HEALTH WATCH AGING Alzheimer's requires creative patience
The life Alzheimer's victims experience is much like that of
foreigners ---language barriers can make communicating next to impossible;
nothing looks or feels familiar.But the best way to care for those with
the disease is to enter their world, experts say. "Even though the patient
has the illness, the caregiver has to learn to change their behavior,"
said Dr. Larry Tune, a geriatric psychiatrist and medical director of the
Wesley Woods Center at Emory...
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1989. Akron Beacon Journal (OH) - March 13, 1997
INSIGHTS INTO DEMENTIA \ STUDIES SHOW MANY FAMILIES OVERLOOK SYMPTOMS
OF ALZHEIMER'S
Family members overlook or fail to seek medical evaluation for
Alzheimer's disease and related disorders as much as two-thirds of the
time, a leading researcher says."We call this silent dementia," said Dr.
George Webster Ross, a University of Hawaii neurologist. Dementia refers
to a group of diseases that reduce intellectual ability. The most commonly
known -- and the way to which most usually are referred -- is Alzheimer's.For
years,...
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1989. Detroit Free Press (MI) - March 12, 1997
GETTING AHEAD OF ALZHEIMER'S NEW INFORMATION ON DRUGS, STROKES HELPS
SLOW EFFECTS OF DISEASE
Family members overlook or fail to seek medical evaluation for
Alzheimer's disease and related disorders as much as two- thirds of the
time, a leading researcher says. "We call this silent dementia," said Dr.
George Webster Ross, a University of Hawaii neurologist. Dementia is a
series of related diseases that cause loss of cognitive, or intellectual
abilities. The most commonly known -- and the way to which most usually
are referred -- is...
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1989. Fresno Bee, The (CA) - November 10, 1996
LONELINESS OF A LONG GOODBYE SPOUSES OF ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS STRUGGLE
TO COPEWITH THE LOSS OF A LIFETIME COMPANION
Tears filled Josephine Gullo's eyes as she thought about what
Alzheimer's disease has stolen from her. Fifty-eight years ago, she married
her child hood sweetheart. Last summer, she watched him leave their Madera
home and enter a residential care program at the Arbor Village assisted-living
community in Fresno."It was a very hard thing to do," said Gullo, 74. "I
still can't talk about it." Florence Berkson,...
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1989. St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN) - October 30, 1996
BLOOD PROTEIN MAY YIELD CLUES ABOUT ALZHEIMER'S
People with Alzheimer's disease appear to have unusually high
levels of a certain protein in their blood, and a simple blood test might
be able to diagnose the disease before its symptoms appear, a preliminary
study suggests.That could give patients and families more time to plan
for the future and might open the door to more effective treatment, said
researcher Wilfred Jefferies. In addition, tracking levels of the protein
might quickly show how well medications are working,...
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1989. Washington Post - October 4, 1996
LAB-ENGINEERED MOUSE MAY AID BATTLE AGAINST ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
A laboratory-engineered mouse suffers the same decline from
Alzheimer's disease as do humans: lost memory and damaged brain cells.
The mouse may give researchers a new and more accurate way to test drugs
against the mind-destroying disorder.The Alzheimer's Association called
development of the mouse, reported in today's issue of Science, "an important
new research tool," and a National Institutes of Health expert said the
mouse is...
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1989. The Dallas Morning News - July 17, 1995
Caring for the caregiver Practical solutions ease the burden of Alzheimer's
Every terminal disease is tragic, but the sadness of Alzheimer's
disease is striking.Patients usually are elderly. At times, they feel new
fears and forget old memories. At times, they can seem like a different
person. Caregivers have almost as much to lose as the patients. They watch
the deterioration of a loved one in a painful process sometimes called
"the long goodbye."Caregivers cope with new, troubling behaviors. The lucky
ones learn...
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1989. The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution - November
12, 1994
Age of discovery for Alzheimer's
As president, Ronald Reagan oversaw the country's first real
push to take on Alzheimer's disease, which in a short time has yielded
ample scientific discovery and excitement. As an 83-year-old with Alzheimer's,
Reagan is painfully aware of how much is yet to be learned about the insidious
brain disease that usually renders its victims helpless years before it
kills them. The more that is learned about Alzheimer's, the more awesome
its scope...
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1989. Newsday (Melville, NY) - November 11, 1994
Test for Alzheimer's? Progress on identifying disease before symptoms
A surprisingly safe, simple test that may accurately detect
Alzheimer's disease before symptoms begin is being developed by a research
team in Boston. If it works as expected, the test - which measures pupil
dilation in reaction to the ophthalmological drug tropicamide - will be
a major advance, the first reliable way to diagnose a disease that has
ruined memory function in millions of people worldwide. At present, an
autopsy is the only definitive way to confirm...
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1989. Portland Press Herald (ME) - November 11, 1994
EYEDROP TEST COULD REVEAL ALZHEIMER'S THE PROCEDURE MAY DETERMINE THE
LIKELIHOOD OF DEVELOPING THE DISEASE BEFORE SYMPTOMS ARE PRESENT.
A surprisingly safe, simple test that may accurately detect
Alzheimer's disease before symptoms begin is being developed by a research
team in Boston.If it works as expected, the test - which measures pupil
dilation in reaction to the ophthalmological drug tropicamide - will be
a major advance, the first reliable way to diagnose a disease that has
ruined memory function in millions of people worldwide. At present, an
autopsy is the only definitive way to confirm...
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