Self Senility And Alzheimers Disease In Modern America

Author : Jesse F. Ballenger
Publisher : JHU Press
ISBN 13 : 0801888883
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.85/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Self, Senility, and Alzheimer's Disease in Modern America written by Jesse F. Ballenger and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2006-03-31 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historian Jesse F. Ballenger traces the emergence of senility as a cultural category from the late nineteenth century to the 1980s, a period in which Alzheimer's disease became increasingly associated with the terrifying prospect of losing one's self. Changes in American society and culture have complicated the notion of selfhood, Ballenger finds. No longer an ascribed status, selfhood must be carefully and willfully constructed. Thus, losing one's ability to sustain a coherent self-narrative is considered one of life's most dreadful losses. As Ballenger writes "senility haunts the landscape of the self-made man." Stereotypes of senility and Alzheimer's disease are related to anxiety about the coherence, stability, and agency of the self—stereotypes that are transforming perceptions of old age in modern America. Drawing on scientific, clinical, policy, and popular discourses on aging and dementia, Ballenger explores early twentieth-century concepts of aging and the emergence of gerontology to understand and distinguish normal aging from disease. In addition, he examines American psychiatry's approaches to the treatment of senility and scientific attempts to understand the brain pathology of dementia. Ballenger's work contributes to our understanding of the emergence and significance of dementia as a major health issue.

Author : Jesse F. Ballenger
Publisher : JHU Press
ISBN 13 : 9780801882760
Total Pages : 270 pages
Book Rating : 4.61/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Self, Senility, and Alzheimer's Disease in Modern America written by Jesse F. Ballenger and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2006-03-31 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ballenger's work contributes to our understanding of the emergence and significance of dementia as a major health issue.

Author : Donna Cohen
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 9780393323337
Total Pages : 468 pages
Book Rating : 4.31/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Loss of Self written by Donna Cohen and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2002 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides information on the causes, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, drugs, and care of Alzheimer patients to help families, caregivers, and professionals deal with the disease.

Author : Annette Leibing
Publisher : Rutgers University Press
ISBN 13 : 0813538033
Total Pages : 263 pages
Book Rating : 4.37/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Thinking about Dementia written by Annette Leibing and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cultural responses to most illnesses differ; dementia is no exception. These responses, together with a society's attitudes toward its elderly population, affect the frequency of dementia-related diagnoses and the nature of treatment. Bringing together essays by nineteen respected scholars, this unique volume approaches the subject from a variety of angles, exploring the historical, psychological, and philosophical implications of dementia. Based on solid ethnographic fieldwork, the essays employ a cross-cultural perspective and focus on questions of age, mind, voice, self, loss, temporality, memory, and affect. Taken together, the essays make four important and interrelated contributions to our understanding of the mental status of the elderly. First, cross-cultural data show the extent to which the aging process, while biologically influenced, is also very much culturally constructed. Second, detailed ethnographic reports raise questions about the behavioral criteria used by health care professionals and laymen for defining the elderly as demented. Third, case studies show how a diagnosis affects a patient's treatment in both clinical and familial settings.; Finally, the collection highlights the gap that separates current biological understandings of aging from its cultural meanings. As Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia continue to command an ever-increasing amount of attention in medicine and psychology, this book will be essential reading for anthropologists, social scientists, and health care professionals.

