Blogs - WEGO Health

Talking to a Child or Teen About Alzheimer's

Explaining things to children isn't always easy. Sometimes you have to sacrifice telling the whole story as you understand it, in favor of reaching an understanding with them. But, as you've probably experienced personally, children are extremely perceptive and honest about their feelings. When talking to children in your life about health, have you struggled? What techniques did you use that worked? How much detail did you share? What did you purposely leave out or "soften" when talking t… Continue

Added by amanda on November 23, 2009 at 12:42pm — No Comments

Today is National Memory Screening Day, But Which Aspect of Alzheimer's Deserves Focus?

One part of National Alzheimer's Month is National Memory Screening day, a day dedicated to promoting early detection of the sort of memory problems that are precursors to Alzheimers or dementia. The screenings have been happening for the last six years because of the efforts of the Alzh… Continue

Added by amanda on November 17, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Get Involved! November is "National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month" & "National Family Caregivers Month"

Back in September, we honored World Alzheimer's Day by sharing a list of ways to get involved in your own communities and help spread awareness and support to the Alzheimer's community. Here at WEGO Health, some of us wore purple to commemorate the day. Now, a month and a half later, it… Continue

Added by amanda on November 6, 2009 at 3:00pm — 2 Comments

"My Name Is Lisa" - Raising Alzheimer's Awareness through Short Film

Have you seen "My Name Is Lisa"? Here are a few comments on the short film: "Amazing little film. The trouble with the mom is early-onset Alzheimers ... memory loss, confusion, irritability, aggression, mood swings, and eventually withdrawl. Its a tragic disease for a family to face with a loved one. Its never funny, and always heartbreaking. "I am Lisa" portrays just that heartbreak so very well. I had tears in my eyes by the end of it." "Sad but true. A touching picture." "Well-acted,… Continue

Added by amanda on November 6, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Support for Caregivers: What Do You Recommend?

Did you know that more than 50 million Americans care for a family member or friend with a chronic illness, disability or advanced age during any given year? These caregivers work tirelessly, often without pay or help from others. Their dedication to caregiving is absolutely invaluable and necessary for so many people of all ages. However, though their care is often provid… Continue

Added by amanda on October 30, 2009 at 3:24pm — 1 Comment

"Comfort Zone," The New Alzheimer's Tracking System, is Launched

In the past, I've discussed different ways to find and keep track of Alzheimer's patients who, especially over time, can become lost from inadvertently wandering, forgetting, or becoming disoriented. The likelihood of an Alz patient becoming lost or possibly being in harmful situations grows increasingly as the disease progresses. For caregivers, family members, and even local government and medical teams—this symptom of the disease is particularly unsettling and worrisome. Certain manufacturers… Continue

Added by amanda on October 27, 2009 at 12:36pm — No Comments

Vervain, Alzheimer's and sleep

Verbena officinalis (aka common Verbena, Vervain, Enchanter’s Plant, Herb of the Cross, Pigeon Grass, Simpler’s Joy, Juno’s Tears, etc and used interchangeably here) is a perennial plant/flower which was introduced to North America and now grows wild. When traditionally dried and steeped as a tea, or modernly used in extract form, is known for not only enhancing non REM delta waves during sleep, but also for its neuroprotective effects of the central nervous system and anti-inflammatory p… Continue

Added by Ellen S on October 16, 2009 at 1:42pm — No Comments

The Link Between Alzheimer's and Down Syndrome?

Have you heard of the increased Alzheimer's risk among those with Down's Syndrome? According to Shaun Heasley's post on Disability Scoop , the connection between Alzheimer's and Down Syndrome is not only prevalent, but also overlooked. In reference to the BBC's "Down's dementia risk 'overlooked,'" the word about these two illnesses is spreading—but not enough to truly influence policy changes. What's the link? An est… Continue

Added by amanda on October 14, 2009 at 3:30pm — 1 Comment

Amber Alert for Medical Emergencies and Lost Alzheimer's Patients?

If you've watched/read/or listened to the news recently, you've probably heard the mention of lost Alzheimer's patients that have gone missing. Patients, especially those who Alz or dementia, have a hard time finding their way home and sometimes wander off, forgetting where they were going or where they are. This is just one of the troubling side-effects of memory loss. It puts families and caregivers in a panic - and right now there is no seamless way to alert the public about these missing per… Continue

Added by amanda on September 29, 2009 at 5:30pm — 3 Comments

Alzheimer's Fact Sheet

In honor of World Alzheimer's Day I wanted to compile a fact sheet for anyone who may or may not be familiar with Alzheimer's. Despite my own Alzheimer's research, I still found these facts to be extremely interesting and eye-opening. Each fact further proves the gravity of the disease and the necessity to continue research and funding. We're still a long way from a cure for this debilitat… Continue

Added by amanda on September 21, 2009 at 12:43pm — No Comments

World Alzheimer's Day 2009!

