Artist Records Alzheimer's Battle with Self-Portraits

Artist William Utermohlen was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1995, and from the time of his diagnosis until 2001, he documented his decline with a series of self-portraits.  Utermohlen passed away in 2007.

View some of these amazing and poignant renderings and read about Ultermohlen's life at http://williamutermohlen.org/index.php/homepage

A Huffington Post article with 7 of his self-portraits is here http://huff.to/1wWAZFl

 

NICOTINE PATCHES IMPROVE MEMORY

A six-month study was performed with elderly patients who had mild memory issues.

One half of the group of 74 were given nicotine patches while the other half received placebos. Not only did those using the nicotine patches have improvement, the other group worsened.

The results were enough to encourage researchers to plan further studies.

More information at: http://bit.ly/1nTpbPm

Maternal Alzheimer's Connection

My mother suffered from dementia for the last 20 years of her life, so I was alarmed to read a study published in Neurology  that suggests that if your mother had Alzheimer's disease you have a greater risk of falling victim to the disease.

The study consisted of 53 people over the age of 60. Ten of them had a father with Alzheimer's, 11 had a mother with Alzheimer's, and 32 had no family history of the disease.

Participants whose mothers had Alzheimer's had about one-and-one-half times the annual brain shrinkage of both those with no family history and those whose fathers had the disease.

Previous studies also have linked Alzheimer's with mothers, suggesting a possible mitochondrial DNA cause, because such DNA is only inherited maternally.

Experts warn, however, that this study sample of 53 is too small to draw any firm conclusions. That makes me feel better. And then, too, my grandmother, Mom's mom, lived to 86 without developing dementia!
For more information --

http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20110228/mothers-alzheimers-disease-may-boost-your-risk

 

Glen Campbell and Alzheimer’s

 

Glen Campbell was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 2012 Grammys. As the singer performed Rhinestone Cowboy on the show, it was difficult to believe he was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. But that’s the way the disease goes– even though patients struggle with remembering, they still continue to function.

Campbell and his family knew something was wrong with his memory for years. He made a public announcement of his condition in 2011 and went on a Goodbye Tour that ended in November 2012. 

You can view his Grammys performance here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogpGUm6NQYs