Alzheimer’s Drug Research – A Ray of Hope
Read Finding Suggests New Target for Alzheimer’s Drugs, by New York Times science reporter Gina Kolata, to learn about a new direction in Alzheimer’s disease research. In her article Kolata writes about Nobel Prize winner (2000) Paul Greengard, an 84-year-old scientist, who is studying a specific protein, gamma secretase activating protein, that can possibly be targeted by drugs to stop the production of beta amyloid, which is responsible for the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Greengard is the Vincent Astor Professor and director of the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research, at Rockefeller University in New York City. An article about his research (abstract) is published in Nature. Moreover, a quick search on PubMed reveals that Professor Greengard’s name has appeared on 16 scientific papers published this year. Read more »
iPad for Dad, # 14: A Report from Dad
When my daughter and son-in-law provided this iPad, it was with the knowledge and recognition that I never honed my computer skills to my satisfaction. Nevertheless, I made significant strides using a laptop and writing paragraphs of opinion over the years. The laptop, while useful, could be complex. The iPad is not.
I have been keeping a journal in longhand since 1949. In addition, in this computer era I have written perhaps more than a thousand, not quite essays, but certainly multiple paragraphs on a range of subjects – poetry, politics, church, social issues, sports, music, family, etc., etc., etc.
My present experience with iPad is a delight. The tiny keyboard and screen belie the capacity. I rarely play games, but I can. This gadget has already ingratiated itself — what with Google, Wikipedia, keeping my writing on the yellow pad, e-mailing them if I wish, and soon printing. One can go on and on typing at a swift pace to keep up with the swift line of mental (and emotional) opinion.
So how useful is iPad? Notably it’s my stream of self-expression; then a source of information; then a place to listen. It’s not quite my reader as yet, because I prefer to snuggle up with the smaller book or periodical.
Read a post I wrote, Journaling Legacies, about dad’s lifelong enjoyment of writing.
If you like this post, read some of the other descriptions of our Father/Daughter iPad adventure. iPad for Dad, #1, iPad for Dad, #2, iPad for Dad, #3, iPad for Dad, #4, iPad for Dad, #5, iPad for Dad, #6, iPad for Dad, #7, iPad for Dad, #8, iPad for Dad, #9, iPad for Dad, #10, iPad for Dad, #11, iPad for Dad, #12, iPad for Dad, #13 and iPad for Dad, #14
Seniors Embrace Social Networking According to Pew
Click on the graph to go to the page at Pew with a larger version.
If this post interests you, be sure and read Yes, Grandma is on Facebook, a post from a few days ago.
The Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project published a new study about seniors and social networking. According to Mary Madden, the report’s author, “Young adults continue to be the heaviest users of social media, but their growth pales in comparison with recent gains made by older users.” Between April 2009 and March 2010, the number of seniors involved in social networking activities increased by 100 percent. The report says that one in four seniors now use social networking sites, though e-mail is still the most used networking tool. Read the executive summary.
The graph to the right compares the increase in social networking use among four age groups, with seniors growing at the fastest rate. To see a larger, more readable version of the graph, click on the graph and go to the Pew site. The larger graph is toward the middle of the page.
Aging Mothers-Adult Daughters: Dreams of Chocolate
Just about everyone dreams of eating chocolate. Well, not everyone. My husband is someone who really doesn’t care for it that much. But recent research brings some interesting news for the rest of us — a little indulgence may be OK.
According to an August 16, 2010 study, Chocolate Intake and Incidence of Heart Failure: a Population-Based, Prospective Study of Middle-Aged and Elderly Women (that would mean senior moms and adult daughters), moderate habitual chocolate consumption is “associated with a lower rate of HF [heart failure] hospitalization or death.” The study, led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (affiliated with Harvard Medical School) and published by Circulation: Heart Failure, examined the diets and heart failure outcomes of more than 31,000 women between the ages of 48 and 83 over nine years.
Yes, Grandma is on Facebook
Join Facebook? For three years I avoided the site. I knew that some of my friends from work, church, and other activities were joining, but I just did not feel like it was a fit. My daughter, then in graduate school, used the social networking site, and she occasionally suggested I get started with Facebook. Still I refrained.
At some point, however, I became aware that my mother and my daughter were communicating with each other more than usual. They knew things about each other that I did not know. Finally my daughter mentioned that her grandmother – my mother — was on Facebook and that the two of them had “friended’ one another. That’s when I called Mom, at that time age 81. She explained that her fellow workers from the Obama campaign, exceptional young people she called them, had arranged virtual reunions on Facebook. They wanted her to participate and helped her get started.
So I found that I was in the middle, but basically out of the generational communication loop. By the time I tuned in, my mother had over 100 friends, all people she knew in one way or another (no strangers, she reassured me), and quite a few in her age range. I signed up for Facebook.
