USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A December 14, 2017 Carlen Maddux blog post interviewed Dr. Richard L. Morgan, PhD, dementia advocate, retired minister, counselor and author. According to Morgan, when asked about what he has learned from people with dementia, “Live in the moment with them. Accept them where they are in their world, not yours. Never argue or contradict what they’re saying. Even use “therapeutic lying.” In other words, talk with them about whatever they want, whether you consider it to be true or not. Finally, this took me a while but I’ve come to understand that these persons are friends with souls, even if their minds are gone.” Morgan is a co-founder of ClergyAgainstAlzheimer’s, a multi-faith network of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. Maddux is caregiver for his wife for more than 17 years.

MUST READS

A December 18, 2017 WAMU 88.5 American University article looked at a paper published in the journal Neuron addressing how aging can affect memory in people without Alzheimer’s or other brain diseases. During deep sleep, older brains have less coordination than younger brains between two waves that are important to saving new memories. However, it’s possible to improve impaired memory by re-synchronizing these brain rhythms. According to Matt Walker from the University of California, Berkeley, “What we’re going to try and do is act like a metronome and in doing so see if we can actually salvage aspects of learning and memory in older adults and those with dementia.” 

A December 15, 2017 Reuters article focused on the use of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) phone sessions, created by German researchers, specifically for dementia caregivers. CBT is a form of psychotherapy that works on skills for responding effectively to stressful or difficult situations. Compared with other types of caregivers, twice as many dementia caregivers face substantial emotional, financial and physical difficulties.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A December 15, 2017 AlzForum article, part 12 of the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease 2017 series, focused on four Alzheimer’s and related dementias investigational drugs that failed in clinical trials. The findings were shared at the annual CTAD conference in Boston in November.

A December 12, 2017 Being Patient article reported that a research team found that dementia is directly linked to levels of urea in the brain, suggesting that Alzheimer’s has a metabolic cause. Urea is produced to clear ammonia by the kidneys through urine, but dementia patients have a build-up of it. According to Doug Brown of the Alzheimer’s Society, “Previous research has hinted that urea might also accumulate in the Alzheimer’s brain, which also experiences problems using energy. However, more research is required to understand if a build-up of urea is the cause, or the result…”