On September 21st every year (since 1994) is World Alzheimer's Day! I wanted to let everyone in the WEGO Health community know about all the different ways to get involved with World Alzheimer's Day, the Alzheimer's Association, and the cause in general. One of the most important traits of a Health Activist is raising awareness and spreading information about health causes. Whether Alzheimer's has affected you personally and is a cause you align yourself with closely or not,… Continue

Added by amanda on September 15, 2009 at 12:12pm — 4 Comments

Childhood Alzheimer's?

No one wants to watch a loved one lose him or herself slowly, even if the person has lived a full, long life. Can you imagine watching a young child go through the debilitating effects of Alzheimer's? For the last four years, a girl named Isobel Jeffrey has been suffering the gradual decrease of function that is similar to Alzheimer's. Isobel is now only 13 years old and wa… Continue

Added by amanda on September 13, 2009 at 11:54am — 1 Comment

Alzheimer's News is Good News

I just added a brand new blogpost to the main WEGO Health Blog. The post mentions all of the fascinating Alzheimer's research we've been reading about in the last few weeks. Including: • New tests that could predict Alzheimer's early (MRIs, memory tests, and genetic studies) • Being an articulate 20-something could reduce your ris… Continue

Added by amanda on July 17, 2009 at 1:20pm — No Comments

Computers of the world unite to cure disease

Stanford University's bold research project called Folding At Home is your chance to sit back, do nothing, and help them discover the keys to disease, and someday maybe even their cures. *Alzheimer's Disease *Parkinson's Disease *Cancer… Continue

Added by Ellen S on June 23, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments

GPS Shoes - Futuristic Footwear Could Benefit Alzheimer's Patients

Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) are something many of us are using on a regular basis whether it's attached to the dashboards of our cars or built-in to our cell phones. Getting lost when traveling is slowly becoming a thing of the past (though it doesn't improve poor driving skills! And it certainly wasn't utilized by the most recent cab driver I had - who purposely tried to take the long way to my apartment. She should have turned her GPS on. Luckily my friend used his cell phone GPS to ca… Continue

Added by amanda on June 9, 2009 at 11:26am — No Comments

Predicting Alzheimer's: A new study makes me wonder - would I want to know?

New studies are happening every day and - while most are only small steps toward better understanding a disease - they are reminders that the best and brightest scientists and doctors are behind-the-scenes and hard at work. This is both fascinating and comforting to me. Maybe you've heard about one of the newest Alzheimer's Studies that includes a "tool" that could predict whether or not you will get dementia. The researchers examined 3,375 people for the span of six years. None of the study pa… Continue

Added by amanda on May 22, 2009 at 11:08am — 2 Comments

HBO The Alzheimer's Project

The HBO offer is no longer available. The Alzheimer's Project The Memory Loss Tapes takes an intimate look at seven individuals living with Alzheimer’s, seeking to introduce a new understanding by sharing the devastating experience of memory loss from the point of view of the person with the disease. Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am? With Maria Shriver is geared toward children and young teens coping with a grandparent’s illness, and presents vignettes that can help a child… Continue

Added by Bob DeMarco on May 4, 2009 at 4:00pm — 1 Comment

A website full of info

while searching for a Neurologist I found one of them has a rather intense website... http://neurology.fromyourdoctor.com/washington/spokane/nwn/health/library.do impresive I thought it has info on tons of drugs and on migraines, headaches, stroke, ADD, ADHD, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, PARKINSON'S DISEASE, EPILEPSY, ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME (RLS), just to name a few Continue

Added by Tallis33 on February 3, 2009 at 9:27pm — 3 Comments

Good Resource to find Alzheimer's Caregivers

I just wanted to share this site, www.thecaringspace.com It's a great resource for families looking for assistance and health services for a loved one with alzheimers. Families seeking caregivers can register for free right now. They get unlimited access to an entire network of caregivers, optional promotion of their position to interested caregivers, free conference call service, as well as helpful resources and downloads! The site's online caregiving community is rapidly expanding so it's rea… Continue

Added by sasha6386 on December 10, 2008 at 2:49pm — No Comments

Alzheimer's Disease Advisory Board Update

We had a great session on Wednesday night with some of the Health Activists in the Alzheimer's disease community. We talked a lot about what new features WEGO Health should be focusing on to better support the caregiver community. Participants want us to bring together caregivers, patients, doctors, folks who run facilities (both hospitals and long-term care units), and pharmaceutical companies doing drug research. What impressed me most was the col… Continue

Added by Adrienne on November 14, 2008 at 11:18am — No Comments

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