O&A report that film legend Charlton Heston has Alzheimers. I think you know what’s coming up next. About 30 minutes of Anthony doing his Chuck Heston impression.

As the disease progresses, remote memory also begins to deteriorate. While nothing can stop this process, appropriate levels of stimulation and use of existing capabilities can be helpful. Reminiscence therapy or reminiscence training refers to an approach wherein the demented patient reviews past memories, in turn, using other mental functions that are exercised in a fashion that helps to maintain them. Scrapbooks of old photos with captions are often helpful as external aids in building a sense of history and meaningfulness in an individual who may be experiencing a sense of falling apart and futility.

While some or all of the techniques discussed above have been helpful to some demented individuals, none of them should be employed in hope of avoiding the requirement for frequent if not continuous supervision of the Alzheimer patient. At the very best, they might help compensate for the unavoidable but often unpredictable course of deterioration; at the least, appropriate use of these approaches can help organize the experience of the patient and structure the interaction between patient and family member in a way that enhances the quality of life for the Alzheimer patient.

Orientation

As mental functioning declines in the demented individual, the first things to be forgotten are the awareness of time, place, and self-recognition. in that order. The practical significance of such awareness or orientation is obvious: The level of independence and self-sufficiency an individual experiences depends upon this very basic ability to use information in the environment so that self, spatial location, and time of day can be identified. As the ability to recognize this information becomes less reliable, an individual loses control of many aspects of his or her life (e.g., getting around safely, self-medication, proper nutrition).

Determining an individual’s level of orientation is relatively simple. Disorientation is generally judged to be present when an individual consistently (i.e., repeatedly over time) fails to respond correctly to questions pertaining to one’s own name and the names of familiar others; the place (including buildings, cities, and states); home address and telephone number; the time of day and the date. Tests of orientation may also include other inquiries, such as date of birth, age, what the weather and season are, or the name of the current president. In assessing an individual’s level of orientation, it is also very important to determine if reversible sensory impairment (i.e., hearing loss, diminished visual acuity) is contributing to the patient’s confusion.

By: Roberts Bairds

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hi im 16. my great nan had alzeimars and i was wondering, does it skip generations, will my mum get it?

or coffee that is decaffinated? Or is it primarily the caffine that has the benifits?