Thursday, December 28, 2006
The Babe Zone
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as
timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between
the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area we call... "
THE BABE ZONE
Louis XIV's advisor, Cardinal Richelieu, was often referred to as the "eminence gris" -- the gray eminence. This is also
a fitting description for my father. He inspires respect, fear, worship. But he is also mysterious, uncanny, enigmatic. He
moves in strange ways. He is unpredictable.
Even my mother has trouble finding him.
RADIATION OR NO RADIATION?
This is where we find ourselves now. Dad is supposed to get treatment for his leg cancer. I thought it was a done deal.
But when I speak to my siblings, they throw their hands into the air and lament, "Don't ask me what he's up to. I don't
have a clue."
I'm driving to Pennsylvania today to see what's up. Is Dad going in for radiation treatments, or isn't he?
Nuu-nuu-nuu-nuu ... nuu-nuu-nuu-nuu ... Fred D'Ignazio is about to enter ... the Babe Zone!
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Dad Starts Radiation Soon
Janet, Laura, Laura's boyfriend Joe, and I drive up to Pennsylvania tomorrow, December 28th. We hope to have dinner with
Mom and Dad at the Towne House tomorrow night.
(I guess I'd better call Mom and tell her we are coming!)
I got a telephone call from my brother Owsley last night. Owsley said that Dad has agreed to begin the six-week regimen
of radiation for his leg. His dermatologist, Dr. Egan, wants to concentrate on his leg because the most aggressive cancer
is centered in one of the sores on his leg.
I will check in with Dad tomorrow, and I'll report on Dad's treatment in this blog.
Mom and Dad usually go to Ocean Reef, Florida, shortly after the New Year. They will be delaying their trip this year
because of Dad's cancer therapy.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
A Small Christmas Miracle
It was December 23rd. My daughter Catie and her fiance Dave were on their way to Nicaragua to attend a friend's wedding.
First they had to drive the 400 miles from Boston to Philadelphia through the chaos and confusion of holiday traffic. Next
they were to fly out of Philadelphia International Airport at noon on the following day -- Christmas Eve morning.
They slept at my parents' apartment just outside of Philadelphia the night of the 23rd. The next morning, my brother
Tim took them to the airport. They arrived early and had plenty of time to check in. The Continental Airlines officials at
the check-in desk asked them for their passports. Catie pulled the passports out of her purse and handed them to the officials.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am," said one of the officials, after looking over the passports. "But this passport for David Raymond
has expired."
In disbelief, Catie and Dave examined the passport. They had brought the wrong one!
The Continental officials booked them on the same flight the next day, Christmas Day. But first Catie and Dave had to
have Dave's current passport in order to get on the plane. To do that, they had to climb back in their car, on the afternoon
of Christmas Eve, and drive back up Interstate 95, from Philadelphia to Boston. On an average day this trip might take them
seven hours one way. With holiday traffic, the trip would probably take them 24 hours--just enough time to get back to the
airport even if they drove through the night.
Resigned to their fate, Catie and Dave climbed into their car and began the long trip back to Boston. They felt
miserable and depressed.
An hour into the trip, Catie received a call from her Uncle Tim on her cell phone. She couldn't believe the news.
Tim said that he had called a friend in Concord, MA, just outside Boston. The friend was willing to detour through Waltham
(Catie and Dave's town), pick up Dave's passport, and bring it down with him to Philadelphia. Tim's friend was due to arrive
in Philadelphia that same night.
Dave called his friends in Waltham, and they let Tim's friend into their apartment. This good Samaritan picked up Dave's
passport, and he began his long drive south.
At 10 PM on Christmas Eve, the friend arrived at Tim's house in Wallingford, PA, just outside of Philadelphia. He was
greeted by an ecstatic, grateful, and humble Catie and Dave, and he placed the passport into Dave's hands.
The following morning -- Christmas morning -- Catie and Dave presented their two valid passports to the Continental Airlines
officials and successfully boarded their airplane to Nicaragua.
