Monthly Archives: August 2010
Concussions and Hearing Loss on the Rise
I read yesterday that childhood concussions have increased dramatically over the past 15 years. Measuring the period from 1997 to 2007, the number of teenagers 14 – 19 who were treated for concussion tripled, and the number of cases from … Continue reading
Cross-posting Dementia
We have had an excellent thread on the Changing Aging site about some of the real challenges seen with dementia. Here is the original thread of comments: http://changingaging.org/2010/08/25/3450/ Here is my response (posted there this morning): The comments continue with … Continue reading
Aging in America
The NY Times has published a nice photojournal of the many living options for elders in our community (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/08/24/health/20100824_noa.html?th&emc=th). Six different video vignettes show a spectrum of living from total independence to total dependence. They are entirely accurate, well-filmed first-person … Continue reading
Real Problems, Real Solutions
The University of Iowa’s Geriatric Education Center recently sent out a summary of studies year-to-date regarding “Management of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia”. Here’s a brief summary of the nine studies quoted: (1) One study could not prove that … Continue reading
Mindfulness and Dementia
Thanks to Marguetite Manteau-Rao for her comment in the Huffington Post after reading my blog: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marguerite-manteaurao/the-good-news-about-alzhe_b_689844.html I agree with her point that an approach to mindfulness-based stress reduction that adds components of her Zen Hospice model and the Eden Alternative … Continue reading
Words of Wisdom about Change
Here are some quotes for the week: “I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” (John Cage) “Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.” (Pablo Picasso) “Problems … Continue reading
Check Out Ibasho!
Ibasho is a new not-for-profit organization started by my friend Emi Kiyota, an aging-in-community expert who has consulted in the US, Ivory Coast, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Bhutan, Germany and Japan. She helps people create age-friendly communities that engage and sustain … Continue reading
Alzheimer’s Trial Stopped by Lilly
Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals has stopped trials of a new drug, semagacestat, which was developed to reduce beta amyloid plaques in the brain, because subjects who took the drug showed a worsening cognitive decline. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/business/18lilly.html?_r=1&th&emc=th) This was an unexpected result, and … Continue reading
Lakeview Ranch Founder Wins RWJF Award
Congratulations to Judy Berry for winning one of ten Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leaders awards for 2010. After a harrowing experience with her mother, who lived with dementia and suffered all the usual indignities of our traditional approach, … Continue reading
“Comfort Feeding” for Advanced Dementia
The New York Times published an article on physicians from Brown University who are advocating a new middle ground for people living with end-stage dementia, who are at high risk of aspiration: “comfort feeding”. Although I’m not crazy about using … Continue reading
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