does anyone know anyone who has alzheimer's?  relative or friend...?
86911
Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disease, is the most common cause of dementia and characterised clinically by progressive intellectual deterioration together with declining activities of daily living and neuropsychiatric symptoms or behavioral changes. The most striking early symptom is memory loss (amnesia), usually manifest as minor forgetfulness that becomes steadily denser with illness progression, with relative preservation of older memories. As the disorder progresses, cognitive (intellectual) impairment extends to the domains of language (aphasia), coordinated movement (apraxia), recognition (agnosia) and those functions (such as decision-making and planning) closely related to the frontal lobe of the brain, reflecting extension of the underlying pathological process. This consists principally of neuronal (cell) loss (or atrophy), together with deposition of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Genetic factors are known to be important, and polymorphisms (variations) in three different autosomal dominant genes - Presenilin 1, Presenilin 2, and Amyloid Precursor Protein - \n\nDiagnosis\n\nThe diagnosis is made primarily by clinical observation and tests of memory and intellectual functioning over a series of weeks or months, with various physical tests (blood tests and neuroimaging) being performed to rule out alternative diagnoses. No medical tests are available to conclusively diagnose Alzheimer's disease pre-mortem, however.\n\nInterviews with family members and/or caregivers can be extremely important in the early phases as well, as the sufferer him/herself may tend to minimize his symptomatology or may be being observed on a day when his/her symptoms are in temporary dormancy.\n\nInitial suspicion of dementia may be strengthened by performing the mini mental state examination, after excluding clinical depression. Psychological testing generally focuses on memory, attention, abstract thinking, the ability to name objects, and other cognitive functions. Results of psychological tests do not easily distinguish between Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia but can be helpful in establishing the presence of and severity of dementia. They can also be useful in distinguishing true dementia from temporary (and more treatable) cognitive impairment due to depression or psychosis, which has sometimes been termed "pseudodementia".\n\nWhile expert clinicians who specialize in memory disorders can now diagnose AD with an accuracy of 85-90%, a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease must await the autopsy.
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Very little is known at this point as to what causes Alzheimers.  Family history is a known risk factor.  Cheese consumption is not.
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how old are you?carlvision@yahoo.com im related to them sorta
660244
do you have any single brothers? uncles? cousins? nephews? grandfathers? How old are you sons? Is this genetic? I want what you have. You are so lucky. She is so lucky. You guys take care of each other. you give me hope.\nlove yall and don't even know yall
856410
My poor grandfather had prostate cancer, which is supposedly one of the slowest-growing cancers there is.  He was in the hospital for something unrelated, and out of nowhere started getting sicker.  He lost his appetite, and over the course of a couple of days, started having difficulty walking and talking.  \n\nMy grandmother questioned the same thing that you did, so she questioned one of the nurses as to whether his cancer had metastasized.  The nurse more or less brushed her off and said, "No, prostate cancer wouldn't grow that fast."\n\nWell, to make a long story short, he kept getting worse and worse, until finally his lungs and kidneys shut down.  As it turned out, he had developed a secondary, fast-growing cancer that had metastasied all over his body within a matter of weeks.\n\nBy the time this was discovered, he was far too sick for any form of traditional treatment, and we unfortunately lost him very quickly after that.\n\nI certainly hope that this isn't the case with your friend... some of what she's experiencing could be the side effects of the chemotherapy.  Although I've never heard anyone "talking funny" from chemo, I'm certainly not an expert on the subject. \n\nI just wanted to share my story with you, because it still makes us sick that my grandma questioned his prognosis and was told that it couldn't have spread.  I guess we'll always wonder if he could have been helped had they acted sooner.\n\nI certainly don't have any advice for you on how to approach your friend... it's very hard to question others' judgment when it comes to the way they're treating their cancer, especially when you're not the one paying the bills.  I unfortunately know this far too well from experience... I guess all you can do is sit down with her husband by himself and discuss your fears.  It's hard, though, because you don't want to place any undue worry on him.\n\nI don't know how close of a relationship you have with this couple, but if you don't want to worry them directly, is it possible to pull one of her oncologists aside and talk it over with them?  I don't know if she's in the hospital or not, but that might be a good way to go about it.  If you feel like there's nothing you can do without overstepping your bounds, I guess all you can do is hope that the doctors notice what you have... but that's not always the case, either.\n\nSorry if I wasn't more help... at any rate, I wish you the best.  If you're at all religious or spiritual, maybe a prayer for guidance is in order.  If you're not... just listen to your heart, I guess.  :)
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He'll be fine.  It's like when you accidently eat a tiny piece of paper stuck to an ice cream sandwich...it just comes out the other end, if you know what I mean.  It won't lead to Alzheimers...
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Sadly, this condition is commonly refered to as "Dementia" and clinicians have identified various stages an alzheimers patient goes through progressively as signs and symptoms of neurological decline advance.\nI have dealt with and cared for someone with Alzheimers in my personal life and in addition to some wonderful support groups, there are oppurtunities for you to "resbit" with them.\nBest Regards now and Always.