Author : Patricia B. Smith
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1118068890
Total Pages : 395 pages
Book Rating : 4.92/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Alzheimer's For Dummies written by Patricia B. Smith and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-04-27 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An estimated 4 million people are living with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in America today, with approximately 370,000 new cases diagnosed every year. AD patients live anywhere from 5 to 20 years after their diagnosis; and their inability to care for themselves grows more dramatic as the disease progresses, creating profound implications for their families and healthcare providers. Its impact on families during the caregiving years is overwhelming. If you have a family member or close friend who’s suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and you’re looking for current, useful information, then Alzheimer’s For Dummies is for you. This reference guide also is helpful if you Need to know more about its diagnosis and treatment Want to take care of yourself while taking care of your loved one Are not the primary caregiver but want to know how to help Want to know how Alzheimer’s Disease is going to affect you and your loved one Alzheimer’s For Dummies takes a realistic look at Alzheimer’s Disease, what it is and what it isn’t. It offers pertinent, easy-to-understand advice for dealing with the myriad concerns and responsibilities that a primary caregiver must assume when managing an Alzheimer’s patient. Here’s a sampling of the information you’ll find in this valuable guide: Maneuvering through medical, legal, and financial tangles Distinguishing AD from other brain diseases and medical conditions Handling the fears that may accompany the diagnosis Evaluating current drug therapies; watching out for scams and quack treatments Finding the best doctors; dealing with attorneys and CPAs Looking at Medicare regulations Evaluating the cost of care The current state of research, diagnosis, and treatment Television personality Leeza Gibbons, whose mother was stricken with AD, writes in the foreword of this book, “There is no upside to keeping your head in the sand. This book is a crucial step in your new fight. Arm yourself with the knowledge waiting for you in these pages. It will help you find answers and resources as you adjust to your new reality.”

Author : National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780309495035
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.32/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America written by National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine and published by . This book was released on 2022-04-26 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the largest generation in U.S. history - the population born in the two decades immediately following World War II - enters the age of risk for cognitive impairment, growing numbers of people will experience dementia (including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias). By one estimate, nearly 14 million people in the United States will be living with dementia by 2060. Like other hardships, the experience of living with dementia can bring unexpected moments of intimacy, growth, and compassion, but these diseases also affect people's capacity to work and carry out other activities and alter their relationships with loved ones, friends, and coworkers. Those who live with and care for individuals experiencing these diseases face challenges that include physical and emotional stress, difficult changes and losses in their relationships with life partners, loss of income, and interrupted connections to other activities and friends. From a societal perspective, these diseases place substantial demands on communities and on the institutions and government entities that support people living with dementia and their families, including the health care system, the providers of direct care, and others. Nevertheless, research in the social and behavioral sciences points to possibilities for preventing or slowing the development of dementia and for substantially reducing its social and economic impacts. At the request of the National Institute on Aging of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America assesses the contributions of research in the social and behavioral sciences and identifies a research agenda for the coming decade. This report offers a blueprint for the next decade of behavioral and social science research to reduce the negative impact of dementia for America's diverse population. Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America calls for research that addresses the causes and solutions for disparities in both developing dementia and receiving adequate treatment and support. It calls for research that sets goals meaningful not just for scientists but for people living with dementia and those who support them as well. By 2030, an estimated 8.5 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease and many more will have other forms of dementia. Through identifying priorities social and behavioral science research and recommending ways in which they can be pursued in a coordinated fashion, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America will help produce research that improves the lives of all those affected by dementia.

Author : Benjamin T. Benjamin T. Mast
Publisher : Hogrefe Publishing GmbH
ISBN 13 : 1616765038
Total Pages : 85 pages
Book Rating : 4.33/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia written by Benjamin T. Benjamin T. Mast and published by Hogrefe Publishing GmbH. This book was released on 2018-03-21 with total page 85 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An essential guide to assessing and treating people with dementia syndromes As the number of older adults with dementia continues to skyrocket, every health care professional needs accurate, up-todate knowledge of these conditions, their prevention, and possible treatments. This compact, evidence-based book discusses essential aspects of the diagnosis, assessment, and interventions of Alzheimer's disease and the syndromes of dementia and mild cognitive impairment. It reviews the diagnostic criteria from the National Institute on Aging, Alzheimer's Association, and the DSM-5 and provides a broad range of treatment options, including psychosocial, educational, and lifestyle interventions. Practitioners will especially appreciate the current overview of caregiver interventions. Practitioners and students alike will find the clear information, the tools for assessment, and other resources provided in this volume extremely useful for helping patients and their families cope with dementia.

