Help for Individuals With Dementia and Their Families

The Alzheimer Society offers support services and provides information on treatments and care strategies:

USEFUL WEB SITES

Alzheimer Society of Canada -- www.alzheimer.ca

Alzheimer's Society of BC -- www.alzheimerbc.org

Alzheimer's Disease and Other Forms of Dementia

Most people approaching retirement look forward to exploring new pursuits and basking in memories of their long and eventful lives. But for thousands of Canadians, Alzheimer's disease replaces the richness of the golden years with a sense of loss and confusion as memories of the past and present gradually fade.

Although memory loss is common among the elderly, Alzheimer's disease is not part of normal aging, according to the Alzheimer Society of BC. It is a progressive neurological disease that affects the brain and many of its functions including language, intellect and spatial orientation.

The illness develops so gradually that it is hard to notice at first. The symptoms resemble ordinary memory lapses. As the lapses become more frequent, people with Alzheimer's lose the ability to learn and remember anything new. At first they forget things from week to week, then from day to day, and gradually, from hour to hour and even minute to minute.

Eventually people with Alzheimer's disease can no longer remember the names of family and friends or find their way around in places that are not completely familiar. They may avoid social contacts because they can't follow the drift of a conversation. At this stage, many people can still live well using simple routines in a familiar environment. But they may experience a sense of powerlessness and frustration that can lead to emotional turmoil.

In later stages of the disease, people with this illness do not recognize the faces of their closest relatives. They may have trouble dressing or feeding themselves because they are unable to hold a thought long enough to form a goal. Often, people with Alzheimer's pace in an agitated way or wander aimlessly.

Life skills are lost in more or less the reverse order they are learned in childhood, starting with handling money, choosing clothes, bathing and using the toilet, feeding one's self, talking, walking and even sitting up. As the disease progresses, they lose control of their bowels and bladders and have increasing difficulty sleeping.

Once the brain loses the capacity to regulate elementary body functions, people with Alzheimer's die of malnutrition, dehydration, infection or heart failure. The interval between the earliest symptoms and death is two to twenty years, with an average of seven to ten.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of a group of degenerative brain diseases known as dementia. Other forms include Pick's disease, Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, Lewy body dementia, vascular dementia and primary progressive aphasia, among others. Although these illnesses affect other parts of the brain, most of the symptoms resemble those of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease and related dementia cannot be cured, reversed or stopped in their progression. Today's treatments, which may include medications, are designed to reduce the symptoms and help both the patient and the family live through the course of the illness with greater dignity and less discomfort. "Alzheimer's not only affects the person with the disease, it affects the whole Family."

Individuals with Alzheimer's and their families are encouraged to seek help from support groups, counselors and community services which are available throughout BC. Many families qualify for government subsidies that help cover the expense of caring for a relative with Alzheimer's. Some organizations including the Alzheimer Society of BC offer support services for individuals with Alzheimer's at no charge.

Rates of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia

 

Information in this FACT Sheet has been used with the kind permission of the members of the "Here to Help" website: www.HereToHelp.bc.ca