Posted on 08/09/2011 1:06:58 PM PDT by neverdem
Psychologist Margaret Gatz explains what 25 years of research have taught her about reducing the risk of dementia.
Margaret Gatz, a psychologist at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, is investigating the causes of Alzheimer's disease. To that end, she has studied the health of more than 14,000 Swedish twins for more than 25 years. On 5 August, she will tell the annual convention of the American Psychological Association in Washington DC what the study has taught her about how to reduce risk for the disease. Nature got a preview.
What first motivated you to study Alzheimer's disease?
Before I studied aging, I was a clinical psychologist. I talked to older adults and their families, and it became clear to me that cognitive changes and memory problems were a big concern for a demographic that, at the time, was fairly neglected in terms of research. Then, when I was on a sabbatical in Stockholm, I had the opportunity to get involved with the Swedish Twin Registry, a large cohort study in which some researchers were looking at cognition. It became clear to me that some of the twins would develop dementia, and that this was a unique opportunity for a study. My lab has been working with the Swedish twins now since 1985.
What does your research show?
Somewhere in the ballpark of 70% of risk for Alzheimer's disease across a population is due to heredity. In each individual, there's some combination of genes and environment. But on average, genes have a greater influence than environment in explaining the disease.
What will be the main message from your talk at the conference?
People need to be careful not to overstate what we know about preventing Alzheimer's disease. A lot of popular press says that there are things you...
(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...
Praise God for modern medicine. I personally have reasons to be thankful for it myself.
Thank you. The hardest day was today, when I began to make arrangements. I’m hope I can do it. My family is supportive, and I have no choice. He might hurt one of my grandchildren when he feels threatened.
I think, in time, he will like his new home. After all, I will be there most days. And, I will have a life for myself, and be able to enjoy the grandkids. Just getting it off my chest makes me feel better. I wrote about it before, and a couple freepers sent me mail and cheered me up. That’s the kind of support that works best for me. I need my humor back! ;)
Yep, we did the same thing with my mom. She actually gathered all her tray belongings into a hankerchief and tied them on a broom like a hobo would. She was going on a trip, she said. She too was on medication for cancer....taking her off that stopped the hullucinations and fears. We could actully communicate with herin her own mind for that.
My grandparents and both my parents died from this.
I agree
May God bless you both
You are doing the right thing for him by making arrangements now. My Uncle saw two wifes thru Alzeimer’s. He was amazing in how he interacted with them..on their terms...When they picked flowers off the headboard he picked with them for a time. But there comes a time when it’s necessary to go the next step for their care. So try not to be hard on yourself...it really is for their good and the entire family. And you will be in much better form when you are with him...and I would chance saying if he knew what you were enduring he would have wanted you to make arrangements when the time came for.....just as you would if the situation was reversed.
May God give you much piece of heart and mind as you gingerly walk the walk before you...it is a good thing that you do now.
We all just have to make do with what God hands us. You are blessed to have a good place for him, and to be able to be nearby. Would’t it be nice if life were always like a movie of the week? But it’s not. It’s good that you have people around you (and that you have supportive FRiends here). <3
Just reading your kind words makes me feel better. I even got a second wind, so might just do the dishes!
Prayers your way. You are doing the right thing for your husband and for your family. Enjoy your grandchildren, and restablish your friendships. It will get better...honest.
My m-i-l is a nursing home. She has mid late stage Alzheimers. She doesn’t recognize her two sons; and is afraid of her male grandchildren. My husband had a pretty bad heart attack last summer, and he was off work for nine weeks. During that time I went (with our 21 year old son) to visit...but she would get so upset by seeing a young man (her grandson) in her presence. She yells for ‘help.’ She always thinks I am a nurse. When I took my husband for his first visit to see his mom that upset her (not as bad as seeing her grandsons) but enough to upset my then very fragile husband. She had no idea who the strange man the ‘nurse’ brought to see her.
Your husband will receive good care; and you will not have to worry constantly what the next minute will bring.
Are you sure he doesn’t have an acoustic neuroma? I have one and those symptoms sound very like what I have. They of course hope that you die before the symptoms disable you.
I had proton radiation treatment at Loma Linda University, and they assured me the growth had been arrested. My feeling is that they didn’t slow it down much.
Two different ENT specialists missed the disease even though I described the symptoms exactly. I had a great GP that found it. Oh well life don’t get easier as you get older.
Please Post the results
Thanks
TT
Dad has had several brain scans, the most recent being last December. This scan I was able to view, and the areas most affected are, indeed, the areas of the brain concerning motor control.
No sign of any tumors.
My story: My wife is a 61 year old female who developed a blood clot in her left leg 3 years ago while waiting in labor and delivery for the birth of our first grandchild. She was started on coumadin (after lovenox injections). She immediately got a headache and mental confusion. We thought she had a bleed from the thinners, so rushed her to the medical center. She cleared her headache and had negative scans so thought all was well. Gradually I noticed that her short term memory was not what it used to be. I would tell her something and would notice that she would go to a calender and write it down, and then would still forget whatever meeting or activity that was written down. She had just retired from 35 years as an elementary school teacher. Next I started getting messages from her friends telling me that she had near-accidents and other erratic behavior. I took her back to a neurologist and had her evaluated for sleep apnea (she had it). We attributed her symptoms to apnea and hooked her up to the machine at night with no improvement. She has gradually gone down hill and now can not balance her check book, type, play the piano, or remember any recent events. I have had her to multiple specialists and even to Duke University to their memory clinic where multiple testing including pet scans shows changes in the temporal areas of the brain consistent with “early onset alzheimers”. I have noted a marked downward trend in the last 6 months and dread the day when I have to place her in some type of adult daycare of assisted living.
Thank you! Your story is so sad! My husband is the opposite. He talks to everyone, even strangers. Of course, no one can understand what he is saying. A few months ago, I had surgery, and took him to a nursing home for three days. He thought it was a motel, and went from room to room chatting with everyone as though they were old friends. I don’t know how he will be this time, because he’s deteriorated the past month. I need to remember that he is not suffering, but his loved ones hurt. As a matter-of-fact, he’s mostly happy. Let your husband know that.
My dad, both uncles and my aunt died from Alzheimer’s. I’m approaching 60. How do you think I feel?
Can I get on your list, please? Thanks.
TC
The #1 risk factor for Alzheimer’s, most cancers, heart disease, and many other diseases? Getting old! So, my advice to everyone is to find the fountain of youth ASAP. Otherwise, we are all going to die of something, most of us before we reach 90.
I'm sorry reading about your father and brother. I try to study it. My mother has a vascular dementia. I'm a family practice doc.
Alzheimer's Detected 20 Years before Symptoms Show
You have to do what you have to do. Don’t dwell on it. You have my sympathy.
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