November is Alzheimer's Awareness Month

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. This degenerative and fatal disease was first described by Alois Alzheimer in 1906; it damages a person's ability to reason, remember, speak, perform simple calculations, and carry out routine tasks. As of September 2009, the number of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease is reported to be 35 million-plus worldwide. That number is estimated to reach approximately 107 million people by 2050.
In the United States, the Alzheimer’s Association 2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures reports that there are more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s.

The reasons or causes of this disease have not been discovered yet but scientists know that it is a degeneration of certain areas of the brain. For a long time, it was often associated to senility or old age; there are now simple and easy tests to detect this type of cognitive impairment. The Alzheimer's association came up with a list of 10 signs that can help diagnose this fatal brain disease. The NIH has educational resources with videos on the matter and explains very well how it involves parts of the brain that control thought, memory, and language. Also, the Mayo Clinic launched an entire blog in September 2007 to provide help, advice and news on the topic.

On top of the distress and the informal costs for the family, the lack of effective treatment (yet) and the looming social issues associated to an increasing number of people affected by this disease, it is also a huge cost for our society: Numbers vary between studies but dementia costs worldwide have been calculated around $160 billion, while costs of Alzheimer in the United States may be $100 billion each year.

This November, during National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, the Alzheimer's Association has listed a variety of ways someone can help fight this disease. Visit their dedicated site for this.

Born with music inside me

Legendary R&B icon Ray Charles claimed that he was "born with music inside me". The famous neurologist Oliver Sacks actually believes in this and wrote a book on the topic: Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. This book examines the extreme effects of music on the human brain and how lives can be utterly transformed by the simplest of harmonies.

Today, the Wall Street Journal released a very interesting article on music therapy. This article tells us how music has showed positive impact on cognitively impaired people. Some can often remember songs and dance to them even after forgetting names and faces. It seems that there is more and more evidence that it can be used as stimulation and help restore some cognitive functions.

Here are some interesting quotes:

"What I believe is happening is that by engaging very basic mechanisms of emotions and listening, music is stimulating dormant areas of the brain that haven't been accessible due to degenerative disease," says Concetta Tomaino, executive director of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, a nonprofit organization founded at Beth Abraham in 1995.

Dr. Janata says that activating memories with music cannot reverse or cure neurological diseases like dementia. But playing familiar music frequently can significantly improve a patient's mood, alertness and quality of life.

Dr. Tomaino advises caregivers to listen as long as the patient seems interested. A patient may want to listen alone through headphones or through speakers so that a friend or family member can listen along. "Then they can reminisce together about what the music reminds them of or just hold hands to be more connected," she says. She also suggests involving the whole family in interacting with the music. "The kids can drum along while Grandpa listens to Big Band sounds," she says.

Music therapy is an expressive therapy as it uses the creative arts as a form of therapy. Studied for centuries, this field has always interested scientists as it has sometimes proven to be more effective than other therapies: In some cases, patients do not have speech capabilities and can be only reached using music.
We all know how music marks us profoundly - who doesn't recall these commercial that you seem to be memorizing in just a few seconds!!
The interesting aspect of music is that it works great to activate memory in reminiscence activities but also for exercise as rhythm can be sensed even by deeply cognitively impaired people.

Linked Senior at the UCLA Center on Aging conference: "Living Longer and Better Through Technology"

Linked Senior was invited to speak at the UCLA Center on Aging Technology & Aging conference on October 30th 2009in Los Angeles. The theme of the conference was "Living Longer and Better Through Technology".
Part of the panel Living Well: Emotional Health and Quality of Life, Linked Senior discussed products that entertain, inform, enrich, educate, and promote active living, both for seniors living independently and those living in community care facilities. On-the-market options were also discussed such as sports and exercise, entertainment, and stress relief – all focusing on a healthy, more active, senior life.

As an introduction, the needs to open retirement senior communities were explained through social science theory from Michel Foucault with concepts such as power and study of social institutions. Then, current trends of the the consumer electronic market were described, especially the lack of design of products for our older population.
This served as a base to explain the story of Linked Senior and its objective of enhancing life in senior communities through better access to information and entertainment.

