Sandwich Caregiving
The challenges and rewards of caring for young children and aging parents at the same time Fact checked by Shannon Sparks Emily Ellison wanted to help. She just wasn’t sure how to manage everything. The Wicker Park mom was juggling the demands of raising her 3- and 6-year-old children while caring for her 73-year-old mother-in-law, […]
Two Brain Health Journeys, One Mission
A daughter’s fight for medical attention and cognitive justice Chicago area caregiver and patient advocate Shon Lowe is navigating two cognitive impairment journeys at once: her mother’s dementia and her own mild cognitive impairment. And she says she’s done waiting for the medical system to catch up. Lowe learned about brain health while watching her […]
Stress and Dementia
Chronic stress contributes to cognitive decline and dementia risk – 2 healthy-aging experts explain what you can do about it By Jennifer E. Graham-Engeland, Penn State and Martin J. Sliwinski, Penn State Above photo: Social isolation is often stressful and can affect the aging brain. MixMedia/E+ via Getty Images The probability of any American having […]
Dementia in Dollars
Family and friends shoulder the real cost of dementia − $224 billion in unpaid care By Amy Lastuka, University of Washington About 5.5 million Americans live with dementia, requiring $53 billion in annual medical spending on doctor visits, hospitalizations, medications, home health aides, and nursing homes. But the true cost of dementia care in the […]
Diagnosis: Dementia
More than 55 million people worldwide have dementia, and in the United States, nearly 7 million people have Alzheimer’s disease specifically. The condition profoundly changes the person impacted, as well as their loved ones. Often, people don’t know what to prioritize or where to turn first when navigating through the disease. In this special section, we […]
10 Common Questions About Alzheimer’s Disease
While most people have heard of Alzheimer’s disease, few know more than that it impacts memory. Yet, the disease impacts more than 3 million people each year. Below are answers to ten frequently asked questions about Alzheimer’s disease. 1. Are Alzheimer’s and dementia the same thing? No, dementia is a term used to categorize a […]
The World of Memory Care
Innovative care approaches for people with dementia Fact checked by Shannon Sparks As our population ages, the demand for specialized memory care is on the rise. About 2 in 3 Americans have some level of cognitive impairment by age 70. Women and men have a 37% and 24% risk respectively of dementia, and memory care clinics […]
Super Aging
With mental capabilities of people decades younger, SuperAgers are gaining attention from researchers looking at the link between lifestyle and brain health. What if, as you got older, your memory abilities stayed as they were decades ago? This is what happens for so-called SuperAgers — a term coined 15 years ago at Northwestern University. SuperAgers […]
Reading Rewards
Whether it’s books, magazines, or correspondence — studies show that reading offers protections against dementia as people age Learning to read is a revelatory experience for children. They discover that when certain letters of the alphabet go together, those letters become words that form sentences, revealing infinite possibilities. That initial thrill of reading can last […]
Our Top 10 Stories of 2022
What did our readers want to read about in 2022? It was a mixed bag! Our top 10 stories range from powerful supplements to cultural care, aging’s anxieties to head injuries. People had a lot of questions about aging and caregiving — and we were here for them. Thank you to all of the caregivers, […]