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Combating Alzheimer's with Care

Posted July 22, 2009 6:57 PM
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Researchers have long been interested in the relationships between caregivers and Alzheimer's disease patients, with many studies focusing on the well-being of caregivers. However, little was known about the converse relationship-how caregivers affect the well-being of people
with Alzheimer's disease. Until now.

A study led by Johns Hopkins and Utah State University researchers suggests that a particularly close relationship with caregivers may give people with Alzheimer's disease a marked edge over those without one in retaining mind and brain function over time. The beneficial effect of emotional intimacy that the researchers saw among participants was on par with some drugs used to treat the disease.

A report on the study, believed to be the first to show that the patient-caregiver relationship may directly influence progression of Alzheimer's disease, is to be published in the September 2009 The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social
Sciences.

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dvjones's picture
Posted July 26, 2009 1:46 PM
I think having a spouse around 24/7 makes the other one feel more safe and trusting and loved. My Mom has memory problems thru depression but I can tell her one thing and a neighbor can tell her the same thing but she will believe the neighbor better. I'm her KID even though I am almost 63. I don't know. I have a room for her here that is set up and she knows it but she won't leave her home which needs a lot of work to be done and neither one of us can do it. I will need to hire a professional to get most of it done. If she was out of the house, I could have someone work on it and get it back to standards. She argues about everything and swears it is right even though she'll admit later she has no idea what we did an hour ago. I feel like she is calling me a liar about everything. It's so hard to take care of someone who keeps doing this. Now my Dad would handle her completely different than me. That's why I think spouses do better with this than kids do or some strangers or other relatives. They are usually so closely bonded.
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