A dear friend forwarded to me an article from the New York Times, Treating Dementia, but Overlooking its Physical Toll. The first two sentence starkly state the premise for the article: "Dementia is often viewed as a disease of the mind, an illness that erases treasured memories but leaves the body intact. But dementia is a physical illness, too -- a progressive, terminal disease that shuts down the body as it attacks the brain." This is not new information for me as I was schooled in this aspect of dementia having a person in my life die relatively young from an early-onset dementia, Pick's Disease. Perhaps because the person was so young, it was more obvious how the body was being affected by the destruction of the brain. Very sad.
The article goes on to say that people with dementia are more prone to infections, have a depressed immune response and inability to report their symptoms. The article recommends having a Living Will in place, and recommends avoiding distressing interventions. As per the article, "When family members understood the progression and terminal nature of dementia, only 27% of the patients received aggressive care, but for family members who did not understand the disease, the figure was 73%. These people were subjected to aggressive treatments that would never be considered with another terminal disease. "
It is important to discuss this with the person with dementia and to have a Living Will in place to reflect their wishes.
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