Hi friends. I am running the Paris Marathon to raise money for Alzheimer's Society on October 17th. Never done this before, don't really know what to expect but i'm up for the challenge. 

I have some friends and family who have experienced how heartbreaking this disease is. It's really hard and gets worse over time. We need all the research and support we can get to help deal with it honestly. 

I've put together some information on Alzheimer's if you want to learn more, if not thanks for stopping by, it means a lot xXx

Wrote a little 'ode to running' blog post thing recently too if you want to know why I think running is great. Probs got a few spelling and grammar mistakes soz! https://gotaheadfulloflightning.blogspot.com/p/blog_3.html

What is Alzheimer's?

Dementia is the name for a set of symptoms that includes memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language. Dementia develops when the brain is damaged by diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a physical disease that affects the brain. It is named after Alois Alzheimer, the doctor who first described it. It slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. People with Alzheimer’s also experience changes in behavior and personality.

People affected by dementia are now facing the long-lasting effects of the pandemic. Reduced social contact and suspended support services have had a really shitty impact the last few years.

Cause of Alzheimer's Disease

The brain is made up of billions of nerve cells that connect to each other. In Alzheimer’s disease, connections between these cells are lost. This is because proteins build up and form abnormal structures called ‘plaques’ and ‘tangles’. Eventually nerve cells die and brain tissue is lost.

The brain also contains important chemicals that help to send signals between cells. People with Alzheimer’s have less of some of these ‘chemical messengers’ in their brain, so the signals are not passed on as well. There are some drug treatments for Alzheimer’s disease that can help boost the levels of some chemical messengers in the brain. This can help with some of the symptoms.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease. This means that gradually, over time, more parts of the brain are damaged. As this happens, more symptoms develop, and they also get worse.

More than 520,000 people in the UK have dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease and this figure is set to rise.

More than 6 million Americans, many of them age 65 and older, are estimated to have Alzheimer’s disease. That’s more individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease than the population of a large American city.

How is Alzheimer’s disease treated?

Medical management can improve quality of life for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and for their caregivers. There is currently no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Treatment addresses several areas:

• Helping people maintain brain health.
• Managing behavioral symptoms.
• Slowing or delaying symptoms of the disease.

How much does Dementia and Alzheimers cost?

In the US Alzheimers is currently costing the nation $355 billion a year. Medicare and Medicaid is estimated to pay for $239 billion of the costs. Out-of-pocket spending by patients, their families, and their caregivers will pay for the remaining $116 billion. The average annual out-of-pocket costs (to care) for older adults with Alzheimer’s and other dementias are nearly five times higher than costs for people without those conditions ($11,600 versus $2,500). Lastly health care costs increase with the presence of dementia.

Dementia research is desperately underfunded. In the UK for every person living with dementia, the annual cost to the UK economy is over £30,000 and yet only £90 is spent on dementia research each year. There are not enough researchers and clinicians joining the fight against dementia either. Five times fewer researchers choose to work on dementia than on cancer.

What research is being done currently by the AZ Society?

Find out about some of the current research projects funded by the Alzheimers Society

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/research/our-research/research-projects/current-projects

Heres a list of support services you could get involved in:

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/your-support-services

Films

Heres a great film that came out recently called The Father staring Anthony Hopkins. Worth a watch: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jun/10/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-olivia-colman-florian-zeller

Thanks for your support guys. Love love x 

-Jess