Your closest uncle has forgotten the names of your children. Your grandmother has gotten lost a number of times in the last month during her regular strolls.

Your dear friend does not recognise you as you pass on the street. If any of these statements sound familiar, your loved one may be suffering from Alzheimer?s disease; a disease affecting one in 20 people over the age of 65 in Bermuda.

Recent events in our community highlight the necessity of a local programme offered through the Continuing Care Programme at King Edward Memorial VII Hospital.

With aims of educating the public on Alzheimer?s disease, nurses in the Alzheimer?s and Related Dementias Unit (ARDU) are dedicated to caring for Alzheimer?s patients, as well as those suffering from other forms of dementia.

Community groups on the Island are encouraged to request a presentation from this group entitled, ?Is it Alzheimer?s??.

Registered nurses will discuss the symptoms of this disease, its stages and coping strategies for patients and their caregivers.

Alzheimer?s is a disease caused by permanent changes in the brain that result from gradual deterioration of the brain cells which control our intellectual function.

Its development can take as little as three years to manifest, or as many as 20. In the three stages of Alzheimer?s, patients may find themselves having trouble finding the right words, creating stories to fill in the gaps of lost memories, experience paranoia and hallucinations, and severe loss of cognitive functions.

What to look out for:

Changes in mood or behaviour

Recent memory loss that affects job skills

Difficulty performing familiar tasks

Problems with language

Disorientation of time and place

While there is no concrete test to diagnose Alzheimer?s, a combination of tests can form a reliable diagnosis. One particular test available locally in the hospital is an MRI, or magnetic resonance image.

This technique generates a computer image that allows doctors to see the internal structures of the brain.

Similar to other debilitating diseases, Alzheimer?s affects more than just the diagnosed patient. Caregivers can find themselves so laden with the duties of caring for their loved one that they become the second victim of the disease, often experiencing stress and depression themselves.

The caregivers? failure to take care of themselves places them at higher risk for health and personal problems. Fortunately, support groups are available in Bermuda, including The Bermuda Alzheimer?s Family Support Group.

?Is it Alzheimer?s?? may be booked through the Community Health Education Directory, a project of Butterfield Employees Shared Trust and the Bermuda Hospitals Board. If you require information on this disease please telephone: 236-2345, ext. 2018.

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