Dementia Is Everywhere.

[Haggard Celine]

I meet my parents once a week for lunch and they're telling me every time about someone in the family or a friend who has dementia and/or Alzheimer's. I don't remember this from my childhood or even 20 years ago. What is going on? And they aren't all old, either. Is Alzheimer's a prion disease? Could we be ingesting something that's causing this? How much more of this are we going to see?

[Coldwater]

1. The biggest risk factor

seems to be age, with people living longer and in many cases into their late 70s, 80, and 90s dementia has become more common.

[Demobrat]

2. A close friend of mine was diagnosed at 64.

She’s been a pretty heavy drinker throughout her life. No idea if there’s a connection or not, since her mother had it. Could be hereditary too.

[Coldwater]

4. Alcohol and smoking

are both risk factors

[BeerBarrelPolka]

6. My mother died of Alzheimer's

I have memory issues from concussions when I boxed and wrestled. I asked one of my neurologists if Alzheimer's is hereditary and he said it is not. He said at best I would have a 1% greater risk, so that is considered insignificant.

[Mossfern]

20. My mother succumbed to Alzheimers

I participated in a study that took people who carry the APOE4 gene that many Alzheimer's sufferers have. I have only one of the set of two genes. There are those researchers who do indeed consider it hereditary. To be clear, they informed participants that if they do indeed carry the gene, that is does not necessarily mean that the carrier will have Alzheimer's - just that there's a correlation, not a causation...maybe.

After numerous cognitive tests - a little more rigorous than the ones than Trump took, regular blood tests urine tests,, MRI of brain, PT scan of brain. I was released from the study because I showed no trace of Alzheimer's. That doesn't mean that I won't develop it in the future. My mom was diagnosed in her mid 80's. I'm *only* 77. My grandfather had some sort of dementia that started in his 90's, but he had Parkinson's disease for decades by then and lived till his late 90's - didn't quite make it to 100.

[BeerBarrelPolka]

21. Sorry for your loss

My doctor is who I have to follow. He's top of his field in this regards to this, so I'm sticking to his word. Either way for me I don't care. I have irreversible memory loss so I'm just as bad as Alzheimer's, as mine will progress as well.

[Mossfern]

22. Just to add regarding my mother ....

She was jolly and fun until the very end at 89 years old.
A little strange, indeed, but fun to be around as we accepted her as she was.

Yes, sometimes a bit frustrating as she loved to pull the fire alarm in her facility, just to see the "handsome young firemen" enter the building and other mischievous behavior. But hell, wouldn't anyone love to be so uninhibited? She developed false memories of being Italian, and greeted us as her "paisans". What a trip.

[BeerBarrelPolka]

23. My mom went through all the stages

Violent, quiet, depressed, but never happy. I took her car once to rush to pick up her meds. On the way home I was stopped by the cops and told to come out of the car with my hands up (it was a convertible). She reported the car stolen. I showed the cop my address and the meds and he shook his head and we laughed. He followed me home to make sure she was ok.

Lot's of bad memories like her setting the house on fire (that was the last straw). She died at 83 years of age.

[Rebl2]

24. I had an

Aunt that had it as well as her sister and their mother. Now my cousin has it. Hard for me to believe it isn’t hereditary.

[BeerBarrelPolka]

25. Dr. Michael Macken

Take it up with him.

[NotHardly]

29. Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Fact Sheet ...National Institute on Aging

Genes and Alzheimer's disease
If My Parent Has Alzheimer's, Will I Have it Too? Infographic. Click to open page and access pdf
Share this infographic and help spread the word about Alzheimer's genetics.
In most cases, Alzheimer’s does not have a single genetic cause. Instead, it can be influenced by multiple genes in combination with lifestyle and environmental factors. Consequently, a person may carry more than one genetic variant or group of variants that can either increase or reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.

Importantly, people who develop Alzheimer’s do not always have a history of the disease in their families. Still, those who have a parent or sibling diagnosed with the disease have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s than those without that association.

Genetic variants that affect Alzheimer's disease risk
In 2010, we knew of just 10 genetic areas associated with Alzheimer’s. Today, thanks in large part to the work of NIH-funded researchers, we know of at least 80 genetic areas associated with this disease. Understanding which genes play a role — and what role they play — may help identify new methods to prevent, delay, or treat dementia.

