Alzheimer's Day

Today is the Alzheimer's Action Day. Alzheimer's disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually even the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with Alzheimer's symptoms first appear after age 60. Estimates vary, but experts suggest that as many as 5.4 million Americans may have Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia among older people. Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning - thinking, remembering, and reasoning - and behavioral abilities, to such an extent that it interferes with a person's daily life and activities. Dementia ranges in severity from the mildest stage, when it is just beginning to affect a person's functioning, to the most severe stage, when the person must depend completely on others for basic activities of daily living.
Dr. Jean Sullivan graduated in 1954 from Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania and worked for 52 years as a family physician in America and many other countries in the world. In 1986, Dr. Sullivan established a community health clinic in Leslie County in Kentucky. She started developing Alzheimer's in 2006 and had to retire from her medical career. Before her retirement she was working for awareness about Alzheimer's and was regularly attending medicinal conferences about the disease. Now, at the age of 86, according to the doctors her brain is like a two years old kid. She lives with her son Myles Nienstadt in Virginia. Myles also explains the gradual changes he and his family noticed in Dr. Jean's behavior after the disease.
Dr. Scott Turner, Program Director for Memory Disorders Program at the Georgetown University Hospital discusses the early symptoms of the disease and patient's behavior.
Dr. Anwer Sheikh, Assistant Professor of Radiology department at the Georgetown University Hospital explains that so far there's no cure for Alzheimer's, but the new technology such as MRI scans or PET Scans are being helpful in determining the disease.
Sarah Allen Abbott, a housewife, approached Alzheimer's association in 2005 after the death of her father due to Alzheimer's. She formed two women's flag football teams and named them Blondes vs. Brunettes. The purpose was to raise awareness and funds in fight against Alzheimer's and collected $ 2 million so far. Sarah explains how painful it was for her to see her father dieing of Alzheimer's disease. Her grandmother also passed by Alzheimer's.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Alzheimer's Action Day
• Dr. Jean Sullivan
• Myles Nienstadt
• Dr. Scott Turner
• Memory Disorders Program
• Georgetown University Hospital
• Dr. Anwer Sheikh
• Sarah Allen Abbott
• Blondes vs Brunettes
• Alzheimer's Association
• Madeeha Anwar
• Urdu VOANews
• Washington

[DieselDog77]

Most who were supposed to show up to a particular event or fund raiser on this day were absent because they forgot it was alzheimer's action day.