Some Alzheimer’s tests cost thousands of dollars, some cost pennies. The trick is using the right tests at the right time for the right person. An excellent scoring system from Mayo Clinic offers a powerful tool for making the best choices.
How do doctors “see” dementia? One way is with brain scans called MRI and fMRI. Doctors also use these scans to help see if it is Alzheimer’s, Vascular, Lewy Body or another type of dementia. An MRI offers a photo of the brain. More amazingly, an fMRI (functional MRI) can give a 3-D video of a living brain. Learn how it works.
Lewy body dementia receives relatively little attention and few research dollars, and often goes undiagnosed. Learn about a kit to do something about it. Watch Mike Belleville share his long journey of misdiagnosis from Alzheimer’s to Lewy body dementia.
Doctors are encouraging people to take advantage of holiday gatherings with relatives to discuss family medical histories. Learn why knowing your family’s medical history can help you avoid repeating past health issues.
This simple eye test has the potential to change the way Alzheimer’s is detected and managed. Find out how this quick, easy-to-use, low cost & accurate technology for non-specialists will vastly improve the standard of care for people with Alzheimer’s.
Statins certainly seem to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s. On the other hand, they can sometimes cause temporary memory loss, which does go away if one stops the statins. Find out what you need to know to strike the right balance.
See how this Alzheimer’s-test from Northwestern University uses celebrity faces to detect dementia. Find out how well it works.
There are over 80 types of dementia besides Alzheimer’s. Teepa Snow, dementia expert, explains why knowing the right type is so important and why so few people with dementia really do.
80% of Lewy Body dementia cases are initially misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s or some other disorder. Until recently, it could take a year or more to correct that. Learn how GE’s “DaTSCAN” scanning technology is quickly changing all that.
Frontotemporal Dementia, FTD, is the most common form of dementia in people under age 60. Why isn’t it better known?
TWENTY MUSIC VIDEOS: Music says what words never can. Take in these engaging, moving songs about living well with Alzheimer’s.
TEEPA CARE-TIP VIDEO:
Dementia dangerously alters a person’s sense of smell. Teepa Snow brings to light what people with dementia smell – and what they don’t. Learn to prevent hazards and frustrations.
“Sundowning” describes agitation and anxiety often felt towards the end of the day in dementia. See what it is and what you can do about it.
SHORT-TERM MEMORY lapses are obvious signs of Alzheimer’s, but other tell-tale signals begin to show much earlier. Learn how to look for semantic impairments, such as simple questions about size.
Three important dementia studies focus on HS-AGING, a type of dementia almost as common as Alzheimer’s in the 85+ group. Yet few people have heard of it. Why? What makes it different?
An intriguing study of 120 grandmothers might surprise you. Doctors know socially engaged people have better cognition and less dementia. But can a person get too much of a good thing? What’s the right balance?
Enjoy this great duet between a musician with dementia and his son. A triumph of spirit over Alzheimer’s! Sing-a-long if you like!
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This site was inspired by my Mom’s autoimmune dementia.
It is a place where we separate out the wheat from the chafe, the important articles & videos from each week’s river of news. Google gets a new post on Alzheimer’s or dementia every 7 minutes. That can overwhelm anyone looking for help. This site filters out, focuses on and offers only the best information. It has helped hundreds of thousands of people since it debuted in 2007. Thanks to our many subscribers for your supportive feedback.
The site is dedicated to all those preserving the dignity of the community of people living with dementia.
Peter Berger, Editor