You Can Lower Dementia Risk With Small Daily Habits-Interview with Alzheimer’s Association

Welcome To Patty’s Place

SPEAKER_02
0:09

Welcome to Patty's Place, a place where we will talk about grief, dementia, and caregiving. I started this podcast in honor of my mom, Pat, who passed away from dementia about two and a half years ago. So I want this to be a place where you know you're not alone and we can talk about all those difficult subjects. So grab yourself a cup of tea, a cup of coffee. If you're having a really bad day, a glass of wine, and let's get started today. I'm very excited about our guests today because I'm always telling you to go to the Alzheimer's Association website. Well, today I have two guests from the Alzheimer's Association. Uh Kaylee Rizzo, she is a senior development manager with the Alzheimer's Association, Illinois chapter, where she works with communities, volunteers, businesses, and families to build awareness and support for the mission, including the walk to un Alzheimer's. She's very passionate about connecting people with resources and creating meaningful ways for communities to get involved in the fight against Alzheimer's and Alz dementia. And we also have Haiti, Hattie Finnerty. Sorry, I hope I didn't botch that up. She's the director of community engagement for the Alzheimer's Association Illinois Chapter, where she leads program staff and mobilizes volunteers to bring education programs, support groups, and other resources directly to communities. She also oversees the Illinois Chapter's annual research symposium, connecting families, caregivers, people with dementia, and professionals with the latest research and practical resources. So welcome to Patty's Place.

SPEAKER_01
1:30

Thank you for having us. Thanks for having us.

SPEAKER_02
1:33

I'm very excited. So let's start with kind of an overview type of a thing. So what is the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's?

SPEAKER_01
1:44

Kaylee, do you want me to answer that? Go ahead. Okay. Sometimes we might go back and forth with each other. So um, but also I like to just describe it as dementia is our umbrella term. And underneath it is our list of symptoms. So oftentimes people will say, Well, okay, well, what does that look like? As I'm getting older, I might have some of these symptoms.

Dementia Vs Alzheimer’s Explained

SPEAKER_01
2:06

When we're talking about these symptoms, um, it's anywhere from we've all heard those stories of someone getting behind the wheel of the car and saying, I'm gonna run up the street to the grocery store, and now they're 70 miles past the grocery store because they forgot how to get there. Or, you know, someone that loves to plan and organize, they're not doing those things anymore. Or we're noticing individuals becoming very isolated and withdrawn. So when someone goes to the doctor, they talk about these symptoms. Alzheimer's disease or dementia, it is not that normal part of aging. So the first thing is our memory loss, right? Um, the formation of new memories. So we like to say dementia is your umbrella term, it is your whole list of cognitive symptoms, but underneath it, there are over 70 different dementias. Oh, okay. Alzheimer's is the most common form. So 60 to 80 percent of cases is Alzheimer's disease.

SPEAKER_02
3:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_01
3:05

And truly the only way to know is by getting a thorough diagnosis to decipher, you know, is it dementia or is it Alzheimer's disease? What exactly is it?

SPEAKER_02
3:17

Okay. So what are some of the common early signs? You know, that's not just that normal aging or occasional forget. I know you mentioned a few of them, but people get so worried right away.

SPEAKER_01
3:29

Right. I mean, of course, I always, you know, give this example, and I'm Kaylee's heard me say this before. You know, as we get older, we're not going to remember everything. I mean, I get my kids in the car, I'm throwing my bags in for work, and I'm halfway down the block and I'm thinking, did I shut the garage door? And I'll drive back around and like 99% of the time it's shut. But here, this is more advanced. So, yes, our short-term memory goes first as the disease progresses, our long-term will go with it. But we're sitting here talking to someone, and perhaps five minutes later, they're asking the same question again.

