This Creative Dementia Therapy Is Truly Life-Changing – and Fun!

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An older gentleman is smiling and riding in a vintage vehicle, participating in a creative dementia therapy technique called reminiscence therapy.

Try this easy and creative dementia therapy technique to spark engagement in someone you love.

Have you ever experienced that jolt of a distant memory that suddenly pops to the forefront of your mind, perhaps through a song, a scent, an image from the past? For those with Alzheimer’s disease, the strength of long-term memory is particularly impactful, as short-term memory weakens. And it’s what has sparked a growing trend in a creative dementia therapy technique known as reminiscence therapy.

What Is Reminiscence Therapy?

In a nutshell, reminiscence therapy involves tapping into the long-term memory and past interests of someone with dementia. It’s a matter of understanding a period of life that the person enjoyed and remembers, and meeting them there through conversations, photos, and other memorabilia. The internet is a great resource for finding pictures and articles specific to whatever sparks the person’s interest and memory.

A much more elaborate example of reminiscence therapy in action is the transformation of a 9,000-square-foot building in Chula Vista, California, into an interactive 1950s town, complete with storefronts such as a diner, a movie theater, and a clinic, all in operation just as they would have been during that era. Further exploration of the facility will lead you to a 1959 T-Bird, large-scale military airplane models, and an office where staff peck away at manual typewriters.

In reality, this incredible facility is an ultra-engaging adult day/memory care unit. Scott Tarde, CEO, explains, “It definitely made sense to me to create an environment that resonated strongly with people, instead of just four walls and a television.”

Dr. Daniel Bateman, geriatric psychiatrist at the Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, concurs: “It’s cutting edge and it’s exciting work. One of the great pieces about the concept is that it really focuses on maintaining the dignity and the humanity of people with dementia, which can often be lost.”

Of course, reminiscence therapy doesn’t need to be nearly this in-depth to be effective. At Responsive Home Care, we bring creative concepts such as these on a smaller scale into the homes of those with dementia, with specialized, person-centered, professional Alzheimer’s care. We get to know each individual’s life story, and incorporate those details into our plan of care to ensure that life is lived to the fullest each and every day.

Our specially trained dementia care team can make each day the best it can be for an older adult you love, through customized services such as:

  • Preventing falls and wandering
  • Engagement in meaningful and enjoyable activities
  • Preparing meals and providing help with eating if needed
  • Exercise and physical activity as encouraged by the doctor
  • Accompanied transportation to fun outings, family get-togethers, appointments, etc.
  • Creative tactics to manage challenging behaviors
  • And much more

Caring for an older loved one with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia isn’t easy, and can quickly lead to caregiver burnout or depression without support. We’re here to walk beside you every step of the way to ensure the person you love receives the highest level of care, and that you have the time you need to step away to take much-needed breaks.

Whether you need just a few hours each week of support, around-the-clock care, or anything in between, our dementia care team can help! Contact us at 954-486-6440 to learn more about our dementia care services in Davie, Parkland, Tamarac, and the surrounding areas, and to request a free in-home consultation.

The New Developments in Alzheimer’s Research That May Surprise You

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brain connections head illustrationIf there is one constant thing in the race to solve the puzzle of Alzheimer’s, it is change. It appears as though any time researchers start to get a grasp on one piece of information, new information shifts their hypotheses in an alternative direction. That is most certainly the situation with the amazing new developments in Alzheimer’s research.

For the first time ever, scientists from the University of Cambridge have been in a position to study human data as opposed to animal models. Their findings point to an origin of the disease in several regions of the brain, instead of a single location that sets off a chain reaction, as previously surmised from scientific studies of the brains of mice.

Dr. Georg Meisl of Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry explains, “The thinking had been that Alzheimer’s develops in a way that’s similar to many cancers: the aggregates form in one region and then spread through the brain. But instead, we found that when Alzheimer’s starts there are already aggregates in multiple regions of the brain, and so trying to stop the spread between regions will do little to slow the disease.”

