7 Things You Can Do to Reduce Your Risk of Dementia

  During the last Alzheimer’s disease support meeting I attended at my mother’s assisted living center, I sheepishly asked if anyone else was worried about their own risk for the disease A lot of hands went up. At age 65, your risk of being diagnosed w… Continue reading

Why It’s Best to Involve People With Early Stage Dementia in Care Planning

(Editor’s note: This article is part of an editorial partnership between Next Avenue and the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, a Cleveland-based nonprofit whose mission is to advance support for older adults and caregivers.) Receiving a diagnosis of ea… Continue reading

Could Meditation Benefit Cognitive Function?

(Editor’s note: This is the fourth story in a four-part weekly series on meditation, including its benefits for pain management, mental health and overall well-being. The first article in the series is Do You Meditate? Here’s Why You Might Want To; the… Continue reading

VIDEO: How an Art Program Brings Joy to People With Alzheimer’s

(Editor’s Note: This video and transcript were previously published by PBS NewsHour.) Nearly 6 million Americans currently live with Alzheimer’s disease, and the number continues to rise. For many, this terminal diagnosis represents the start of a life… Continue reading

Alzheimer’s Experts Express Cautious Optimism About New Drug

Do people with Alzheimer’s disease and their families dare hope that a drug which delays the start of the disease or slows its progression will actually be available soon? Or should they manage expectations — based on 20 years of false starts — when it… Continue reading

Study Finds Way to Catch Signs of Cognitive Decline in More Women

Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t happen overnight. Symptoms appear gradually, starting with a condition called mild cognitive impairment (MCI). People with MCI may have a cluster of mild problems but can still function on their own. They might forget appoin… Continue reading

Rural Social Worker Develops Internationally Known Anti-Frailty Program

Janice Lundy knew she had to do something. As a social worker at Perry County Memorial Hospital in rural Missouri, she watched too many older residents end up in nursing homes more quickly than they should. She was also concerned about the number of me… Continue reading

How to Be a Friend to Someone Who Is Lonely

Hope Reiner has more than 30 years of experience working in the fields of geriatrics and dementia as a certified practitioner. But it was the time she spent caring for her own mother during her journey with Alzheimer’s disease which made Reiner fully r… Continue reading

The Alzheimer’s Poetry Project: Creating A Poem as Lovely as a Tree

Part of the VITALITY ARTS SPECIAL REPORT Poet and teacher Zoë Bird began the weekly class at Cerenity Senior Care in St. Paul, Minn. with a simple greeting: “Good morning, poets.” She walked around the circle, greeting each of the eight participants by… Continue reading

When Dementia Is a Laughing Matter

Have you heard the best part of having Alzheimer’s? You can hide your own Easter eggs! Ouch, sorry. This article isn’t about that kind of humor and dementia — unless the cognitively impaired person in your life is the sort who finds bad-taste jokes fun… Continue reading