Sundowning and Anxiety in Elderly Alzhemer's Patients

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Sundowning is a big problem for Alzheimer's caregivers. Patients can get aggressive and very disruptive

I found this research study interesting. I say this because I learned it is easier to deal with a problem and solve a problem if you first learn what is causing the problem. Understanding the cause of a problem provides a foundation on which a caregiver can build -- a necessary frame of reference.

Late day, early evening, anxiety and agitation is somewhat common in early dementia patients. The problem is often associated with "sundown" or the time before a person would normally go to bed. Time of year and length of day can make a difference.

This research interests me because "sundowning" usually comes in a pattern. Around the same time of day.

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STUDY HELPS EXPLAIN ‘SUNDOWNING,’ AN ANXIETY SYNDROME IN ELDERLY DEMENTIA PATIENTS

New research provides the best evidence to date that the late-day anxiety and agitation sometimes seen in older institutionalized adults, especially those with dementia, has a biological basis in the brain.

The findings could help explain “sundowning,” a syndrome in which older adults show high levels of anxiety, agitation, general activity and delirium in late afternoon and evening, before they would normally go to bed.

Continued Reading and Learn More About This Syndrome

Battleground Zero for New Alzheimer's Drug

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If all three drugs fail and fail miserably the Alzheimer's community is in trouble. The pharmaceutical companies might give up. They might conclude that Alzheimer's cannot be treated effectively.
By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

We are down to the one inch line on three new drugs, potential treatments, for Alzheimer's disease.

The Phase 3 clinical trials for Bapineuzumab and Solanezumab are scheduled to be released in the next few months, maybe as early as next month. A third drug, Gammagard, could report next year.

Some say if the drugs fail it could be the end of Alzheimer's research as we know it. That major pharmaceutical companies might out of frustration cut back on research spending for Alzheimer's disease.

Others, like Rudolph Tanzi, Director, Genetics and Aging Research Unit, MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease Harvard believe that even if the drugs fail that science is advancing. Tanzi believes that beta amyloid is "the prime therapeutic target" and that the drugs are bad, not the target. We need better drugs.

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via alzheimersreadingroom.com

Is Gammagard the One the Alzheimer's Community Has Been Waiting For?

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This is the first study to report long term stabilization of Alzheimer's symptoms over a period of 36 months .
Alzheimer's Reading Room

We now have the first study in almost a decade that is reporting long term stabilization of Alzheimer's disease symptoms in patients.

Eleven patients who were treated over a 36 month period with IVIG/Gammagard had favorable outcomes in terms of their thinking abilities, behavior and daily function.

To be clear, the already existing symptoms of the Alzheimer's patients being studied did not improve; however, patients did not show any further decline on measures of cognition, memory, daily functioning or mood over the three years.

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Bob DeMarco is the editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room and an Alzheimer's caregiver. Bob has written more than 1,610 articles with more than 8,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.

Alzheimer's The Emotional Roller Coaster Ride

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I must remind myself that the hard to comprehend behaviors being expressed by a person suffering from Alzheimer's are part of the disease, and are not a deliberate bad act on the their part.
By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

It is difficult to describe the range of emotions an Alzheimer's caregiver might feel or experience in a single day.

Imagine being happy and then sad, caring then angry, focused then frustrated -- an almost endless stream of feelings and emotions that conflict.

The caregiver often lives an anxiety filled life day-after-day.

I doubt that many people outside "the Front Row" think about or consider this. Those outside the front row are normally too busy living their own life.

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• Why Do Alzheimer's Caregivers Torture Themselves?
• Alzheimer's Disease Statistics
• What is the Difference Between Alzheimer’s and Dementia
• Dementia and the Eight Types of Dementia
• Urinary Tract Infections, Urinary Incontinence
• Alzheimer's and the Importance of Thinking Positive
• Frightened, Bewildered, Apprehensive, Anxious, Angry

Why Do Alzheimer's Caregivers Torture Themselves?

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For several years, I tortured myself psychologically and emotionally. To this day I look back and ask myself, Why?
By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Saint Genesius

Alzheimer's is a sinister disease. It robs the patient of the ability to remember, to think, concentrate, and frequently affects mood and behavior in a negative way.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) eventually robs the patient of the ability to do things we take for granted -- like buttoning a button.

Alzheimer's often robs patients of the ability to say "yes", so instead they say what comes easiest -- No.

These new and often bizarre changes brought on by Alzheimer's can feel like torture to an Alzheimer's caregiver. This explains in part why a large fraction of caregivers, up to 40 percent, suffer from depression.

The other day I answered a question by saying, "its the job of Alzheimer's to torture you".

Later on as I thought about those words, I was surprised that I used the word "torture". Surprised until I remembered that I once thought, "Alzheimer's is trying to kill me".

Alzheimer's kills the brain of the person living with Alzheimer's. It will also try and kill the spirit of the Alzheimer's caregiver.

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