By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

I really wanted to entitle this article Alzheimer's and the Magic Elixir. However, I am not using anything to mask the taste of my solution so it just didn't fit. I also considered Alzheimer's and the Poop Panacea. Panacea does fit -- panacea is a literary term to represent any solution to solve all problems related to a particular issue.

This article is about implementing a solution to a problem with someone suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

I knew the solution to the dreaded bowel movement for years. I couldn't get my mother to cooperate. When she wouldn't cooperate, I would give up. At least three or four times over a two year period.

I was finally able to implement my solution for one simple reason -- I was learning new and better techniques as an Alzheimer's caregiver over time. I was figuring out how to make things happen through trial and error. I was marrying all of my ideas together and pulling...

Like everyone in the Alzheimer's community, I believe we need more funding for Alzheimer's research. We need to investigate all legitimate hypotheses. We need to do it now.....By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Most invention and breakthroughs in science are accompanied by what is later described as "a sudden flash of genius." I have always imagined that this is what will happen when an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease is discovered.

Rudy Tanzi is a professor of neurology and director of the genetics and aging unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. After having a beer with his buddies, Dr. Tanzi went back to his office and looked at his list of genes associated with Alzheimer's disease. He noticed that many of the genes looked like genes associated with the so-called innate immune system. He walked into the office of his colleague Robert Moir and mentioned this to him. Moir then handed Tanzi a spreadsheet, it was a...

I almost forgot to do a journal tonight… This morning the nurse came to visit Dave and I and then this evening the nurse’s aide came to visit me… I did laundry and fixed supper. I messed up on the recipe when I made the cornbread but we ate it anyhow… Dave and I both have been extra tired today… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

In 2009, unpaid Alzheimer's caregivers provided 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care, this healthcare service contribution to the country is estimated to be worth $144 billion.....By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures 2010

• 5.3 million people have Alzheimer's disease. See Sobering Statistics about Alzheimer's Disease
• Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. See Dementia and the Eight Types of Dementia
• Alzheimer’s disease was the seventh-leading cause of death across all ages in the United States in 2006.
• Alzheimer's disease was the fifth-leading cause of death for those aged 65 and older.
• There are 10.9 million unpaid Alzheimer's caregivers in the United States....

.....Or you can do nothing. This is the equivalent of going into your wallet, taking all the money out of your bill fold, and flushing the money down the toilet..... By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Problems with medical billing errors drive me crazy. Not our bills, but the medical bills of relatives and friends. I understand why people might be frustrated or confused. Did you ever try to read a typical medical bill? The only person that can read a typical medical bill is a person that has been trained to read one.

Here is real issue, only 20 percent of medical bills are correct. If you took a 100 question multiple choice test and checked A for every answer, it is likely that you would get 25 percent of the questions correct. I am assuming that you didn't bother to read the questions. So you would do better by guessing every question on a multiple choice test then a typical medical billing company can will do when sending out medical bills.

When...

I'm in DC for the Alzheimer's Political Action Summit. Last night we had a candlelight vigil and David Hyde Pierce was there. We had 11,000 people also join us at the Lincoln Memorial on line through the virtual candlelight vigil as well. Alan and Jennifer joined us and Jennifer shot this group shot and then someone got a shot of them with the Washington Monument behind them. Today we had a

We had a good time. It was a wonderful effort by ordinary people. And amazingly, Dotty was more alive and aware then she has been in quite a while.....By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

We made it to the Hospice fund raiser last night. As they announced the names of all the resident volunteers here at the Pines of Delray I was really impressed. A long list of people chipped in to make it happen.

The Pines of Delray is about a half a mile long and a quarter mile wide. A tiny place. When I put that into perspective and see how much money was raised it shows me what can be accomplished by a small group of people. More than is usually imagined. I wondered to myself, I wonder what would happen if we could get the entire country pulling in the same direction?

The interesting thing is this is a middle class demographic. The generosity is impressive.

The group...

Tonight at the Alzheimer’s Action Summit Candlelight Vigil more than six hundreds voices sang “We Shall Overcome.” Accompanied by an acoustic guitar and with candles held high, the sheer grit and determination of the advocates makes overcoming Alzheimer’s seem more a palpable possibility that just a lofty goal.Steve spoke of living with Alzheimer’s. How we need to use our voices to deliver a firm message that Alzheimer’s is the seventh leading cause of death. It is time to stop accepting crumbs that fall from the table. The time of polite asking has come to an end.David Hyde Pierce motivated us to make our VOICE heard at the Capitol, the White House, and across the nation. Those of us at the Candlelight Rally were joined by more than 10,000 virtual candles. This is the tenth time I’ve lit my candle at the vigil. Something seemed different this time. Maybe it’s something as subtle as the name change from Public Policy Forum to Action Summit. Maybe it’s because we didn’t just have a...

If you’ve followed any news on Alzheimer’s research for the past year, you’ve heard  of the great hope (or hype some might say) about an investigational medicine called Dimebon.  A rusty old antihistamine from Russia, Dimebon had been heralded as the next breakthrough for Alzheimer’s treatment.   Big Pharm Pfizer had stepped up to buy the rights to the drug and, along with its subsidiary company Medivation, was awaiting Phase III clinical trial results.
And the envelope please (sorry I’m watching the Oscars as I’m typing this)…
Long story short, the results were negative – Dimebon acted no better than a placebo with respect to cognitive function improvement in a large (800 patients) scale study.
You’ll find plenty of news stories reporting this downer-of-a-story; I like Dr. Scott Mendelson’s article from the Huffington Post found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

I woke up this morning feeling much better… Rainy today and I walked in the rain. One of my favorite thing to do… The ice cream truck came and took us to Chili’s for baby back ribs. YUMMY!!! We never made it for ice cream… We stopped and looked at an open house. It was really nice… I called Jeanne, George, Carole, and David… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma

From time to time I receive emails asking me my opinion about the use of Etancercept by Dr. Edward Tobinick for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.....By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

It seems like once every year the use of Etanercept for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease pops up on the radar screen. This time around it might be meaningful. Last month,I received an email from Clinical Trials.gov alerting me to a new Phase II clinical trial for Etanercept.

Safety and Tolerability of Etanercept in Alzheimer's Disease

So far, this study is not yet open for participant recruitment. It appears the drug trial will be limited to one location, the Memory Assessment and Research Centre, Moorgreen Hospital
Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom. The fact that Wyeth is one of the collaborators did get my attention.

From time to...

Dear Trina: It’s hard to blame your mom. Who wants to be diagnosed with dementia? However, her reluctance is one reason that I write often about the importance of getting an early diagnosis. People need to be reminded that there is some help available.
One reason