- Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a debilitating, life-altering disease that attacks the brain. Its primary symptom is progressive memory loss, but difficulties with vision, language skills, and emotional control are also common. The progressive deterioration continues for five to 20 years. At some point, a person with Alzheimer’s disease will require 24-hour care and assistance with daily activities such as eating, grooming, and toileting.
URL: http://www.thebrainmatters.org/index.cfm?key=1.12.1
(Added: 28-May-2000 Hits: 1278)
- Depression in Older Adults
Everyone is sad sometimes. In later life the reasons for becoming depressed seem so obvious and so common that we are inclined to think that it is normal for old people to feel depressed. But is it? Undoubtedly the kinds of things which we might expect to make us feel depressed do become more common as we grow older - having to stop work, probably less income, perhaps the start of arthritis or other physical problems. There are also the emotional losses - the death of a partner, or friends, or even of a dearly loved pet. Yet, despite all this, at any one time fewer than one elderly person in six feels so depressed that they or others notice. Fewer than one in thirty are so depressed that doctors would diagnose an illness -
'depressive illness'.
URL: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/mentalhealthproblems/depression/depressioninolderadults.aspx
(Added: 26-Mar-2000 Hits: 1313)
- Successful Aging. But, Why Don't the Elderly Get More Depressed
In accordance with some new perspectives in gerontology, we present an optimistic vision of aging that gives form to what has been called "successful aging". In order to do so we analyse two complementary ways of understanding how people adapt to this stage in their lives: a) the "selective optimisation with compensation" model, which focuses on establishing the limits and possibilities of functioning in old age, and b) "the stress model applied to old age", which emphasises people's capacity for coping with changing or difficult situations that may appear in old age.
URL: http://www.psychologyinspain.com/content/full/1998/4frame.htm
(Added: 28-Mar-2000 Hits: 854)
- The Caregiver's Handbook
Few people are prepared for the responsibilities and tasks involved in caring for the aged. To help make the task easier, it is important to have a game plan in life which helps determine where we are headed and how we are going to get there. This guide will help to serve as a road map which gives optional paths for caregivers. It is also an emphatic reminder that those who care for other people can do a better job of caregiving if time and attention also are given to their own personal needs.
URL: http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~drstall/hndbk0.html
(Added: 9-Jul-2000 Hits: 773)
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