Here is the email Catie and Dave sent to all their parents upon their arrival in Nicaragua this afternoon:
Hey Moms and Dads,
We finally have email access and are safely in Leon, Nicaragua (which
is where the wedding is) - we'll be staying here at the Austria Hotel until the 30th, at which point we head back to Managua,
do the jungle canopy tour stuff, then head to our hotel for a 5am wakeup to get our plane back home.
It's SUPER hot
down here right now, but luckily the hotel we just
checked into has AC and internet connection. Will send pics!!
Hope
you're all well!! Much love,
Your son Dave and daughter Catie :)
WHY IS THIS A MIRACLE?
Why is this a Christmas miracle? It's wonderful that Catie and Dave didn't have to drive
back to Boston, but, even more important, their extra day in Philadelphia gave them a golden opportunity: they got to spend
24 unexpected hours with their grandparents and their other relatives. Mom is 82, Dad is 89. Doris Letts is 85. We don't know
how long any of them will be around. It was a special blessing for Catie and Dave to spend time with all three of them. They
went to Christmas Eve parties together. They opened presents on Christmas morning together. They toasted, ate meals, and celebrated
the holiday together.
It was a special moment in time that none of them planned on. And it all happened because
Catie grabbed the wrong passport out of the drawer in their apartment in Massachusetts. At first, Catie's action seemed
like a annoying mistake, but it turned into a real Christmas miracle.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Thanks to My Blog Readers & Happy Holidays!
My sister Lisa read my blog about Dad's radiation therapy. She mailed me a great summary of radiation treatment. (You
can read the summary by clicking
here.)
My friend Jen Halbleib reads the blog regularly. She says she comes up with ideas and comments while she is reading the
blog. She suggests that I add a comments box or button that lets people interact with the blog. This sounds like a great addition
for 2007!
I know everyone is reading my blog because as soon as I miss a few days I get deluged with emails asking me if I'm okay
and wondering why the blog isn't current.
Happy Holidays to all my blog readers. I send you prayers for peace and health. May God be with you and
your families in the New Year.
-- Your devoted blogger, Fred
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Cancer Worries
I spoke with my sister Lisa yesterday on the telephone. Lisa said that Dad is consulting with different doctors about
getting radiation treatment for his skin cancers. Lisa said that he might have to receive the treatments five days a week
for a period of six weeks.
One look at Dad's poor arms and legs, and you see the problem. Dad and Mom spent decades out in the sun, at home in Pennsylvania,
and down at the seashore in New Jersey. They were true sun worshippers. I admit that I used to be jealous of their skin. I
have always been afraid to go out in the sun for too long because I burn easily. But Mom and Dad could stay out in the sun
all day, and they just got browner and browner. They seemed so immune to the sun's rays that they could even use baby
oil to magnify the sun so that they tanned faster and darker.
That was then, and this is now. Now their skin shows the effects of all that exposure to the sun. My poor father has
sores all over his arms and legs. He has to visit the dermatologist every couple of weeks so she can examine his skin for
cancerous or pre-cancerous sores.She cuts out the sores that look the most serious.
The sores are everywhere, and the cutting on its own is unpleasant and painful. Even worse, Dad is taking coumadin to
thin his blood, so he doesn't clot easily. When the dermatologist cuts out the sores, Dad keeps bleeding. If Dad bumps his
arms or legs on anything around the house, a sore may open up and begin to bleed. (See my Monday, December 11, 2006 blog,
"You Are So Sexy!")
When Lisa told me about the radiation treatments for Dad, I immediately asked her, "Where are they planning to apply
the radiation?"
Lisa said, "It's pinpoint radiation. They can just apply it to Dad's cancer."
Apparently they are going to focus on the large squamous cell cancer on Dad's leg. The dermatologist feels this is the
most dangerous, aggressive cancer that she has located, and the most likely to spread to other parts of Dad's body.
But I'm worried. Dad has these sores all over both arms and both legs. They can pinpoint the radiation on the one location.
But his arms and legs are a hotbed for new outbreaks of cancer. As soon as the radiation treatments eliminate one area, a
new area could pop up. Dad might be facing back-to-back treatments for the next several years.