Because of this, the disease’s progression is predicated upon how fast cells are destroyed within these different regions. This new insight will undoubtedly be extremely beneficial in the advancement of treatment plans that target the processes that happen at the beginning of Alzheimer’s. Further good news: the replication of the tau and amyloid beta proteins responsible for Alzheimer’s happens slowly, and our neurons are already evolving to stop the aggregation of these proteins. Hopefully soon, science and biology will work together to help the millions of individuals impacted by Alzheimer’s.

The next step will likely be for researchers to further investigate the processes involved in the earliest stages associated with the disease, while extending research to other health conditions, for example, progressive supranuclear palsy and traumatic brain injury. The data obtained could even help provide clues into more effective treatments for other common neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease.

If someone you love is battling Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, reach out to our dementia care team for helpful information and assistance with innovative, skilled, hands-on caregiving support. Our creative, patient, and caring methods alleviate the strain of challenging behaviors including:

  • Sundowning
  • Wandering
  • Aggression
  • Agitation
  • Frustration
  • Confusion
  • Disorientation
  • And many others

Give us a call any time at 954-486-6440, and we can discuss solutions to help with the particular challenges a senior you love is facing. You’re never alone with Responsive Home Care’s trained experts by your side! To learn more about our dementia care in Hollywood, FL and the surrounding areas, contact us today.

Searching for an Alzheimer’s Cure: The Link Between Cold Water and Dementia

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Alzheimer's cure - link between cold water and dementia

There may be a link between cold water and fighting dementia, according to experts.

In this striking new development towards an Alzheimer’s cure, a “cold-shock” protein, which is found in swimmers’ blood, is showing promising results in slowing and even reversing the progression of dementia in mice – leading researchers to further explore this link between cold water and dementia.

Related to the hibernation capacity in all mammals when exposed to cold weather, the research ties in to knowledge we already possess about how cooling body temperature can sometimes protect the brain. For example, those who experience a head injury are often cooled during surgical procedures.

And while it’s not yet fully understood, researchers know that even though some brain connections are lost during hibernation, they’re fully restored upon the mammals’ awakening in the spring. For those with Alzheimer’s disease, the lost connections lead to confusion, loss of memory, behavioral challenges and mood swings, and more – and to date, once lost, cannot be restored.

In the study, both healthy mice and those with Alzheimer’s were cooled to a level of hypothermia. Rewarming the healthy mice showed a restoration of synapses that the Alzheimer’s mice did not experience – thought to be due to the “cold-shock” protein RBM3 that was evident in only the healthy mice. As a result, researchers surmise that RBM3 may be the key to regaining functionality of brain connections.

At the time of the study, RBM3 had not yet been detected in humans, leading researchers to seek out volunteer winter swimmers, who were already becoming hypothermic on a regular basis and could help researchers determine whether the cold prompted the production of RBM3. The result: a significant portion of the volunteers were found to have high levels of RBM3 in their blood.

There are inherent dangers in exposure to the cold, however. It raises heart rate and blood pressure, slows responses, and increases breathing rate, and is too risky for researchers to recommend for seniors with dementia. The goal is to develop a drug to stimulate RBM3 production in humans and to determine its impact on dementia, in particular, to delay or prevent the disease.

“If you slowed the progress of dementia by even a couple of years on a whole population, that would have an enormous impact economically and health-wise,” explains Professor Giovanna Mallucci, head of the UK Dementia Research Institute’s Centre at the University of Cambridge.

We look forward to learning more about this link between cold water and dementia, and other promising research to help diminish the effects of dementia or possibly lead to an Alzheimer’s cure. Always here to match you with a caregiver in Fort Lauderdale, Florida or the surrounding areas, we at Responsive Home Care are premier providers of highly skilled and creative dementia care. Call us at (954) 486-6440 to learn more.

A New Cancer Treatment for All Types of the Disease Could Be on the Horizon

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3d illustration proteins with lymphocytes , t cells or cancer cells

The T-cell destroys threats to our bodies, including cancer cells.