One well-known gene that influences Alzheimer’s risk is the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene. The APOE gene is involved in making a protein that helps carry cholesterol and other types of fat in the bloodstream. Problems in this process are thought to contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s. APOE comes in several forms, called alleles (e.g., ε2, ε3).

[Mossfern]

43. Agreed

I carry 1 APOE4 gene. I probably got it from my mother who did indeed have Alzheimer's.

Considering that I also have PTSD-C, ADHD and am a bit on the spectrum in my mental soup, the resulting idiosyncrasies make any diagnosis difficult.

I have had a terrible memory from early childhood, but my family and friends find that "charming and lovable."
Go figure.

Research on this devastating disease has yet to pin down any precise cause.
Some of us feel like ticking time bombs.

[tavernier]

3. It might just be my perception or paranoia

But I think people are acting either more demented or just plain weirder and meaner since Covid. Of course Trump has exacerbated all of our emotions. So who knows what the root cause is, but I agree. Things are different.

[NJCher]

9. I think you covered

The bases in this brief post.

I remember when Obama won the presidency. It seemed to crack the glass ceiling. We knew black leaders had no limits.

Conversely, when a cretin like trump cheats his way into the presidency and its subsequent visibility, the sheer awareness of pettiness and utter stupidity in daily life makes it more common.

[Ziggysmom]

5. We all have microplastics in our brain.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-human-brain-may-contain-as-much-as-a-spoons-worth-of-microplastics-new-research-suggests-180985995/

[Haggard Celine]

38. That's interesting, thanks for the link.

The article says plastic production doubles every 10-15 years. That's insane! I hope they're working on an alternative to plastics. We need to stop using them as much as possible.

[BeerBarrelPolka]

7. Senile

It existed when I was a kid (I'm 61) and the folks were called senile. Just like dropsy is never mentioned by that name anymore.

[ScotLass]

8. Age and experiences

As we age ourselves we become much more aware of this Diagnosis, add to this Elderly parents, my own father now lives in a dementia unit and I now have 3 years experience of a ring side view of all the wonderful people in that unit who have come and gone in that time, People from all backgrounds, professional sports stars, every work profession and station in life, this disease does not discriminate much more research needs to be done, we need to stop thinking of it as a disease of the very elderly and look at preventing / controlling this condition in the early stages and make the current generation the last to be affected.

[evemac]

10. Imagine if we had a government

That used money for research and development on causality and innovative medications for dementia instead of on the military.

[Norbert]

11. My grandmother had dementia in the 1970s

It might well have been Alzheimer's but I'm not sure and I will never know. Back then I had never heard of Alzheimer's Disease. The doctors thought her problem may have been hardening of the arteries to the brain. She was never violent. For a time she thought she was a pre-teen girl which I honestly thought she was going back to a happy time in her life. Who knows? Even a brain in the throws of dementia is a complicated thing.

[Blue Full Moon]

12. Diabetes

Alzheimer's is considered the 3rd type of diabetes.

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2019/05/414326/alzheimers-disease-double-prion-disorder-study-shows

[Haggard Celine]

40. So it is a prion disease.

We have them in our food. I don't think they did enough testing of cattle back during the big Mad Cow outbreak. We're all going to get dementia and roam around like zombies. Okay, maybe it won't be that bad, but it's scary. I hope if I get Alzheimer's that I'm not really aware of my condition. It would be a horror to watch myself descend into madness.

[Blue Full Moon]

41. They have made great strides with treatment.

Best diabetes diet no beef. Because of the sugars it breaks down into.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

17. It's a combination of people living longer and the people you pay attention to being older.

[GoCubsGo]

42. Yup, you notice it a lot more when you are in the demographic

where dementia and Alzheimer's tend to set in. If you or your parents are in their late 60s or older, odds are that you and they will have a lot more peers with it than 20 years ago.

[Irish_Dem]

18. We live in a toxic soup. And it shows.

Children and older people with neurological problems.
More younger people with cancer diagnoses.

