Brain Health 2022 by Mediaplanet Canada

BRAIN HEALTH

You Are Not Alone: A Community of Support Is Here for People Facing the Challenges of Dementia

Whether you are living with dementia, supporting people with dementia, or just looking for answers and next steps the Alzheimer Society can help you.

Receiving a diagnosis of dementia is rarely easy. Upon hearing the news, the person receiving the diagnosis, their friends, and family members, will experience many different feelings and emotions, from shock to affirmation then grief. Even when the initial wave of emotion recedes, a question remains: what happens next?

It’s critical that the first steps after diagnosis are clear and accessible for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. That’s why the Alzheimer Society wants everyone in Canada to know about First Link® — it’s that vital first step to providing evidence-based education, services and support to people living with dementia and family caregivers. It’s also open to anyone who wants to know more about dementia, but isn’t sure where to start.

To access First Link, just call your local Alzheimer Society, ask your doctor for a referral, or visit alzheimer.ca/FirstLink

At the Alzheimer Society, we believe

that no one should have to face dementia alone. Through First Link, people who are newly diagnosed are connected to a community of support as soon as possible. It can make a big difference by eliminating the uncertainties and unknowns that come with that initial diagnosis.

By connecting with First Link, a person will have access to information that can help them face the challenges of dementia. They will also get connected to all the dementia-focused supports available in their local community. The Alzheimer Society has over 100 offices across Canada, and at each one there are a variety of different programs and services available to help people affected by dementia.

The Alzheimer Society also provides information on brain health — a key part of living well with dementia, but also, crucial to understanding risk reduction. For people concerned about dementia, we can provide the answers they might need to reduce their risk.

At the Alzheimer Society, we believe that no one should ever have to face dementia alone. Through First Link, people who are newly diagnosed are connected to a community of support as soon as possible. It can make a big difference by eliminating the uncertainties and unknowns that come with that initial diagnosis.

To get connected with First Link, we encourage anyone who is facing the challenges of dementia to call their local Society directly or ask their family doctor about being referred to the Alzheimer Society. And if you know someone who is being affected by dementia, and you’re wondering how you can help, consider letting them know about First Link.

You have questions. For people living with dementia, the Alzheimer Society is your first link to leading knowledge, world-recognized research, and a whole community of caring people who have answers.

Publisher: Santana Symeonides Director of Business Development: Julia Colavecchia

Manager: Nina Theodorlis

Alzheimer's Society of Canada

Canada Must Invest in Research to Promote Brain Health

Dr. Shernaz Bamji

Disorders that affect the brain and nerves are the leading cause of disability and second cause of death worldwide. There's an urgent need to develop innovative treatments and cures for hundreds of brain diseases and injuries that affect millions of Canadians.

Researchers in universities across Canada receive public funding — they work for you and for all Canadians. Discoveries that lead to therapies and new breakthroughs stem from years of research to understand the basic science of how the brain works. The Canadian government has a very important role to play in supporting basic research.

According to the latest data from the OECD (oecd.org), Canada is the only country in the G7 whose investments in research and development have steadily declined in the last 15 years. To meet the growing challenge posed by neurological conditions, the Canadian government needs to significantly increase its funding for health research.

Canadians can reach out to the government and tell them that health research matters to them, and that it should be a budgetary priority in Canada.

Now is the time to increase investment in health research to support laboratories and highly qualified personnel who will make life-changing discoveries to promote brain health in Canada.

Shining a Light on Brain Injury

Brain injury happens in an instant — a car crash, sports injury, fall, blow to the head, a stroke — changing a person’s life forever.

Acquired brain injury (ABI) is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with close to 500,000 people living with a brain injury in Ontario. Brain injury does not discriminate, it happens to people of all ages, genders, sexual orientations, and ethnicities.

A person who is homeless, one’s neighbour, a victim of violence, may be suffering in silence with a brain injury.

Intimate partner violence is a common cause of concussions or brain injury, largely unrecognized as a public health issue. It's estimated that for every NHL player who suffers a concussion during the season, approximately 7,000 Canadian women suffer the same injury at the hands of their intimate partner each year. This equates to about 250,000 new cases every year. The impacts of brain injury are complex and include a high association with other health conditions, such as mental health, chronic pain, and substance use.

Often people feel alone and lost, so much has changed in such a short time including a sense of loss and the task of building a new identity.

Organizations like the Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA) are working to shine a light on brain injury to raise public awareness on just how common brain injuries are and to let people living with these injuries know there's help and hope for them.

Q&A with CFL Sports Caster Matt Dunigan

Can you share what made you want to donate your brain and how this helps with concussion and CTE research?

I’ve always been a big believer in paying it forward. In fact, I’ve tried to live my life that way for as long as I can remember ... no pun intended! We live in a world now where there's so much taking when we need more giving. This is just another way to give back. Paying it forward, by donating my brain helps the Canadian Sports Concussion Project in hopes that the research they do, which is dependent upon having physical brains to work with, expedites a way to eradicate CTE and brain injury, period.

P.S. Jokingly, I always tell folks that Dr. Charles Tator and Dr. Carmela Tartaglia might as well use it as I have not!

What are some major post-concussion symptoms you would want readers to walk away knowing?

There's no such thing as different grades or degrees of concussions. Brain injury is brain injury and it’s to be taken seriously no matter the severity. When someone is concussed, the brain has been damaged and brain cells have died. Those cells don't come back. Dr. Charles Tator explained it to me the first time we had lunch together

years ago. He said to think of your brain as a beach ball covered in light bulbs and if the beach ball crashes into something those lights go off and never come back on. That’s a simple easy way to visualize how things work with concussions or brain injury. Fortunately, there have been breakthroughs that are allowing people to reverse the effects of brain trauma.

What is one piece of advice you would give to current professional athletes to take care of their brain and mental health?

One of my close friends and teammates in university, Jimmy Hand, had to leave the game of football due to brain trauma and concussions. When I asked him about what he was experiencing and how he coped with his symptoms, he encouraged me to challenge my brain the way I would with my body. Jimmy exercised his brain by continuously reading. You have to understand that my friend Jimmy was one of the most gifted minds I had ever been around. One day while he was reading, he said the fog just kind of lifted, so I took heed. That was amazing to hear and when I did, it gave me hope. My fog has not lifted to the degree Jimmy’s has, but I continue to challenge my brain through my work. Working with

TSN and covering our great Canadian Football game continues to challenge me and has been similar to taking medicine for the past 22 plus years. I consider myself lucky to regularly go on national television and be precise, concise, and clear with my thoughts. Regardless, the challenge is still there, and the process has been lifesaving!

What are some ways you think organizations can better support their athlete’s brain and mental health?

We no longer are ignorant to the seriousness of brain injury in professional sports. There are no more excuses to categorize brain trauma with the same vernacular we once did. We're now educated as to the seriousness of all things related to concussion and head trauma.

Organizations need to encourage our youth to raise their hand when they feel like they have a head injury or potential concussion. This was once was a sign of weakness but now it’s a sign of strength. It's vital for organizations to get in front of their athletes as they're not in a position to make appropriate decisions once a brain injury is acquired. We must do it for them as the knowledge and protocols are now in place and should be followed at all times.

Matt Dunigan Football Analyst, TSN

Dr. Shernaz Bamji President, The Canadian Association for Neuroscience

Ruth Wilcock Executive Director, OBIA

1 Dr. Paul van Donkelaar, University of British Columbia.

This article was supported by OBIA.

Ruth Wilcock