He hasn't agreed to anything yet. I will report back what his thoughts are after his next doctor's appointment.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Adult Day Care -- A Resource for Caregivers
In an excellent
article in today's Raleigh News and Observer, reporter Peggy Lim explores resources for caregivers of elderly relatives and friends.
This is a personal problem for my family. My dad has elected to keep my mother at home with him. This makes him Mom's
primary caregiver. Dad is up to the task, but for how long? He is 89 years old; his health is failing; he is arthritic and
feeble. The truth is that Dad needs a caregiver even more than Mom.
Dad has hired a part-time caregiver and wants his four children to support him with Mom. But even with all of us participating,
our support for Dad is spotty. Dad still carries the lion's share of the caregiving burden.
And since he is so feeble, Mom has to help look after him. So she is his caregiver, too.
In her article, Peggy Lim writes about the need for more adult care centers. Adult care centers help supervise older
adults. They are a place where an elderly person can interact with others. The caregivers at a center can help a person eat,
walk, or go to the bathroom. They can make sure they take their medicine.
Then at night the primary caregiver picks them up and takes them back home.
An adjunct to the adult day care center is the caregiver support group. In North Carolina a group of long-term care centers,
nonprofit organizations (like the Eastern Chapter of the NC Alzheimer's Association), and families have collaborated
to form a support group. Caregivers attend weekly meetings of the support group. This gives them a place where they can learn
new strategies of caregiving, cry, vent their feelings, or just get away for a few hours.
My dad is opposed to placing Mom (or himself) into any kind of community or living facility for seniors. But I wonder
how he would feel about Mom visiting an adult center for a couple hours a day. An adult care center is much more affordable
(about $50 a day) than an in-home aide (approximately $20 an hour). It would give Mom some more social interaction each day--something
she desperately needs. And it would give Dad a break each day from his nonstop caregiving for Mom.
Monday, December 18, 2006
From Light Bulb to Flash Light
With dementia, your brain is no longer like a light bulb, casting light everywhere at once. It's more like a flashlight.
You can only shine it on one thing.
-- Charley Schneider, Alzheimer sufferer, age 55.
Across the U.S., almost 640,000 people under the age of 65 suffer from some kind of dementia, including Alzheimer's
Disease, vascular dementia, and frontal-temporal lobe dementia.
But isn't dementia a disease restricted to seniors?
Alzheimer's, in particular, is known as a disease of the aged. Over 4 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer's
Disease, and most of them are over age 65. As people age, the risk of the disease increases, so that more than half of people who
are 85 and above have Alzheimer's.
But researchers are now adding up the numbers and finding that hundreds of thousands of younger people--even
in their 30s--are also suffering from dementia. This is ironic, since when Alois Alzheimer discovered the disease back in
1906, his patient was a person who was only 51 years old. For many years the disease was linked to younger people. Only later
did scientists change their focus to older people, and younger people with dementia were virtually forgotten.
Various younger people with Alzheimer's are profiled in U.S. News and World Report's December 11, 2006 cover
story entitled,
"The New Face of Alzheimer's."
Like Charley Schneider (see quote above) young people with Alzheimer's go through a daunting array of steps just
to find out what is happening to them. At first they have problems remembering things. Next they feel disorganized and have
difficulty focusing. After that their language skills unravel and their common sense seems to disappear. Making a simple choice
becomes agonizing.
Eventually someone notices, and they visit a doctor. Doctors begin by quizzing them about their close relatives.
Did a mother or father have memory problems? Next they undergo a battery of neuropsychological tests. Doctors are looking
for memory problems plus at least one other kind of brain impairment, such as attention deficit or an erosion of language
skills.
After the tests if doctors suspect dementia they order MRI and PET brain scans. The brain of a person with dementia
is much darker than the brain of a normal person. Mental activity is muted and restricted to pockets in the brain.
Doctors may even order a spinal tap, since some of the protein biomarkers for dementia are found in spinal
fluid.
Looking at all the various facts, doctors rule for or against dementia. If they think a person has Alzheimer's
then they start them on a regimen of a drug like Aricept or Namenda. Today's drugs don't actually stop Alzheimer's, but they
do slow its progress by boosting brain chemicals that enhance memory.
