Treading Dark Waters
— Ray Burow

Few caregivers have time to take naps, but I recently read study results in a June Sleep Health article that suggest short naps can benefit cognitive health. That could mean something as simple as a brief snooze could…

Shouldering the weight of Alzheimer’s disease is difficult enough without the added burden of guilt. That burden is oppressive, and it’s too often present when navigating Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Caregivers may feel guilt, but so can…

Max had a reputation, and it wasn’t a good one, at least not wholly. But no one is perfect, especially not a beagle mix with a bent toward naughtiness and a penchant for leftovers. Over time, Max’s good outweighed…

I hope you’re enjoying all that the summer months have to offer. In my case and possibly in yours, caregiving days for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias continued even when the kids were out of school. But even…

Winter is lovely; without winter, there’d be no Christmas. But by February’s end, chilly folks start dreaming of long summer days, exchanging shivering for sweat, and trading snow shovels for mowers to cut the greener grass on the other…

I’m grateful to write a weekly column for Alzheimer’s News Today. It’s true what they say about writing: It’s cathartic. But I can’t lie. Writing about the events surrounding my mother’s Alzheimer’s disease and our family’s experience…

Note: This story was updated May 31, 2023, to correct the long-term cost for people living with dementia is expected to reach $345 billion this year, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, not $345 million. When I think about the…

One early morning there was a knock at my sister’s door. My mother was on the other side. There Mom stood, not alone, but with a neighbor. An elderly woman like my mother walking for exercise wasn’t unusual in…

Think about your last doctor’s appointment. At any point during the visit, did you find yourself intimidated? Did the doctor order tests? Did you understand what they were and why they were ordered? Once the results were in and…

Most often, people diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease exhibit symptoms in their mid-to-late 60s. Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease can appear as early as 30, though thankfully, that’s rare. By the time someone reaches 60, they…

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. Defining it and its causes, however, is complicated. Researchers in Toronto at the University Health Network’s Krembil Brain Institute, for instance, suggest that Alzheimer’s is not primarily…

Caregivers, by definition, provide care, and part of that involves protecting patients or loved ones from physical harm and emotional stress. Troubling news crossed my desk this week in the form of a story out of Brevard County, Florida.