From: hound23x@gmail.com   
      
   Alzheimer's disease affects more than just mind   
      
      
   Posted by Jenna Zamie   
   3-1-mooreBy Brittney Cannon   
   DEPUTY EDITOR   
   bcannon@cnjonline.com   
      
      
   When Julianne Moore mentioned Alzheimer's during the Oscars last weekend, it   
   brought the disease to the nation's forefront. But for family members taking   
   care of grandparents or parents with Alzheimer's, they didn't need reminding   
   of its devastating    
   impact.   
      
   "You're afraid to leave them alone; it affects your life completely," said   
   Samantha Loudermill, executive director at Wheatfields Senior Living Community   
   in Clovis. Her grandmother suffered from Alzheimer's until she passed away in   
   November 2014.   
      
   "My grandmother started out with dementia, and that was just the basic start   
   of Alzheimer's -- forgetting what to eat at night or, you know, forgetting to   
   pay bills," Loudermill said. "Then it started progressing to bigger things   
   like not putting her    
   food in the refrigerator, and instead she would put it in her bedroom."   
   According to Jamie Frye, communications and advocacy director for the   
   Alzheimer's Association of New Mexico, 60 percent of caregivers rate their   
   emotional stress as very high, and about a third of them suffer from   
   depression.   
      
   "Caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease typically lasts longer than   
   caring for someone with another chronic disease," Frye said. "It tends to be   
   more demanding emotionally and mentally."   
   And Alzheimer's diagnoses are on the rise. Frye said there are 34,000   
   individuals in New Mexico alone that suffer from Alzheimer's, and 80 percent   
   of them are being taken care of by family members in their own homes, rather   
   than in an assisted living    
   community.   
      
   "We tend to think of Alzheimer's patients living in homes, but the vast   
   majority of them are actually living in their community," Frye said.   
   According to Loudermill, though, Wheatfields Senior Living Community receives   
   Alzheimer's patients "all the time," and the community offers a 24-hour memory   
   care unit, which includes three daily meals and snacks, 24-hour care staff,   
   activities and    
   specialty care.   
      
   Despite the availability of assisted living communities and the care they   
   provide, Frye said there's a "stigma" around Alzheimer's disease.   
   "That's a thing we struggle with in the United States," Frye said. "There's a   
   stigma, as if it's a mental illness -- and I do not think there needs to be   
   any stigma around mental illness either -- but (Alzheimer's) is a difficult   
   thing to talk about."   
      
   Loudermill agreed, especially since baby-boomers continue growing older.   
      
   "I hope that, you know, people get more involved," she said. "We're seeing it   
   a lot more commonly now, and especially in the future I think it's going to be   
   a bigger disease."   
      
   "If we do not find a cure or even a way to delay the onset, by 2050 it's going   
   to be a projected 16 million (victims)," Frye said.   
      
   According to Frye, there is a lot of "cutting-edge" research out there for   
   Alzheimer's -- the only problem is finding the funding for it.   
      
   The National Institute of Health funds research efforts all over the country,   
   Frye said, for other illnesses including cancer, HIV and AIDS. However, cancer   
   research received $5.4 billion from NIH in 2014, and Alzheimer's research   
   received $566 million    
   in comparison.   
      
   "Cancer, HIV and AIDS get billions, and as a result they've received a lot   
   less diagnoses over the years. They're finding new stuff every day," Frye   
   said. "The flipside of that is Alzheimer's disease is very expensive. We spend   
   a lot of money caring for    
   people with Alzheimer's."   
      
   Frye said one in five medical dollars is spent caring for a person with   
   Alzheimer's, and there are 5 million diagnosed with it in the United States.   
      
   However, there is a bright side. There are several resources available online   
   and in the community for families living with a loved one suffering from   
   Alzheimer's.   
      
   "Just to get help when you need it," Loudermill said. "There's support groups   
   out there, and they have great advice for families dealing with Alzheimer's   
   disease."   
      
   "That help is out there," Loudermill said. "Really look for help. And if it's   
   even just to talk to somebody, there are people out there that you can find to   
   talk to about it. It will relieve that pressure."   
      
   Frye said the first thing families should do when seeing possible early   
   warning signs of Alzheimer's is to go to a doctor immediately and get   
   diagnosed.   
      
   "There are a small number of dementias that are reversible, but this is not   
   one of them," Frye said. "There is no cure. Some (dementias) can be halted or   
   reversed."   
      
   Frye said the Alzheimer's Association in New Mexico offers free services for   
   families, have support groups and care consultations to help with the planning   
   process when a loved one is diagnosed.   
      
   "It can be very stressful going through this process, and a lot of families   
   planning find it easier," Frye said.   
      
   For information on caring for someone with Alzheimer's, or to learn more about   
   it, visit www.alz.org/newmexico   
   You can also call the 24-hour help line at 1-800-272-3900.   
      
      
      
   http://www.cnjonline.com/2015/02/28/alzheimers-disease-affects-m   
   re-than-just-mind/   
      
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