Dementia Untangled

Mind/body awareness can be a very powerful approach to achieving a healthy lifestyle. It can even have a positive effect on our cognitive abilities, according to Dr. Helen Lavretsky, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA. She joins us to discuss the benefits of mindful practices like yoga for people with dementia and dementia caregivers, and the different types of yoga. She also shares info about her ongoing studies to better understand the positive role yoga plays in overall health. 

The term “caregiver” can be interpreted in so many ways, so it’s not always easy to accept the label. We wanted to dive deeper into the caregiver perspective, so we enlisted Licensed Clinical Social Worker Gerrie Jakobs from Banner Alzheimer’s Institute. She shares with us the importance of identifying your role(s) to better navigate the journey - and preserve your own health - by using practical strategies to ask for help and focus on self-care. 

Men’s and women’s health issues can be very different from one another, but does that apply to our brains? We untangle this complicated topic with Dr. Geidy Serrano, director of the Neuropathology Lab at the Brain & Body Donation Program at Banner Sun Health Research Institute. We explore how dementia affects our brains differently depending on our biological sex, and how recent studies have exposed new information about the effects of longevity and hormonal changes on our chances of developing dementia. 

Everyone’s dementia caregiving journey looks different, which means everyone has a unique story to tell. We explore Jacquelyn Revere’s story as a dementia caregiver influencer who created “Mom of my Mom,” a platform that has allowed her to share her story with over a million followers across social media. She takes us through her story as a millennial caregiver who found an outlet for her passion to share what it was like to care for her mom and grandmother, while finding another side of herself in the process. 

Season 7 has been full of amazing stories and perspectives about the dementia journey and beyond. Our hosts with special guest, Amber Ayers, discuss which episodes surprised them, which ones they felt a connection with, and what they took away from the entire season. Listen in for their unique personal experiences with our guests and discover what inspires future seasons of the podcast.

Over half of all people with dementia never get a diagnosis. We untangle this issue with Dr. Parichita Choudhury, a Cognitive Neurologist at Banner Sun Health Research Institute, and discover why seeking a diagnosis is so important and how to proceed. She shares a little about the future of diagnosing and how much easier it will be to identify numerous brain dysfunctions and help people live a higher quality of life with dementia.  

Stimulating our senses like smell, sight, touch, sound, and taste can access memories locked away in our brains from years ago. We explore the power of olfactory stimulation with Dr. Jennifer Stelter, a clinical psychologist and creator of the Dementia Connection model, and how it can be used as a non-pharmacological approach to care. She explains how things like essential oils and touch can help caregivers to modify unwanted behaviors and create a supportive environment for their loved one. 

Heart health and brain health are often linked together, and damage can come to both of these areas due to build-up of plaques. To better define the difference between the two, we talk to Dr. Craig Weinkauf, a Vascular Surgeon and Immunologist at the University of Arizona. He warns us of the effects of Carotid Artery Disease on brain health, and how his collaborative research hopes to help us better understand the connection between heart health and dementia. 

The importance of enriching activities in our daily lives cannot be understated, but it can be challenging to find appropriate activities for your loved one with dementia. We talk to Missy Paschke-Wood, the Community Life Director at Hacienda at the Canyon in Tucson, about her passion of connecting the arts to the dementia community and how people can thrive with the appropriate stimulation and support. She shares her creative ideas for projects you can do at home, or ways to get out in the community and explore. 

Dementia is the most significant health issue for aging adults with down syndrome. Professor of Medicine and Director of University of Pittsburgh Adult Down Syndrome Center, Dr. Peter Bulova, helps us untangle the common brain concerns between down syndrome and dementia, how amyloid factors in, and someone with intellectual disabilities may be at higher risk for receiving a delayed diagnosis of dementia. He speaks to how his research findings can ideally be useful to people with dementia, outside of the down syndrome population.