The Glen at Aberdeen Heights Community Matters December 2015

Community Matters The Glen at Aberdeen Heights

December 2015

Colds and flu are back in season As we near the peak months for cold and flu season, it’s a good time to review tips for prevention and treatment.

Getting the flu vaccine is still one of the best things you can do for your health in wintertime. There is no truth to the myth that you can catch the illness from the vaccine.

The injection contains only a killed version of the virus.

People 65 years or older run a higher risk of complications from the flu, as do people with chronic medical conditions such as asthma, emphysema, heart disease, and diabetes. It can, however, take up to two weeks for the flu vaccine to take effect, so the earlier, the better. But they are usually available through February.

Good hand-washing routines are another top defense against illness.

Wash hands with soap and warm water for at least 30 seconds, or use alcohol-based sanitizer, whenever you have been out in public—especially in a community living environment.

Viruses can live on hard surfaces for

December ushers in festive fun Dec. 7: Aberdeen Heights Choir will sing for health care and assisted living residents at 2 p.m.

Dec. 10: Christmas party for families, 6 to 7:30 p.m. We will have entertainers throughout the building, as well as appetizers and drinks. This is our way of saying thank you for living here in The Glen!

Watch for Christmas carolers performing periodically in December throughout the building.

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A proud member of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America

Donate your vehicle to help senior citizens The season of giving is here. Wouldn’t it be great to know that your vehicle donation helped seniors who have outlived their financial resources receive the care they need this year? Turn that unneeded vehicle into holiday cheer and receive a tax deduction!

We accept many donations types including cars, RVs, boats, planes and more. Donating your vehicle will help seniors who have outlived their financial resources at a Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America campus in so many ways. Call us at 844-490-GIVE (4483), visit AberdeenSeniorLivingCarDonations.com, fill out the form, and we’ll take care of the rest.

Each year, Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America provides more than $4 million in charitable care. Our seniors need your support; a donated vehicle can help in so many ways ‘Tis the season, give for a reason.

Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Aberdeen Heights by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at: PresbyterianManors.org.

James “Jamie” Kneen, executive director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Loretta Cutler, health care lifestyle coordinator, lcutler@pmma.org.

Telephone: 314-909-6010 Address: 505 Couch Ave., Kirkwood, MO 63122 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

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Community Matters December 2015

Merry Christmas

Potential treatments ahead for Alzheimer’s disease When geriatrician and neuroscientist Dr. Howard Fillit went to medical school in the early 1970s, he’d never heard of Alzheimer’s disease.

Since 1998, though, Fillit has directed the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, which supports the search for effective treatments for the disease.

“I’ve seen in my lifetime amazing progress,” Fillit said Tuesday at a press briefing to discuss some of the more promising research his organization is funding. “We have caught up… to understanding as much about the biological mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease as we know about cancer and heart disease.”

But although scientists have cured mice of Alzheimer’s hundreds of times, all the basic knowledge that they have accumulated has yet to translate into new treatments for patients, Fillit said.

Donate at AberdeenSeniorLiving.org

He predicts that is about to change.

“In three to five years, we’re going to have potentially more than one drug approved that has some disease-modifying effect,” Fillit said, noting that nearly 100 human trials of potential Alzheimer’s treatments are now underway.

No Cure As of Now Alzheimer’s disease affects an estimated 5.1 million Americans 65 and older, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, which notes on its website that the disease “is the only cause of death in the top 10 in America that cannot be prevented, slowed or cured.”

debated.

According to a 20-year-old hypothesis, the build-up of amyloid in the brain causes memory loss in Alzheimer’s.

However, antiThinkstock amyloid drugs have failed in large clinical trials, raising questions about the role of amyloid plaque in Alzheimer’s.

“There are over 150 different kinds of amyloid, and many of those are secondary to things like inflammation and other problems,” Fillit said. “We’re going to need many other classes of drugs for Alzheimer’s disease.”

