How to Face Fear with Knowledge Part X

“Keep them safe as long as we can then place them in the institution when this becomes no longer possible” (Dr Alois Alzheimer 1902)  

“There is nothing we can do but keep them safe as long as we can then place them in the institution when this becomes no longer possible” (MD specializing in Geriatrics Jan 2011)

We’ve come a long way, eh Baby?

I started this series dealing with the question I had leaving the office of my Doctor who told me I have Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).

What should I do about it? What can I do about it?

I have been discussing this in the previous nine installments dedicated to this topic. As I am now at the end and ready to sum it up to conclusion, I see not much has changed in the past 5+ years.

The big issues remain about AD the scourge. If you got it, there is no hope for you. Nothing will cure it. Nothing will slow it down. You face letting it run its course following the medical advice established more than a hundred years ago and not much changed since then.

There is nothing we can do but keep them safe as long as we can then place them in the institution when this becomes no longer possible

We remain characterized as the guy standing in the corner drooling, unable to find his way around the two corners of the wall that traps him.

There may be dispute about my foregoing opinion as stated: “not much has changed in the past 5+ years!” I read one article today in fact, entitled: The Alzheimer's Generation: What We've Learned in 30 Years. It is posted in my Archive, click on the title to go there to read. It is well worth it and I hope the writer is right. In the article she states:

By the early 2000s, a few assisted living companies identified a need for specialized programs and services specifically designed for residents with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or early stages of Alzheimer's disease. These programs were designed to assist seniors with early signs of memory loss to engage in activities that promote cognitive stimulation, social engagement, mutual support and stress reduction with a goal of delaying memory loss. Not until recently did studies suggest that lifelong learning, mental and physical exercise, continuing social engagement, stress reduction and proper nutrition may be important factors in promoting cognitive vitality.

She goes on to conclude:

Everyone is hopeful that this generation will be the one where a cure is found. While the search continues, there will be even more emphasis on prevention and controlling contributing risk factors. Until then, one of the most important advances we can make is to continue educating, training and supporting everyone who is touched by Alzheimer's disease and other forms of memory loss.

In the rest of the article she describes how we have changed the approach to caring for AD. In one part she states:

Activities in memory care have also transitioned away from the large group, one-size-fits-all approach to more intimate small groups that focus on shared interests and promoting a sense of purpose and belonging. Most care also now centers around social engagement with well-designed activities to increase quality of life.

This is very encouraging but I believe it doesn’t cover so many of the important aspects of care. Is it true  “Most care also now centers around social engagement with well-designed activities to increase quality of life.” My nursing home experience is not sufficient to make this kind of a blanket statement. I do read a lot and I don’t see a lot of the foregoing going on in most care situations. We are still warehousing patients to simply keep them safe and drugging them soporifically to keep them quiet. Conversely, for such a statement to be made suggests this is a trend starting to happen.

The article does fail to outline care outside of the Nursing Home directed to programs to prolong the earlier stages and keep the afflicted out of the Care Homes.

If I am to reach a conclusion in all I have reviewed it is this. So much is there yet to done; it can no longer be overlooked. There is more to supporting people affected by this disease than raising money to do research to find a cure. Although this remains very important so much else is at least equally important and in the futility to date of finding the cure it may make better sense.

The key to this is probable best said in an articles and post made some days ago. In the post How to Face Fear with Knowledge Part V I quoted articles on the issue of whether or not AD is really curable. Click on:

1.     Broader Definition of Alzheimer's Could Help Doctors Diagnose it Earlier

2.     Is Alzheimer's disease really curable?

3.     Alzheimer's: What if there's no cure?

These article posted had much to say on this issue like:

"tremendous social pressures" have pushed scientists to target Alzheimer's as a curable disease.

Although intensely investigated over the last three decades using cutting-edge technologies, the “pathogenic cause” of Alzheimer’s disease has not been found.

The decision by health experts to separate Alzheimer's disease from age-related dementia and deem it potentially curable "opened a Pandora's box" and may have misdirected research for decades, a team of scientists suggests in a new analysis of the field.

deemphasize the quest for a cure and to look instead for effective prevention and treatments that focus on dementia as part of the aging process. They stress the importance of controlling risk factors, such as diabetes and hypertension, that are believed to make people more vulnerable to developing Alzheimer's, and energizing the aging brain through social activities.

Scientists would be remiss if they weren't constantly reevaluating their mission and direction and reconsidering funding priorities. They should certainly seek more effective treatments for Alzheimer's, and there's every indication that they are

Our future lies with these recommendations if we are to withstand the epidemic AD is quickly becoming. The last phrase emphasized in this blog captures where we are at and the forgoing becomes what we should do about it

As the baby boom generation ages, dementia will become a larger social and healthcare problem.

I believe this is beginning to happen. In another article I just reviewed, entitled: MAKS: Drug-Free Prevention of Dementia Decline this position is taken as it recites:

The MAKS system consists of motor stimulation(M), including games such as bowling, croquet, and balancing exercises; cognitive stimulation (K), in the form of individual and group puzzles; and practicing 'daily living' activities (A), including preparing snacks, gardening and crafts. The therapy session began with a ten minute introduction, which the researchers termed a 'spiritual element' (S), where the participants discussed topics like 'happiness', or sang a song or hymn.

MAKS therapy is able to extend the quality of, and participation in, life for people with dementia