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Download The Pdf Of The Full Issue

CenterPieces

Download the PDF of the Full Issue of CenterPieces, Fall 2007, Volume 2, Issue 1.

Coping Tips For Caregivers

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Educate yourself about the disease your family member is facing and how it may affect his or her behavior, pain level or quality of life.

Find sources of help for caregiver tasks. Contact family, friends, neighbors, church/synagogue, workplace, Area Agency on Aging or other organizations.

Protect your personal time for something you enjoy or something you need to get done.

We Are Seeking Participants For The Following Studies

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All participants in our research projects receive compensation for participating in study interviews. For further information about these and other studies, please visit our website at www.jefferson.edu/jchp/carah or call 215-503-2897 to speak to a member of our staff.

Speaking With Barry Rovner, Md

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Q: What Alzheimer’s related studies are you involved in currently at the Farber Institute for Neurosciences?

Dr. Rovner: We are evaluating three exciting new disease-modifying drug treatments that may slow down the course of Alzheimer’s disease. I am also a Principal Investigator of Jefferson’s Center for Excellence in Neurodegenerative Diseases funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health Tobacco Settlement grant. We are testing innovative screening methods to identify dementia in community-based agencies serving older adults, as well as testing in-home skills training services to delay nursing home placement and reduce stress for a racially diverse group of family caregivers. This …

Helping Caregivers To Cope

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When Deb Lacktman promised her dying father that she would care for her mother, Margaret Rimato, after he passed, she wasn’t prepared for the challenges to come. Shortly after he passed, Margaret became increasingly forgetful and delusional. Deb attributed her mother’s memory loss to the stress of losing her husband. With time, however, Margaret’s condition worsened and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

As the primary caregiver of a parent with Alzheimer’s, Deb dealt with various complications beyond the memory loss. Her mother continually roamed the house in the middle of the night, for no apparent reason. It turned out …

Message From Dr. Laura Gitlin, Director Of Carah, Laura N. Gitlin

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Welcome to the second issue of CenterPieces, the newsletter of the Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health. We dedicate this issue to the topic of dementia and family caregiving, a critical public health issue. There are 26 million individuals with dementia worldwide, and approximately 5 million individuals with the diagnosis in the US. This number may exceed 16 million in 2050.

For the past 15 years, CARAH has been in the forefront of developing and testing innovative approaches to supporting families in their heroic care efforts and enhancing the quality of life of affected individuals. CARAH’s current research …