Alzheimer’s: the disease of the century
Alzheimer’s: the disease of the century
This review provides a short history of the progress that has been made in Alzheimer’s Disease research over the last 30 years, and identifies some of the seminal discoveries and insights that contributedto this progress. It then goes on to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the provision of caregiving for those with Alzheimer’s.
Written from an American statistical and clinical perspective the report states that progress on Alzheimer’s disease has consisted of concurrent advances in different areas of the clinical and basic neurosciences, including clinical description, neuropathology, molecular biology, cognitive assessment, brain imaging, epidemiology, genetics, and treatment.
The report then discusses the state of caregiving and associated issues and suggests that whilst scientific progress has resulted in improved medical management, corresponding improvements in caregiving have not appeared as a direct result. It highlights that:
- most caregivers are family members and usually women
- spouse caregivers are usually older adults with health problems of their own
- the physical and emotional burden on family-caregivers can result in unrelenting stress, leading to increased possibility of illnesses affecting the caregivers also
- the informal caregiver pool is predicted to decline in the future with the fall in birthrate and the choice to remain childless decreasing the number of potential caregivers
- paid caregivers,either in-home or facility-based are generally low-paid and inadequately trained. Formal training of in-home care workers for older adults with Alzheimer's is almost non-existent
The report also suggests the need to promote practical advice for caregivers such as ways to offset emotional stress and ways to try to mitigate complications in the financial affairs of the adult afflicted. Finally, the paper presents a model for community-based services that would offer training, support and care services that would provide the optimum support for both patients and their carers.