Parents

Parents, I understand that when explaining to a child a devastating statement it can be challenging, but it is also  hard on you as the adult. Guardians/parents worry about their child and try to protect them from the pain in life, but who is helping you deal with the pain in your life after hearing a devastating statement? 

It can be stressful worrying about your child, but you are also important and need attention and care, as much a child. Therapy is recommended to help examine and relinquish all hidden anger or other emotions that have been bottled up for a period of time. After you tell your child the bad news and comforting them, seek help for yourself. You are just as important as the next person in the world. We are all human and need attention and patience, but after hearing something that can emotionally affect someone, most calm emotions are forgotten. There are ways to help recover over a period of time without having to worry about your family or friends interfering. There are support groups and meetings that can help a person regain their strength, or if you prefer to stay anonymous, there are hot-lines that can help and are open 24/7.

 Bravery is allowing ourselves to feel pain to prevent someone else’s pain.

— Lisa Stroyan

Questions and Answers

Many people ask questions about Alzheimer's and sometimes never get answers. Here are a few questions that can be answered.


Q. Is there a treatment for Alzheimer's?
A. Currently there is no cure for Alzheimer's, but there are medications that can be prescribed to slow the disease down, or medication to make the patient more comfortable while dealing with Alzheimer's.


Q.How long does Alzheimer's last?
A. Alzheimer's can last for at least 20 years, but the patient usually live 8-10 years after being diagnosed


Q. Is Alzheimer's hereditary?
A. Late detected Alzheimer's has no known cause, so it is unknown whether it is hereditary.


Q. How many stages are there?
A. There are 3 stages of Alzheimer's.

• Mild(1st)
• Moderate(2nd)
• Severe(3rd)

Q. How can Alzheimer's be detected?
A. Alzheimer's can be detected on occasions, after a physician has done an exam and notices the basic Alzheimer symptoms.

Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much. 

 -Francis Bacon

The Facts: Part 2

• Alzheimer’s is also know as “Old-Timers disease”

• It is an autonomic dominant trait meaning it is a gene that is not related to the chromosomes that determine gender (it affects boys and girls equally)

• The features in Alzheimer’s are positive neuropsychiatric features and negative features 

• Alzheimer’s affect the victim by losing time, and becoming confused

• Having Alzheimer’s is like forgetting your life and having to start from the beginning (forget how to tie your shoe or forget your family members)

• Alzheimer’s affects a person internally. It could be a slow virus, an imbalance of chemicals or a problem with the immune system

• The problems associated wit Alzheimer’s are forgetfulness, confusion, disorientation, wandering around, paranoia, aggressiveness, and hiding things

• Alzheimer’s is invariably a fatal disease, which is commonly found in the elderly

• There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s, but there is a vaccination to slow it down 

• Brains scans such as MRI’s and pet scans can help detect early stages of Alzheimer’s

• Alzheimer’s can't be detected parentally and a carrier can't be detected

• Can possibly help prevent

• Crossword puzzles
• Dancing
• Sudoku

• Alzheimer's is not purely genetic

Temporal Lobe

Functions

• Memory
• Language
• Emotion
• Learning
• Perception(senses)

Case Study

• Deep stimulation can lead to:
• Out of body experience

• Religious experience

The temporal lobe helps the body with comprehension, memory language etc. Damaging this part of the brain will give the inability to recognize certain things(music, smells, body parts, faces, colors).

Disorders/Damages

• Schizophrenia
• Possible impairment in Alzheimer's
• Speech/Social dysfunction in autism
• Aggression
• Memory loss(long/short)
• Persistent talking
• Inability to sensory input
• Troubles with understanding objects(agnosia), speech(Wernicke's aphasia), and faces(prosopagnosia)
• Increase/decrease in sexual behavior

Substructures

• Fusiform gyrus
• Wernicke's area
• Amygdala
• Primary auditory cortex
• Middle temporal gyrus
• Inferior temporal gyrus
• Superior temporal gyrus

Parietal Lobe

Functions

• Calculation
• Spelling
• Attention
• Perception/integration of somatosensory info. (Temperature, pain, touch and pressure)

The Parietal lobe helps the brain integrate information from each of the senses. It helps people coordinate their movements within our surroundings.