Researchers and policymakers are just awakening to the huge group of people in the country who may be suffering
from dementia. The national Alzheimer's Association issued its first report on early-onset Alzheimer's only six months ago.
In the meantime, if you are worried about yourself or about a close friend or family member, you can always turn
to the dementia advocay and support network (
dasninternational.org). There is lots of factual information on the website, and you can chat with friendly people like Charley Schneider who can
tell you, firsthand, what steps you need to take.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Early Warning Tests for Alzheimer's
The search for Alzheimer's biomarkers is heating up.
What is a biomarker? It is anything in a person's body that tells a doctor that a person has a risk of
coming down with a disease. It is an early warning signal that a doctor can look for. A good example of a biomarker is cholesterol. Cholesterol
is the soft, waxy fat found in all the cells of our body. It is an important part of our bodies. We use cholesterol to form
cell membranes and construct hormones. But if we have too much of it in our bloodstream -- especially the low-density kind
of cholesterol -- we have an increased risk of heart attacks, high blood pressure, clogging of our blood vessels, and strokes.
Doctors can test a patient and get their cholesterol reading. If it is high (say, over a count of 200), a patient's risk
for heart attacks is elevated. A doctor can counsel a patient to lower their cholesterol through a changed diet, exercise,
medication, or other changes in their lifestyle.
ALZHEIMER'S BIOMARKERS
Scientists are now hot on the trail of similar
biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease. Rival teams of European and American scientists have discovered a group of 23 proteins that pop
up in the body when a person is in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's Disease. These biomarker proteins are like chemical
fingerprints of the disease. The proteins turn up in the bloodstream and the spinal fluid. Once they are found, they offer
the hope for early treatment of the disease.
Scientists estimate it will take three to five years to translate these early findings into tests that can be conducted
in a local doctor's office or clinic.
My vote is for blood biomarkers rather than spinal fluid biomarkers. I'm much more inclined to let
a nurse draw blood from my arm than I am to have fluid sucked out of my spine.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
No Green Bananas for Me
Just a couple short items so I can say, "I wrote my blog today."
I talked with my sister Lisa this morning. She drives Mom around town a couple times a week. They eat out with Mom's
friends. They go to the hairdresser. They shop together and do errands together. Lisa says that wherever they go, she tells
people that Mom has Alzheimer's.
At first I thought this seemed a little extreme. But I now believe Lisa is doing the right thing. If people know that
Mom has Alzheimer's I think they will be more sympathetic and understanding toward Mom.
It's kind of like "going public" or "coming out." It is showing that our family is not ashamed that Mom has Alzheimer's.
It's a disease, a common disease, shared by millions of people around the world. There is nothing to be ashamed of.
And it lets people realistically observe Mom and see her for who she is. Some days she is great, and you wouldn't know
she has the disease. Other days, she may not be so great, but she is good at pretending to be great, so people still don't
notice. And then there are those times when it's obvious that things aren't right.
Mom is all of these things, and that's okay.
NO GREEN BANANAS FOR BABE
Lisa told me today that Dad has started telling everyone that when they shop for him they should not get him any green
bananas. This means that he is not counting on being around long enough for the bananas to ripen.
Lisa says this saying comes from her husband John Carnie's father, John Carnie, Senior, before he passed away.
This expression sums up my father, now in his 89th year. He sees himself as a transient, a traveler, not a resident of
this world. He might not be around next week or next month. He might pick up and leave at any time.
Dad is waiting at the bus stop, sure that the bus is just around the corner, rushing toward him, ready to spirit him
away.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Mom's Surprise Phone Calls
Every morning I try to call my Mom around 8:30 or 9:30 to look in on her and see what she's up to. We usually talk about
the weather, and I ask Mom what she's going to do that day. Happily, most days Mom has some kind of activity planned -- usually
a lunch with an old friend -- and I'm pleased that she remembers the lunch date and can tell me about it.
