Did You Know...?

More than 300,000 adults older than 65 are affected with epilepsy, according to the Epilepsy Foundation.  Seizure conditions are the third most common disorder of the nervous system affecting seniors, and they are more difficult to diagnose.  Epilepsy is more likely to develop in people with Alzheimer's disease (199 Answers and the the Epilepsy Foundation).

Medication Issues of the Elderly

(Note: the following is an excerpt from Hill Country Care Providers' newsletter.  Find the full text here.)

Inappropriate medication use remains a serious problem for the elderly.  They typically are subjected to "polypharmacy"--use of multiple medications or use of unnecessary medications.  According to JAMA, 94% of individuals over 65 take at least one medication a week and two-thirds of older adults take five-or-more per week.  Two-thirds of those living in a nursing home take over nine different medications weekly.  Seniors are at risk due to an increasing number of co-morbid diseases, increasing number of physicians, and self-care with OTC medications and herbal preparations.  They are also victims of prescribing cascades which work as a continual addition of medications prescribed to counteract side-effects and actions of the initial medication (as well as subsequently prescribed medications). Seniors are particularly vulnerable to misuse of medications--such as using someone else's medication, problems with instructions due to vision impairments, and what appear to be vague instructions (e.g. "1-2 tabs every 4-6 hours").

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) literally cost billions each year.  The three main causes of ADRs are inappropriate drug selection, overuse, and underuse.  Many of these are preventable depending on the venue of care.  Cardiovascular medications, analgesics, and diuretics were the three most common categories associated with preventable events.

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What is Texas doing about Alzheimer's Disease?

Every 70 seconds someone in the United States develops Alzheimer's disease.  More than 5.3 million Americans are living with the disease (including 5.1 million 65-and-older and approximately 200,000 under-65 with early onset).  At least 14 million baby boomers--those born between 1946 and 1964--will develop Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder in their lifetime, doubling the number of people with the disease today.  It is estimated that approximately 340,000 Texans will have the disease by the end of 2010, which ranks Texas as third in the number of cases and second in Alzheimer's disease deaths.  In Texas, 852,820 unpaid caregivers--primarily family members--are providing care to the estimated 340,000.  This equates to approximately $11.2 billion in unpaid care, the second highest in the nation (2010 Alzheimer's Disease Facts & Figures, Alzheimer's Association).  The disease progression will vary from person to person, but they may live an average of 5 to 8 years.  Some may live as many as 20 years after the onset of symptoms.  It takes an enormous toll on the health care system, American businesses, families and individuals (Texas Council on AD and Related Disorders, 2008 Biennial Report).

Texas recognized a great need to develop an infrastructure to challenge this burden.  In 1999, the Texas Alzheimer's Research Consortium (TARC) was established by the 76th Texas Legislature.  The legislature mandated that a group of AD centers be established among four state institutions--Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, North Texas University Health Science Centers, University of Texas Southwestern Dallas and Baylor College of Medicine.  In 2005, the first appropriations of $2 million was provided for start-up funding.  In 2007, the Texas Legislature nearly doubled the initial amount, making it then possible to recruit 500 Texans with AD and 300 healthy control participants into the Texas Harris County Alzheimer's Study focusing on cutting edge biomedical research.  The clinical testing data as well as the collected blood and DNA samples are being combined in a new centralized Texas Alzheimer's Data Bank, based at UT Southwestern.  TARC has established the first Texas bio-bank of stored blood, tissue and DNA to support current and future research studies.  Researchers across Texas are able to utilize these unique resources to answer specific questions about Alzheimer's both now and in the future.

Did You Know...?

One of the best forms of exercise for those suffering from arthritis is water aerobics because of the weightless environment.  It can help with flexibility, muscle tone, general strength and cardiovascular health.  According to the Baylor College of Medicine (bcm.edu), staying active is the key in preventing and treating arthritis.  However, as always, a medical evaluation should be done to consider all forms of treatment which include medications and physical therapy.

Hill Country Messenger Vol. 1

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The Ten Warning Signs of Alzheimer's Disease

1. Memory loss includes frequently forgetting recently learned information such as appointments, names or telephone numbers. (Amnesia)
 

2. Difficulty performing familiar tasks such as preparing meals, using household appliances, taking medications properly or participating in a lifelong hobby. (Amnesia and Agnosia)

3. Problems with language include forgetting simple words or substituting unusual words, difficulty finishing thoughts or grasping for words. (Aphasia)

4. Disorientation to time and place such as becoming lost on a familiar street or in a familiar neighborhood, forgetting where you are going or how you got there or forgetting how to return home. (Amnesia and Agnosia)

5. Poor or decreased judgment including dressing inappropriately for the weather, giving away large amounts of money to strangers, telemarketers or the church, paying for unneeded repairs or products or forgetting to pay for services like electricity or mortgages. (Amnesia and Agnosia)

6. Problems with abstract thinking such as difficulty balancing a checkbook or working with numbers or planning a meal. (Amnesia and Agnosia)

7. Misplacing things by placing the items in unusual places (purse in the freezer, etc.) and/or losing things frequently (not a lifelong habit). (Amnesia and Agnosia)

8. Changes in mood include a person exhibiting rapid mood swings from being calm to tears to anger for no apparent reason.

9. Changes in personality such as dramatic changes including stubbornness, frustration, agitation, increased confusion, anxiety, paranoia, suspiciousness, fearfulness, delusional thinking or dramatically increased dependence on family members or friends or strangers.

10. Loss of initiative and increased depressive indicators including becoming more passive, increased sleeping, watching television for hours without grasping the content, or a loss of interest in usual activities.



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The Four A’s of Alzheimer’s Disease

#1 Amnesia – the inability to use or retain memory, including both short term and long term memory.
The afflicted may constantly repeat questions such as “Who are you?” and “Where am I?” and “When are we going to eat?” or even accuse the caregiver of stealing or being an imposter. This process occurs from damage to the frontal lobes which store memory, speech, attention, personality, cognition, impulse control, rational thought, imagination and judgment.

 

#2 Agnosia -- the inability to recognize people or use common objects.
The afflicted may become lost in a familiar place because he or she doesn’t recognize the items that alert us to our surroundings. They may confuse a fork with a spoon, a toothbrush with a hairbrush, or toothpaste with shaving cream. Eventually the ability to recognize objects is lost completely. The person may also confuse a son with a husband or a father or an uncle, or a daughter may be confused with a mother or an aunt or a grandmother. This process is associated with increased damage to the frontal lobes, the occipital lobes (visual association, distance and depth perception) and the temporal lobes (hearing, language, and smell).

#3 Aphasia – the inability to use or understand language.
The afflicted may use the wrong word or complete a story with phrases from another story, or  they may provide a lengthy description of an item because he or she cannot find the right word. The afflicted may call family members by the wrong name--which increases the family’s anxiety and concern. This word finding difficulty will increase until all language is lost. This is associated with damage to the temporal lobes and the frontal lobes.

#4 Apraxia – the inability to utilize purposeful muscle movement or coordination.
In the early stages of Alzheimer's, the person may reach for an item and miss it.  He or she may have difficulty catching a ball or clapping his/her hands. The floor may appear to be moving to this person and balance becomes affected, increasing the risk for falls and injury. In time, this loss of ability to move affects the Activities of Daily Living (hygiene, grooming, sleeping, ambulating, toileting, dressing and eating). In the end stage, the person is not able to properly chew or swallow food--increasing the risk of choking or aspiration. This is linked to damage to parietal lobes (pain, touch, temperature and pressure, sensory perception) and the cortex (skilled movement) and the occipital lobes.

Read More via Caring.com's HCCP Entry