Case Study

• Hemispatial neglect- neurological disorder from damaging the posterior parietal lobe
• Inability to attend to objects, people or oneself on the side opposite of the damaged area
• A person may only care for one side of their body(eat, dress, clothe, or bathe)

Damages/Disorders

• Inability to recognize objects or locate objects
• Inability to care for the body
• Inability to remember events
• Disorientation
• Lack of coordination
• Possible cause for Alzheimer's

Substructures

• Precunes
• Inferior parietal lobule
• Superior parietal lobule
• Somatosensory cortex

Frontal Lobe

• Functions
• Intelligence
• Behavior
• Judgement
• Motor
• Planning
• Impulse Control

The frontal lobe deals with executions and planning. It is the largest of the brain's structures, and is the main location for cognitive functions(ability to process thoughts).



Case Study

• In the United States, approximately 40,000 people have received a prefrontal lobotomy(surgery to separate the frontal lobe from the rest of the brain)to treat personality and cognitive disorders(mental disorder).
• Helped destroy connections to the prefontal cortex and impaired voluntary behavior.

Disorders/Damage

• ADHD(Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
• Schizophrenia
• Bipolar Disorder
• Paralysis
• Mood changes
• Inability to express language

Substructure

• Prefrontal cortex
• Motor cortex
• Inferior frontal gyrus
• Middle frontal gyrus
• Frontal eye fields
• Orbitofrontal cortex
• Premotor cortex
• Broca's area

SIGN THE PETITION!

SIGN THIS!!!!

http://www.alz.org/petition/overview.asp?type=homepage_petition

Americans... still believe in an America where anything's possible - they just don't think their leaders do.
-Barack Obama

The Disease

Definition

• Common form of dementia of unknown cause, usually beginning late middle age, characterized by memory lapses, confusion , emotional instability, and progressive loss of mental ability

Cause

• Scientists have not found a complete cause for Alzheimer's but they are trying to understand the hallmark of Alzheimer's
• Plaques
• Tangles

Effect

• Alzheimer's can affect a person's ability to function and all aspects of a person's life
• Emotionally
• Mentally
• Physically
• Behaviorally

Prevention

• There are steps that can help prevent Alzheimer's from affecting you or a loved one and it depends on many factors
• Stress management
• Active Social Life
• Regular exercise
• Sleep
• Mental stimulation
• Healthy diet

Cure/Medication

• There is no true cure for Alzheimer's but there are medications that can provide the patient with independence and comfort for a period of time
• Early
• Mild/Moderate
• Severe

Societies/ Care Groups

• There are many care groups and societies that take care of Alzheimer patients and help distribute medications as well as provide a safe environment for Alzheimer patients
• Alzheimer's Association
• Alzheimer's Care Group
• Dementia Support Groups

Conclusion

• Alzheimer's is a disease that kills physically, but the physical death is mild compared to the mental death. It is the worst form of dementia and not only affects the patient, but everyone who loved the patient. It kills mentally and more personally than any other disease and unfortunately has no cure

The Facts: Part 1

Most people know that Alzheimer's is a disease that affects a persons memory, but the disease is more complex than just forgetting things. 


Diagnose

• An evaluation includes a complete health history, physical examination, neurological and mental status assessments, analysis of blood and urine,  and possibly a CT or MRI etc.

• Alzheimer’s with up to 90 percent accuracy, requires examination of brain tissue using an  autopsy.

 

Procedures

• An evaluation including a medical history, a mental status evaluation, a clinical examination and laboratory tests are apart of the procedure to diagnose the disease.

Declare the past, diagnose the present, foretell the future.

-Hippocrates

Joining the Cause

To be apart of the Alzheimer's journey, doesn't mean you have to have alzheimer's or know anyone with the disease. Contributions from anyone, whether the range is a penny to a million dollars, each contribution to the cause helps at least one person in the world suffering the disease.

• Donations

• Alzheimer's Walk

• Fundraisers 

No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.

- Calvin Coolidge

Explantaion for Teens

Explaining a disease to a child is hard, but explaing to a teenager can be tougher. As a teenager, life becomes more stressful and obsticales seem to enter our lives each and everyday. Whether it's relationship problems with a spouse or with a family member, teenagers usually have drama in their lives. When explaining the disease to a teenager, patience is a complete necessity. Taking it slow and explaining the details is also very important. Teens tend to lose focus, when the topic is not interesting or if they have to hear something they don't want to hear. Making sure that the person you are talking to is comfortable and able to handle the amount of news can be difficult, which is why patience is needed. The explanation can be long and tedious, but it has to be done. As long as the child is talking to an adult or someone who makes them feel comfortable, the conversation may go better than expected.

 

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

-Abraham Lincoln