On the same panel were:
Dr Ernie Medina, CEO and Co-Founder, MedPlay Technologies, a company that provides Wii fitness and sports programs for seniors - it was great to see how standard computer and video games can be used for seniors once they are correctly introduced. They serve as a great platform for multi generational exchange while being a great way to exercise and entertain seniors
Bruce Cryer CEO, HeartMath, developers of the emWave stress relieving system. His insights on how stress is accumulated, how the brain functions with the heart and how it interacts with performance was showed how much there is a need for better management of stress amongst seniors.

The overall conference was a great platform for discussion on existing products and trends for the senior market. For people that are passionate about the well being of seniors, it was fantastic to discuss and exchange ideas, share experiences and best practices.
One of the most interesting aspects being that we're seeing more and more product being developed for seniors using technology in a non threatening way.

Depression, seniors and the internet

The internet as we know it has been around since 1994. Yet 15 years later, while 79% of the general population reports using the Internet, only 42% of those 65 and older indicate use.

Why, should the senior care industry and the technology industry care about this?
It is now widely known that Internet use has a stimulating effects on the brains of seniors, even more so than reading a book . The new debate is, can the Internet prevent depression amongst seniors?

According to George Ford, PhD of the Phoenix Center, "Internet use contributes positively to mental well-being, and estimates indicate that Internet use leads to about a 20% reduction in depression classification." His policy paper titled Internet Use and Depression Among the Elderly has sampled 7,000 non-working retired persons. Dr. Ford explains the reason for researching this topic and delves into the costs of depression. Currently, healthcare costs related to depression run up to $100 billion annually; direct medical costs and suicides total up to 38% of those costs. The senior population is one of the population that is the most affected by depression as late-life depression affects about six million Americans age 65 and older.

In the next 30 years, the 65+ population will double and as this population ages, it is increasingly faced with isolation, loneliness, boredom and depression due to a disconnect with family, friends and the rest of the world. Mobility, visual, hearing and motor impairments affect our seniors and increasingly challenge what they have been used to because access is so limited. The elderly population living in senior communities has been increasing 7% annually for the 15 years. It becomes harder for this ever growing population to visit friends, pick up a book to the library, buy a book from the bookstore, listen to classical music in a concert hall or watch a movie at the theater.

The internet is a mean to an end, the goal is not to just get online. It enhances communication and is simply one of the greatest resource of information if not the greatest. The internet is a tool and just like any other tool, it can be very beneficial if used appropriately. Some people will argue that spending time online can further one's isolation. On the other side of the coin however, the internet can allow our lonely seniors connect themselves, call their children who are far away from them, keep up with the news, see pictures of their newborn grandchild, learn new languages, listen to great music and even visit museums virtually. The Web has shortened the distances between people, tracing virtual paths which connects billions of people with a simple finger movement, an arm gesture or just a thought. Online activities are unlimited and innovators are inventing new ones everyday.

The World Wide Web has been around 15 years. Today, websites and emails are ubiquitous and almost all industries have moved online: banking and finances, radio and music, tv, movies, job searching, shopping, social communities and even health to name a few. Some resources have even moved online exclusively. Currently, 77% of Fortune 500 companies only accept job application online. Last month, in a bold but certainly precursory move, the government of Finland has passed a law making broadband internet access a legal right. Just like we couldn't imagine living without water, electricity or gas today, we will all say that we can't live without the internet in the few years to come. Our society is changing and the internet is part of this change. It's here to stay. In the past 15 years, the world has been running cables all over the earth's land, throughout its seas and oceans; it has even launched satellites into space to spread online access. The internet runs up to our doorsteps and in our airwaves. The internet is everywhere, in the ground, in the air; now more than ever, it has even slipped inside our pockets with the use of smart phones. This large web of connections seems like the perfect fit for a population with limited mobility and in such a need of stimulation and things to do.

The internet can stimulate seniors' brain more than a book does and can alleviate depression. Its benefits are obvious. So the question now is, why aren't seniors using the internet more? We will attempt to answer this question in our next blog post. Stay tuned!