What happens now? The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is one that disrupts the life of the whole family. Because it brings to mind the image of someone who is no longer able to remember, even important pieces of their past, who has difficulty in arithmetic, in moving around in the spaces of their own home, who confuses dates and places, who suddenly changes mood , who also has difficulty speaking at times. An Alzheimer’s diagnosis is scary and having a compass to understand what will happen, how to try to better manage this new life, can make a difference. It is with this intention that “Living with … Alzheimer’s” (Giunti Editore, Demetra Series) was born, a book written jointly by Antonio Guaita e Bianca Maria Petruccirespectively geriatrician and Director of the Research Center of the Golgi Cenci Foundation in Abbiategrasso and lecturer in Occupational Therapy at the University of Milan, in collaboration with the Alzheimer Italy Federation.
Alzheimer’s, ok for the sale of the first in vitro test for early diagnosis
by Donatella Zorzetto
05 Maggio 2022
A tool for understanding the disease
This is not a purely theoretical manual. “Living with… Alzheimer’s” is a tool to understand the disease, to give it a place in the vast world of dementia and to be aware of what could happen when a family member or loved one stumbles upon the diagnosis. But it is also a tool to help those who live alongside someone with Alzheimer’s. The first part of the book, in fact, is dedicated to understanding the disease, illustrating the tests and criteria with which it is diagnosed (always as “probable”, explain the authors, because a certain diagnosis would be possible only post-mortem), with which symptoms it can occur when a behavior is really anomalous and must arouse suspicion or it can be considered occasional and perhaps linked to age. In this section there is also an in-depth study on pharmacological treatments: Alzheimer’s does not heal and there are currently no resolutive therapies, but only symptomatic ones. Partly because the therapies tested so far (and even approved, as in the case of the controversial aducanumab, rejected in Europe) aim to eliminate one of the possible causes associated with the disease, the accumulation of beta amyloid, when the associated damage may have already occurred and irreparable.
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by Anna Lisa Bonfranceschi
05 April 2022
Learn to manage Alzheimer’s
The absence of drug therapies, however, the authors remind us, does not mean that Alzheimer’s cannot be managed, even if with difficulty. And it is precisely in the second section that the book takes on the character of a compass, bearing in mind that the directions to follow alongside someone with the disease can change, because the disease changes over time and so does the patient’s needs. Hence a whole series of advice and practical measures to meet the difficulties of the disease, such as favoring the use of full and contrasting colors in the use of objects and space, find space; speak softly, looking the person in the eye, articulating the words well and repeating the sentences if necessary; favor tactile experiences; do not overload the environment and actions with stimuli; eliminate distractions. And again: it is useful to accompany the person with Alzheimer’s calmly, patiently and regularly in carrying out the various activities, taking into account that mood changes can always compromise them and must be understood.
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by Irma D’Aria
31 March 2022
Knowing all the difficulties of the person with Alzheimer’s, from the visual to the cognitive ones, but also the life he lived before the disease, serves both, patient and caregiver. The first serves to better live daily life, the second to understand how to approach at different times of the day to make them simpler, in managing meals, as well as in any outings, in dressing, in going to the bathroom and washing. But it is also important – and the book is full of advice on the subject – that the caregiver knows how to manage or adapt the spaces in which the person moves. The different activities, the authors also recall, can present different challenges depending on the stage of the disease and taking them into account, knowing them in time, is essential to organize them in the best possible way.
Dementia, those who are more fit are 33% less likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s
by Matteo Grittani
28 March 2022
“This manual is above all a tool for those who take care of a person with dementia, very useful precisely because it starts from everyday reality – writes Gabriella Salvini Porro, president of the Alzheimer Italy Federation in the presentation of the book – There is nothing so complete on these aspects , written so that everyone can understand and have indications on how to act … We often hear: “he is sick with Alzheimer’s, there is nothing to do”, this book leads to the opposite being able to say “he is sick with Alzheimer’s, there is a lot to do “.