out the old family album and saying, ‘Do you know who this is?’ And the person doesn’t, and they feel negative emotion,” said Dr. Paul Raia, director of patient care and family support for the Massachusetts chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
“That’s the advantage of this particular exercise, is that it’s open-ended, and it doesn’t depend on the person remembering something.”
Each flash card has a different picture with an “idea page” on the reverse side, listing possible questions.
For example, the flash card of a toddler kissing his baby brother has questions like, “Does the baby’s brother love him? Who else loves the baby? What else do you love? If the participant needs help, say: ‘I love ice cream, do you?’ Sing one or more songs about love. Recite a poem about love: something as simple as ‘Roses are Red, etc.’”
Berg and her colleagues have piloted her book and flash cards at the Hunt Nursing Home.
“Anything to do with babies really seems to brighten their days,” said Catrenia Joly, nurse manager for the dementia unit.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to ... generate a lot of their own ideas and creativity, which they still have,” said Victoria Morrow, an activities aide who runs the music program at Hunt. “One of the most valuable things you can offer people with dementia, besides music, is a decent conversation.”
For Berg, 57, “Adorable Photographs of Our Baby” is her first foray into writing. Originally from Milwaukee, she moved to Danvers in 1973 with her husband, Stanley, and worked in hospital laboratories and then as a volunteer computer teacher in the Danvers schools, among other jobs. In 2000, she graduated from North Shore Community College’s occupational therapy assistant program, and started working at Hunt the following year.
Her two sons — whose baby pictures are the fodder for the new book — went through the Danvers schools starting at Great Oak. Now Joe, 27, lives in Brighton, and Alex, 25, is in his final year of law school
Q&A
How did you get the idea for the book?
I had been doing things like this on an informal basis with the residents here.
Why write a book?
Oftentimes, when people come to visit someone with dementia, they don’t know what to talk about. The first thing out of their mouth is, ‘Do you remember?’ That is the worst thing to say.
What should people say?
Say, ‘Hi, my name is so-and-so. Look at what I have to show you.’ Then you look at pictures and have a nice conversation.
Where did you get the photos?
They are all my two sons. I had to weed through lots of pictures, and I took out the ones that would be more embarrassing.
Why babies?
People are hard-wired to like babies.
Book helps people talk to dementia patients
By Amanda McGregor
THE SALEM NEWS (SALEM, Mass.) and other newspapers throughout the country
DANVERS, Mass. — Jorgelina Zeoli’s elderly mother lit up when she leafed through a new book and flash cards of baby photos, designed for dementia patients.
The “Adorable Photographs of Our Baby” picture book features large print and simple sentences alongside photos of babies splashing in a sudsy bath, lying in a crib, making a mess in a high chair, licking a chocolatey mixing spoon and singing, among other activities.
“I showed the pictures to my mom, and the change in her expression was just extraordinary — it was really a magical moment,” said Zeoli, whose 88-year-old mother suffers from advanced dementia. “This is a response that doesn’t need to involve reasoning or memory.”
The book was self-published last month by Susan Berg, a longtime Danvers resident and employee at the Hunt Nursing and Retirement Home.
Music is one of the most useful tools to stimulate patients with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, but Berg saw a lack of visual, conversation-stimulating exercises — a big problem since 4.5 million Americans currently suffer from dementia.
People often don’t know what to talk about with dementia patients, Berg said.
“What I see, unfortunately all the time, is families pulling out the old family album and saying, ‘Do you know who this is?’ And the person doesn’t, and they feel negative emotion,” said Dr. Paul Raia, director of patient care and family support for the Massachusetts chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
“That’s the advantage of this particular exercise, is that it’s open-ended, and it doesn’t depend on the person remembering something.”
Each flash card has a different picture with an “idea page” on the reverse side, listing possible questions.
For example, the flash card of a toddler kissing his baby brother has questions like, “Does the baby’s brother love him? Who else loves the baby? What else do you love? If the participant needs help, say: ‘I love ice cream, do you?’ Sing one or more songs about love. Recite a poem about love: something as simple as ‘Roses are Red, etc.’”
Berg and her colleagues have piloted her book and flash cards at the Hunt Nursing Home.
“Anything to do with babies really seems to brighten their days,” said Catrenia Joly, nurse manager for the dementia unit.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to ... generate a lot of their own ideas and creativity, which they still have,” said Victoria Morrow, an activities aide who runs the music program at Hunt. “One of the most valuable things you can offer people with dementia, besides music, is a decent conversation.”
For Berg, 57, “Adorable Photographs of Our Baby” is her first foray into writing. Originally from Milwaukee, she moved to Danvers in 1973 with her husband, Stanley, and worked in hospital laboratories and then as a volunteer computer teacher in the Danvers schools, among other jobs. In 2000, she graduated from North Shore Community College’s occupational therapy assistant program, and started working at Hunt the following year.
Her two sons — whose baby pictures are the fodder for the new book — went through the Danvers schools starting at Great Oak. Now Joe, 27, lives in Brighton, and Alex, 25, is in his final year of law school
Q&A
How did you get the idea for the book?
I had been doing things like this on an informal basis with the residents here.
Why write a book?
Oftentimes, when people come to visit someone with dementia, they don’t know what to talk about. The first thing out of their mouth is, ‘Do you remember?’ That is the worst thing to say.
What should people say?
Say, ‘Hi, my name is so-and-so. Look at what I have to show you.’ Then you look at pictures and have a nice conversation.
Where did you get the photos?
They are all my two sons. I had to weed through lots of pictures, and I took out the ones that would be more embarrassing.
Why babies?
People are hard-wired to like babies.
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