Charting The Course conference

If you are a professional working with older adults, please check out a great opportunity that will help you better serve seniors and improve quality of care.

Attend the 2nd Indiana Collaborative Conference on Aging.

***Early bird registration ends Friday, October 16th!***

Theme: “Celebrating the Past. Charting the Future”
When: November 10-11, 2009
Where: Indianapolis, Indiana

Aging network professionals will gather to learn about and discuss some of the most pressing issues facing our seniors today, including:

• Health and wellness
• Care and support
• Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia
• Issues related to aging veterans

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about trends and applied research in the field of aging; network and collaborate with other professionals; explore ways to best plan, implement and evaluate programs for older adults; and discuss best practices, pressing issues and policies that will impact the quality of life for seniors.  The broad nature of the conference curriculum is inteded to be beneficial to a wide variety of professionals.

Keynote speakers include:

For more conference details, visit http://www.inagingconference.com/

(Source: Amy Magan, Communications Manager, University of Indianapolis)

One of the highlights of my time at the conference was connecting with Amy Magan, Communications Manager for University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community.  We had a great lunch conversation in which I learned what the Center does and how it is working to improve quality of life for the elderly in our state.

I had heard about the Center but didn’t realize its scope and reach.  I learned that it’s mission is to:

• collaborate, ” developing partnerships between higher education, business organizations and the community”
• educate, offering “outstanding education in Aging Studies”
• research, “providing research and consultation services to civic, philanthropic, business and community organizations who are working to serve older adults”

Two projects currently underway have the potential to positively impact many elderly around our state:

• “Community for Life” -  developing five “neighborhood naturally occurring retirement communities” (NNORCs) across the state.  Program planning (led by those in the community) is reaching completion.  Pending funding, implementation will start.  I’ve read quite a bit about the wonderful Beacon Hill Village in Boston so I was quite excited to hear about this effort right here in our own state.
• “Pressure Ulcer Quality Improvement Initiative” – “a coalition of advocacy groups and health care organizations” working together to develop education, training and assistance to reduce incidence pressure ulcers.

Also,  thanks to Amy,  the Center has a great Blog site.  Staff members write posts on a variety of aging and eldercare topics, usually based on some personal experience.  It’s nice to be able to find helpful information with a blend of personal insight.  I’m excited to connect with Amy again and meet the whole staff when I return to Indy for the Indiana Collaborative Conference on Aging this November.

Links:

http://cac.uindy.edu/ (The Center for Aging & Community)

http://www.inagingconference.com/ (Indiana Collaborative Conference on Aging)

That thought probably strikes a chord in most of us.  What can we do to prevent or delay the illnesses related to aging? Physical aging is something that can be seen and understood, and we feel we have some control with lifestyle and healthy habits. But mental decline is a difficult thing.  I know two gentlemen with Ph.d. degrees, brilliant thinkers, active and engaged in life.  Yet, they are now both in the later stages of Alzheimer’s.  Why???

I want to share a recent NYTimes article titled, “Can Memory Loss Be Prevented?”  It helps me to hear about all the research going on out there and see the issue of dementia from different perspectives.  So, here are the key points of the article.  Hopefully it will provide insight for you as well.

The author, Annie Underwood, writes about a trial sponsored by the National Institute on Aging “to assess whether learning a new skill can help preserve cognitive function in old age”.

Can learning a new language or musical instrument be effective? How about quilting?  Wow.  That caught my eye.  Quite a different approach from doing crossword puzzles for mental stimulation! Dr. Denise Park of University of Texas at Dallas, leading the trial, says “You have to picture what the pattern will look like, match fabrics, manipulate geometric forms, mentally rotate objects”.  When 78 year old Bob Branham, a retired software developer, volunteered for the trial, he was randomly assigned to the quilting group.  He also had to learn to use a sewing machine.  He now spends 40 hours a week piecing and stitching, both at home and the social center used for the trial.

The results for Bob: he has completed 2 full-sized quilts.  He’s even thinking about launching a small business selling his creations.  He is encouraging his friends to sign up for such studies as well.  Is this not a inspiring story?   While many retirement communities offer wonderful musical and lecture programs, why not offer classes such as quilting, piano lessons, Introduction to Spanish, and get the residents actively involved….building those neural connections.

So, what do the neuroscientists and experts advise we do?

