Alzheimer's Information — therapy for Alzheimer's patients

In an article from Alzheimer's Reading Room, Elaine Pereira recounts how sudden and significant changes in her 16-year old cat's behavior led her to believe pets can exhibit symptoms of dementia in ways very similar to people. She first noticed the difference in her cat, Snoopy, when he began to howl loudly and unceasingly for seemingly no reason at all. After doing some online research about cat howling, Pereira discovered that the cause was cat senility, which is essentially a kind of dementia in pets. “Cats, just like people, can suffer from a form of mental confusion, or cognitive dysfunction,...

When bringing real pets or stuffed animals around their loved ones with dementia or Alzheimer's, caregivers often notice a positive change; many times their patient will become happier and more talkative, perhaps even telling the animals things they won't even tell their caregivers. A study conducted by a group of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital showed that similar areas of the brain are activated when women viewed pictures of their children and their own dogs. “Pets hold a special place in many people’s hearts and lives,” says Lori Palley, DVM, of the MGH Center for Comparative Medicine, co-lead author of...

There is often a great deal of confusion among patients, family members, the media, and sometimes even healtch care providers as to what the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's actually is. In the simplest terms, dementia is a symptom, and Alzheimer's is the cause of that symptom. When a person is diagnosed with dementia, this means they have significant memory and cognitive problems that may interfere with daily living. Many people are relieved with a doctor's diagnosis of dementia, thinking that it is less worrisome than Alzheimer's. Occasionally, some causes of dementia are reversible, such as thyroid conditions or vitamin...

In this blog post we look to a wonderful article on Alzheimer's Reading Room about how to communicate and truly listen to patients with dementia and Alzheimer's. Two of the biggest problems that caregivers for Alzheimer's patients face are how to cope with a loved one who has dementia, and also, how to communicate with them. It is so very important when you are dealing with a loved one with Alzheimer's to make sure that you are really listening to them; even if their words may seem nonsensical, or they are simply repeating phrases they say countless times a day....

A recent study by John Hopkins Medicine reports, rather unsurprisingly, that 99 percent of people living with dementia and 97 percent of caregivers have unmet needs (varying from medical needs and safety, to emotional needs and resources). Another finding in this study is that 60 percent of dementia patients were left without medical care for health conditions either related or unrelated to their dementia. This is rather notable, as patients with dementia are at an increased risk for other serious illnesses which may require hospitalization. One disheartening part of the study also revealed that over half of the surveyed dementia...