SPEAKER_02
4:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_01
4:05

So, you know, we'll see that. We'll see social filter is gone. So maybe now they're talking very loudly about people. Um, we're also gonna notice that yes, we all misplace our keys. I'm sure most of us at one point or another have misplaced our keys, but this is different. This is, I have my keys in my hand, but I don't know what to do with them. What are what is this in my hand? Or, you know, saying, Oh, this is my hand clock instead of this is my watch. So those are some subtle things we're gonna see, maybe incidences of um finances. Maybe now they're forgetting to pay their bills and there's final notices coming in the mail, or accusing others of stealing. Um sometimes my mom did that with my dad. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it's, you know, it's it's heart-wrenching when you are the caregiver. My grandma did the same thing. She always would lose her gold watch, but she couldn't retrace her steps to know where she put it. So when we retrace the steps and found it for her, she would always say, Well, you stole that from me. I went there. How come you took that? I didn't see that there. But it's because they can't retrace their steps. Typical aging, we walk into a room and we think, Oh, why did I come in here? Oh, I know. And we grab the object. But here, individuals they can't retrace their steps. So they're accusing others of stealing or never finding the object to begin with. So those are some of the um warning signs to look out for. But again, I always tell people, yes, as we go through typical aging, some of this might be like, well, I forget that, but it's more pronounced.

SPEAKER_02
5:43

I with my mom, and I've I've told this story before with my mom, she always thought she accused my dad of stealing the money, and he wrote it all out for her and everything, and that didn't calm her down. But the I would tell her, uh, don't you worry about it. You know, me and Annie was her little dog, and I said, Annie and I, I live across the street from the bank. Annie and I can go get your money at any time, and that

Early Warning Signs To Notice

SPEAKER_02
6:05

calmed her down. So that's what I would say. And then she'd be like, Oh, okay, you know, for it. Uh, what are some early conversations and getting an accurate diagnosis? Why is that so important?

SPEAKER_01
6:18

Kaylee, do you want to see anything? I don't want.

SPEAKER_00
6:21

Yeah, that's okay. So uh ultimately what we know right now um and where the research stands is that we can help people that are in the earliest stages of the disease. We do have some FDA-approved medications that have been approved within the last few years. We also have some great research that's come out recently um and talking about protecting our brains and protecting that cognition. So the earlier that we can get someone to the doctor to get a formal diagnosis, the more opportunity that they have to do something uh for the disease. We know that the the early stages is where we can help the most.

SPEAKER_02
6:52

Okay. And yeah, with my mom, she would not go. She would not go to the doctor, she would not get diagnosed until it was we had to get her done. So speaking of that, so what's happening in Alzheimer's research right now? I know you just said there's a lot of momentum in the research, uh, including the early advancement, like early detection, blood-based biomarkers, that types of things. So, what what should people know about it?

SPEAKER_01
7:18

Um we're both smiling because we're like, who should go first? But um, I you know, I wanted to make a note too, like back to what Kaylee said with the whole thing of early detection. Sometimes it's not even Alzheimer's or dementia. It could be depression that plays a role of having, you know, the those cognitive um symptoms, substance abuse issues, thyroid abnormalities, and believe it or not, even vitamin deficiencies plays a role. So we always encourage people to talk to your doctor because it might not even be that at all. Um, but right now I think the most exciting thing is in the research space is really the brain health. You know, the association is moving toward brain health because we came off of a two-year um study that was done. It was a lifestyle intervention study called the U.S. Pointer Study. And it was across five clinical sites, and Chicagoland was one of them. And people had to qualify for this study, so they had to see if they were eligible. So it was for adults 60 to 79 years old, and they had to have some kind of means of improvement themselves, meaning maybe they had a poor diet, or um they were sedentary, and they had to have a parent or a sibling that had memory loss. So once they got approved to go into this study, there were two different groups. It was a structured group, which met with a US pointer navigator, and they, you know, met, I would say, once a month and would talk about everything. There was a non-structured that would just write things down and submit their data. Well, the individuals followed kind of like a like a program. So they were on the mind diet or the Mediterranean diet, they encouraged participants. Nothing was off limits on this diet, but they had to have things in moderation. And most people, when they hear moderation, they think, oh, well, if I love to have ice cream five days a week, maybe I'll just have it, you know, four days. But no, that's moderation. So they said, you know, dark leafy greens, berries were essential, um, limiting our red meat, so focusing on those lean proteins, having seafood two times a week. And they said two tablespoons of olive oil a day. So some of the participants they drank a tablespoon. I don't know if I would necessarily drink olive oil, but yeah, um they drank it. Some, you know, cooked with it or use it as salad dressing, and then they um focused on the diet, they focused on um their physical health and exercise. So they were put into the program at the Y for Silver Sneakers, and they just said, start off 10 minutes, 10 minutes, that's it. Well, I have a volunteer who was part of this study, and she said, Okay, I went to my first class. The people were the same age as me, and it was uh uh weightlifting slash cardio class. She said, I looked at the time, I was six minutes in, and I thought, I can't last 10 minutes. How do these people do this? But she did, and then they also um got them something called brain HQ, which was cognitive exercises, right? Keeping that brain active and the association paid for that. And then lastly, it was all about health monitoring. So when we go to our yearly doctor's appointments and they say, okay, well, you know, you can stand to lose maybe 20 pounds, or you have high cholesterol, we need to change your diet, or whatever that looked like for the individuals, they focused on that. And what they released at the international conference two years ago, Kaylee, I would say. I think that's right. Um, was people that were in the structured group, their brains showed that they were one to two years younger than what they actually were. Wow. So it helped, and it, you know, that was the most exciting thing because you know, when you're in community and you know, because you've you have a personal connection, sometimes you feel like, well, there's nothing I can do, there's no cure. But now they're saying there is something we can all do at any age, and they're saying if you follow these modifiable risk factors, you 45% of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by just changing some things. Wow. So it gives people like hope that okay, I could change some things about myself and you know continue working on that.