1.  Realize brain fitness is not just about memory.  It also includes reasoning, attention and speed of processing.

2. We should engage in physical exercise, mental challenges and follow good health habits.

3.  Dr. Laura Carstensen, director of Center on Longevity at Stanford, advises that there are no supplements proven to prevent Alzheimer’s.  She says GET MOVING.  Several studies have shown that aerobic exercise (including walking) regularly shows improvement in working memory and attention.  Why is this so important?  Aerobic exercise “increases blood flow, encourages new synapses and reverses some of the decline in brain volume”.

4. Maintain healthy blood sugar and blood pressure levels.

5.  A heart-healthy Mediterranean diet has been shown to lower the risk of cognitive impairment (over 4 years) by 28%

6.  You’ve got to use your brain.  It’s the old, “Use it or Lose it”.  Crossword puzzles are good for word retrieval.  But, mental cross-training is important. Engage in many diverse activites: Crosswords, Sudoku, bridge, read books, join clubs, debate, volunteer.  Engage in new and interesting tasks.  Proficiency does not grow new synapses like learning a new skill does.

7.  Be sure to select some activities that also include social interaction.

It’s like we’ve been told all our lives.  The mind, body and spirit are so connected.  Hopefully these tips will get you thinking on some things you can help your aging parent and yourself incorporate into your lifestyles.  That’s what it’s all about.  Exercise, eat well, keep your brain stimulated (in diverse and new ways) and engage socially.  I’m still thinking about quilting.  It sounds very interesting.  I’m just not sure I have the patience for it.

Source: “Can Memory Loss Be Prevented”, http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/can-dementia-be-prevented/

What is it that keeps this small number of folks dementia-free?  Is it in their genes, their routines, their lives?  Scientists are discovering that while it is important to challenge your mind (using the web, doing crossword puzzles, reading books), there is some evidence that a “social component may be crucial”.

One study in particular provides this evidence.  USC researchers began a study in 1981, called the 90+ Study, including 14,000 people aged 65 and more than 1,000 over age 90.  They found that people who spend long stretches, 3+ hours, playing cards may be at reduced risk of getting dementia.

What better place to study this phenomenon that at the retirement community of Laguna Woods!  People must meet several requirements to gain entrance.  They must not require full-time care.  Their minds must be sharp when they arrive.  There are fitness centers and over 400 residents’ clubs.  One longtime resident sums up the prevailing philosophy of residents, “We live for the day.”

One of the biggest activity at Laguna Woods is….Contract Bridge.  If you’ve played it, you know it requires a strong memory.  Players must formulate their own strategy as well as following their partner’s strategy.  Good players remember every card played.  All residents know they’re at risk for dementia as they age, but they swear that very good players can play by instinct even as their memory fades.  Some scientists believe people with deep experience in the game may be able to “draw on reserves to buffer memory lapses”.  And, playing bridge also includes that critical ingredient of interacting with people regularly!

Scientists are also working hard to identify genes that may prove to be helpful in warding off dementia: a gene variant called APOE2 and a gene CETP.  These discoveries provide a target for future treatments.

While we can’t control the genes we were born with, we can choose our social and mental activities.  I’ve never been much of a card player, but after reading about the social and mental benefits of contract bridge, I want to give it a go! I’m also going to share this article with my elderly mother.

If you want to read more about the very engaged residents of Laguna Woods, read the entire NYTimes article:   http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/health/research/22brain.html

Twenty-two years ago, the School Sisters of Notre Dame (in 7 provinces across the US) agreed to participate in a longitudinal study to unravel the mysteries of Alzheimer’s. Why is this important? 50% of those over age 85 have dementia. It is and will continue to be a major challenge in aging.

This week, University of Minnesota announced it has initiated a new study, using 500 brains donated by these Sisters. The Sisters were chosen for the initial study because they had several key control factors: similar lifestyles, occupation (85% were teachers), same access to health care. There were also detailed records of their birthplaces, family history and even autobiographies hand-written by each nun. I was and still am captivated by the reason the nuns gave for participating and agreeing to donate their brains. They said, “This allows me the opportunity to teach after I die”.

The initial study found a strong correlation between well-developed language skills, healthy lifestyle, and an optimistic outlook on life with a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s. The new study (examination and analysis of the 500 brains and underlying data) will seek to discover why some of the nuns showed little to no signs of dementia at the end of life while their brains show very real physical signs of dementia. Who is at risk for dementia? What are the risk factors? What changes can be made in early childhood to prevent dementia?

It is fascinating research and so very much needed in preparing for our ever-growing, aging population.

View 2 excellent videos at:
http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/nunstudy032509/home.html