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According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s disease affects 5.2 million people in the U.S. and will costs the nation more than $200 billion a year to treat. It’s a slow-moving illness that very quickly impacts not just the person who is diagnosed, but the entire family.
And while doctors are getting better at catching Alzheimer’s quickly, and stepping in to try to ward off the symptoms and help families find proper caregiving resources, they are always looking for ways to get even closer to pinpointing both the cause and potential cures.
It turns out, the answer could be located not in a lab or hospital, but in a kitchen cupboard!
Recent studies show that by placing a small amount of peanut butter on a ruler and putting it under people’s noses, they can identify early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, just based on the participants’ ability to detect the odor at certain distances. It’s not a perfect science by any means, but it is another fascinating, out-of-the box method that could help us take a giant leap forward in the coming years:
- Peanut Butter Could Help Diagnose Alzheimer’s disease
- Peanut Butter Test for Alzheimer’s
- Peanut Butter Sniff Test Results
While researchers focus on disease prevention, facilities across America are working to help families copy with their sudden caregiving needs — and showing that while Alzheimer’s can be devastating to everyone involved, there is always hope.
Take, for example, the work that Molly Middleton Meyer is doing with patients who are losing or have lost their ability to speak and communicate clearly. Her poetry facilitations are having stunning results.:
Stephen Jepson believes that keeping both the brain and body active can not only ward off the effects of Alzheimer’s and dementia, but give people more empowerment and a sense of control:
And in the face of such tragic and heart-breaking loss, couples and families are showing how love can conquer even the darkest days.
SeniorAdvisor.com is working to make it easier to find quality care centers and skilled support staff to help in your time of need. From respite care and daytime assistance to full nursing home care, you can search for local resources and get thousands of unbiased reviews from other families. Plus, you can get great information and inspiration about Alzheimer’s care at the SeniorAdvisor blog.