SPEAKER_02
11:55

Uh definitely. I know myself included. Sometimes you worry because you know my mom had dementia. Does that automatically mean that I might get it? I know there's like a blood test for that, isn't there?

SPEAKER_01
12:08

Go ahead, Kaylee.

Why An Early Diagnosis Matters

SPEAKER_00
12:10

Yeah, so there is uh there is new detection, a new blood test. Okay. Um, and we want to make sure that everyone obviously has access to that and can pay for it. Just because you have a family member with the disease doesn't uh ensure that you will get the disease. Um, Hottie can speak a little bit more to the specific numbers and research, but we do know that as we age, the risk of developing the disease increases already. Um, and you know, and speaking about the brain health and the thing, things that we can do now. Uh, my kids are in preschool and going into kindergarten, and brain health is something that we talk about on a regular basis when we're exercising or doing things with friends like playing T-ball, we talk about how it's good for our brains. So I think, you know, being at the forefront of you know how we can teach people to do things differently is going to change the trajectory of the disease. Hadi, I don't know if you can speak a little bit more to the statistics and how it impacts people.

SPEAKER_01
13:02

Yeah, so like Kaylee said, so after the age of 65, your chances start to increase every um five years.

SPEAKER_03
13:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_01
13:11

And then after the age of 85, pretty much it is like a 50% chance. Oh, wow. Okay. Um, so I mean the numbers, of course, are startling, right? Like in Illinois, there's over 250,000 people living with this disease right now. Um, but you know, I think the more awareness we bring to it, it just helps people feel hey, they're not alone, but also there are resources out there for you to be able to help families. Um, you know, we had our facts and figures report that came out and they always release it um at the end of March, early April. And one of the things when it was coming, talking about like lifestyle and stuff, was only three out of four Americans say that they know, of course, lifestyle is very important for brain health, but only 46% strongly

Research Hope And The POINTER Study

SPEAKER_01
14:05

connect that these behaviors can reduce our dementia risk. So there's so much more out there right now, like really educating people on brain health. And I love that Kaylee does that with her kids because it's important it starts young now, right? We always want to make sure that we're starting younger as opposed to, you know, it's too late.

SPEAKER_02
14:25

Oh, for sure. And what are some little things? Like, I know people like puzzles or reading or different things like that, in addition to the diet and exercise, of course.

SPEAKER_01
14:34

Yeah. Um, you know, it's so we have a program called 10 Healthy Habits for Your Brain or Healthy Living. And I subscribe to that.

SPEAKER_02
14:43

I get those texts, yes.

SPEAKER_01
14:44

Oh, good. Um, and some of the things people say like, well, we're doing this, but of course, when you are riding your bike, you wear a helmet because traumatic brain injuries is a big risk factor. Or, you know, um keeping your brain constantly engaged. So, yes, crossword puzzles, puzzles are great. Um, the new craze now is the ma I can't pronounce a mahjong that everyone's playing.

