Caregiver

There are 40 million Americans, 844,000 in Massachusetts, who help care for aging parents, spouses, or loved ones, helping them to live independently in their own homes. These family caregivers provide unpaid care valued at $11.6 billion annually. Caregivers have a huge responsibility and can take some common sense steps that would make the world of difference to them. That’s why AARP Massachusetts urges passage of The Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act to better support family caregivers as they help seniors stay safely at home.

Wandering, a complex motor, cognitive and behavioral disorder, is a common symptom among patients with dementia. A contemporary definition for wandering is: “A syndrome of dementia-related locomotion behavior having a frequent, repetitive, temporally disordered, and/or spatially disoriented nature that is manifested in lapping, random, and/or pacing patterns, some of which are associated with eloping, eloping attempts, or getting lost unless accompanied.”

Region – One of the most daunting events that can rock a family is when it is apparent that a beloved elder is in need of help due to a medical, physical or emotional change. Compounding this problem is that one often does not know where to look for support, especially if the elder lives alone or far from family.

Chronic pain affects 1.5 billion people worldwide, an estimated 100 million of whom live in the United States. Yet we currently have no effective treatment options. Fortunately, research advances have determined some of the ways in which chronic pain changes the brain, and several promising research areas could lead to better treatment approaches.

Massachusetts residents living with memory changes and their caregivers are now offered more comfortable meeting places. They’re gathering monthly at memory cafés free of charge for refreshments, activities and comradery. Cafés are currently located in Andover, Brookline, Franklin, Lexington, Marlborough, Norwood, Topsfield, Waltham and Westwood.

Non-pharmacological therapies can be effective in treating the symptoms of dementia. They can help with both behavioral symptoms and memory problems. They include aromatherapy, sensory stimulation, light therapy, herbal medicine, dietary supplements, acupuncture, homeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractic and reflexology.

Are you kidding me, I have what?! It can’t be true. It has to be a mistake. When you or your loved one first receives a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), it can feel like the world is slipping away from you. It can be hard to move at all, much less stay positive and start making the future plans that will make the later stages of the disease easier both for you and those around you. You may also feel really very "angry.”

By Micha Shalev It’s long been known that sleep plays a strong role in memory consolidation, but now, research is showing that age-related changes to...

Only few want to grow old, as most of us are afraid of becoming senile. But now that our bodies last longer in better health, including our brains, the prospect of living a fulfilled old age is better than ever before.

‘What do I say or do when all my loved one does is beg to go home?’ By Micha Shalev Here are some tips to try...