Thoughts - news and research on dementia care

[mojo1943]

Hi

I am sure that VaD can be 'treated' and its effects reduced by diet and a systematic system of mental recall of present and past events.

any other carers feel the same?

 

[jeany123]

Hello and welcome to TP, I think most things have been tried, if this works for you, come back and tell us,

Best wishes, Jeany

 

[Acco]

Treated? Yes, but I suspect only in terms of maintaining status quo, or at least delaying the process of the disease. I believe mental and physical exercise to be beneficial and it also helps both patient and carer to feel 'normal' by continuing to do things together. Our GP regarded VaD as a normal ageing process and as such could not be treated. Think central heating system; the pipes still get furred up even if you treat the water or use those magnetic gadgets on the pipes, however, system breakdown can be delayed by adopting such measures - me thinks.

 

[Sue J]

Hi

I am sure that VaD can be 'treated' and its effects reduced by diet and a systematic system of mental recall of present and past events.

any other carers feel the same?

Hi Mojo1943

Every sufferer is unique and experiences dementia in a unique way. I think most carers 'trial and error' everything possible to try and cope with the symptoms.

I have had symptoms now for 4 years and am fed up to the back teeth of past events rearing their heads. I just want to function how I used to.

Diet in my experience can help but again it is trial and error and is always changing.

I hope you find TP as supportive as I do
Best wishes
Sue

 

[Nebiroth]

It can be "treated" in so far as the underlying risk factors that can hasten progression of the disease can be addressed: things like controlling blood pressure, not smoking, not being obese and doing exercise.

But the sad fact is that Vascular Dementia is untreatable and progressive. There is no cure and it will invariably get worse, the rate is unpredictable as it varies from person to person.

There seems to be some evidence that keeping mentally active can help stave off dementia, or slow it's progress - the brain is like any other part of the body, if you do not use it then it will weaken because the body regards it as a waste of energy and resources on something that isn't "needed", the same way your legs atrophy if you don;t walk.

However, this said, I think that trying to get someone with dementia to "improve with practise" is likely counter-productive, since they are unlikely to improve no matter how hard they try and constant failure simply highlights their own decline.

 

[mojo1943]

Many thanks for all your posts - agree 100% keep fit - good diet & BMI etc is Mission Critical and of course - Use it or loose it - at any age or state during the game of life..

But even Prof Einstein - its said / stated only used 1/3 of his Brain - so its given the Pink Hardware still has lots of free space to work around the bad sectors and hence teach old Guys n Girls (not dogs) new tricks.

And its a blessing our brains dont use any sort of windows as its operating system my - watchword is work around problems as it always takes too long to solve them....

 

[Nebiroth]

I'mafraid that the old story about "we only use 10% of our brains" or variants thereof are myths.

It was be absolutely contrary to evolution to carry around an organ that was 90% or even 60% redundant. The brain is a huge resource consumer for the body, demanding large quantities of things like oxygen and blood sugar.

Therefore, evolution would have ensured that most of that redundant brain would have been disposed of by now - think of it like a small company that uses a huge container truck to move around two or three parcels a day, it would either go out of business or change and switch to using a small van.

It is true that the brain has different areas of activity depending on the task at hand and also that in the event of some of it being damaged, other areas can sometimes take over and compensate.

But lack of redundant capacity is exactly why things like strokes and dementia are so serious. We do need pretty much 100% of our brains.

 

[mojo1943]

Oh well Post & Learn a lot

Must agree that we all have amazing potential & that some of it remains unused - no wonder my school music report said Young mojo helped the class by attentive listening everything else was mojo must try harder...best was Maths written on my sons homework
From the above I can see neither you nor your Father understand this - see me

However I hope my partner will get retested & maybe c scanned a year after her VaD diagnosis because in all respects she has improved her mental performance - just to put a scientific spear in the ground.

BTW Anyone know how memories are stored in our brains?

 

[annebythesea]

mojo, I think it is good that you want to help your partner maintain functionality as long as possible. My Dad was incredibly disgusted with the 'memory clinic' who basically said at the beginning that mil was not bad enough for them to bother with! He was expecting them to make suggestions of ways to help her maintain her mental capacity as long as possible.
I stress that it is only our own experience but my Dad did encourage mil to attempt things like the crossword as long as possible, and she also took a really good quality ginkgo biloba supplement (which is supposed to help maintain good circulation). The doctors have been surprised at how slowly mils vas dementia did progress, and she did not decline sharply until paranoia began to creep in, she was diagnosed with Alzh also, the first medication prescribed caused unpleasant side effects and she then started refusing the supplements. Not evidence but our feeling is that it had been helping her a lot.
Good luck.

