What we’re doing, what we’re reading, and where we’ve been: it’s all here. Follow our Facebook & LinkedIn pages for updates, and forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues interested in all things Alzheimer’s. Thanks for keeping us in your inbox!
Dementia Cost Model Aims to Help Patients & Families
Knowing the actual costs of dementia could help families plan their budgets and support needs, inform treatment and caregiving options, and shape health care policy.
USC Researchers are building a dementia cost model that will generate comprehensive national, annual estimates of the cost of dementia that could benefit patients and their families.
The tool, known as a “dynamic microsimulation model,” will incorporate multiple data sets including data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and national surveys on aging Americans such as the Health and Retirement Study. The model will account for costs across a range of disease stages, including those accrued by the person living with dementia, their care partners and caregivers, and even their payers. In addition, the model’s estimates
will adjust for prevention and treatment innovations.
Learn more here.
7 A’s of Alzheimer’s That Clinicians Refer To
Through Alzheimer’s screenings, clinicians often refer to a list of symptoms known as the seven A’s, which are anosognosia, agnosia, aphasia, apraxia, altered perception, amnesia and apathy.
- Anosognosia: a lack of awareness into one’s own condition
- Agnosia:the loss of the ability to recognize objects, faces, voices or places
- Aphasia: refers to impaired communication
- Apraxia: deficit in voluntary motor skills.
- Altered Perception: Misperceptions happen when the individual sees one thing as something else. Misidentifications happen when the person has problems identifying specific objects or even people.
- Amnesia: refers to memory loss and is often most visible when affected individuals begin having difficulty with short-term memory, which later progresses to a decline in a long-term memory.
- Apathy: loss of motivation or drive
Learn more about each of these here.
Inherited Alzheimer’s: Whether It’s From Mom or Dad Could Matter
Genetics can play a role in a person’s odds for Alzheimer’s disease, and new research suggests differences in that risk are based on which parent had the illness. “Maternal inheritance of Alzheimer’s disease may be an important factor in identifying asymptomatic
individuals for ongoing and future prevention trials,” said study co-author Dr Reisa Sperling, a neurologist at Mass General. The findings were published June 17 in the journal JAMA Neurology.
Learn more here.
Living Alone and Connected!
Living Alone and Connected! is an online community by and for persons living with dementia. We gather to share questions, ideas, and find accurate information to support those who live with Alzheimer’s disease (or another dementia) who happen to live in a single person household.
Join here if you live alone with Alzheimer’s or other dementia.
Share the group, if you know someone who may benefit!
Connected Horse: For Persons with Dementia and Their Care Partners
Connected Horse is the first, and foremost program innovating equine programing to benefit people with memory and dementia symptoms and care partners together. They provide equine-assisted
workshops that inspire connection and engagement and improve the lives of those impacted by dementia and memory loss. Learn more here.
5 Communication Tips For Conversations For People Living with Dementia
Understand how dementia affects communication and learn some useful tips and strategies for your conversations with people living with dementia as they progress through the stages of the disease. Watch the video below.
