Boomer Corner

If not Immortality what about The 120 Club? Mind Changes - When to Worry

How often do you walk into a room and wonder why My good friend Alexander Everett died in 2005 aged you’re there? You focus hard, grit your teeth, and try 85 on his ranch in Oregon. It wasn’t really a ranch, to remember, but come up blank. You retrace your more like an Ark. Alexander just liked to hang out steps and somewhere on that journey back, it dawns with animals, certainly not eat them. Hewas an educationalist and an English eccentric much influenced by Rudolf Steiner and Huxley’s Perennial on you why you wanted to go to the room in first place. A niggling thought knocks on the inside of your head, “I hope I’m not losing my memory”.

Philosophy, who decamped to Oregon in the 1960s You start to notice that words escape you - words or becoming a leading figure in the personal names that you know you know. Try as you might, you development movement that became popular at that can’t dredge them up. Then sometime later, or in the time. As a young man he had been crippled by polio wee hours of the morning, the elusive word pops into but claimed to have cured himself. He was, he told your head unannounced, completely spontaneously. me a member of the 120 Club, all of whom committed Relief floods you. ‘Nope, I’m definitely not getting themselves to live to be over 120 years old. Alas, dementia.’

Alexander didn’t make it. He died 35 years short

aged 85, which is respectable. You’ve just been using an object, like Somewhere around the age of 18 or 19 our bodies cease your favorite pen, your glasses, or developing and from that moment on the various body keys, when your clocks that comprise what is us, start their remoseless attention springs to countdown to our eventual demise. How something else and long we last from that point on depends on when it snaps back, good luck, our genes, our lifestyle and how you can’t for the life much money we have. The process doesn’t of you find the usually start to manifest visibly until our darned thing. You mid-30s or so and, given good genes, look high and low psychologically we don’t usually start to feel old until our early 70s. and then you look high and low again. Sometime during the day, you stumble across it, right where you’d laid it down, and wonder if you’re getting Here’s what we’re all up against: Alzheimer’s. If it isn’t enough that we doubt our own brain function, we hear or read more and more stories about memory loss. And there’s a good reason for that. There are nearly 45 million people worldwide with Alzheimer’s and related dementias, and unless a cure is found, that number could easily triple by 2050.

Chronic Inflammation

Aging people suffer an epidemic of outward inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, but chronic inflammation also damages brain cells, arterial walls, heart valves and other structures in the body. Heart attack, stroke, heart valve failure, and Alzheimer’s What’s the Difference Between Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease? have all been linked to the chronic inflammatory cascade. Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability - a decline severe enough to interfere with the functioning Glycosylation of daily life. Dementia is not a disease, but rather a symptom, much like a fever is not a disease but a Diabetics age prematurely, but even non-diabetics suffer symptom of illness. from this chemical reaction, where protein molecules bind to glucose molecules forming non-functioning Some diseases with dementia as a symptom, such as structures. Glycosylation is most evident in senile dementia, stiffening of the arteries, and degenerative diseases of the eye. thyroid problems, vitamin deficiencies, and depression can be reversed if diagnosed early enough. But dementia is most commonly associated with Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is an incurable terminal disease that damages the brain, breaking down the physical connections that are necessary to store new information, retrieve old information, feel compassion, be able to reason, and to problem solve. It progresses relentlessly, until finally, if something else doesn’t get the person, they die of starvation because the brain can no longer communicate to the body the need to swallow. By now you’re probably squirming in your seat wondering what the symptoms of Alzheimer’s are? This is perfectly normal. Studies show that people are more afraid of getting Alzheimer’s than cancer. At least you have a chance with cancer.

Methylation Deficit

Our cellular DNA requires constant enzymatic action for maintenance and repair. Aging cripples methylation metabolism causing DNA damage that can manifest as cancer, liver damage and brain cell degeneration.

Mitochondrial Energy Depletion

The cellular energy powerhouse, the mitochondria, requires a complex series of chemicals to maintain critical functions such as transporting nutrients through the cell membrane and purging the cell of toxic debris. Mitochondrial depletion lead to congestive heart failure, muscle weakness, fatigue and neurological disease.

