In-person and zoom Support Groups:
- ACA’s group with Miller & Vance, Tuesday, April 26, 11 – noon CT. Call (205) 871-7970 or mpiggott@alzca.org. Join us on zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86450491838
- Pell City group, first Thursdays of the month at 6:30; and the third Tuesdays of the month at 6:30. Contact Bit Thomaston, ethomason50@gmail.com
- CJFS CARES, Mondays at 3 pm, contact Pam Leonard, pam@cjfsbham.org.
- Founders Place at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Tuesday’s at 10 am, contact Susan Logan, susanlogan65@gmail.com
- West Alabama Area Agency on Aging, Caregiver Support Group, Tuesdays, contact Nikki Poe, nikki.poe@westal.org.
- The Oaks on Parkwood, 4th Tuesday’s, 10:00 am, Contact: Karen Glover, karenrglover@bellsouth.net.
- CJFS CARES, Tuesdays, 7:00 pm, contact Pam Leonard, pam@cjfsbham.org.
- United Way Area Agency on Aging of Jefferson County, 3rd Tuesday of each month 11:30-12:30, contact Valarie Lawson, vlawson@uwaaa.org
- M4A, 2nd Thursday’s, noon – 1 pm. Contact Crystal Whitehead, cwhitehead@m4a.org
- M4A, 3rd Wednesday’s 2:00 – 3:00 pm. Contact Crystal Whitehead, cwhitehead@m4a.org
- Asbury United Methodist Church1st and 3rd Thursdays at 1:00, contact Maggie Dunaway at mdunaway@asburyonline.org.
Putting the Spotlight on Elder Abuse: Forgotten Victims No More, free 30-minute virtual session, April 25, 4 p.m. Sponsored by AARP Alabama. https://local.aarp.org/aarp-event/al-aarp-putting-the-spotlight-on-elder-abuse-forgotten-victims-no-more-042522-mdn3nt5ys4k.html
April Webinars from Alabama Lifespan Respite: https://alabamarespite.org/events2/
Alzheimer’s News:
UAB is looking for family caregivers to participate in a research project to understand how well a guided ten-week online acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) program improves mental health and quality of life in family caregivers of people with dementia. The ACT program helps caregivers accept challenges and emotions that arise in caregiving situations and balance their own needs with care demands through mindfulness and behavior change processes for valued living. There is compensation of up to $150 for completing the study & it is open to anyone living in the US. Contact Lauren Edwards at laurenme@uab.edu or call 205- 996-1488.
Listen to Lynda Everman’s podcast for Alz Authors about the mission and work of ClergyAgainstAlzheimer’s, her books and partnership with Cognitive Dynamics Foundation, the Stole Ministry, and her advocacy work for the Alzheimer’s stamp. https://pod.co/alzauthors-untangling-alzheimers-dementia/lynda-everman-untangles-the-quest-to-create-the-alzheimers-stamp
Researchers found that participants who underwent cataract removal surgery had a nearly 30% lower risk of developing dementia compared with participants without surgery, even after controlling for numerous additional demographic and health risks. In comparison, glaucoma surgery, which doesn’t restore vision, did not have a significant association with dementia risk. Read more about the research study on NIA’s website.
Read the Positive Approach to Care blog by Mary Sue Wilkinson, Author of Songs You Know by Heart: A Simple Guide for Using Music in Dementia Care. In the blog, Can you experience the faith of others through music?, she writes, “It doesn’t matter which religion the music comes from. If you open your heart, sharing it with others, you too can experience the communion, the peace, and the love”. Can You Experience the Faith of Others Through Music? – Positive Approach to Care (teepasnow.com)
Listen to Kelly Corrigan Wonders podcast: The Unassailable Case for Being Other-Focused. Estimates are that about every 15 minutes we make a decision and that decision often involves a choice of who to put first, ourselves or someone else. The culture and business of self is thriving. Richard Lui is a news anchor whose life changed 8 years ago when he started flying cross-country weekly to take care of his father who had Alzheimer’s. If you ask him, caring for his father is both a harrowing duty and a privilege with many benefits. After talking to Richard, Kelly did a deep dive into what we know about trauma and grief with research, author and Columbia professor George Bonanno. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kelly-corrigan-wonders/id1532951390?i=1000557211119
Staying physically fit may lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by up to 33%. For the study, researchers tracked 649,605 veterans whose average age was 61 for nearly a decade. None had Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia at the start of the study period. They underwent treadmill tests to assess their heart and respiratory fitness. Based on those results, they were ranked in five categories ranging from least fit to most fit. Over a follow-up period of 9 years, the veterans who were most fit were 33 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease compared to those who were least fit. But even moderate levels of fitness lowered the risk. Those who were in the second most fit group were 26 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s; those in the moderately fit group were 20 percent less likely to develop the disease; and those in the low-fit group were 13 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than their least-fit peers. Regular Exercise May Lower Your Alzheimer’s Risk by up to a Third | Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation (alzinfo.org)
Older men and women who take long or frequent daytime naps are at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. And increased napping frequency and time becomes more common in people with early Alzheimer’s disease. Those are the findings from a recent study that tracked more than 1,400 seniors for up to 14 years. The increased frequency and duration of napping was independent of how well someone slept at night, and suggests that Alzheimer’s may affect parts of the brain that affect our sleep and wake cycles. Excessive Napping Linked to Increased Alzheimer’s Risk | Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation (alzinfo.org)
A healthy diet, physical activity, and cognitive training help extend life expectancy — and those extra years are more likely to be dementia-free. An analysis of nearly 2500 participants in the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP) showed those who had a healthy diet, got plenty of physical activity, and participated in cognitive exercises lived longer than those following a less healthy lifestyle. In addition, the number of years living with dementia was almost halved among participants with the healthiest lifestyle versus those with the least healthy lifestyle. Healthy Living Tied to a Longer Life and Dementia-Free Old Age (medscape.com)
Read the Spring 2022 issue of AFTD News which spotlights advancements AFTD has made in recent months, while honoring the many volunteers who are committed to seeing a future free of FTD. AFTD-News-Spring-2022.pdf (theaftd.org)
Support ACA by using AmazonSmile! Designate Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases. smile.amazon.com