SPEAKER_02
15:09

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01
15:09

Um, something simple as, and Kaylee's heard me say this brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand. Oh, okay. I mean, you go into autopilot doing the same thing, and it's it's hard. I um can just give an example of myself. I just recently had rotator cuff surgery, so I had to use my left hand for everything. And let me tell you, using the left part of your brain takes a lot. I'm thinking, oh, this isn't gonna be bad, but oh, it some of the things it's bad, it's it takes work, right? Um, so you know, doing things like that, and even, you know, they say engage in ongoing learning, but that could be it, it doesn't have to say like go to the community college and like sign up for a course, it could be taking online, you know, courses, sometimes even with the libraries, um, are things that can help. And of course, we know exercise, we know our diet, social engagement is important, people don't do well in isolation. Um, so these are things you know, we have lower stress. Wow, it's hard, right? I wish there was a magic, you know, potion for a lot of these things, but there isn't. Um, you know, controlling, of course, our cardiovascular factors. So there's a lot um on there. And the one thing that the association is really moving toward, like I mentioned, is brain health. And on our website, we have a tool called healthy um habit building. And it's like a six-week, I want to say like six steps to take. And every week they send you something that's exciting so you can build your own habits and have that. Um, because of course, in a perfect world, we don't have any of these things, right? But it's not perfect, and we have to sometimes, you know, work with that. But those are just some of the little healthy habits that we can do.

SPEAKER_00
17:05

Well, and I think it's also important that it doesn't have to be a life-altering change. Um you can add it to part of your routine. Usually, um, nights before bed, I open up LinkedIn. LinkedIn has games and I go through and I do all the puzzles. Um, I like to see if I have completed the puzzles more quickly than my, you know, my connections on LinkedIn. Um, but it's something that helps me relax at night. It helps with the stress and it helps with, you know, it keeping my mind active.

SPEAKER_02
17:31

And and I, yeah, all those things are, like you said, little things can help with all of it. So I don't know if people realize how much support that the Alzheimer's Association gives for families and caregivers. So beyond, I know people know about the walk. So, what else does the Alzheimer's Association give for families and caregivers?

SPEAKER_01
17:51

We have, I think one of our most key resources is our helpline. Um, our helpline is 24 hours, seven days a week, and I can just give the number. Um, it's 800-272-3900. But those are master level clinicians, so they're helping individuals, yes, of course, for information referral, but maybe it's in those moment needs, right? Where someone's calling and saying, I don't know how to take the keys away from my loved one, or my loved one is resisting taking a shower. Do you have any tips? And they can help walk them through some of those situations. Um, our other resource is our website. I still think after so many years at the association, you can get lost in there because there's such great information. But you know, going on to alz.org and kind of just searching around, there's an interactive brain tour that you can like look through. Um, and then I would say our community resource finder. So let's say you're looking for an education program in the community or perhaps a support group. You can put in your zip code and it will pull anywhere from 25 miles to 500 miles away.

SPEAKER_02
19:02

And I have called, I called the helpline, and I can say it was very, very uh helpful for me because and I can never say this. It my mom had um, it starts with the A. It wasn't that she was in denial, but she just did not know she had dementia. Is that Agna? I can never say it. Anyway, it's not it's on your website, that's how I got it. Um, and so it wasn't that she was in denial, she just did not know she had dementia. You could not say that to her. And so it was very helpful when I called because I didn't know what to do. And so they they helped me a lot. And there was, yeah, the information on there is is wonderful. You can get lost because there's so much on there.

SPEAKER_00
19:44

You know, I know I agree. Uh with it. I love to hear when people have used the helpline. I think sometimes people are hesitant with an 800 number, but you know, I've been with the association for seven years. I started as a volunteer before, and I can't tell you how many people that I've I've asked to call the helpline and said this is really your first line. They're the people who are going to help. And every time people come back to me and say, you know, I didn't expect someone to answer the phone, I thought that I was gonna have to go through an automated system. And it's just, it's not that, it's real people that are there to help.

SPEAKER_02
20:14

Because it is, it's very stressful, not only for the person who has the dementia, but for the caregiver as well with it, because it's so many different things. So, what what advice would you give for a caregiver dealing with their loved one with dementia? Like, what's one of the easiest things they could try to do?