Ten Warning Signs

According to the American Alzheimer’s Organization, there are 10 warning signs of possible Alzheimer’s Disease. All of these characteristics may not be present. It takes only Hormone Imbalance one to suggest a trip to a geriatric neurologist. 1. Memory Loss that Disrupts Daily Life - not being able to remember new information, forgetting important dates or events, asking the same questions over and over. In contrast, a typical age-related change would be forgetting names or appointments but remembering them later. In other words, you know that you’ve forgotten. 2. Challenges in Planning or Problem Solving – losing the ability to do simple math, solving problems, organizing things, keeping track of recipes or monthly bills. Some people may experience changes in their ability to develop and follow a plan or work with numbers. In contrast, a typical age-related change would be making occasional errors when balancing a checkbook or adding up numbers. 3. Difficulty Completing Familiar Tasks - sometimes people have trouble driving a familiar route or forgetting the rules of a game. My husband, Bob, was in year five of Alzheimer’s when he went out to do grocery shopping and didn’t come home for four hours. He was so scared when he found me again, he was shaking. The car was strewn with open maps he couldn’t make heads or tails of. A natural age-related change would be missing a street or freeway exit, but knowing you have. Or you may occasionally need tech help with your computer. 4. Confusion with Time or Place – people with Alzheimer’s can lose track of dates, places or seasons. Sometimes they forget where they are or how they got there. One night, Bob and I were in bed. He started to get up. “Where are you going,” I asked? I have to go home to my wife, he said. “I am your wife.” He sheepishly replied, “Oh” and crawled back into bed. A natural age-related change might be forgetting someone’s birthday but figuring it out later.

5. Trouble Understanding Visual Images and Spatial

Relationships - for some people, having vision problems is a sign of Alzheimer’s. They may have difficulty reading, judging distance and determining color or contrast, which may cause problems with driving. A natural age-related change could be visual changes due to cataracts or other eye problems. 6. Problems with Words in Speaking or Writing - people with Alzheimer’s may have difficulty following a conversation. They stop in the middle and are not be sure how to continue. The may struggle with words, forgetting the names of things. I started to notice that Bob used the word ‘thing’ a lot instead of the object’s name. He would say, “Pass me that thing to stir this stuff with,” when what he wanted was a spoon to stir his iced tea. A natural agerelated change would be sometimes not finding the right word or temporarily forgetting a word.

7. Misplacing Things and Losing the Ability to Retrace

Steps - a person with Alzheimer’s might put things in strange places. They may lose things and not be able to find them. They may accuse others of stealing from them. This was a biggie for us. I would find towels rolled up with things from the bathroom I’d searched for. In his mind, Bob was packing to be ready to travel because traveling was such a big part of our life together. A natural age-related change would be occasionally misplacing something but being able to retrace steps to find it. 8. Decreased or Poor Judgment – people with Alzheimer’s might experience changes in judgment or decision-making. They may be duped into giving money to telemarketers or pay less attention to grooming or keeping themselves clean. A natural age-related change might be making a bad decision from time to time, like buying something you didn’t need. 9. Withdrawal from Work or Social Activities - a person with Alzheimer’s may start to remove themselves from hobbies, social activities, work projects or sports. They may have trouble following TV programs. A natural agerelated change might be sometimes tiring of work, family and social situations and needing more alone time. 10. Changes in Mood and Personality – sometimes people with Alzheimer’s become confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful, or anxious. They may be easily upset with others when they are out of their comfort zone. A normal age-related change might come from developing specific ways of doing things and becoming irritable when that routine is disrupted.

Trillions of cells in the human body are synchronised to function by chemical signals called hormones. Aging creates hormonal imbalance that can lead to depression, osteoporosis, coronary heart disease and loss of libido.

Excess Calcification

Calcium ions are transported into and out of cells through calcium channels into the membrane. Aging disrupts this process and the result is excess calcium in the cells of the brain, heart valves and arterial walls that can lead to arteriosclerosis and Alzheimer’s.

