Learning Alzheimer's (A written speech I gave)

As a child, I watched my Grandma Buck wander around the house mumbling concerns about grandpa coming home from working on the railroad and how he had better not be bringing her more babies to take care of. This was amusing to me at the time, since Grandpa had been dead nearly 5 years and hadn't worked on the railroad in almost 30! I didn't realize the magnitude of what I was witnessing. Words were never used to put a brand on her behavior and it was generally accepted as just being Grandma. It was years later when I saw more of the older family members exhibiting similar behaviors that I began to wonder exactly what it was that was affecting them. In my search I found the name….Alzheimer's disease. By definition Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks and kills the brains nerve cells. I will share the signs, symptoms, stages, treatment options, prevalence and research of the disease with you tonight.

I remember the first time I noticed Aunt Berts forgetfulness. She had set her purse down and couldn't remember where she had put it. This alone wouldn't normally be a monumental moment but she insisted that someone had taken it and began accusing every one of stealing her purse, which turned into a heated argument with her daughter that she couldn't remember the name of. These are only a few of the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Typically the signs are overlooked and in my family is jokingly referred to as "old timers disease", unfortunately this is a common myth associated with older people. The truth is that age is not associated with memory loss and there is no study to prove that there is any direct correlation to a person's age and memory loss without some form of dementia being the cause. Other signs and symptoms can resemble that of stroke victims with speech impairment, losing function of limbs, ability.

The first stage is typically forgetfulness, losing the ability to manage money, the inability to think rationally and mild cases of anxiety and depression. In the second stage of the disease, symptoms are more profound and can include aggressive behaviors such as combativeness, increased confusion, the loss of motor skills, delusions, the loss of cognitive thought processes and logic. The end stage involves the loss of function altogether, the bladder and bowel control is in most cases gone, speech is almost non existent, swallowing and eating are difficult at best and ultimately ends in the death of that person.

My favorite story concerning this disease involves two people who were both in the middle stages of Alzheimer's. The two people I am referring to were married, not to each other mind you, and were a man and woman living together in a long-term care unit. Both of these residents were fall risks due to the advancement of the disease so they were restrained by lap belts in wheel chairs. I went to the mans room to retrieve him for dinner, the door was shut so I knocked and entered the room. There these two were naked, still in the restraints and talking about going to bed. She turned and looked at me with the most horrified look on her face and then scolded me for entering their bedroom saying that I should be in bed because it was past my bedtime!

Currently there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, there are only medications designed to temporarily slow the progress, manage the anxiety, calm the psychosis and deter depression. The most common medications used to treat the cognitive part of Alzheimer's disease are Aricept and Namenda; both are used to temporarily prevent the chemical associated with learning and memory from actively dieing. According to the Alzheimer's Association web site, the current medications slow the advancement of the disease for 6-12 months in approximately half of the patients treated. Anti psychotic medications can be prescribed for the behaviors, antidepressants, and anti anxiety medications are typically used for depression and anxiety associated with the deterioration caused by the disease. Alternative treatments for this disease include vitamins E and C, lemon balm, ginko biloba, and other herbal-based products. The problem with this type of treatment is that many of the herbal remedies interfere or even counteract prescribed medications. For instance, people who take blood thinners or anti-coagulants should not take vitamin E because of Vitamin E's anti-coagulant actions. In other words if you were taking Vitamin E and an anti-coagulant you would be taking a dose to high and your blood would be to thin to clot properly.

A recent study published by the Alzheimer's association shows that by age 65 1 in 8 people will be affected by this disease and by the age of 85 the chances of having the disease becomes 50%. The study also suggests that by the time we reach the middle of this century that the number of people affected today will quadruple to a staggering 104 billion. Unfortunately, the disease is not discriminating according to age; research has found that people can exhibit signs as early as their 30's and in some cases be in end stages by the time they reach their 60's. Alzheimer's is also non-gender specific and it doesn't care what color or what religion you are. Its an equal opportunity disease that will affect everyone either by having the disease or caring for someone who has it.

You may not recognize the information I have shared so far with you, there are so many causes that are reaching into the community for support such as American Cancer Association, the Breast Cancer Awareness Association and so on. Its not because the Alzheimer's Association doesn't care or need the funding or because they don't recognize the absolutely shocking numbers that will eventually be affected by it. The Alzheimer's Association promotes from within so to speak. Most of the members, such as my self have been affected directly by the disease; we work together through a network of friends and family to attain our goals for fundraising. In fact, the Alzheimer's Association itself donated $18.4 million dollars to research in the fiscal year of 2000 alone. While the federal government is number 1 in funding research, the Alzheimer's association comes in 2nd. The goal is to continue to raise and donate funds until there is a cure found, unfortunately, there is still a long way to go and a substantial portion of the money received goes to care for individuals who don't have the means to support the treatments necessary.

In conclusion Alzheimer's disease is a disorder that attacks and kills the brains nerves cells and result in memory loss, function loss, cognitive disruptions and finally death. In the 3 main stages of the disease the person will experience mild to traumatic episodes of confusion, aphasia or inability to use words properly, difficulties walking, doing normal activities of daily living and eventually will become unable to move or speak at all. Medication can help slow the progress of the disease temporarily, however it only lasts a short period of time, typically only 6-12 months. Other medications can help with the depression, anxiety and psychosis. Statistics have shown that by the time we are 80 years old we will either be caring for someone with the disease or have it ourselves. The Alzheimer's Association is working with the Federal government to provide funding for research and care for those who need it now through grass roots campaigns and donations from people like me. On a final note I would like to share a personally powerful quotation from a book I read. For me it speaks volumes about those affected by this disease on either side whether you're a caregiver or being given care. It comes from the book learning to speak Alzheimer's written by Joanne Koening Coste, in it she says "I may not know who you are, but I know how you make me feel."