(Today, for example, Mom is having lunch at 1:00 PM with her old buddy Mary Jelinek. My sister Lisa is coming to Mom's
house to pick her up. Mom told me she thought they were having lunch at the family restaurant, the Towne House.)
Mom seems brighter, perkier on days when she has something planned. Mom watches a lot of TV and reads the newspaper.
But I think she's happiest when she has some place to go.
I spoke with Mom around 9:00 this morning. After we said good-bye I didn't expect to hear from her again today.
But I was wrong.
About 11:30 this morning I got a call from Mom.
"Hello, Freddie," she said. "How are you today?"
"Great, Mom," I said, resisting the urge to tell her that we had just talked two and a half hours ago. "What's up with
you?"
We proceeded to talk about the weather and Mom's lunch date with Mary and Lisa. It was an exact repeat of the earlier
conversation.
We chatted, said we loved each other, and we said good-bye--for the second time! It was almost like a deja vu "time
warp." It felt exactly like the first conversation.
Mom and I have these "duplicate" conversations a couple of times a week. She calls me because she regularly checks
her phone machine. She and I may have already talked that day, but Mom doesn't remember. If she picks up my call on her answering
machine, she calls me. It doesn't matter to Mom if we've just talked, because of her Alzheimer's.
And it doesn't matter to me either. I bite my tongue so I don't chide her about talking with her already. I pretend
it's the first time we've talked that day. And I express my genuine happiness about hearing her voice.
I look forward to Mom's surprise phone calls. They catch me off guard since it reverses the caregiver roll that I've
slipped into with Mom. Now she's just my mom again, like in the old days, and she's calling to check up on her Freddie.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
She's Making Me Take Naps!
Usually when I call home I talk to my Mom. I can never get Dad on the phone.
Except for yesterday.
Yesterday Dad willingly got on the phone and willingly talked with me about his and Mom's health.
Amazing!
The big news is that Dad's Dermatologist, Dr. Christine Egan, has recommended a good personal doctor for Mom. Her new
doctor will be a woman.
I'm waiting to see how Mom does on her first visit.
NAP WITH ME
While we were talking, Dad asked me, "Guess what your Mom is doing these days?"
"Uh-oh," I said. This was worrisome.
Was Mom doing something odd? I thought quickly about the weird habits that Alzheimer's sufferers pick up.
"She takes naps," Dad said. "And since she is napping, she is making me take naps, too."
"Oh," I said, relieved. "But, Dad, you already take naps. That shouldn't be too bad."
"Not at all," he said. "Except that we don't nap at the same time. I'll just get up from my nap, and she says, 'C'mon,
Babe! It's time to nap!' I've suddenly doubled my number of naps each day."
"Maybe you two aren't really napping all the time," I said.
My father caught my drift. "Whether we are or not is between your mother and me," said Dad. "It's not for your tender
ears."
Monday, December 11, 2006
4:26 pm est
You Are So Sexy!
I flew up to Philadelphia and visited my mom and dad last Friday (December 8th). It was a busy day! I arrived at 7:55
AM and didn't get back to North Carolina until 11 at night.
Mom and Dad are like human roller coasters: one day they're down real low, the next day they're back up. Each new day
can be an emotional ride: funy and happy or sad and scary!
When I arrived on Friday, both my parents were doing great. They were mobile, energetic and alert. They climbed into
the car with me during the middle of the day, and we went around their town of Media doing errands. Friday night we all piled
back into the car and ate dinner at their restaurant, the Towne House.
Both parents were sharp all day. Dad and I had a serious talk about the family's future at their breakfast table. Mom
joined in and made comments that showed she'd been listening and was following the conversation. Dad and I were both impressed.
Later in the morning Dad went to his office, worked with his secretary Barbara, made phone calls, and visited with people.
We had a family planning meeting at the Towne House, and Dad attended this as well. He spoke at the meeting, listened
to other people's comments, and made a valuable contribution to the meeting.
BUT GO BACK A COUPLE OF DAYS
Looking at Dad you never would have suspected that one day earlier he had awakened in a pool of his own blood. He
told me it was so bad it looked like "someone had slaughtered a donkey" in his bed.
