Breaking the Silence: Unveiling the Truth About Alzheimer’s during Awareness Week

Addressing the Challenges: Understanding the Current Reality of Alzheimer’s Care and Support

It’s Alzheimer’s awareness week this week. So what should we be aware of? 

Well, firstly for the patients and carers, nothing much has changed in the 20 years since memory clinics became common. Services are stretched, waiting lists are long and practical help is in short supply. So families bear the brunt of the reality of dementia and it’s because they do such a great job, the system doesn’t collapse.

 

The local services struggle on, faced with financial cuts and overtly ageist policy decisions, such as merging specialist elderly services with more “ageless” ones. Memory clinics measure people and serve as a bottleneck to therapies that general practitioners are quite capable of prescribing and have waiting lists to diagnose a disease that most referring doctors know what it is, but the system says they are not qualified to say.

Specialists talk of big scientific breakthroughs and how new amyloid lowering drugs will change the future. It’s true a lot more is known about some of the mechanisms that can go wrong in the brain and offer potential targets for treatment, but the jury is out on the new amyloid drugs and certainly they are not gaining much support at clinic level.

Embracing Hope and Empowerment: Unlocking the Potential of Lifestyle Changes in Dementia Care

But is it all doom and gloom? The answer is a firm no. The fact that there is still research going on and funding continues is very positive and the enthusiasm that new drugs bring, however effective, is infectious. 

One day, a drug or combination of drugs with a significant impact on the clinical presentation of Alzheimer’s disease will make a huge difference.

But even in the here and now we can make changes. Dementia is one of the many chronic conditions that is influenced by lifestyle. Plenty of research on nutrition, exercise, sleep and social contact suggests that the symptoms of dementia can be slowed and sometimes reversed. This is not a specialist preserve, which is why it is less well supported; though a recent Lancet paper on the future of memory clinics suggests this approach for the specialist teams that work there.

But we don’t need specialists to lead on this. Primary care has been doing a great job on lifestyle and cardiovascular disease — to the extent that the incidence of dementia is dropping in the west at the moment. This may be overtaken by the cognitive loss associated with early type 2 diabetes. But that too can be mitigated by lifestyle. Specialists also like expensive drugs because governments put them in control of them. A complex yoghurt drink developed by Nutricia has very interesting long term data of protection against memory loss, but is rarely if ever offered. The food industry is not taken seriously by the clinical world, even though the science is compelling.

Revolutionizing Personalized Health: Empowering Individuals and Caregivers through myAVOS

So people need to be aware of what they can do to help in this global pandemic. At OptiChroniX we developed myAVOS, a smartphone app to calculate various risks that your lifestyle is causing, including for dementia and cardiovascular disease. Then if you do want to de decrease that risk, it has personal coaching regimens to give you a tailored solution. Integrated data collection will inform you of progress, including brain function. 

We have developed this for everybody who is interested in preserving their personal good health, but clearly it may inform the clinicians around you too.

But it’s not just an individual app. You can link it to family and friends as well, providing a great tool to look after someone who is cognitively impaired, but also measure any carer’s health and well being. 

Services for patients are scarce, but for carers, scarcer still. OptiChroniX want to help families care for someone with dementia, but also ensure those caring are at their best — and if not, help is on its way.

Driving Awareness, Taking Action: Empowering Individuals and Advocating for Change in Alzheimer’s Awareness Week

So what should we really be aware of in Alzheimer’s awareness week?

Firstly you can do something long before it presents, through modifying any risks. OptiChroniX can help you do that. You can ask about things that may help that aren’t just prescribed drugs. The yoghurt drink is called Souvenaid. You should be asking about it and other similar products.

You can stop waiting for a magic bullet treatment. It will be a while and when it comes, there may be less of a problem to treat if you’ve done the right thing.

You can not settle for reduced services and ageist funding decisions.

You can download and see if myAVOS can help you do the best for yourself.

Finally be aware of people around you and help those who have cognitive issues. It is the cognitively well who contribute to an impaired individual’s difficulty getting through. Don’t be that person and be an advocate for a better future.

Alzheimer’s and related disorders are here for a while. It’s not just about diagnosis and potential treatment. People at all stages of the disease need help. 

Let’s do it better!

Credits: Meet Roger Bullock MD, a highly accomplished geriatric psychiatrist with over 30 years of experience in the field of psychiatry. Roger completed his medical training at Keble College, Oxford University, and clinical medical training at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. He specialized in psychiatry, specifically geriatric psychiatry, and established the Kingshill Research Centre. With an extensive career, Roger has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, several books, and chapters. He also served as Clinical Tutor and Academic Secretary of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry for 8 years. Roger is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and has received awards and recognition for his contributions to the field of mental health.

If you’re between the ages of 40 and 65, now is the perfect time to focus on prevention and take control of your health! By using a digital health coach app like myAVOS, you can get personalized coaching and guidance on how to live a healthy and fulfilling life. So what are you waiting for?

Download myAVOS from the AppStore today and start your journey to better health and well-being!

A short impression of the capabilities of myAVOS can be seen here on our youTube channel.