SPEAKER_01
20:35

I would say support, you know, get yourself into a support group. Um, the association also has something called ALZ Connected, and it's like an online community where if maybe you can't go in person, you can even look at ALZ Connected. But I would say, you know, just know that you're not alone. Oftentimes, um, I hear from people saying, I feel very isolated. Um, but I think the more support you can give yourself, and the best thing is you can go to a support group every day of the week if you feel like you need that. There's support groups all throughout the community, and I think the important thing is, you know, going to a support group and looking at again back to the website. There's virtual programs there talking about how to, you know, communicate with your loved one effectively, how to respond to some of those dementia-related behaviors, and just really educate yourself because the tricky thing about this disease is not one individual, no one is alike, every individual is different. So it's hard, right? Because what might be for my grandma might not have been for your mom. But I think really just equipping yourself with some of those resources does really help.

SPEAKER_02
21:50

I would agree with that as well, and also that to um say they're not doing these things on purpose. You know, a lot of times people get angry at them, and I Understand it because it it can be frustrating, but to try to enter their world and be like it they're not doing it on purpose and and to put their safety first with it, you know, because it was a very difficult decision that we, you know, when we had to put my mom in memory care, uh, because the doctors were like they said she was highly unusual. The actually the hospice nurse said, because she was still mobile, even though her dementia was so progressed. She, when we finally got her diagnosed, she was moderate to severe. And so they were like, You're not gonna be able to take care of her at home by yourself. And she actually got out on me twice in the middle of the night one night when she lived with me. I was never so scared in all my life. I mean, I got her right away, but it it's scary because she, if I didn't get her right away, I don't know what would have happened to her, you know, right with that.

SPEAKER_00
22:52

I also think it's not being afraid to start the conversation. I think that there's so much stigma around this disease, and oftentimes people aren't talking about it until they're in a crisis. And I think the more that we can make this, you know, a common conversation, we can hopefully avoid situations like that. I see posts on Facebook all the time of people looking for, you know, different senior living communities, and there's always somebody that steps up and says, you know, I would never do that to my mom. And I think that people just don't understand the different, you know, courses that this disease can take and how how much work it is to be a caregiver. So as a caregiver, being willing to start the conversation and find out what resources are there, find out what other people that you know might also be navigating this and could be a great support. I think the support groups and also as a caregiver taking care of yourself.

SPEAKER_02
23:40

Which is very difficult. It really is, you know, because you almost sometimes you feel guilty when you're a caregiver with it. But yeah, I I had some people say that I will never do that, and it's not what I wanted to do. I did not want to have to do that, but her my mom's safety was what was important, you know, and uh, you know, finding the right place for her, and we were very happy, my dad and I, with you know, the place that we found, and and we were there all the time uh with that. But it you you just don't want them to hurt themselves.

SPEAKER_00
24:13

Right. I tell people that as long as you're making the best decision for your loved one, that's the best decision for your loved one. Other people can't tell you how to navigate, you know, your unique experience.

SPEAKER_02
24:23

Exactly. Yeah, and and it is, you know, like you said, people with dementia, they have living with dementia, they they have certain things that are the same, but everyone is different. And so you you get similarities of like the stealing or they don't like the showers. Does anybody have they done any research as to why they don't like the showers, they fight

Practical Brain Health Habits

SPEAKER_02
24:45

it so bad?

SPEAKER_01
24:46

No, but a lot of the times it's because their sense of like independence is taken, right? It's kind of embarrassing for someone to oftentimes they forget, like, okay, I'm looking at this soap, but what is the soap for? So those things, you know, like the objects, things that we're so used to doing, they're forgetting how to do it. Uh and that's why it's like resistant. I mean the water temperature, it could be just a lot of things. Really, and I mean, you used to work in uh that realm of things. Do you have anything?

SPEAKER_00
25:22

I think it's just, you know, if you're put in an unfamiliar environment with an unfamiliar person, I think that any situation like that could be it, it could make you fearful.

SPEAKER_02
25:33

Well, it m everyone the caregivers used to tell my mom, your mom's so sweet, she's so nice. I go, Yeah, until you try to give her a shower, and they were like, Oh yeah. She like things came out of her mouth that would have never come out of my mom's mouth in the shower.

SPEAKER_01
25:46

We used to tell my grandma, okay, it's time for church, and that would always get her in the shower because she would never miss a Sunday. So she would get in the shower. But if we were like, Oh, so-and-so is coming over, she'd be like, Okay, I showered. I'm clean. And it's been like, you know, three or four days. But if we said, All right, it's time we have to go to church, or we're it's Sunday, we're going to church. Yep, today is Sunday, we're going to church. She would happily get in the shower.

