Alzheimer Society Blog

As a neuropathologist who studies Alzheimer’s, I spend a lot of time looking at the brains of people with the disease and comparing them to those who don’t have Alzheimer’s.

Encouraging people to keep their minds active is important to help lower one’s risk of developing dementia. It has been suspected to be a key way to stave off the disease’s effects, something which benefits not only the individual with dementia, but society by lessening the social and economic burden of the disease.

February is Heart Month. But did you know that heart health is directly related to brain health? There is an overwhelming amount of information alerting us to the risks of heart disease and stroke. These conditions can result in vascular dementia (VaD), the second leading form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease.

As we grow older, more of us see our parents and loved ones start to get sick and die. It’s easy to feel helpless. But end of life experiences vary greatly; much can be done to ease a person’s passing for everyone involved. The contrasting experiences of my parents show how providing proper care and being surrounded by love is so important.

The Retirement Homes Act was passed by the government of Ontario in 2010. Its fundamental principle is that retirement homes are to be operated as places where residents live with dignity, respect, privacy and autonomy, in safety, security, and comfort and can make informed choices about their care options. In practice, this has increased the accountability of seniors’ homes and provided greater recourse to seniors who feel that their rights have been violated.

I love going outside in the winter. I’ll take the soft embrace of a January snowfall over frigid March rains anytime. All of us need to take precautions to stay safe during winter. But for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, the season presents even more challenges.

February has rolled in. Promises made in the New Year are receding into distant memory. But don’t give up yet! We would like to encourage you to make resolutions with a different goal in mind: protecting your brain against Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers have found that outside of aging, the most influential factors in determining one’s susceptibility to Alzheimer’s disease are lifestyle and environmental factors. Here’s a list of good habits to help manage your risk and keep your brain healthy for many years to come.

When I first heard the Alzheimer Society of Canada was launching a national campaign called, “See me, not my disease. Let’s talk about dementia,” I smiled. “ I totally get it!”

They say “a picture is worth a thousand words.” For someone experiencing memory loss that statement couldn’t be truer. Capturing and leveraging memories can help trigger an emotional response and potentially help manage the behaviors of someone with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.

Research may be the best way to combat Alzheimer’s disease but without qualified investigators to conduct treatment studies, we will have no meaningful breakthroughs.