More than one out of every five nursing home residents is still being given powerful antipsychotic drugs despite a growing consensus that they are inappropriate and often dangerous. These drugs frequently are given to “calm” dementia patients even though many are approved only for the treatment of diseases such as schizophrenia. Despite a federal initiative, a $2.2 billion legal settlement [...]
Two major new studies have turned the popular perception of dementia on its head. For years, we’ve heard that Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are on the rise—a prediction that strikes fear in the hearts of both the public and policymakers. But these new reports conclude that dementia rates may be falling, and suggest that some forms of [...]
This week, the PBS program Frontline investigated care at the nation’s largest assisted living company—Emeritus Corp. The program’s message was powerful—and highly controversial: Residents of some Emeritus facilities are dying as a result of poor care by insufficient and poorly trained staff and a lack of government regulation. I can’t speak to what’s happening at Emeritus, a for-profit company that has [...]
You can't escape the seemingly ubiquitous news stories about the latest cure for Alzheimer's. There is only one problem: None of them are true. Some are simply frauds. But many are over-hyped interpretations of serious research. You know the story...In what may be a major breakthrough in the battle against Alzheimer's disease... Over at Changingaging.org. Dr. Al Power wrote a terrific blog post [...]
The overuse of antipsychotic drugs “is one of the most common and longstanding, but preventable practices causing serious harm to nursing home residents today,” Toby Edelman of the Center for Medicare Advocacy told the Senate Aging Committee last week. She said these drugs are often used off-label (that is: for purposes other than the ones for which the FDA approved [...]
On Monday, a presidential advisory group set a goal to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer's Disease by 2025. There is much to like about this proposal, but it should come with a consumer warning: There is a lot less to this plan than meets the eye. Let's start with the good news. This initiative is potentially an important step forward as [...]
Yesterday, I participated in an AARP program with several authors of books on caregiving. One fellow panelist, the novelist Walter Mosley, was wonderfully provocative as he reflected on what he calls “the great equalizing effect of great age.” Mosley, whose mother was Jewish and whose father was black, put it this way: “White people become black people when they can [...]
Read this powerful story by Sally Jenkins about University of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt, who, at 59, was recently diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. Despite the disease, the legendary coach says, "You don't quit living. You keep going." In fact, Summitt isn't even planning on quitting coaching--at least not for a while. For now, she'll rely on her assistants to [...]
The other day, I had a long talk with a friend about her mom. My friend lives on the East Coast. Her mother lives in the Midwest. Mom is in an independent living apartment and recently has been falling and suffering memory lapses. The other day, mom got lost trying to drive home from her regular bridge game. My friend realizes it is time for her mother to [...]