As an avid fan of Mad Men, and an elder law attorney, the way the show dealt with one of the character’s senility brought the show right into the present. Back in the ‘60s, so many women were stay at home mothers. When a parent, or an -in-law started needing more help, it was these… Read More »
Posts Categorized: Alzheimer’s Disease
Elder Law: It's about people, not just money.
Sometimes when attorneys talk about elder law and Medicaid planning, they get caught up in the technical details of the various rules and strategies: Medicaid planning trusts; the look-back period, spend-down plans, the half-a-loaf strategy, the penalty period, and on and on. It’s easy to forget sometimes that we’re talking about human beings — people… Read More »
It's Not Monopoly Money, It's Your Hard Earned Wealth
A recent article in Forbes highlights a study that half of all people lose all their wealth after just 6 months in a nursing home. I’m going to repeat that: Half of all residents in a nursing home lose ALL their wealth, including their home equity, after just 6 months in a nursing home. As… Read More »
Does Size Matter?
Does the size of your brain predict the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease? One study released December 2011 in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, finds that smaller brain size has a high correlation with the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Technically, the researchers found that the thickness of regions of… Read More »
Alzheimer's or a Vitamin Deficiency?
According to an article in today’s New York Times by health writer Jane Brody, below normal levels of B-12 can sometimes mimic the signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. According to Brody, Vitamin B-12 is absorbed less readily as we age, and a deficiency can cause symptoms of memory loss and confusion–the same symptoms as an… Read More »
The Real Reason You Should Have Paid Attention in High School French
In a recent interview in the New York Times Science Section, cognitive neuroscientist Ellen Bialystock was interviewed about recent studies that have found that being bilingual delays the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms by an average of five to six years. Unfortunately, the occasional use of a second language does not qualify for bilingualism. The… Read More »