The Encyclopedia of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias

Christine Adamec, Joseph Kandel

Description

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting up to 80 percent of all individuals with any form of dementia in the United States. An estimated 5.8 million people in the United States had Alzheimer's disease in 2020, and this number is projected to grow considerably with the aging of the large group of the Baby Boomers, born in the years 1946-1964. According to the Alzheimer's Association, by 2025, there will be 7.1 million Americans with Alzheimer's, a 22 percent increase from 2020. After diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease, the average person lives up to 8 more years, although some die sooner or much later.

Non-Alzheimer's dementia is also a huge and growing problem in the United States and the world. In 2020, the Alzheimer’s Association estimated there were millions suffering from some other form of a degenerative brain disease that cannot be cured. Such other forms of dementia include vascular dementia, frontotemporal lobe dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and Parkinson's disease dementia. Less common forms of dementia include the dementia that is associated with Huntington's disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

The Encyclopedia of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias provides a comprehensive resource for information about all aspects of these diseases/

Topics include:

• abuse and neglect of dementia patients


• coping with dementia-related behavior issues


• diagnosing dementia


• future direction of Alzheimer’s care


• infections and Alzheimer's disease


• risk factors for Alzheimer's disease


• stages of Alzheimer’s disease dementia

 

Sujets

• Santé au quotidien
• Santé au quotidien
• Science
• Fitness
• Brain
• Health
• Medicine
• Dementia
• Ageing
• Alzheimer's disease
• Aging

