"Equivalent of a few drops in four swimming pools of water"

Potential Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Cure Found In Century-old Drug
ScienceDaily (Aug. 18, 2008) — A new study conducted by researchers at
Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland shows that a century...

I've volunteered with the elderly for thirty-five years but am stumped
in regard to the behavior of an independent 80-something friend. Maybe
someone here can give me some feedback.

This woman has experienced far too much loss in too short a period of
time. Within the past year, her husband of nearly sixty years entered
a nursing home with advanced Alzheimers, after a police stand-off in
which he threatened someone with shattered glass in the lobby of the
apartment complex where they were highly-respected residents (not to
mention community leaders in the broader community). She was told she
had stomach cancer and underwent radiation that made her waste away (I
infer from her conversation that the diagnosis may have been wrong and
that the real problem may have been something as benign as an ovarian
cyst).

She has two grown sons that mimic the Prodigal Son relationship: one
charming eldest who lives in another state and won't even visit the
father, now that the former community leader is stricken. The second
son is scrupulously dutiful but emotionally distant. Nevertheless, if
it weren't for this second, close-to-home son, I don't see how my
friend could possibly remain living independently.

"Iron chelating properties of epigallocatechin-3-gallate"

The application of proteomics for studying the neurorescue activity of
the polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate
Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Volume 476, Issue 2, 15
August 2008, Pages 152-160
Orly Weinreb, Tamar Amit, Moussa B.H. Youdim

Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that oxidative stress resulting in
reactive oxygen species generation plays a pivotal role in
neurodegenerative diseases, supporting the realization of the use of...

I've seen a couple of posts here about The 36-Hour Day and it sounds
like something I need to read.

I'm going to check with the book store tomorrow and if not in stock will
order it.

I don't think I have cried so much in my whole life as I have these past
few months. I look in the mirror and I don't see the same person I was
not long ago.

Never know from one day to the next what to expect - go to sleep at
night (finally) wondering what the following morning will bring.

I know I am not telling you anything you don't already know.

Just thanks for listening AND thanks for mentioning the book!

Lynn

Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary is next month, and Dad asked me
to take her shopping for a new dress. She has tremors in her hands, so I
was thinking something easy to slip over the head, no buttons, no zippers.

She has no opinion on anything, so I'm doing some selecting and she's
agreeing to "at least try it." So we get in the little dressing room,
the two of us, several dresses in various sizes. I get her out of blouse
and sweater. Now I discover why everything she owns has buttons. She
cannot get anything over her head unless it is very stretchy, such as a
cotton knit top with a wide neckline. She cannot lift her arms above her
shoulders.

We finally found a dress that would work with a zipper up the back. She
isn't too sure about it. I think it looks nice, but it is not as dressy
as what I think Dad had in mind. (They are renewing their vows during
the Sunday morning church service and then my aunt and I are hosting a
small drop-in that afternoon.) So we agreed to buy it and hold onto the
receipt in case we find something better.

If I would just go check out my own recommendations before hitting Send

My local PBS station aired a rebroadcast of "The Forgetting" earlier
this week. It's a two-hour (I think) documentary on Alz, including
interviews with doctors, researchers, patients and their families. It
includes segments with people in mild, moderate and advanced stages.

It lacks the practical caregiving advice found in The 36-Hour Day, but
it does give a good overview in a frank but not sensationalized way.
Some people cannot find time or the quiet to read a book but can carve
out two hours for a "movie." I suggested my brother watch it; he's not
involved in day-to-day care like I am, but this will help him understand
better the whole scope.

Check to see if your PBS station is showing it (go to www.pbs.org and
click on schedule -- then enter your zip code and select your station,
then search by programs under F for Forgetting), or I think I saw it on
DVD at Blockbuster once. Your local library may also have it -- I think
when it first came out a lot of Alz Associations donated copies to the
local library.

Seems like everyone has an opinion, so I will throw mine in also.
My friend is in a nursing home, where anti-depressants are used.
My friend does not take any anti-depressants but developed a terrible rash
on her neck. That is only one symptom she has had, it was cleared up for
the time being with a salve. But the problem goes elsewhere, like sores on
the knees, a weight gain of 40 lbs., eating out of control. I have said
this before and I will say it again, because it is embedded in my brain and
causes me no end of worry and distress.
Does anyone in your home take anti-depressant. Xanax, Prozac, etc. or even
marijuana etc. All stimulants have the ability to cause Crohns Disease to
a person known to the user of the anti-depressant simply by the mind/body
connection, literally. And the symptoms continue whether the two or more
persons are in the same room or miles apart.
Only the mind and stimulant are necessary. I caught your word "voodoo"
which I have never used, but it struck me that to a person unaware of this
uncieintific illness could express their feeling of this unscientific
reaction as "voodoo"
Now. Evelyn will contradict me and she may be right, but I do not say
anything when she writes because her info can be correct, but so can mine
and you are entitled to hear all sides. I see this condition in the ...

Dad lives at home and developed small bumps with itching back in June. At
first I thought it was psychological itching at there were times when he
didn't itch at all, but around the 1st of July I too developed the small
bumps and itching. Since then all three of his sitters have it. Dad itches
most of the time and his skin is a national disaster area.

Problem is that I can't get a positive diagnosis. One dermatologist looked
at Dad in July and said it was dermatitis. Then, after my itching was fully
developed, I saw our primary physician who said it's Scabies although the
infestation pattern doesn't quite fit. The doctor did no tests or
examination to confirm Scabies; he is just going by the appearance. The home
health nurse says it's due to fleas (we do have a cat) but no fleas have
been seen on the cat or in the house. I got the pest control people involved
and they can find no blood feeding varmints, fleas or otherwise, to explain
the bites and itching.

The objectives of the symposium are to construct a shared scientific knowledge base of factors
that contribute to the development of cancer-related fatigue based on what we already know (EFF),
identify the gaps in current knowledge and reach consensus on research directions for an international
program of research on fatigue and develop an international research collaboration that links researchers
working along similar lines of inquiry to address knowledge gaps.
For more info, go to www.fatiguesymposium.ca