A California neurologist, Dr. William Rodman Shankle M.D., is reported to be using the drug Exelon to successfully treat patients diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer disease. The FDA approved Exelon in 2000, and it reportedly stops the breakdown of a chemical transmitter in the brain. According to the Orange County register, Dr. Shankle believes that early detection is the key to halting the disease’s progression.
The article describes Dr. Shankle’s treatment of retired obstetrician Dr. Marvin Sando, M.D. Marvin (pictured to the right) retired in 1999. A few years into retirement, his wife noticed some strange changes in her husband. Marvin, who once added rows of numbers in his head, struggled with calculations. An avid reader who juggled five or six books at a time, he could no longer follow when he turned to his place in a book.
"It was frustrating as the devil," Sando recalls. "(Before) I might begin a book and pick it up three months later, and after one or two sentences know exactly where I was." He also found himself forgetting who people in his life were.
In 2002, he saw Dr. Shankle (pictured here with Marvin), who, after testing, diagnosed him with AZ. Dr. Shankle put him on a regimen of medication, including Exelon, as well as lifestyle changes --mandatory daily walks, a glass of wine only on rare occasions, and Sudoku instead of crossword puzzles to give his mind a new challenge. Reportedly, within a few months, Sando's memory test score improved to 100 percent. A PET scan at five months revealed much more activity in the memory storage parts of his brain.
Nearly five years later, on a regimen of medication, he is virtually symptom-free, confirmed by his scores on memory tests, images in brain scans and the ease of his everyday life.
"Every day when I take that little pill, I think of how lucky I am to be here," says Marvin Sando. "I'm enjoying every day." "You can't get any more dramatic than completely reverting to normal," Shankle says.
Dr. Shankle says that most AZ patients aren't diagnosed early enough to fully benefit. Because early diagnosis of AZ is the key to the efficacy of this treatment, Dr. Shankle believes that everyone should have an annual memory test, starting at age 65, to screen for early signs of Alzheimer disease.
You can read the article by clicking here. If you or a family member have early stage Alzheimer’s, show the article to your family physician, and ask for a referral to a specialist who would be qualified to advise you on the best course of treatment.
Felicia Curran
www.ElderAdvocacyLaw.com
The article describes Dr. Shankle’s treatment of retired obstetrician Dr. Marvin Sando, M.D. Marvin (pictured to the right) retired in 1999. A few years into retirement, his wife noticed some strange changes in her husband. Marvin, who once added rows of numbers in his head, struggled with calculations. An avid reader who juggled five or six books at a time, he could no longer follow when he turned to his place in a book."It was frustrating as the devil," Sando recalls. "(Before) I might begin a book and pick it up three months later, and after one or two sentences know exactly where I was." He also found himself forgetting who people in his life were.
In 2002, he saw Dr. Shankle (pictured here with Marvin), who, after testing, diagnosed him with AZ. Dr. Shankle put him on a regimen of medication, including Exelon, as well as lifestyle changes --mandatory daily walks, a glass of wine only on rare occasions, and Sudoku instead of crossword puzzles to give his mind a new challenge. Reportedly, within a few months, Sando's memory test score improved to 100 percent. A PET scan at five months revealed much more activity in the memory storage parts of his brain.Nearly five years later, on a regimen of medication, he is virtually symptom-free, confirmed by his scores on memory tests, images in brain scans and the ease of his everyday life.
"Every day when I take that little pill, I think of how lucky I am to be here," says Marvin Sando. "I'm enjoying every day." "You can't get any more dramatic than completely reverting to normal," Shankle says.
Dr. Shankle says that most AZ patients aren't diagnosed early enough to fully benefit. Because early diagnosis of AZ is the key to the efficacy of this treatment, Dr. Shankle believes that everyone should have an annual memory test, starting at age 65, to screen for early signs of Alzheimer disease.
You can read the article by clicking here. If you or a family member have early stage Alzheimer’s, show the article to your family physician, and ask for a referral to a specialist who would be qualified to advise you on the best course of treatment.
Felicia Curran
www.ElderAdvocacyLaw.com
| 0 trackbacks
| permalink
| related link
Saturday, May 12, 2007, 11:30 AM - Heros & Heroines, Memory Loss
What would you do if you realized that your incidents of “forgetfulness” are actually manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease or other memory-impairment disease? Would you live with it and stay in your home with your family for as long as you could? Or would you make the decision to enter a nursing home now so as to spare your family the grief that comes with such a decision? That’s the premise from which the newly released film “Away From Her” starts. The film is directed by Canadian actress Sarah Polley in her directorial debut. It stars Julie Christie as the elderly Fiona, and follows Fiona as she makes the decision to enter a nursing home. The film is set in rural Canada, so it is a Canadian nursing home, which is much better than the typical nursing home in the United States. The Canadian setting leaves the film free to focus, not on the horrors of nursing home life, but rather on the life-changing effects of separation and memory loss. 
Says Producer Simone Urdl, "The role of Alzheimer's in the film is a metaphor for how memory plays out in a long-term relationship: what we chose to remember, what we choose to forget." On the NPR website, you can find Terry Gross's interview with Director Sarah Polley and with Olympia Dukakis, who also stars in the movie. In the Polley interview, she describes how Julie Christie had been reported to have memory problems of her own for years, of unknown origin, but how it did not affect Christie's beautiful performance of the Fiona character. For those interviews, click here.
Click here to read A.O. Scott’s review "Time's Wounds and the Heart's" from the New York Times. The New York Times site also has a short video clip of the film.
Felicia Curran
www.ElderAdvocacyLaw.com
Back
Categories
