A small audience was on hand Wednesday for a presentation on memory loss and the stresses of being a caregiver hosted by the ACT on Alzheimer’s-Becker group at the Becker Community Center.
The featured speaker was Mark J. Reese, families and long-term care research studies counselor with the University of Minnesota and Franklin Family Services. The first portion of the program dealt with a medical history of dementia, beginning with a description of the first case recorded by German doctor Alois Alzheimer in 1901. The subject was a woman, who exhibited the classic symptoms that bear the doctor’s name today, and who subsequently died in 1906.
Those symptoms include deterioration of the pre-frontal lobes in the brain, as well as degradation of the cerebral cortex. Reese said people often do not consider that dementia is an illness involving an organ, in this case, the brain. “People tend to disassociate the physical process” that dementia patients undergo, he said.
According to statistics presented by Reese, an estimated 5.3 million people in the U.S. are currently living with some form of dementia. It is the sixth leading cause of death in this country, and the cost of patient care per year is around $100 billion today. At the same time, there are 15.5 million caregivers in the U.S., and the cost of that patient care would be calculated at around $220 billion dollars if it were performed by paid professionals, Reese said.
A simple definition of dementia is a “collection of symptoms related to the loss of memory or mental ability,” Reese said. Science continues to examine the disease in all its forms, and progress has been made in identifying factors that lead to development of various forms of dementia, but there is as yet no cure.
What can be done is for individuals to continue to exercise, monitor diet and include proven aids such as nuts (almonds and walnuts are especially beneficial) and fruits like blueberries are thought to have an effect in at least slowing the disease down. Reading, playing games, any exercise that “stretches the mind” like crossword puzzles, travel, volunteer work and even just socializing are all activities that create more synapses in the brain, and slow the process of deterioration. Maintaining control of cholesterol and diabetes symptoms is also very important in preserving mental acuity, Reese said.
Reese also discussed the Global Deterioration Scale (Reisberg), which contains a description of the seven stages of mental decline from zero to severe Alzheimer’s disease. (For more information, go to: http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_stages_of_alzheimers.asp).
The second portion of the program was titled “Caregiving Stress: Sprint or Marathon”, and dealt with the problems and difficulties faced by individuals and families who care for dementia patients at home.
Among the attendees were ACT coordinator Tami Kolbinger, Sherburne State Bank President Kevin Doty, Rita Waxon, housing director for Guardian Angels and Lori Lestina, a consultant with Faith in Action.
Other planned ACT programs include a session on financial planning Tues., Oct. 13 from 1-3 p.m. at the Becker Community Center, and a “Virtual Dementia” tour and lunch with Karla Munn from Heartland Hospice at the Becker Area Senior Center Tues., Oct,. 20 beginning at 11 a.m.