Informations

• Publié par: Infobase Publishing
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438183480
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Encyclopedia of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias
Copyright © 2021 by Infobase
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information, contact:
Facts On File An imprint of Infobase 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001
ISBN 978-1-4381-8348-0
You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.infobase.com
Contents Foreword Entries abuse and neglect accidents related to dementia activities of daily living adaptive devices and changes to the home adult day care aggressive behaviors alerts for missing seniors alternative treatments Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer’s disease and mortality antipsychotics for treating dementia anxiety and dementia assisted living facilities Baby Boomers balancing medications in dementia patients brain—role in Alzheimer’s and dementia cancer in dementia patients caregivers and caregiver burnout chronic pain and pain management confusion caused by dementia coping with dementia-related behavior issues Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease death and dementia dehydration in dementia patients delirium and dementia dementia dementia patients living at home dental care for dementia patients depression in dementia patients diabetes in dementia patients diagnosing dementia Down syndrome and dementia driving realities and restrictions durable power of attorney early-onset Alzheimer’s emergency care for dementia patients falls in dementia patients family disagreements flu and pneumonia vaccines and Alzheimer s disease frontotemporal dementia future direction of Alzheimer’s care genetic risks for Alzheimer’s disease heart disease in dementia patients hiding items behavior home health care hospitalization Huntington’s disease infections and Alzheimer’s disease Korsakoff dementia Lewy body dementia long-distance caring managing medications Medicaid issues Medicare issues mild cognitive impairment military veterans with dementia mixed dementia music to improve dementia patients’ mood neurologists treating dementia patients nursing homes nutritional challenges paranoia Parkinson’s disease personal hygiene personality changes pets and therapy animals prescribed medications race and ethnicity in Alzheimer’s and dementia recognizing family members in dementia care research on dementia respite care risk factors for Alzheimer s disease senior aides for dementia patients signs of Alzheimer’s or dementia stages of Alzheimer’s sundowning support groups for families of dementia patients testing and evaluation for Alzheimer’s toileting urinary tract infections vascular dementia wandering behavior Index
Foreword
In the course of my over 30 year career as a neurologist in the Naples, Florida area, I have treated many thousands of patients with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, helping patients and their families deal with this difficult and challenging long-term medical problem. Dementia is extremely problematic for the person who experiences with this disorder, robbing them of their cognitive abilities and eventually stealing away even the joy of recognizing and loving their own spouses, children, and grandchildren. These illnesses are degenerative disorders, and affected individuals steadily lose their abilities to think and reason, as well as to move freely about. In a way, it is almost like going back in time as people with dementia become more childlike and unable to provide even the most basic care for themselves, such as eating, talking, or using the toilet without assistance. But they are not infantile; instead, they are adults who increasingly need help.
Dementia is also extremely difficult for the devoted family members who love the ill person and who can't help remembering and mourning the loss of a formerly strong, happy and capable parent, sibling, or other relative. Now this individual has become a person who may need an enormous amount of help just to get through the day. I hope and pray for a cure for individuals with these these brain-based diseases because they cause far too much suffering for millions of people in the United States as well as around the world.
Many people are fearful about getting Alzheimer's disease. If you are someone who worries that you may not be thinking as clearly as you did in the past, ask your doctor to check your thyroid levels and your vitamin B12 levels, as well as give your a complete physical examination. Many aging people have low thyroid levels as well as low-normal or below-normal B12 levels, and supplements can restore your former energy. Almost everyone knows of a friend or relative who received B12 therapy by injection and miraculously improved with regards to their memory, energy, and attention.  You also may have another medical problem that needs treatment. Don't expect to feel like you're 35 years old when you are 65—but do know that often low energy issues can be reversed.
I also encourage readers who may be at future risk for dementia—and most people are at risk if they live long enough—to take action to decrease the risks for dementia in the future. If you are overweight, lose weight and exercise, and you will also likely improve your blood sugar levels and lower your high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Pay attention to what you eat, and trade a junk food diet for a healthier diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables. Drink plenty of water to hydrate your entire system. Ask your doctor if you should take a multivitamin. Also, get plenty of sleep. Your body continues to work automatically as you sleep, and you need that "down time." And make sure you are getting healthy sleep. If you have any sleep distortion or sleep apnea, that also has a negative impact on your overall health. Of course, I can't promise you that if you do everything I recommend here, that you won't ever develop dementia. You'll significantly reduce your risks, but sometimes dementia happens anyway. However, isn't a major reduction in a risk worth the effort? I think it is.
I wish you good health.
—Joseph Kandel,  M.D.
Entry Author: Kandel, Joseph, M.D., and Christine Adamec.
Entries
abuse and neglect
Maltreatment of individuals with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. Researchers have found that individuals with dementia have a higher risk for abuse and neglect by their caregivers than other elderly people, whether the people with dementia live at home or in a long-term facility, such as a nursing home, and with professional caregivers. It should also be noted that sometimes elderly residents of long-term care facilities are abused by other residents, called resident-to-resident aggression. Any suspicion of such abuse should be reported immediately to the medical director of the facility.
In a chapter in a book on elder abuse, Claudia Cooper and Gill Livingston discussed elder abuse and dementia. They said, "People with dementia are particularly vulnerable to abuse, probably because they are more likely to depend on others for care, and to have impairment in memory, communication abilities and judgment that make it more difficult for them to avoid, prevent and report abuse. Many are reluctant to report abuse perpetrated by those on whom they depend." The elder person may believe that if abuse were reported, then there would be no one would provide needed care to him or her. This may be something that the caregiver said to the older person or it may be a belief that the person holds. In fact, if there were an investigation of abuse and the abuser were punished, in most cases, the state would step in and appoint another person to provide care or the person would be placed in a nursing home (or in a different nursing home, if the abuse occurred in the nursing home).
Not all individuals with dementia are elderly. Some individuals have an early onset of Alzheimer's disease or they may have a form of dementia that may occur prior to ages 65. For example, individuals with Down syndrome are at high risk for developing dementia as they age.
Types of Abuse
The key types of abuse perpetrated upon individuals with dementia are physical abuse, psychological abuse, and sexual abuse. Physical abuse refers to harming the person with dementia, such as hitting the individual or causing physical harm in another way. Psychological abuse refers to such acts as screaming at or berating the elderly person or using threats. Sexual abuse refers to any type of sexual touching, up to and including sexual intercourse. No sexual acts should occur with a person with dementia because the person is not competent to agree to having sex and is easily manipulated. Sexual abuse appears to occur rarely but it does happen.
Some experts consider financial abuse as a category of abuse, which is using the money or assets of the person with dementia without their permission or knowledge and for self-aggrandizement. This means that the elderly person's money or assets is not spent on the person's care but rather on items that caregivers want for themselves or their families, such as a new car or other items.
Neglect is another category of maltreatment and it refers to withholding something crucial that the person with dementia needs, such as food, clothing, medical care, or other items that are necessary for continued health.
Prevalence of Maltreatment in Individuals with Dementia
In an analysis of the prevalence of domestic (at-home) abuse and neglect in individuals with dementia based on major studies, Beth McCausland and colleagues found that about 11 percent of individuals with dementia were physically abused and 19 percent were psychologically abused. They also found that individuals with dementia were more likely to be abused than people who do not have dementia. In addition, the researchers found that the stro