Alzheimer's Disease and the Family

1
Alzheimer's Disease and the Family

• What Is Alzheimers Disease?
• Prepared by  
• Dr. Jan Park
• Gerontology Specialist
• Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
• April 10, 2002

2
Alzheimer's Disease

• It is the worst form of all diseases, not
  just for what it does to the victim, but for its
  devastating effect on family and friends, by
  Lewis Thomas, M.D., Chancellor of the Memorial
  Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

3
What is Alzheimer's Disease?
4
What Alzheimers Disease IS NOT

• Normal aging
• Mental retardation
• Mental laziness
• Vitamin deficiency
• Brought on by stress, grief, neglect or family
  problems
• Emotional illness
• Lack of blood or oxygen to the brain
• Preventable or curable

5
What is the Cause of Alzheimer's Disease?

• Unknown

6
What are Risk Factors?

• Age
• Female sex
• Heredity
• Head Injury

7
What Are the Warning Signs?

• Memory loss
• Lack of judgment
• Inability to do familiar tasks
• Difficulty finding the right words
• Changes in personality
• Changes in behavior, mood and concentration

8
What Are the Warning Signs?

• Disorientation to time and place
• Poor judgment
• Misplacing possessions
• Loss of motivation
• Difficulty learning new information

9
How Does Alzheimer's Disease Type of Dementia
Progress?
10
Stage I

• Develop symptoms
• Less initiative
• Tired
• Unwilling to try anything new

11
Stage I

• Give up favorite activities
• Unable to learn new skills or information
• Maintains a social façade
• Spouse and family cover make excuses for changed
  behavior

12
Stage II

• Diagnosis
• Symptoms of stage 1 more pronounced
• Requires supervision
• Requires repetition and reassurance
• Family becomes isolated
• Person becomes someone else

13
Stage III

• Terminal stage
• Body weak
• Incontinence sets in
• Needs total help with personal care
• Unable to communicate
• Cannot recognize loved ones
• Bedridden
• Nursing home care

14
Why is a Diagnosis Important?

• Complete physical examination
• Neurological examination
• Psychiatric evaluation
• Discovery reversible conditions

15
What are the Benefits of an Evaluation of the
Patient?
16
What an Evaluation can Determine

• Determine nature of illness.
• Whether the condition is reversible.
• Extent of the disability.
• Identify functions still in tact.

17
What an Evaluation can Determine

• Determine if other health problems exist that
  affect mind.
• Determine the social and psychological needs.
• Identify resources for patient and caregivers.
• Identify changes expected in the future.

18
What Should a Thorough Medical and Neurological
Evaluation Include?

• Social support
• Current abilities
• Medical History
• Mental Status exam
• Tests to rule out other health problems that
  cause dementia
• Neurological examinations status of nerve and
  cell function
• Laboratory tests

19
What Should a Thorough Medical and Neurological
Evaluation Include?

• Lumbar puncture
• EEG
• CT Scan
• MRI
• PET Scan
• Occupational therapy evaluation
• Neuro-psychological test

20
(No Transcript)
21
What Kind of Physician?
22
What is the Social Cost of Alzheimer's
Disease?