MUST READS

An article in the March 4, 2019 issue of The New Yorker Magazine, by the renown, late neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks, questioned how much a person with dementia really “needs to know.” What should be told to a patient by their doctor and when? Are the rules different for dementia? Sacks wrote, “Should we have told Mr. Q. that he was no longer a janitor but a declining and demented patient in a nursing home? Should we have taken away his accustomed and well-rehearsed identity and replaced it with a “reality” that, though real to us, would have been meaningless to him? It seemed not only pointless but cruel to do so—and might well have hastened his decline.”

A February 26, 2019 Forbes article interviewed Dr. Ethan Russo of the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute, which is dedicated to promoting medical cannabis research, about the benefits of medicinal cannabis for people with Alzheimer’s disease. According to Russo, “Both THC [tetrahydrocannabinol] and CBD [cannabidiol] have been shown to interfere with the production of abnormal toxic matter in the brain of such patients. This is quite exciting, inasmuch as synthetic drugs designed for similar purposes have yet to advance in the clinic. Both THC and particularly CBD are known neuroprotective agents that hold the potential to slow or perhaps even halt the degenerative process.”

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A February 26, 2019 Futurity article looked at the connection between hip fracture patients and Alzheimer’s disease. A new study from Johns Hopkins and Harvard Medical School researchers found that most older people hospitalized for hip fracture surgery have AD biomarkers. The same brain alterations that led to poor balance may also underpin AD, and the fractures may be a first sign. According to the article, "The study doesn’t suggest that every older person with a hip fracture has Alzheimer’s… But it does suggest that people facing hip repair surgery after a fall be monitored closely for post-operative delirium or other mental or cognitive problems, because some may have underlying Alzheimer’s disease.”

FAITH SPOTLIGHT

A February 26, 2019 The Christian Chronicle article spotlighted the story of Jean Reynolds and her husband Bob, a former preacher who has been living with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis since 2003. They continue to be very active in their church and maintain a healthy lifestyle. According to Jean “We get up every morning, six days a week, and go exercise … at 6 a.m., and he goes out every evening after supper and walks up and down the driveway… It could be a lot worse. We’re doing right well.”

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

A February 25, 2019 San Antonio Express-News article highlighted the “Dialogue on Dementia” discussion, which kicked-off the two-day, inaugural South Texas Alzheimer’s Conference. The event addressed the heightened incidence of AD in Latino communities, medical and lifestyle risk factors and other related topics. According to the article, “Medical risks for Alzheimer’s encompass things such as blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose, all of which can be treated with medicine. But there is also evidence that modifiable lifestyle factors are linked to development of the disease… including diet, stress, social isolation, sleep, cognitive stimulation and, most importantly, exercise.”  

PROFILES IN COURAGE

A February 26, 2019 George Rook blog post reflected on his own Alzheimer’s journey, the power of peer groups and importance of relating to people at the ‘same-ish’ disease stage. According to Rook, “People say that their loved ones who live with the brain disease become self obsessed… That’s because you are continually examining your actions and your memories and your words, to find the right ones, or to avoid mistakes. So I think we end up living two lives. One is our inner self, the one with dementia, who feels lost at times, fogged, unable now and then to do things we used to without thinking… The second life is the outward facing self, the one who bravely gets on with a smile, because that’s what others want to see.”