Fatty Acid Imbalance

The body requires essential fatty acids to maintain cell energy output. Aging causes alterations in the enzymes required to convert dietary fats into specific fatty acids the body requires. The effect of fatty acid imbalance manifests as irregular heartbeat, joint degeneration, low energy, hyper-coagulation, dry skin and a host of other conditions.

DNA Mutation

Numerous synthetic and natural compounds mutate cellular DNA and cause cancer cells to form. Aging cells lose their DNA gene repair mechanisms and the result is DNA genetic damage causes cells to proliferate out of control, i.e., turn into cancer cells.

Immune Dysfunction

For a variety of reasons, the aging immune system loses its ability to attack bacteria, viruses and cancer cells. In aging humans, excessive levels of dangerous cytokines are produced that cause the immune system to turn on its host and create auto-immune diseases,, such as allergies, lupus, anemia, rheumatoid heart disease and arthritis.

Non-Digestive Enzyme Imbalance

Internal cellular functions depend on multiple enzymatic reactions occurring with precise timing. Aging causes enzyme disturbances in the brain and liver, which result in severe neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s or persistent memory loss. Impaired liver function results in toxic damage to every cell in the body.

Digestive Enzyme Deficit

The aging pancreas often fails to secrete enough digestive enzymes, while the aging liver does not secrete enough bile acids. The results are the chronic digestive problems many face as they age.

Excitotoxicity

The aging brain loses control of its release of neurotransmitters such as glutamate and dopamine, and this results When to Get Help in devastating brain cell damage and destruction. The Alzheimer’s Organization suggests that if you or a loved one has any of these characteristics to get it Circulatory Deficit checked out, sooner rather than later. It’s important to find a specialist who understands the elder brain. Bob and I were given misinformation by a psychiatrist and neurologist because they didn’t know much about dementia. Both said they hoped their brain would be in as good a shape as Bob’s when they were his age. This plunged us back into denial and kept us from getting help early on. *** The next time you go into a room and forget why you’re there, or a good friends’ name escapes you, or you misplace your glasses for the umpteenth time in a day, just chalk it up to natural age-related changes unless you can’t retrace your steps, the friend’s name not only doesn’t come back but the person looks unfamiliar, and you’re sure someone stole those missing glasses.

Microcapillary flow of blood to the brain, eye and skin is impaired as a part of normal aging. The result is that disorders of the eye (such as cataract, macular degeneration, glaucoma) are the No.1 age-related degenerative disease. Major and mini-strokes are common problems associated with circulatory deficit to the brain.

Oxidative Stress

Free radicals are unstable molecules that have been implicated in most diseases associated with aging. Antioxidants have become popular supplements to protect against free-radical-induced cell damage, but few people take the proper combination of antioxidant supplements needed to do any good. Susan’s book Piece by Piece: Love in the Land of Alzheimer’s is available at Ubud’s Ganesha Book Store, Threads of Life, or on Amazon.

By Adrian By Shari By Susan Tereba

The Boomer Corner is a column dedicated to people over The Boomer Corner is a column dedicated to people over The Boomer Corner is a column dedicated to people over 60 living in Bali. Its mandate is to cover topics, practicalities, 60 living in Bali. Its mandate is to cover topics, practicalities, 60 living in Bali. Its mandate is to cover topics, practicalities, activities, issues, concerns and events related to senior life in activities, issues, concerns and events related to senior life in activities, issues, concerns and events related to senior life in Bali. We welcome suggestions from readers. Bali. We welcome suggestions from readers. Bali. We welcome suggestions from readers. E-mail us at : Baliboomers@gmail.com E-mail us at : Baliboomers@gmail.com E-mail us at : Baliboomers@gmail.com Copyright © 2019 Boomer Corner Copyright © 2019 Boomer Corner You can read all past articles of You can read all past articles of Boomer Corner at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz Boomer Corner at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz

Copyright © 2019 Boomer Corner You can read all past articles of Boomer Corner at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz