| You're never too old to start blogging
-- and to stave off dementia.
Seniors in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, with mild
to moderate memory loss, are writing Web logs to help them make
sense of their daily lives. And the activity, they say, is slowing
the onset of their symptoms.
"Many people, once they're diagnosed with AD, simply give
up on life," said Alice Young, a 75-year-old former psychotherapist
who divides her time each year between Florida and Minnesota.
"And those are the people who go down more quickly."
But Young and others with AD are blogging to keep their spirits
high and their minds sharp.
In her journal, Young mixes frank descriptions of her illness
with encouraging words and prayers.
"Concentration is coming harder now," reads one entry
from November 2000. "I am constantly misplacing/losing things.
I go to the Dr. and I am going to ask for another test to see
how much I have lost."
More than one and a half years later, on June 17, 2002, Young
has become more philosophical about her AD: "Time is getting
shorter for me, and I realize it, so I'm 'going for the gusto'
as much as I can," she wrote.
Young said she and others with AD keep journals to "exercise
the cognitive powers we have as much as possible."
"But I also think it's important to be realistic about AD,"
Young said.
AD has no known cure, and there is no proof that blogging, or
any other form of cognitive exercise, can stem its progress. But
AD bloggers say their journals have greatly improved their quality
of life, by helping them to recall tasks completed and milestones
passed.
"My journal tells me when I've paid the bills, bathed the
dogs and fed my flowers -- or when my flowers have bloomed,"
said Mary Lockhart, 62, an AD patient from Oklahoma City.
Both Young and Lockhart also include pictures of their family
and friends on their websites.
Lockhart addresses many of her journal entries to the friends
she's made online, hosting live chats for the Dementia Advocacy
and Support Network (DASN).
Young and Lockhart both call DASN their "lifeline"
for emotional support and information about new medicines, which
they hear about from memory-loss sufferers in chat rooms and via
e-mail.
Psychologists say the emotional support alone helps AD patients
improve their cognitive functioning.
"People who have AD, but have lower levels of depression
and anxiety, have better day-to-day functioning with things like
using the telephone, shopping and housekeeping," said Rebecca
Logsdon, PhD, a clinical psychologist and researcher at the University
of Washington's Department of Psychosocial and Community Health.
Logsdon said Web logs and e-mail can be an excellent way for
people with AD to maintain family and social contacts, and to
counter the depression that often accompanies their illness.
"We just don't know if the Internet directly impacts brain
functioning," Logsdon said. "But even if it doesn't,
it may slow down the debilitating consequences of the disease."
Young people may also benefit from blogging: Researchers, like
those behind the University of Kentucky's nun study, have already
found a connection between intellectually active lifestyles and
a reduced risk of developing AD.
AD can seem inevitable with old age, however. Fifty percent of
people over 85 will contract the disease.
But a lifelong regimen of cognitive exercise, including journaling,
may help delay AD's onset by up to 10 years -- long enough for
many individuals to outlive it.
Even retirees can't afford to slack off if they hope to beat
AD, UW's Logsdon said.
"Keeping journals or engaging in other intellectual activity
is good at any age," Logsdon said. "But it is particularly
important to stay intellectually active as we get older, retire
from demanding jobs and have fewer family obligations."
AD bloggers Alice Young and Mary Lockhart, meanwhile, are keeping
busy by storing their memories online and using the Web to reach
out to others with memory loss.
"I want people to know we're not just a bunch of lost souls
out here," Young said. "We're learning to use the Web
to keep on top of things."
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