[moonscape]

19. A friend's dog started

barking and howling in the evening and it goes on all night. Turned out she has dementia and it’s Sundowners! My friend is exhausted, can’t sleep and heartbroken. She has tried tranquilizers the vet prescribed, then CBD - nothing has worked.

[Walleye]

26. My cat was about 14 years old when she started attacking me leaving me bloody. There was no way to stop her.

She had dementia

[Walleye]

27. My grandmother had Alzheimer's at least 50 years ago before they even had a name for it

My uncle, her son, got Alzheimer’s in his 80s. He was very fit throughout his life, and he didn’t get it nearly as bad as my grandmother who was agitated and confused all the time, she died of it.

[bucolic_frolic]

28. The YouTube real medical doctors have convinced me

the roots of obesity, diabetes, aging, dementia, and cancer all begin with the same root. These are metabolic diseases that begin with sugar and carbohydrates, starches and near sugars in our diet, and seed oils. We were hardly ingesting this stuff in 1880, and now we have fruit, snacks, fried food year round. Ice cream can hardly be found without gums, stretchers, additives, fructose. Sodas are a chemical blend.

Dr. Berg, Dr. Boz, RemissionSupport, Dr. Jamnadas. They're doing more for me than any local charlatans.

[NoRethugFriends]

30. Just speculation. Correlation does not equal causality.

Funny that you allegedly eschew charlatans, but then use the ones you name.

[bucolic_frolic]

31. Just pure smack based on ignorance. I'll listen to the doctors, not you.

I doubt you even listened to the evidence if only because there was no time for you to watch it before you rejected it.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

32. .

We were hardly ingesting this stuff in 1880,

What stuff? Carbohydrates? Sugar? Oil? c'mon now

[Iwasthere]

33. IT IS DIET AND ENVIRONMENT. AND PLASTICS.

Low quality, processed junk foods.Eat only high quality grass fed meats and organic vegetables free of chemicals (if they have to wear hasmat suits to spray crops then you should avoid).

Stay 100% away from nasty chemicals of all kinds. Replace your chemical laden lawn with vegetable gardens. Hygiene products are another threat to our brains (aluminum).

It's not rocket science. Common sense.

Live like your great grandparents did with whole clean foods and environment.

[hedda_foil]

34. Boomers' great grandparents often died in their late 50s to early 60s, Many more very old people now.

[hunter]

36. One of my great grandmothers who lived an almost idyllic rural life in a clean environment...

... and ate all natural foods became a danger to herself and others when her brain started to fail in her mid eighties.

At first it was small things but soon her family had to take away her car and guns and knives. Then they had to watch her 24/7 so she wouldn't wander off. Etc..

My mom mostly shielded me and my siblings from all of that, so I remember my great grandmother as a bright, cheerful, strong, practical woman who didn't take shit from anyone.

It must have been horrible for everyone to watch her fade away.

[DavidDvorkin]

35. Dementia is actually declining as a percentage of old people who have it

But the number of old people is increasing so rapidly that the number of dementia cases is increasing.

[Haggard Celine]

37. I'm hardly ever around any young people.

So I am hearing about older people from my parents. But some of these people are rather young, younger than me, and I'm 56. Maybe my perception is skewed, but it's scary because I wonder how much people with dementia are aware of their situation. I sure hope they're oblivious to it.

[Aussie105]

44. Ode to Dementia.

The light dims gently,
The memories fade.

Confusion and gabble is the order of the day.

Relatives visit
But you don't know them.
'Who are you again?' you say.
Sons you gave birth to,
Granddaughters you mothered,
All memories gone, gone in the fog.

Husband visits but you don't know.
Husband sees you,
Doesn't recognise what you are now.

Hates her mother, Wish she was dead!
(Mother died many years ago.)

Nursey says smiling
You are smelling bad!
Time for your shower,
I will fetch the chair.

Nursey smiles for no good reason
Saves her anguish for when she goes home
Her family know the look and leave her alone.

'Have not seen Martha' you say.
Nursey smiles and says
She got better and has gone home.
(The funeral was 2 weeks ago)

Nursey wonders when your turn will come
Open the curtains in the morning
You stiff, stare at the ceiling but not seeing.

Signed:
Husband watching the process.