Dad has several skin cancers on his arms and legs. His dermatologist, Dr. Egan, periodically cuts out the cancers. The
problem is that Dad takes coumadin. The coumadin thins Dad's blood. This is a good thing since it is probably preventing Dad
from having a stroke. But the coumadin can also be dangerous because if his blood gets too thin he can begin to hemorrhage
internally. Also, when he bleeds, he can't stop.
This is what happened on Wednesday night. Dad had recently gotten one of his skin cancers cut out of his left arm. During
the night he bumped his arm and his wound began to bleed. Dad and Mom tried everything they could to stop the flow (they even
used kleenex tissues). But they didn't get the bleeding stopped until Tim took them to the doctor's office on Thursday morning.
The wound was bleeding so badly that the doctor had to cauterize (close off) the capillaries.
When I arrived on Friday I watched my brother Owsley bandage up the wound with gauze and tape. The wound still looked
like it could easily begin bleeding, so Dad was extremely careful about not bumping his arm on anything.
YOU'RE SO SEXY
So you see that underneath the surface of their smiles and charm, Mom and Dad are human like the rest of us. Dad gets
huge credit for toughing it out when he leaves his home and faces the rest of the world.
Being with Mom and Dad is like having an orchestra seat in a Broadway play--except that you're never sure if you're watching
a drama or a comedy. One minute my folks are letting the words fly: They shout, they snipe, they trade insults and jibes.
Then, without warning, they change course and begin flirting with each other. If you don't stay attentive, you miss it.
When I arrived, Dad was helping Mom put out the Christmas cards. He patiently worked with her while she made out twenty
checks to her children and grandchildren. He was so proud of her. She, too, was proud. But a moment later when Dad asked her
where she had put the checks, she said, "What checks?"
"I'm your mom's prompter," Dad said. "Everything she does, I prompt her on. It keeps her connected. You've got to keep
her connected."
"Am I a lot of trouble?" Mom asked.
"Hardly," said Dad. "You're still my bride, and I love you."
Dad reached for Mom's hands. It almost made me cry looking at the delicate way he held her hands in his.
"Isn't your mother beautiful?" he asked me.
I nodded yes.
"Your mother," said Dad, "has more sex appeal in her fingertips than most women have in their whole bodies."
For that remark, Dad got a big kiss on the cheek. And Mom graced me with a big, warm grin.
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
You, Your Cat and Alzheimer's
Scientists in Scotland have discovered that older cats can develop a feline form of Alzheimer's Disease. Researchers
who have done post-mortem autopsies of older cats have found the same gluey protein tangles and plaques that are found in
human sufferers of Alzheimer's Disease.
As with humans, age is the key factor. The lifespan of cats is increasing, just as it is in humans. The risk of dementia
increases as the cat grows older. Age-related illnesses attack 28% of cats aged 11-14, and half the cats aged 15 and above.
The value of this discovery is that now scientists can monitor cats' mental health, just as they monitor the well-being
of humans. Since cats have a shorter lifespan, it is possible to trace the progress of Alzheimer's more quickly. Treatments
for Alzheimer's and related dementias that benefit cats might be modified to benefit humans. Both cats' and humans' mental
well-being may be improved.
As with humans, a cat's risk of Alzheimer's decreases when the cat has the benefit of proper nutrition, an active lifestyle,
and frequent social interaction. If you are older and you have an older cat, you can both follow the same regimen: a healthy
diet with plenty of antioxidants, daily walking and other forms of exercise, and lots of petting, cuddling, and cozy conversations.
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
New Treatments for Alzheimer's
In yesterday's blog I talked about Alzhemed, a new type of drug now in clinical testing. Alzhemed seems to stop the progress
of Alzheimer's Disease in a person's brain.
Most Alzheimer's medications now on the market--including Aricept, Namenda, Exelon, Cognex and Razadyne--do not stop
Alzheimer's Disease. Even taking these drugs, Alzheimer's will still kill you. That is because the drugs function like the
rear guard of a retreating army. They slow the memory loss in a person's brain caused by the disease by boosting the activity
of remaining memory cells that are still healthy.