Palliative Care on the Diane Rehm Show (NPR)
Listen to an amazing episode of The Diane Rehm Show (NPR) that explores the recent study on palliative care in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Diane’s guests include Dr. Jennifer Temel of the Harvard Medical School, a lead author of the study, and Dr. Diane Meier, who leads the Center to Advance Palliative Care at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Dr. Meier was one of the authors of the NEJM editorial, Palliative Care – A Shifting Paradigm, which accompanied the article about the study. Christina Tate, a nurse practitioner working in palliative care at Georgetown University Hospital, and Dr. Atul Gwande also joined the panel. Dr. Gwande recently published a New Yorker article, Letting Go, about end-of-life issues. Read my post on his article.
One of the most interesting aspects of the program is the discussion about end-of-life care, hospice, and palliative care, focusing on how they differ from one another. Of note is that palliative care is not limited to the terminally ill, and also that a patient can receive palliative care while also receiving treatment.
Cardiac Procedures and Surgeries – Good Descriptions
Last summer my father’s internist referred him to a cardiologist who found an abdominal aneurysm. Dad underwent several cardiac procedures. Understanding an enormous amount of information in a short time was difficult for everyone in our family, and especially for my parents. While the physicians’ explanations were clear and helpful to our family, many questions arose after the office visit and these were often answered by office staff whose answers felt pre-packaged and
rushed.
A few days ago MedlinePlus, in one of its daily e-mail updates, included a link to a website page at the American Heart Association where cardiac heart procedures and surgeries are clearly described and explained. Another link leads to a page that describes diagnostic tests and procedures.
A helpful site for families who have questions about heart irregularities and procedures.
Times Are a’Changing: The Beloit College Mindset List
Each year I pass along this Beloit College Mindset list to just about everyone I know. Compiled by Professor Tom McBride and colleague Ron Nief at Beloit College, the list is a set of observations about the entering freshman class — designed to help the Beloit faculty understand a bit more about the thinking and the experiences of their new students. This year’s entering students are in the class of 2014.
According to the Mindset List introduction, “The college class of 2014 reminds us, once again, that a generation comes and goes in the blink of our eyes, which are, like the rest of us, getting older and older.” Read about the history and background of the Mindset List which Professor McBride has been compiling since 1998.
Aging Parents: The Greatest Generation Understands Religious Freedom
Uncle Sherman's B-24 Crew
Periodically a national issue becomes so significant that no one can address it besides our elders — and I mean the elder-elders — the people, now in their 80s and 90s — who fought to stop Hitler and the Holocaust. Elder-elders know what can happen when you demonize a religion, the way some people are demonizing Islam today.
I hope our elder-elders, those still living, can raise their voices to say, “Stop!” and then go on to give a collective history lesson reminding us that the Constitution guarantees religious freedom for everyone, not just for some. Oh, and they can tell younger generations to stop throwing around the word Nazi. The elder-elders have seen — up close and personal — how the Nazis were responsible for the death of tens of millions during World War II.
Called “the greatest generation,” our elder-elders put themselves in grave danger and saw countless friends and family members die, all in a quest to stop Hitler, stop the murder of Jews, and basically save the world. Those
who did not fight found other ways to help.
As a child, I grew up hearing stories about the war and the evils of Hitler. I knew people with physical war injuries and men who were so emotionally injured that they could never live a normal life again. I also knew immigrant Americans with tattoos on their arms. The older generation in my life, today’s elder-elders, taught me that no matter how evil a few people might be, you don’t denigrate the group, and if you don’t understand a religion, show respect and try to get to know the people.
Which brings me to Uncle Sherman, a B-24 tail gunner in World War II and a member of the “greatest generation.”
iPad for Dad #13, Keyboard Update – Next Step Printing
Is there any way to print directly from the yellow pad? Image from Apple website.
My Dad now uses his iPad keyboard to write on the yellow note pad multiple times each day. Sometimes he just writes, but at other times he taps the letter icon and send his writing off, via e-mail, to a family member or friend. I have received a number of these compositions and get a thrill out of reading each one that arrives.
Now Dad wants to print from his iPad. While I’ve learned to write a lot and print a little, printing is important to my father.
To learn a bit more I downloaded the Print Central app to my iPhone. I checked out a number of printing applications on the iPhone, and this looked most interesting, though it is also one of the most expensive applications that I have purchased. It prints e-mail, pictures, and documents easily, sending the files to my wireless HP printer.
On Becoming A Grown-up Child…
One day in April 2007 my husband and I were the adult kids in our families — we are the only adult children
— and the next day we became what we laughingly call “real grown-ups,” helping first one, then two, and increasingly all three of our parents. It’s time to give back, and we do so willingly and happily. However the process is not easy, and it is not free from anxiety and tension. Moreover, there is so much to learn.
Check out the As Our Parents Age About page to learn more about the mission of this blog.
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iPad for Dad Mentioned in Bloomberg Article
Check Out the New Medline Plus Website
Dr. Bill Thomas- Elder Care
- Life With Father
- Transition Aging Parents
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