Earlier this month the Harrah’s Foundation donated $1 million to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Harrah’s Foundation was the primary sponsor of World Alzheimer’s Day (Sept. 21), offering a $1 million matching grant to assist in raising awareness and funds to fight Alzheimer’s disease. The Association’s World Alzheimer’s Day efforts raised $1.8 million, with the Harrah’s Foundation’s generous donation bringing the total to $2.8 million. (ref)

The Alzheimer’s Association has created a comprehensive portfolio of educational tools for Latinos who are considered to be one of the fastest growing populations in the United States with the disease. There are currently around 200,000 Latinos in America with the disease and it’s expected that this could increase to around 1.3 million by the year 2050.
Latinos apparently have a higher incidence of diabetes (64% higher than non-Hispanic white Americans), cardiovascular disease, elevated cholesterol, and hypertension – all factors that increase the risk for Alzheimer’s Disease.
To help provide information for the Latino community, the Alzheimer’s Association has the …read more

Want to know more about the history of Alzheimer’s Disease ? Then check out this site.
Everything you want to know about the history of Alzheimer’s Disease can be found at Michigan State University’s Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies History of Alzheimer’s Disease website. They have put together an innovative course that provides historic context to the modern practice of medicine. The aim is to help students understand how Alzheimer’s disease was perceived, experienced, and treated throughout history.
The site features an Alzheimer’s Disease timeline that leds on to indepth information. Here you can learn more about Dr Alois Alzheimer …read more

The headline screams ‘1 in 7 Americans Over 70 Has Alzheimer’s Disease’. Based on a study conducted in 2002 (University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR) and Duke University Medical Center), the article goes on to say “…about 2.4 million of those with dementia, or 9.7 percent of the population age 71 and older, were found to have Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia”
Another headline, this time from the Alzheimer’s Association, reports that ‘Every 72 seconds someone in America develops Alzheimer’s.’. A 30 page pdf file, this comprehensive report is a statistical abstract of …read more

There’s a great article ‘Holiday Gifts That Help Fight Alzheimer’s Disease’ over at Yahoo! Finance that looks at how you can buy gifts and also donate money to the Alzheimer’s Association at the same time.
For example, buying someone a SanDisk Flash Memory Card or Cruzer Mirco 2 GB USB Flash Drive will guarantee a $1 donation to the Alzheimer’s Association. It might not seem like much but every dollar counts…
Check out the article for other great gift suggestions that will also allow you to donate to the cause.

Want to raise money for Alzheimer’s ?
Keen to get your workplace and colleagues involved?
Want to keep fit at the same time ?
Then check out the Alzheimer’s Associations Memory Walks. Here’s a Corporate Recruitment video to show your boss and co-workers…

The Coffee Break is a major fundraising event by the Canadian Alzheimer Society. Throughout Canada, people gather to raise funds for local Alzheimer’s programs by hosting Coffee Breaks where participants make a donation in exchange for a cup of coffee.
Last year’s Coffee Break, launched on World Alzheimer’s Day (September 21, 2006) raised $1,132,400 which has been used to provide critical programs and services for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
This year’s Coffee Break will be held tomorrow all around Canada.

An informational video from the Alzheimer’s Association …

Most of us look forward to travel. We research, plan, and organize the where, what, and how with great enthusiasm. Going somewhere new, exotic, and unfamiliar is seen as a fun adventure.
But for those with Alzheimer’s Disease, the adventure is often not fun. Being in unfamiliar surroundings with unfamiliar people can cause increased stress on those who rely on familiar environmental cues to maintain their reality and equilibrium.
Travel is not out of the question for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s just that extra planning is needed to help anticipate problems and situations that might cause distress.
Here are some things …read more

Following the posts on ‘Explaining Alzheimer’s Disease to Young Children Through Books’ and ‘Children Talk About Alzheimer’s Disease’, I decided to find out what’s available on the internet to help children understand Alzheimer’s disease.
As you would expect, there are a number of articles available aimed at parents:
Alzheimer’s: Helping Children Understand the Disease. (Mayo Clinic)
Helping Teens Cope with Alzheimer’s Disease (Alzheimer’s Association)
Alzheimer’s in the Family: How Parents Can Help Children Cope.
Parent’s Guide: Helping Children and Teens Understand Alzheimer’s Disease. (Alzheimer’s Association)
But there are also resources available for children and teens that will help them learn and understand Alzheimer’s Disease and how …read more