New Alzheimer's drugs are now coming out of the laboratories where they have been tested extensively on mice. Many of
these drugs are now in clinical (human) trials with volunteers who suffer from Alzheimer's. These new drugs (including Alzhemed)
attack the actual causes of Alzheimer's: the amyloid plaques of protein that kill memory cells. The drugs come in three
categories:
- Secretase Modulators
These drugs attack the enzyme that creates the protein plaques in the brain.
Preliminary tests show these drugs are safe for humans.
- Immunotherapy
These drugs are like vaccines that stimulate antibodies in a person. The antibodies
attach themselves to the Amyloid protein molecules and destroy them. Immunotherapy vaccines can be administered orally as
pills.
- Cocktails
These are "combo" drugs that combine memory-boosting drugs like Namenda and Aricept with
other drugs that attack the Amyloid plaques. Huperzine A is the leading candidate among the new "cocktail" drugs.
Monday, December 4, 2006
ALZHEMED: An Alzheimer's Breakthrough?
My mom is taking Aricept and Namenda for her Alzheimer's. These drugs are hopefully slowing the progress of the disease
through Mom's brain. Her memory seems to be gradually deteriorating. On the other hand, there are days when she still seems
pretty sharp.
The problem with drugs for Alzheimer's Disease has been that although they possibly slow the pace of the disease, they
can't stop the disease, and they can't cure it.
That means, if you have Alzheimer's it is a death sentence. You may slow the progress of the disease, but, on the average,
it will kill you in about 8-10 years, even you are taking medication.
However, there may be good news on the horizon. A new drug now being tested may be able to stop Alzheimer's in its
tracks. This is awesome news for Mom. It is awesome news for anyone who has Alzheimer's in its early stages.
The experimental drug is called
Alzhemed. You take Alzhemed tablets twice a day (probably for the rest of your life). The drug attacks the primary culprit
in Alzheimer's: the tiny protein fragments that squish together into a gooey plaque. The plaque kills the brain's cells and
gradually spreads throughout the brain.
The study is being conducted at Georgetown University by Dr. Paul Aisen and a team of Alzheimer's researchers. Over
600 Alzheimer's patients have been taking Alzhemed for the past year. The drug stopped the progress of the disease in
nearly half of these patients.
Alzhemed is not yet on the market. It may take a few more years for additional clinical studies to be conducted
and for follow-ups of patients who are currently taking Alzhemed.
I'll follow the news stories about Alzhemed and report back to you. If it really turns out to be effective, I'm hoping
to let Mom and her doctors know about it as soon as it is available.
Friday, December 1, 2006
Memory Complaints and Alzheimer's
In a new
study at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, researchers found a high correlation between memory complaints and the
onset of dementia-related brain changes. Researchers did not necessarily diagnose Alzheimer's in the 90 older adults in the
study, but brain scans indicated that those who reported memory problems had noticeable changes occurring in their brains.
Researchers advised friends and family members of seniors to recommend that they see their doctor if they consistently
reported having problems with their memory.
According to researcher Lisa L. Barnes:
Our results suggest that older persons with and without dementia possess some insight to their level of functioning,
and this insight is related to actual changes in the brain. The data suggests that if you're having complaints there's probably
something going on. In other words, if mom notices that there's something different about her memory, we need to listen closely
and investigate further.
CAFFEINE AND ALZHEIMER'S
In the ongoing debate about caffeine and health, there is some positive news. Researchers at the
Byrd Alzheimer's Institute in Tampa, Florida, have found that drinking the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day slows the progress of Alzheimer's
Disease. The key culprit in the disease, the Amyloid-Beta protein fragment, is less likely to reproduce when there is significant
caffeine in a person's system.
According to Dr. Gary Arendash, head researcher for the Byrd study:
Caffeine alone will not be the only silver bullet. It is about life choices. If you make bad ones it will negate
the good of the caffeine.
Byrd advises seeing your doctor to prescribe a full regimen to fight Alzheimer's, including lowering cholesterol,
lowering blood pressure, and maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle.