The Forces at Play

Together, aging, genetics, inflammation and amyloid trigger the degeneration of neurons in Alzheimer’s disease, said Dr. Frank Longo, chair of neurology And since aging is the leading risk and neurosciences at Stanford factor for Alzheimer’s, the numbers University, who won the inaugural of affected Americans will only Melvin R. Goodes Prize for explode as boomers get older, unless Excellence in Alzheimer’s Drug effective treatments can at least Discovery from Fillit’s foundation. stave off the disease. In 10 years, the number of Americans 65 and “This is a highly robust disease,” older with Alzheimer’s is expected Longo said, so you “can’t just chip to hit 7.1 million – an increase of 40 away at the edges.” percent over 2015, according to the He received the award for the Alzheimer’s Association. development of drugs that can Much of the research focus has been mimic normal brain proteins called on drugs to rid the brain of amyloid neurotrophins. Neurotrophins plaque, deposits of a protein whose promote the growth and survival of role in Alzheimer’s has been widely ALZHEIMERS, continued on page 4 The Glen at Aberdeen Heights

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up to eight hours.

neurons, or nerve cells.

If you do get ill, follow these recommendations:

New Medications

• Eat what you can. This will maintain your energy to help your body fight the virus. If you don’t have much appetite, at least try simple foods like white rice or soup.

• Drink a lot of fluids, but avoid caffeinated drinks like coffee and colas; they can dehydrate you further.

• Rest, so your body and mind can recover.

• Call the doctor if you have a fever that is not controlled by over-thecounter fever reducers, if you have a severe cough, or if you cannot keep any fluids or food down.

• Stay home rather than coming to community meals and group activities. This will help contain the virus so you don’t spread it to others.

All residents can request to have meals delivered to them, even in apartments.

Fillit’s foundation is funding includes:

• “Repurposing” a low-dose form of an epilepsy drug called One of the drugs developed by levetiracetam to treat amnestic Longo and his colleagues is expected mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). to begin Phase II safety and efficacy MCI causes a slight but noticeable testing in patients with mild to decline in memory and thinking moderate Alzheimer’s in the second skills, and aMCI predominantly quarter of 2016, Longo said. Phase I affects memory. People with MCI safety tests in healthy people found are at a higher risk of developing no significant side effects, he said.

Alzheimer’s disease. In a phase II trial, the drug significantly improved “We’re affecting multiple memory in elderly aMCI patients.

(Alzheimer’s-related) mechanisms.

We’ve treated mice at extremely • Using a fat-soluble form of vitamin late stages (of Alzheimer’s) and B1, or thiamine, to increase glucose found true reversal,” Longo said. (sugar) metabolism and slow cognitive decline associated with To make sure that what they were aMCI or mild Alzheimer’s disease. seeing wasn’t related to the fact The brain uses more energy in the that the mice were genetically form of glucose and oxygen than engineered to develop severe Alzheimer’s, he said, they also tested any other organ, and if it doesn’t get enough, cells will degenerate, Fillit the drug in normal mice who had said. “Thiamine itself doesn’t get reached the ripe old age of 2 years, into the brain very well,” he said. ancient for a mouse. With normal aging in both humans and other • Testing a drug in patients with mammals, the numbers of certain mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s types of nerve cells in the brain that stimulates the clearing of shrink, but the drug was able to reverse the decline in the aged mice amyloid from the brain, reduces that did not have Alzheimer’s, Longo inflammation and improves cognition. said.

None of the other anti-inflammatory Treatments in the Pipeline drugs that have been tested in Other promising research that Alzheimer’s have worked, Fillit said.

What’s your secret artistic talent?

An upcoming edition of Community Matters will focus on Art is Ageless®. The Art is Ageless® program encourages residents and other area seniors to express their creativity through an annual art competition and exhibit, musical and dramatic events, educational opportunities and current events discussions. What talent have you discovered?

If you’ve got a story about what inspires you to create, contact Health Care Lifestyle Coordinator Loretta Cutler, and your story could be featured in an upcoming edition of Community Matters.

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Community Matters December 2015

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