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

A cat named Oscar, who was raised in a nursing home, has an uncanny ability to tell when someone has just a few hours left to live, according to the Associated Press. How Oscar wound up in a nursing home, the article doesn't say, but he certainly is making the most of it. Oscar, who was adopted as a kitten by the nursing staff, began to make his own rounds in the nursing home after he’d been there about six months. Normally, he is quite stand-offish. However, the nursing home staff has learned that if he jumps up on a resident’s bed, and stays there, that means that the resident has less than four hours to live.

Over the past year and one-half, Oscar has made the correct call in 25 cases.

“He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa in an interview.

Dr. Joan Teno of Brown University, who treats patients at the nursing home, is quoted as saying that she was convinced of Oscar's talent when he made his 13th correct call. “While observing one patient, Teno said she noticed the woman wasn't eating, was breathing with difficulty and that her legs had a bluish tinge, signs that often mean death is near. Oscar wouldn't stay inside the room though, so Teno thought his streak was broken. Instead, it turned out the doctor's prediction was roughly 10 hours too early. Sure enough, during the patient's final two hours, nurses told Teno that Oscar joined the woman at her bedside.”

So, how does Oscar do it? Check out a discussion of this point in Medicinenet.com, in which Dr. Teno is quoted as saying that it is possible that "he is following the patterning behavior of the staff. .. . This is an excellent nursing home. If a dying person is alone, the staff will actually go in so the patient is not alone. They will hold a vigil. . . .Oscar has seen that pattern repeated many times, . . .and may be mimicking it."

"Animals are intuitive," she says. "We don't give them enough credit." One of the first cases, Teno says, involved a resident who had a blood clot in her leg. "Her leg was ice cold," Teno says. "Oscar wrapped his body around her leg," she says, and stayed until the woman died.

This suggests that Oscar was trying to save the woman's life. The thing that struck me about the reporting of Oscar is that no mention is made of Oscar saving anyone's life. If Oscar lived in a hospital, or some other type of health facility, he would be able to alert a doctor or nurse in time to save a patient's life. Because he's in a nursing home, it apparently goes without saying that all these deaths are expected and unavoidable. I wonder if he is frustrated that his vigils don't seem to prevent the deaths. Don't let it throw you, Oscar. You may not realize it, but just making sure that no one dies alone is enough.

Click here to read the article, which also discusses other possible explanations.


Felicia Curran
www.ElderAdvocacyLaw.com

I invite you to check out the blog competition - Maria Amelia, a 95 year old grandmother from Spain. She is reported to be the world’s oldest blogger, and she racks up 51,000 hits a month.

Maria is evidently the straight-talking type. She says that her blog was given to her by her “stingy” grandson, as a birthday present. What a great gift, though! This is a great way for them to spend time together. She talks, and he helps her type her entries in.

Maria blogs about current politics, her daily life, and memories of past events, in a stream-of-consciousness format. In her last entry, she reports that she is leaving for a 15-day vacation in Brazil! Hey, don’t forget your sunscreen.

Her blog is www.amis95.blogspot.com. You can read it in English by pasting her url into Yahoo’s translation website - www.babelfish.yahoo.com.

You can check out a video of her with her grandson on youtube.com.




Read the OhmyNews International article,, where she chats up the reporter in question/answer format. Here are a few excerpts:

"Q: Are you pleased that you have achieved international fame as the world's oldest blogger?

A: Yes, I am pleased, but if there were others older than me, I'd be pleased too.

Q: When did you post your first blog entry?

A: On Dec. 23, when I was given the blog. It was my 95th birthday and my grandson gave me it as a gift. Then we got to work. He told me to start talking and I did, and within minutes people were there talking to me! I was amazed, I'd never have believed it. I thought two or three people might answer me...

Q: What made you decide to become a blogger?

A: For something to do. I thought it was a nice thing to do, amusing, entertaining... I wanted to meet new people, and now I meet people all over the world! When I started, I didn't realize it would be people everywhere, or I might not have gone ahead, but now I have got used to it."

To read the Ohmynews interview, click here.

Reinventing yourself is said to be the key to enjoying life as you age. Maria Amelia has proved that point.

*
Felicia Curran
www.ElderAdvocacyLaw.com

Thanks to Ray Fernandez, at www.elderabusehelp.org, who first blogged her story.

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

Today, I salute Harry S. Truman, who was born on May 8, 1884. One of the first politicians to propose universal health care, he coined the phrase, “The buck stops here.” He meant it.

Among my favorite Truman quotes:

"The only things worth learning are the things you learn after you know it all."

"I never gave anybody hell! I just told the truth and they thought it was hell."

"I've said many a time that I think the Un-American Activities Committee in the House of Representatives was the most un-American thing in America!"

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

"Carry the battle to them. Don't let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive and don't ever apologize for anything."

Harry, we can all learn a lot about advocacy from you. To learn more about Harry Truman, read the Wikipedia entry.


Felicia Curran
www.ElderAdvocacyLaw.com