SPEAKER_02
26:11

Uh yeah, and like my mom, you know, she had incontinence issues, which are very common. Yeah. And sometimes she would let me, you know, I'm like, come on, mom, we gotta change your pants. And other times she would say, Well, then don't look. Who cares? I don't care. But then always the caregivers would. My mom carried a baby with her. And like that baby was just like she would get upset if she didn't know where the baby was. And for uh a couple of days the baby went missing. I mean, so much so she was so upset. My dad, you know, went and got her an identical baby with that. Is that pretty common? Because the babies were donated to the memory care facility.

SPEAKER_01
26:48

Yeah, it's going back to like their long-term, right? So she was a mom, so she probably is going back to the time where she did have her children that were babies, and a lot of them find comfort in that. And you'll notice, like, at a lot of times at like memory care communities, they do have babies, they have sometimes pets. Um, they'll try to go back to what some of the people in that community maybe used to love or they were, but yeah, oftentimes it's you know, law we're reverting back to our long-term memories.

SPEAKER_02
27:22

Yeah, and my mom thought she was at the memory care was her grandma's house. And it which didn't surprise me because that was a time in her life when she was happy, you know, because she had a lot of traumatic things happen to her. So she kind of went back to a time when she was happy, and like and it was interesting with the other residents where like the one resident he thought he was back in college, he was in his dorm, you know. So it was it was always interesting where they thought they were with that.

SPEAKER_00
27:48

So I had a woman with uh 11 children, and she would come to my office every day and ask me uh how to get to the bus stop to get her kids off the bus. And I can imagine that that was the thing that she was most proud of in life was being a mom and getting to raise all of her kids.

SPEAKER_02
28:02

So it's important too to pay attention, right, to people's stories so you can jump back to them at that. So how can people get involved if they want to help?

SPEAKER_00
28:12

So there are so many ways to get involved with the Alzheimer's Association. We are uh we're getting into the heat of walk season right now. So uh starting on September 19th this year in Illinois, uh we have uh 28 walks happening across the state. Okay. Um, and there's over 600 that happen um across the country. So walk is a great way to you know get your foot in the water with being involved with the Alzheimer's Association. It is uh really

Helpline Support And Caregiver Tools

SPEAKER_00
28:40

the front door of our mission. It's how a lot of people are introduced to us for the first time because it's a big visible event. Um so those are coming up. There's also tons of ways to get involved as a volunteer. So uh Hadi and myself um oversee, I serve seven counties. Hadi, you're up to what is it, nine, eleven?

SPEAKER_01
29:00

I think it's a yeah, 11 or 12 counties.

SPEAKER_00
29:02

Yeah. So um, while we're incredibly passionate about the work that we do and have been with the organization for a long time, um it's really our volunteers that help us have the reach in community and help make sure that our resources are getting to people that need them. So there's there's tons of ways to get involved as a volunteer, whether it's helping to plan one of our events like walk or being part of our longest day committee. There's also the opportunity to help be a community educator, to help go out and be in community and introduce people to our awareness programs, to the resources that we provide as an organization. So I always say if someone is interested in being involved with the Alzheimer's Association, we will find a way to make the work meaningful for you.

SPEAKER_02
29:45

Okay. And I know I I've been at one walk before. So what is the emotional significance of you have the promise garden to bring families and communities together?

SPEAKER_00
29:56

Yeah, so walk really it's a fundraising event. It's the largest fundraiser that we do as an organization. Um, but it's also about bringing people together and showing the community that exists behind this disease. So when a participant comes to one of our walks, um, they receive a promise garden flower, which is a pinwheel flower. And each of the colors of the flowers represents a different way in which people are impacted. So we have blue flowers for people that are actively living with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia, yellow for those who are caring for someone, purple for those who may have lost someone, and orange is just for a general supporter of the cause, someone who believes in our mission, even though they might not be personally impacted. So we use those flowers during our ceremony, we carry them during our walk, and it's a great visual representation of the way that people are connected to our cause.

SPEAKER_02
30:43

Okay. And you said so if they want to participate in a walk, they could just do it themselves or they can form a team, or what can they do?