 

[mojo1943]

memory clinics are very easily forgotten

Hi anne bts

only been once to a memory clinic - they only seem to me to be of use to those paid to be there.

Using coca & coconut oil in industrial quantities & yet to try ginkgo bilboa.

BTW my partner has just had a pacemaker inserted to cure her AF = step change improvement in all departments and the ? experts said it wouldn't make any difference.

Cant wait for the Engineers new heart pump to go into general use no more squeeze pumping just uses an Archimedes type screw pump = constant pressure flow & as I also have a pacemaker (did have a complete cardiac block) we have to be very careful in bed together = if only...

Pity I cant post links until another 6 posts - so much info good & duff info on Dr Google

 

[mojo1943]

how does one edit a post on this forum?

my laptop on a tray on my lap keeps jumping the cursor ? touching the touchpad? as I use a wi mouse
? edit posts after posting?

just found the answer a small download free called touch freeze - could be static having an effect on the touchpad on a laptop with a metal case...


https://code.google.com/p/touchfreeze/

 

[jeany123]

just click on the edit post at the bottom of the post you want to amend and you can change it

 

[annebythesea]

my laptop on a tray on my lap keeps jumping the cursor ? touching the touchpad? as I use a wi mouse
? edit posts after posting?

Have the same trouble (cursor jumping) with my laptop, less so since I reduced the sensitivity of the mousepad. Can't remember how I did it but looked it up on G**gle!

 

[Brucie]

Hi Mojo1943

Never ever give up hope and never stop trying - that is important.

In reality

VaD can be 'treated' and its effects reduced by diet and a systematic system of mental recall of present and past events

hasn't been effective in either of the two people I have known.

Both have/had really good diets, but attempts to retrain memory or re-learn stuff never worked.

I think that's because the brain is not an entity unto itself. It connects to the rest of the body in many, many different ways. It seems to me it is often these linkages that are broken by the dementia. For instance, my late wife's eyes were organically perfect, but her vascular dementia killed the link that enabled her to interpret what her eyes could see, and latterly, even to control their direction.

The 91 year old lady I am helping at present (whee - she is 92 tomorrow and we got her home for a party) has no problem, as one might expect with long term memory, but has a 15 minute retention, at best, of the present.

It isn't the memory that has been her problem, primarily. It is her agitation and aggression. I have yet to find a way, other than by patiently waiting for the sundowning to abate, to help her with this. Other than the Risperidone, which has stopped the physical aggression, and that is what has permitted us to discharge her from a Section 3 in an assessment ward where she was for 6 months.

Happy Birthday E - we're still fighting for you.

Best of luck, mojo1943, and everyone else.

 

[mojo1943]

Hi Brucie

many thanks = good serious post

OK Im new to Vad but been living with Prostrate Cancer PCa for a while - with that it seems to me the game plan is to try & die with it rather than from it.

Dont think that applies to VaD at all - from the forums could be just the opposite?

Seems to me the only way to reduce the pace of mental disarray for mere mortals is by selective diet because no research will ever be done on natural products that cant be patented together with any mental tricks that work for you & yours.

 

[garnuft]

Your premise is skew-whiff Mojo.

Life causes these problems in those who have specific weaknesses.

The only answer, going by the diet and lifestyle brigade, is to abstain, keep active and hope that genes don't catch up with you.
But even that doesn't work.

There are so many fit, healthy living people who endure dementia.
Loads of....LOADS OF people who DON'T have a healthy lifestyle don't have to endure it.
Loads of people who spend their lives watching their intake still succomb.
It's wrong to imply that it's a lifestyle disease.

By the way...Coconut Oil is a folly.

 

[Witzend]

There are so many fit, healthy living people who endure dementia.
Loads of....LOADS OF people who DON'T have a healthy lifestyle don't have to endure it.
Loads of people who spend their lives watching their intake still succomb.
It's wrong to imply that it's a lifestyle disease.

.

Must say when I read all this recent stuff about lifestyle I think of my poor old FIL. He was never remotely overweight, never smoked, drank very moderately, was a ferocious brisk walker, cycled well into his 70s and was still playing tennis regularly into his 80s. And he still got VasD.

 

[Wildflower]

I completely agree with everything garnuft has said, including her comment about coconut oil, and I owned a health food shop with a natural health clinic for several years.

 

[mojo1943]

Posts duly noted

yes agree genes 80% & environment inc lifestyle say 20% (the classic Pareto split) but what Im up to seems to be working for us very well. BTW always exceptions to every golden rule.

BTW2 does anyone know a good link to how our memories are stored in our brains and then retrieved?

 

[dora]

how does your memory work

This link looks good; there's loads more on youtube, more technical if you want.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxVb6M8UPTQ