Alzheimer's and Dementia

The Walk to End Alzheimer's in September and October is the largest non-profit fundraising event in the U.S. This month, Answers for Elders supports the Walks and fundraising for the Alzheimer's Association. One out of nine Americans over 65 has Alzheimer's. As Alzheimer's touches families deeply, we'll cover everything from the Walks themselves to clinical research advancements. Today, Suzanne Newman introduces listeners to Dr. Kay Lehmann, Board Chair of the Alzheimer's Association in the state of Washington, which kicks off the Walks.

Tracy Helling at CarePartners Living joins Suzanne to talk about memory care. CarePartners has senior living communities in Washington and Arizona. She talks about the warning signs of dementia, comparing them with natural signs of aging.

Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne this hour to talk about the listening and non-verbal side of communicating better. Her advice: actually listen, don't pretend to listen. Get over repetition. Don't interrupt. Ask the right questions. Take inventory of your own weaknesses. Practice listening. Resist the impulse to correct errors. And don't let yourself get offended.

Alzheimer's and dementia expert Forrest Stepnowski joins Suzanne to talk about dementia, particularly when someone with dementia has gone through a traumatic event. Forrest is CarePartners Living's Executive Director of The Cottages at Renton, in Seattle.

Courtesy of Athira Pharma, Psychiatrist and Medical Director Bernardo Ng of the Sun Valley Research Center joins Suzanne to talk about Alzheimer's clinical trials, particularly in underserved groups such at the Latino populations in the United States.

Dr. Michael Mega, director of the Center for Cognitive Health in Portland, OR, talks about the best way to get treatments right now for Alzheimer's is to take part in a clinical trial.

Kevin Church, Chief Science Officer of Athira Pharma, provides an overview of what happens in a trial, how long they last, and the different kinds of clinical trials.

Dementia family coach Faith Marshall joins Suzanne to talk about how to protect ourselves from senior scams by being watchdogs.

Allyson Schrier talks about how to download the Zinnia TV app to a phone, tablet, or smart TV. It opens to reveal a library of channels, each with a menu of videos.

Dr. Paul Winner: “The most advanced evaluations and treatments are inside the research. We are recruiting for an Athira research study and many other studies.”