SPEAKER_00
30:52

Yeah, so you can absolutely walk as an individual, um, or you can bring some friends and family with you. You can bring your workplace, your coworkers, um, register a team for the walk. If you go to alz.org slash walk, you can put in your zip code and find a walk that's close to you. Um and we invite everyone, we encourage people to register in advance. That helps us with planning and organization. But if you um have a day that's available and you want to come join a walk, um, you're absolutely able to register on event day as well.

SPEAKER_02
31:22

And the money that's raised, where does it go? Does it go to the research or where does it all go?

SPEAKER_00
31:27

So walk dollars kind of go everywhere. Um, they go to research, they go to local initiatives, um, they they go to things like supporting the helpline. Um, so walk supports all of the work that we do as an organization.

SPEAKER_02
31:42

Okay. So I guess the other thing too, I always wondered, do we really know like what causes the disease, or are we still researching all that?

SPEAKER_01
31:53

We do know what causes

Hard Care Decisions And Safety

SPEAKER_01
31:55

the disease. It's the plaques of the tingles in the brain. Okay. So that's the two main culprits, basically.

SPEAKER_02
32:03

And how does somebody do how do you develop the plaque or the tingles on the brain?

SPEAKER_01
32:08

So everybody has either plaques or tangles, right? It's the way that they uh I'm looking for the word, like advance, right, in our brain. Some they just are sitting there and you just have plaques and they don't advance, but some do into a form of dementia.

SPEAKER_02
32:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_01
32:26

So that's why. So right now, go ahead. Okay, go ahead.

SPEAKER_02
32:29

No, I said go ahead.

SPEAKER_01
32:30

I was saying right now they're they're currently looking into that because with the new therapies that Kaylee mentioned, they are the first therapies to actually target one of the culprits, which is the plaques. So we've not had that before because with medication, they were just treating symptoms. Now, with the two new therapies that are out there, it's to target the plaques in the brain to give people more time to like be in those early stages of the disease.

SPEAKER_02
32:57

Okay. And you can be in those early stages for quite a while as well.

SPEAKER_01
33:02

Well, yeah, every individual is different, but yeah, you can be, or you can fly through them. It just depends.

SPEAKER_02
33:08

Yeah, because I know some it it's not, I think the other thing too for caregivers and people to understand, it's not like cancer where they go, Oh, you're in stage this and cancer with dementia you can be in all the stages all at once sometimes, and it goes fast with it. So it's kind of really understanding and knowing what your love who your loved one is and how they're functioning to be able to know what's going on with all of that. So so can you give us the helpline again? And I'll make sure I put this on the website as well.

SPEAKER_01
33:39

Yeah. It is 800-272-3900.

SPEAKER_02
33:45

And I always tell everybody go check out the Alzheimer's Association website, call the helpline, because to me, that's what helped a lot was understanding and learning about the disease. Cause then that helped me help my mom. Because you do feel helpless. Yeah. Uh you really do. And and I just I felt like there wasn't anything I could do for her, but I could give her peace, so at least I could try to not argue

Walk To End Alzheimer’s And Volunteering

SPEAKER_02
34:10

with her, you know, and just try to help her get through it every day. Cause it has to be so scary. I I I thought about that a lot with my mom, you know, to have dementia. Yeah. With that. So what uh any any parting thoughts, anything that you would like us to know for sure on the Alzheimer's Association? Any new things that are going on or things you want people to know?

SPEAKER_00
34:35

I really think it's just the importance of the conversation. We appreciate you having us on. I think uh talking about it, learning about it is the most powerful thing that we can do.

SPEAKER_02
34:44

I would agree with that. Yes. Having because it's not an easy conversation, but it's important to have. So, well, thank you so much for joining me today. That this has been so very insightful, and hopefully people will begin to have those conversations some more and maybe volunteer and join a walk as well. So thank you so much. So thank you. I hope you've enjoyed this

Final Thoughts And Next Steps

SPEAKER_02
35:05

edition of Patty's Place. So make sure you leave us a review, subscribe to our YouTube channel as well, and check out the Alzheimer's Association website. So hopefully you've enjoyed your cup of tea, your cup of coffee, or if you're having that really bad day, a glass of wine, and join us for another episode of Patty's Place.