Learn About Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Don’t see the answer to your question. Submit your own question on our information form.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer's is a degenerative brain disease that usually begins gradually, causing a person to forget recent events or familiar tasks. How rapidly it advances varies from person to person, but the disease eventually leads to confusion, personality and behavior changes and impaired judgment. Communication becomes more difficult as the disease progresses, leaving those affected struggling to find words, finish thoughts or follow directions. Eventually, most people with Alzheimer's disease become unable to care for themselves.
[Back to top]


How common is Alzheimer’s Disease?

One in 10 people over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Today, 4.5 million Americans have the condition. That number could jump to 16 million by the year 2050 unless prevention methods are developed.
[Back to top]


What causes Alzheimer’s Disease?

Scientists still are not certain of the disease's cause. Advancing age and family history are risk factors. Researchers are exploring the role of genetics in the disease, but most agree it's caused by a variety of factors.
[Back to top]


How is Alzheimer’s Disease diagnosed?

There is no single, comprehensive diagnostic test for Alzheimer's disease. Instead, doctors rule out other conditions through a process of elimination. They usually conduct physical, psychological and neurological exams and take a thorough medical history. Diagnosis is about 90 percent accurate, but the only way to confirm it is through autopsy.
[Back to top]


Can Alzheimer’s Disease be treated?

There is no medical treatment currently available to cure or stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease. There are currently five FDA-approved Alzheimer's drugs – Namenda, Cognex, Aricept, Exelon and Reminyl -- that may temporarily relieve some symptoms of the disease. Several other drugs are in development.
[Back to top]


What are the warning signs of Alzheimer’s Disease?

• Common symptoms of Alzheimer's disease include:
• Memory loss that affects job skills
• Difficulty performing familiar tasks
• Problems with language
• Disorientation to time and place
• Poor or decreased judgment
• Problems with abstract thinking
• Placing items in inappropriate places
• Rapid changes in mood or behavior
• Dramatic changes in personality
• Loss of initiative

[Back to top]


What is dementia?

Dementia is a pattern of mental decline caused by different diseases or conditions. A person with dementia loses mental abilities. Memory loss usually comes first. Gradually the person becomes unable to perform basic mental and physical tasks. Typically, dementia develops slowly over months or years. The first symptoms are often subtle. Eventually, people with dementia can have significant memory loss. They also may lose their ability to communicate effectively, recognize other people, perform complex tasks or think critically. Most commonly, dementia occurs when nerve cells (neurons) in the brain break down (degenerate) and connections between neurons are interrupted. These disruptions have a variety of causes and usually cannot be reversed. Among the causes of dementia:

• Alzheimer's disease causes about 40% to 45% of all dementias.
• Vascular disease, such as stroke, causes about 20%.
• Lewy body disease, which causes neurons in the brain to degenerate, causes another 20% of dementias.

[Back to top]


Can dementia be prevented?

Most of the causes of dementia cannot be prevented. Good personal health habits and medical care, however, can prevent some types of dementia. Here are some things you can do:

• Dementia caused by stroke Monitor and control your blood pressure, exercise every day, and eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables to maintain a healthy body weight.
• Alcohol-related dementia Limit the amount of alcohol you drink.
• Traumatic dementia Avoid head injury by always using seat belts, helmets and other protective equipment.
• Some infection-related dementias Avoid high-risk sexual behavior.
• Vitamin-deficiency dementia Make sure your diet has enough B vitamins, especially vitamin B12. Your doctor may want to order a blood test for B12 level.
• Hormone-related dementia Your doctor may want to order a blood test called TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) to make sure your thyroid is functioning properly.
• Keeping your mind active and your body fit may help to prevent mental decline and reduce or postpone memory loss. If you get daily physical exercise and continue to challenge your brain throughout life, you can help to protect your brain against mental decline.

[Back to top]


What are some tips for communicating with a confused person?

1. Speak slowly and clearly and approach the person from the front.
2. Be calm and reassuring, using simple words and short sentences.
3. Use non-threatening factual words, ask who, what, where, when and how. Avoid why.
4. Ask one question at a time and allow time for the person to respond.
5. Try reminiscing. People like to look back on their past life because it is what they remember best.
6. Try mirroring. This is when you observe and match the person's motions and emotions. It can make it easier for you to understand what they are trying to tell you.
7. Rephrasing. Repeat the idea of what the person has said, using key words, the same tone of voice and cadence.

[Back to top]


What are some ways to cope with a confused person?

Because confused persons are very sensitive to the emotions of the people around them, they return that same emotion multiplied many times over. Your minor frustration at their behavior will be reflected in them as a burst of anger. Then you should smile regardless of your emotional state.
Because confused persons can't keep track of the meanings of words, and have lost the ability to match an activity to an outcome, they will eat soup with a fork or stick their hands into hot food, or use a bath towel in place of toilet paper. Then you should show and tell, in other words, act out and mimic instructions as you give them.
Because confused persons often can't find the right words, remember that a tummy ache is probably a bowel movement, hunger may be thirst, and a warm marshmallow could be a cigarette. They you should be poetic and listen carefully, analyzing the person’s actual words so you can discover the meaning.
Because confused persons can entertain only one thought at a time, if a person says "I wanna go home," say "Okay, let's get ready." Then say you have to get the dismissal forms; give them a form and a pencil, let them try to fill it out, and the urge to "go home" will fade into the complexities of filling out the form. Then you should go with the flow and go along with the person's request and then distract and cajole back into the behavior you want.
Because confused persons often simply don't have the logic and tact- coordinating skills required to comprehend the truth, the resulting confusion will just increase the person's anxiety and discomfort. Then you should not try and change their beliefs and just go along with them.
Because confused persons hang on desperately to the things they can manage, changing the way they do things confuses them and is extremely stressful. Then you should organize and establish a repeating, regular schedule, based on your anticipation of the person's need. And always perform the operation in the same way.
Because confused persons are not really directing all this at you personally, you're just the closest object at hand. Rather than over-react and destroy the trust you've created, it's better that you go off to a closet to scream or cry or laugh until you're back in control. Then you should locate the safety valve and have someone take over for you when your own frustration takes you to the edge.
[Back to top]


What are some tips on how to make a visit with a loved one rewarding?

