Still Waiting for the Golden Years: Dementia and Alzheimer's

First a few definitions. Dementia is the umbrella term for any chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning serious enough to interfere with daily life. Historically, it was often referred to as senility or mania and was considered to be a form of insanity. It was also called softening of the brain. Alzheimer's is a particular form of dementia. There are many forms or manifestations of dementia in addition to Alzheimer's. However, Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia and accounts for 60 percent to 80 percent of dementia cases.

Because dementia is a progressive disease and worsens over time, measuring the number of people who have the disease is nearly impossible but estimates range as high as 50 million people with about 10 million new cases every year. Here are some facts from the Alzheimer's Association website:

• Alzheimer's is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States
• 16.1 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with dementia
• Between 2000 and 2015, deaths from heart disease had decreased by 11% while deaths from Alzheimer's have increased by 123%

I have had a very long and very involved experience both personally and professionally with dementia. Both my parents died of dementia-related disease and my wife's mother also died of dementia. I also worked as an attorney investigating and dealing with the issues associated with clients and potential clients with dementia-related problems including people who were the victims of exploitation and adult abuse. I spent about 15 years working directly with people with dementia and to become knowledgeable, I spent a considerable amount of time researching and studying all of the aspects of the diseases that fall into the category of dementia. 

The demographics of genealogists puts us squarely in the category of higher risk for dementia-related issues. I am certain that many of us have an unresolved, background concern that we may be next in succumbing to the disease.

Unfortunately, even though more than 25 years have passed since I first started to become acquainted with dementia, not a lot of progress has been made in curing the disease if it really is a disease that can be cured. Alzheimer's, for example, can only accurately be diagnosed after a person has died. 

One of the earliest signs of dementia is short-term memory loss. I have observed a marked decline in people's ability to operate a computer and I have subsequently seen that decline evolve into the full-blown symptoms of Alzheimer's. Using a computer with a window or graphical user interface requires multiple short-term related activities from remembering passwords to remembering where items are located when covered by open windows. Unfortunately, I also run into dementia-related symptoms when I am helping people work on a family tree due to the requirement that the person be able to remember information as they move through adding or correcting entries. I also suspect dementia-related issues when I see people add or correct the same information over and over again. 

All of these computer and genealogy related issues fall directly into the 10 categories of signs and symptoms listed by the Alzheimer's Association. I just see these symptoms more frequently because I am working with people all the time and helping them with their genealogical activities. 

From my own personal standpoint and because of my long experience with the progression of the disease, I am very sensitive to small changes in cognitive ability. Unfortunately, I can usually detect that person has a problem with dementia within a few minutes of talking to them or helping them with computer-related activities. I never say anything to the person or their family members unless specifically asked to make an evaluation. 

As an attorney, I have further observed that some of the side effects of dementia on family members and their relationships can suffer almost as much damage as the disease itself.