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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Is it Alzheimer’s?

Recent survey shows most of us wouldn’t be able to identify disease

Barbara Drum, right, and her mother Ruth pose for a portrait at The Court at SouthPark, an assisted-living facility for the memory-impaired in Charlotte, N.C. Ruth, 86, has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body disease. McClatchy-Tribune photos (McClatchy-Tribune photos / The Spokesman-Review)
By Karen Garlock McClatchy Newspapers

If you’ve ever forgotten the name of a business associate or lost your keys, you might have wondered, even just fleetingly, if you have the beginnings of Alzheimer’s disease.

Everyone has heard heart-rending stories about this progressive brain disease. But as much as we think we know about Alzheimer’s disease, a recent survey of more than 1,000 seniors found a lack of knowledge of the symptoms and how to respond.

Forty-seven percent of respondents said they have a close friend or family member diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and 83 percent thought they could recognize the disease in themselves or a loved one.

But 99 percent were unable to tell the difference between symptoms of early disease, late disease, and non-Alzheimer’s dementia.

Nearly all respondents said they would encourage a loved one to talk to a doctor upon suspecting signs of Alzheimer’s, but far fewer actually took action when faced with the situation in their own lives.

“We are in denial,” says Dr. Carol Rupe, family practitioner and owner of Charlotte’s Premiere Health Care in Charlotte, N.C. “We try to think, ‘Oh, that’s just normal for her age.’ ”

As medical director for four nursing homes and two assisted-living centers for the memory-impaired, Rupe has treated many patients who have Alzheimer’s disease. Most already have moderate disease before they’re diagnosed, she says.

While current medicines don’t offer a cure, they can help slow the disease.

“You may not see a major difference, but you don’t see them worsening, either,” says Rupe, a paid consultant for Pfizer, the drug company that sponsored the survey and makes several drugs for treating Alzheimer’s disease.

The earlier Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed, the more benefit patients can get, Rupe says: “You’re not going to extend the quantity of their life, but the quality could be much better.”

Everyone forgets things sometimes, she says, but “if it’s out of the norm of what you’d expect,” it’s time to seek medical help.

Diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease is usually a process of excluding other illnesses that could cause reversible memory loss, such as thyroid disease or depression.

Barbara Drum of Charlotte says her father’s symptoms came on gradually, and she didn’t pay attention right away.

“You have a tendency to compensate,” says Drum. “You fill in the blanks for them when they’re trying to remember a word.”

Her father died in 1999. Since then, her mother, Ruth, 86, has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body disease, the second most common cause of dementia.

Three years ago, Drum moved her mother to The Court at SouthPark, an assisted-living center for the memory-impaired, and now Drum works there as community relations director.

Through her experience as a caregiver and her work at The Court, she has learned that her response to her father’s symptoms was not uncommon.

When you live with or close to someone, you may not notice gradual changes. A husband or wife may compensate for their spouse’s forgetfulness, but then children come home for the holidays and notice the difference, Drum says.

“They usually don’t act on it right away,” she says. “It may be the next Christmas before they do anything.”