We are already aware of how incredible our body’s immune system is in fighting invading bacteria and viruses and restoring us to health following an illness, even so, the most recent conclusions from a report by Cardiff University are poised to generate an innovative and unforeseen advancement: halting cancer in its tracks.

Researchers uncovered a certain kind of immune cell, a T-cell, found in our blood, which can scan and destroy threats – including a wide selection of cancer cells: kidney, prostate, colon, lung, breast, ovarian, cervical, blood, and many others. And incredibly, all normal tissue is left unaffected.

The newly uncovered T-cell works closely with a specific molecule found on the surface of each cell inside our body, known as the MR1 molecule. The theory is that the MR1 is alerting the T-cell of any cancer cell malformations. Garry Dolton, who was a part of the research team, points out, “We are the first to describe a T-cell that finds MR1 in cancer cells – that hasn’t been done before; this is the first of its kind.”

While there is currently a comparable kind of therapy, called CAR-T, that has shown extraordinary outcomes in bringing individuals from a terminal status to complete remission, it is only shown to be effective in specific types of cancer, and not “solid cancers” (those that form tumors). This new cancer treatment has demonstrated thus far to impact all forms of the disease. Here’s how it is projected to get results:

  • Blood is extracted from a patient diagnosed with cancer.
  • The blood is filtered to remove T-cells.
  • A particular variety of harmless virus is injected into the T-cells, allowing them to pick up on cancer cells.
  • These cells are then replicated in a lab, and injected back into the patient.

Researchers have been tremendously successful in animal trials, and with additional safety checks, the next step will likely be human trials. As stated by Daniel Davis, professor of immunology at the University of Manchester, “There is no question that it’s a very exciting discovery, both for advancing our basic knowledge about the immune system and for the possibility of future new medicines.”

While we keep an eye out for additional info regarding this new cancer treatment, you can depend upon Responsive Home Care for the finest quality care for individuals with cancer as well as other chronic conditions. Just some of the countless ways we are able to assist you include:

Take the first step to a better quality of life for a senior you love. Call the best home care company in Fort Lauderdale, FL at 954-486-6440 and ask for an in-home meeting.

This Latest Alzheimer’s Treatment May Help Combat Memory Loss

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Artificial intelligence, machine learning concept with glowing brain neurons.

Learn about the latest dementia treatment and how it’s helping with memory loss.

Memory loss and Alzheimer’s go hand in hand, and until now, researchers have been stumped in determining how to prevent, or remove, those beta-amyloid and tau proteins at the heart of the problem. Yet recent research has shown incredible results in significantly reducing memory loss in those with dementia, through a cap-like device that transmits electromagnetic waves.

Shown effective in mouse experiments, trials proceeded to human participants, who wore the device twice daily for an hour over a period of two months. To confirm results, the participants were tested using the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-cog), and incredibly, a full four-point score increase was achieved at the end of the trial. In laymen’s terms, this equates to regaining a full year of cognitive functioning that had been lost.

Dr. Gary Arendash, CEO of NeuroEM Therapeutics, the company responsible for the study, added, “We were particularly surprised that this highly significant improvement in the ADAS-cog was maintained even two weeks after treatment was completed. The most likely explanation for continued benefit after cessation of treatment is that the Alzheimer’s disease process itself was being effected.”

Blood work, cerebrospinal fluid assessment, and MRI scans confirmed a disaggregation of beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles, as well as improved communication between brain cells in the area key to cognitive function.

And perhaps most encouraging: all of the participants wanted to continue utilizing the head devices after the study was completed. The next step will be to engage in a larger clinical trial, to include the original participants and others, lasting 17 months. The goal is to make the device available to the public by 2021.

Stay tuned! Responsive Home Care, the Sunrise elderly care experts, remains on top of this and other trends in the quest to effectively treat, and eventually cure, Alzheimer’s disease. In the meantime, we will continue to provide highly customized, creative, compassionate dementia care for seniors at home throughout Broward County, Florida. Contact us at 954-486-6440 for a free in-home consultation to discover more about how we’re helping improve life for those with dementia.