Bonnie Rea, MSW, is a Family Care Specialist with the Alzheimer's Association. The Alzheimer's Association is the leading, global voluntary health organization in Alzheimer's care and support, and the largest private, nonprofit funder of Alzheimer's research. Bonnie provides direct services to individuals living with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and to their families. Her presentation provided a brief overview of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and the Alzheimer’s Association services. Topics included the impact of Alzheimer’s, risk factors, warning signs and how others can join the fight against the disease.Bonnie told us that just the normal aging process will lead us to be a bit slower in our cognitive function. It may take a little longer ot come up with the right word or name. Also, Dementia is an umbrella term for cognitive decline that includes Alzheimer's disease. When our mental decline is enough to interfere with daily living, that is the sign that the subject has dementia of some kind. Types of dementia other than Alzheimer's include: Vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia (LBD), and Frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Risk Factors for Alzheimer's are, in this order: 1. Age -- After age 65, the risk of the disease doubles every five years. 33% of people over 85 have Alzheimer's; 2. Family history -- people who have a parent or sibling with the disease are more likely to develop it. If more than one family member has the disease, those odds increase; 3. Genetics -- Both risk genes and deterministic genes can influence whether a person develops the disease. Deterministic genes actually cause the disease to develop, typically in a person's 40s or 50s.
Both Bonnie Rea and our member Dr. Cheryl Matossian told us of lifestyle choices which can reduce the chances or delay the onset of dementia, including:a) reducing blood pressure, through medication and/or diet changes; b) Get your heart pumping. Exercise that gets your heartrate up to the Maximum recommended for your age for 30-60 seconds then decreases for an extended period and then back up to that maximum rate for a minute or less, continuing over a period of 40 minutes to an hour is important; c) Healthy diet, including the Mediterranean or plant-based diet; d) Intellectual stimulation; e) Having a purpose in life (such as Rotary).
Bonnie also went through the 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer's or another dementia, and provided a handout with those signs. Rather than listing them here, please see this web page with the 10 signs at the Alzheimer's Association website. If these warning signs lead to an early detection of the disease, there are the following potential benefits: The victim can plan for the future; Families can plan and make decisions; the victim can participate in clinical trials; and there is time to take advantage of new medications which can delay the onset of more severe symptoms for a time.
We were very grateful for Bonnie's presentation which is, or will be, relevant and important to nearly every member or their loved ones.