401448
this is a subject that i know all to well. I watched my grandmother go from a vibrant woman at the age of 71 to a woman with an IQ of a child at 73. It attacks the functions of the brain which controls all functions of the body. It slowly diterates the cells in the brain starting with memory first. Then it attacks motor functions like swallowing, chewing, moving the hands and feet, talking too. Then it goes into full scale where the body starts to chut down that's where they are in a vegetative state and bedridden. Then ultimately death. My grandmother started showing signs of it in the form of forgetfulness, then she started to go back in time and forget who or what she was talking about. It was the hardest thing when she would call me on the phone crying her eyes out because she was sitting in the bath tub and forgot how to turn off the water and it was running over all over the floor and into the rest of the house. To the families its expecially tough because you are watching someone you love dearly fall to pieces literally is front of your eyes. When they get to the point that they start to wonder off or get up during the midnight hour and walk off and get in the car or take a walk trying to go back home to when they were children it's scary and hard because it takes time out of your life. For me I had to put my life on hold almost and I was pregnant at the time, but I loved my granny so much it didn't matter to me. You have to understand that they are someone different now and that it's not pf their control they act the way they do. She also cussed us out, accused us of stealing or poisoning her. She hid things from us because she got to the point she didn't recognize us or trust us anymore. She would argue with us because she would forget things and she got frustrated easily. It's hard to take care of someone like that. Because they are unpredictiable. then when they get to a certain way they might only trust you to take care of them. Which for me was the case. it's a disease that changes not only the person suffering from it, it changes the person or people taking care of that person. After my granny died from this disease, I didn't want to become a nurse anymore. I couldn't take it again to see someone else go through that. It turn my world apart because she wasn't granny anymore. I had to take care of her like a 1 year old. Changing her diapers and cleaning up after her and feeding her. You go through so much. But I wouldn't have had it no other way. She raised me and took care of me, the least i could have done was do the same and for that i am grateful for because i was there the whole time. I loved her that much and will always.
435484
I totally understand what you are asking.  My grandfather spent nearly 10 years caring and loving my grandmother who had Alzheimers.  She passed away, and he got remarried less than 1 year later.  I think you need to look at her from her side.  She obviously loved your father dearly, but when you care for someone that long and there really isn't a whole lot going on between them because the other is sick, it's almost as if the relationship was over a long time before they actually passed away.  It sounds bad, and I don't mean it to, but give your mom the benefit of the doubt.  I'm sure she isn't trying to disrespect anyone.  Good luck.
1118581
Thats a really tough situation. I worked at a assisted living. Obviously alot of elders are expierencing Alzheimers. If they are living on their own invest in the necklace like MedAlert.  What the person under me is talking about is med alert.
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My mom met one, once.\n\nShe and my dad used to bring food to this old lady, Ms. Florence, who was about 90. They'd do things like get her turnips mashed with potatoes. When she died, she went and said good bye to my Mom. She knew Miss Florence had died before my great great aunt called with the news. Kind of bizarre.
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ouch, sorry. well my uncle has ALS, he's had it since about 2002, he's in a wheel chair now and can't talk. my uncle is one of the most nicest people in my life, when we first heard he had it my dad came down stairs crying, that was the first I can remember seeing my dad cry. everyone loves my uncle and fortunately my uncle is gratefully for his time right now. I hope you feel better soon.
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Perhaps.\n\nOr maybe it is some sort of dementia.  Dementia is very common in older people.
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I know a lady named Herta Zimmerman. She is german and very old. She lived in a nursing home that I worked at. She was so fiesty...I love her.
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http://www.zarcrom.com/users/alzheimers/daycr.html
811729
Devastating! My mum has it & cannot remember what sentence she has started to finish it! She's only had it a few years but she can't remember names - even mine sometimes. Distant memories can be good at times but it's the more recent that is very poor. It leaves them devoid of functioning memories in the end - like how to deal with day to day living. Very sad,.
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I'll try to be detailed but make it simple at the same time.  I'll tell you this as if you are about to have to go through Alzheimer's with a member of your family. I can tell you what it's like up-close and personal. My grandmother suffered with it for over 10 years before passing away a few years ago.  I was around her a lot so I'll tell you what I tell people:\n1.  It's a disease in which the victim loses more and more of their memory over time - most of the time it severely affects ones short-term memory.  \n2.  Because of this short-term memory loss one of the first noticeable effects is the continual repeating of the same questions.  It can get to where the same question is asked every 30 seconds - simple questions like "Where are we going?" And the repetition every 30 seconds is no exaggeration.\n3.  The next thing to go is personal hygiene.  People forget to shower, use the bathroom, and do normal things we learn as kids.  They begin to have to be taken care of constantly. \nSimply put - a victim reverts backwards in age and by the time he/she reach the severe stages of the disease they HAVE to be watched like a baby.  It's the most hopeless thing to have to experience...