Following are some ideas for planning and carrying out positive and rewarding visits in a nursing home setting.

• Special memorabilia - photos, postcards, souvenirs, and other objects which have special meaning. Don't expect the resident to take the lead and remember; come prepared with a set of memories you can relate to him or her.
• Check the bulletin board for the schedule of activities at the nursing home. You may find something you can share with your loved one.
• Some families may find it useful to visit at mealtimes. It can ease your concern about whether the resident is eating, and you can observe the kind and quality of food without having to ask the resident, who may not remember. You can help feed the resident. You can also bring "comfort food" - something the resident enjoyed in the past; memory for words may be gone, but taste buds have their own staying power.
• Kids, too, are always a hit at the nursing home. Don't be reluctant to bring a grandchild, although it is a good idea to keep such visits short - just enough for an exchange of love that will be rewarding to both. You need not feel obliged to spend long periods of time if you don't want to. There is a good chance that the person with dementia will not remember whether you were there 15 minutes or two hours.
• Read letters from family members and acquaintances.
• Compose replies together.
• Read the newspaper, magazine stories, and poems aloud. Check with the programs and activities person for available literature.
• Bring a project with you to work on while visiting, to share and to talk about, such as needlework, mending, knitting, and carving.
• Take walks together outside.
• Give a manicure to your loved one. Both men and women enjoy this. The programs and activities person may have supplies or bring your own. File, polish and then hand massage with some good smelling lotion.
• Take the resident for a drive. You can ask the staff to help transfer your loved one into your car. Take a short drive and return. This is a great way to go out for a hamburger or an ice cream cone.
• Use the activity department schedule of events and plan visits either to watch a program together or come at a time when there is nothing happening.
• Bring a sack lunch and have a picnic outside, weather permitting, or in one of the facility's smaller sitting areas.
• Watch special television programs together. Bring TV snacks from home.
• Walk to other areas of the building, tour the gift shop or chapel.
• Finally, a word about guilt. It gets in the way of a meaningful visit without adding anything positive to the relationship. There are no wrong choices in this situation; only choices that need to be made. If the visit is not a good one give yourself permission to end it and come back another time.

[Back to top]


What are some tips for kids to understand dementia?

Kids are very resilient. What seems a harmful exposure to unpleasant or unnatural circumstances can become a growth and maturing experience for a child. Your attitude and way of explaining why your family member behaves oddly will almost totally shape how a child reacts and behaves around them.

Be frank and honest but without so much detail or graphic description that the child is frightened. Describe dementia in a way that maintains the dignity of your loved one.

"One father put a pile of dried beans on the table. He took little pieces of the pile away as he gave his young son the following explanation of his grandfather's illness. Grandpop has a sickness that makes him act like he does. It isn't catching. None of us is going to get like grandpop. It's like having a broken leg only little pieces of grandpop's brain are broken, so he can't remember what you told him; this little piece is broken, so he forgets how to use his silverware at the table; this little piece is broken, so he gets mad real easy. But this part, which is for loving, grandpop still has left.'" (Mace and Rabins, 1982, pp.151-152)

Talk to kids about dementia and illness. Share your loved one's need for love and help. Discuss the need for a calm and reassuring tone of voice when talking to their family member. Choose words like unusual or unexpected rather than weird or crazy. Discourage the child's use of derogatory and value-laden terms. Appeal to the child's sense of creativity by asking for ways he/she might better be friends with or of help to their family member.

Kids learn from watching the ways we communicate and interact with a family member with dementia. Our role modeling is more important than words. Nowhere do actions speak louder than words than in a situation like this.
[Back to top]


How can I help a child understand Alzheimer’s Disease?

Any child who has a relative or loved one with dementia will somehow be affected. Though there has not been a great deal of research studying children's perception of dementia, some facts about how they relate are known.

Children are usually aware that something is wrong and they need an honest explanation of what is happening to the person with dementia. The complexity of that explanation depends upon the age of the child. The person who presents the explanation should allow the child to express concern, and should address these concerns frankly and simply. Your choice of words is important. Speak of illness and need help and love. Choose unusual or unexpected rather than weird or crazy.

A child's reaction to a person with dementia may depend on the importance of their relationship and how often they interact with the demented person. Young children do surprisingly well when asked to help the person in simple ways. In turn this may build a special and loving relationship. Following are some suggestions for children in interacting with a relative with dementia.

Do

• Speak slowly and clearly
• Be kind to them when they ask the same question or tell the same story repeatedly
• Give lots of hugs and hold hands
• Color a page together in your coloring book
• Sing songs, especially songs with actions
• Say your name whenever you visit
• Smile
• Be gentle
• Read stories together
• Go on a nature walk
• Bake together
• Toss a ball
• Go on a picnic

Don't

• Leave toys or books laying around, this could cause an accident
• Get upset when they repeatedly ask the same question, they can't remember your answer
• Forget to hug...they need to be loved
• Expect them to remember who you are...they forget quickly and sometimes don't even know who they are
• Get upset when they seem to be angry because they forget so often
• Talk too fast...this confuses them
• Make your visit too long...they may get tired or nervous
• Argue with them...they won't understand your reasons
• Forget to come back...they need to be loved

[Back to top]