Dementia is a term for the kinds of illnesses that deal with the loss of brain function as it relates to memory, ability to communicate, ability to judge, and ability to function in everyday society. Under this umbrella you will find such terms as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob...

Your loved one has been diagnosed with a serious illness and you have decided to take care for her or him at home. Depending on your loved one’s illness and its severity, as well as the prognosis for future decline, you will have a tough road ahead of you, yet...

When a loved member of the family gets a crippling disease, it can be nearly impossible to discuss it with a young child. There will be many conflicting emotions and questions that develop in the uninformed mind. Unfortunately, children very rarely come right out and say what it is they’re...

Dementia is best described as a loss of intellectual or cognitive (thinking) functions within the brain. Those who suffer dementia are, quite often, confused and easily irritated. They may not be able to recognize their family members of friends, they become lost, even in surroundings that should be familiar to...

Hospice is unfamiliar to a lot of people, and understandably so. Rather than attempting to cure people, hospice attempts to make the last stages of an incurable disease as enjoyable as possible, choosing to treat the person rather than treating the disease. Because of this, hospice is considered one of...

Because Alzheimer’s disease is difficult to diagnose, and because it shares symptoms with so many other conditions, doctors use a set group of criteria to determine if a patient is suffering from possible Alzheimer’s disease, probable Alzheimer’s disease, or another kind of dementia altogether. The characteristics doctors use to judge...

A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease can often leave a patient and their loved ones feeling desperate and searching for any treatment or cure they can find. Unfortunately, like all chronic and terminal illnesses, there is a wealth of misinformation, and in some cases, individuals looking to profit off of families’...

Alzheimer’s disease is a frightening illness. It is incurable, and it slowly, gradually, and unstoppably ravages a patient’s ability to communicate, remember events, function in society, or simply make sound judgments. As a result, the patient will be dependent on loved ones to gradually take care of her or him,...

Many people equate memory lapses and Alzheimer’s disease with old age, and yet, nothing could be further from the truth. Granted, as we age, memories tend to fade and we often forget details, but Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease; a condition that continues to steadily worsen until it...

Caregivers are a blessing for the patient who is no longer able to perform many of the daily tasks of life for him or herself. In addition to the foregoing, the services of a dedicated caregiver will become more and more important as an illness progresses and further impairs a...