Author : Jason Karlawish
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
ISBN 13 : 1250218748
Total Pages : 269 pages
Book Rating : 4.42/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Problem of Alzheimer's written by Jason Karlawish and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2021-02-23 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A definitive and compelling book on one of today's most prevalent illnesses. In 2020, an estimated 5.8 million Americans had Alzheimer’s, and more than half a million died because of the disease and its devastating complications. 16 million caregivers are responsible for paying as much as half of the $226 billion annual costs of their care. As more people live beyond their seventies and eighties, the number of patients will rise to an estimated 13.8 million by 2050. Part case studies, part meditation on the past, present and future of the disease, The Problem of Alzheimer's traces Alzheimer’s from its beginnings to its recognition as a crisis. While it is an unambiguous account of decades of missed opportunities and our health care systems’ failures to take action, it tells the story of the biomedical breakthroughs that may allow Alzheimer’s to finally be prevented and treated by medicine and also presents an argument for how we can live with dementia: the ways patients can reclaim their autonomy and redefine their sense of self, how families can support their loved ones, and the innovative reforms we can make as a society that would give caregivers and patients better quality of life. Rich in science, history, and characters, The Problem of Alzheimer's takes us inside laboratories, patients' homes, caregivers’ support groups, progressive care communities, and Jason Karlawish's own practice at the Penn Memory Center.

Author : Martina Zimmermann
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319443887
Total Pages : 167 pages
Book Rating : 4.81/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Poetics and Politics of Alzheimer’s Disease Life-Writing written by Martina Zimmermann and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-06-07 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This is the first book-length exploration of the thoughts and experiences expressed by dementia patients in published narratives over the last thirty years. It contrasts third-person caregiver and first-person patient accounts from different languages and a range of media, focusing on the poetical and political questions these narratives raise: what images do narrators appropriate; what narrative plot do they adapt; and how do they draw on established strategies of life-writing. It also analyses how these accounts engage with the culturally dominant Alzheimer’s narrative that centres on dependence and vulnerability, and addresses how they relate to discourses of gender and aging. Linking literary scholarship to the medico-scientific understanding of dementia as a neurodegenerative condition, this book argues that, first, patients’ articulations must be made central to dementia discourse; and second, committed alleviation of caregiver burden through social support systems and altered healthcare policies requires significantly altered views about aging, dementia, and Alzheimer’s patients.

Author : Niki Kapsambelis
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1451697333
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.39/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Inheritance written by Niki Kapsambelis and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-03-07 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This gripping story of the doctors at the forefront of Alzheimer’s research and the courageous North Dakota family whose rare genetic code is helping to understand our most feared diseases is “excellent, accessible...A science text that reads like a mystery and treats its subjects with humanity and sympathy” (Library Journal, starred review). Every sixty-nine seconds, someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Of the top ten killers, it is the only disease for which there is no cure or treatment. For most people, there is nothing that they can do to fight back. But one family is doing all they can. The DeMoe family has the most devastating form of the disease that there is: early onset Alzheimer’s, an inherited genetic mutation that causes the disease in one hundred percent of cases, and has a fifty percent chance of being passed onto the next generation. Of the six DeMoe children whose father had it, five have inherited the gene; the sixth, daughter Karla, has inherited responsibility for all of them. But rather than give up in the face of such news, the DeMoes have agreed to spend their precious, abbreviated years as part of a worldwide study that could utterly change the landscape of Alzheimer’s research and offers the brightest hope for future treatments—and possibly a cure. Drawing from several years of in-depth research with this charming and upbeat family, journalist Niki Kapsambelis tells the story of Alzheimer’s through the humanizing lens of these ordinary people made extraordinary by both their terrible circumstances and their bravery. “A compelling narrative…and an educational and emotional chronicle” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), their tale is intertwined with the dramatic narrative history of the disease, the cutting-edge research that brings us ever closer to a possible cure, and the accounts of the extraordinary doctors spearheading these groundbreaking studies. From the oil fields of North Dakota to the jungles of Colombia, this inspiring race against time redefines courage in the face of this most pervasive and mysterious disease.