Alzheimer's Worries

My mother just turned 90; she has become more forgetful over the past few years, and now has crippling arthritis in her hands.

There is a web site, Alzheimer's Help, that provides information on Alzheimer's Disease and dementia, including how to recognise the symptoms, what to expect, how to handle the patient's deteriorating condition, how to make your home safer as the patient acts more like a child, how to get help from community and national associations, etc.

This site also provides some information on the ageing process, and there are links to free resources on the Internet. There is a lot of research currently underway into the causes and effects of ageing, retardation of the ageing process and increasing longevity. This is fueled partly because the World War II "baby boomers" are now in their sixties. I am one of them.

Dementia is a symptom, and Alzheimer's is a disease. You can have dementia and not have Alzheimer's. There are about 100 different diseases with the symptom of dementia.

At this time, Alzheimer's Disease cannot be diagnosed with 100% certainty. The only time it can be correctly diagnosed with 100% certainty is in an autopsy. The diagnosis on living people is basically made after all other diseases and conditions are ruled out. Certain drugs, or the interaction of drugs, for example, may cause dementia. Physical damage to the brain can also cause dementia.

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