Dementia

Oh, what a night! Late December in 1963. What a very special time for me - I married the love of my life, John Mackey . My husband played for nine seasons with the Baltimore Colts. In the years following his retirement from the NFL, I noticed unusual changes in his behavior. My first reaction was to go through various stages of denial, because I didn't know what else to do. But finally I couldn't kid myself anymore. Many doctors' visits later, and nearly 30 years after John played his last NFL game, John was diagnosed with frontal temporal dementia, which meant that he had severe shrinkage of the left frontal lobe of his brain.

President Barack Obama wants to invest an initial $110 billion in a study of the human brain that could have benefits as great as those achieved by the Human Genome Project. Maybe the first study should be done on the one-track minds of tea party Republicans who will undoubtedly oppose funding for the study because their brains are fixated on the single idea that government can do nothing right. After that, researchers could move on to figuring out Sarah Palin's brain. Perhaps they could answer this question: How can a person with so little knowledge and so little interest in acquiring knowledge imagine she has what it takes to be president of the United States?

Valentine's Day is the perfect occasion to tell you about this guy I know. He has a psycho-traumatic disorder called ''Crone Dementia.''It strikes men like him. Late 40s or early 50s. Recently divorced. Their children are all grown and living on their own.These men all seem perfectly healthy. Take this guy. He plays tennis. Jogs regularly. He's bright, curious, energetic. Likes to travel. Good looking. Good sense of humor. Good company.He's been searching for someone to date. You wouldn't think he'd have any trouble.

Linda Kellar seemed too young for dementia, the slow-forming disease that erodes the memories of people usually much older than the then-54-year-old housewife. But in 2009 that's what doctors found to be the cause of Kellar's severe agitation, memory loss, sleepless nights, babbling and hallucinations. Kellar now spends her days at Keswick Multi-Care Center under constant care because of the disease, which has progressed steadily since the diagnosis. Her husband, Arnold, knows that dementia will eventually take his wife's life.

Baltimore police said Friday that a missing 74-year-old man who suffers from dementia has been found. Raymond Burke, who is also diagnosed with delusional disorder and schizophrenia, was in good condition after being picked up in Northeast Baltimore on Thursday night, according to Detective Kevin Brown, a police spokesman. "He was walking in circles," Brown said. "But he's well, and should be fine. " Burke was found about 11:30 p.m. by patrol units in the area of Pulaski Highway and Moravia Park Drive.

There are plenty of tragedies and many are easy to comprehend, and deal with. In nost cases, killer are supposed to go to prison. But what do you do with a 92-year-old man suffering from dementia who pushes his wife of 65 years, causing her to fall, break her hip and die. It's a homicide, authorities say, but not one that they're going to prosecute as a crime. The case announced today in Baltimore County opens up a world of questions -- how was the couple cared for? Were they living alone?

For Marilyn Blum, the hardest part of dealing with her husband Steve's dementia was getting him to give up the car keys. There were the arguments, the denial and that day four years ago when he grabbed the keys, stormed off and started the ignition. He was lost for hours. In the initial days of her husband's diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's, her triglyceride level rose, her blood pressure jumped and stress took hold. "The early stage was horrible; it was very rough on both of us," said Marilyn Blum, 61, of Owings Mills.

A Catonsville man, 92, who suffers from dementia, will not be charged in the death of his wife, according to the State's Attorney's office. The woman, 86, died March 15 at St. Agnes Hospital due to complications of a hip injury suffered when she tried to stop her husband from going for a walk on March 12, according to a release from the Baltimore County Police Department. The state's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled the case a homicide. The couple had been married 65 years, according to the release, and there was no history of domestic abuse.

Anne Arundel County police are searching for a 79-year-old man who suffers from dementia who went missing after visiting his wife at Baltimore Washington Medical Center on Friday. Family members of Frederick Richard West said he went missing after being dropped off at the hospital at about 3 p.m., police said. He has not been seen or heard from since. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a rust-colored shirt and possibly a blue ball cap, police said. Anyone with information is asked to call Anne Arundel County Police Department's Northern District at 410-222-6135.

Behavioral and psychiatric symptoms, such as depression, delusions, hallucinations, yelling, wandering and aggression, affect 80-90 percent of individuals with dementia at some point during the course of their illness. For the vast majority of individuals with dementia, these troubling symptoms are short-lived and can be successfully managed by caregivers who use behavioral modifications and non-pharmacological interventions such as reassurance, social activities to relieve boredom or agitation, reminiscence, and exercise.

It's probably cranky of me to complain about the solicitude of journalists who write for me as if I were on the brink of senile dementia, but sometimes they just explain too much. What I have in mind is Pointless Then-ness. You see it all the time. "In 1996, then-President Bill Clinton appointed ... " Now, if I were in fact on the brink of senile dementia, I might still imagine that Bill Clinton is president. Or if I were one of the besotted Democrats watching the party's recent national convention, I might wish  that Bill Clinton were still president.

Behavioral and psychiatric symptoms, such as depression, delusions, hallucinations, yelling, wandering and aggression, affect 80-90 percent of individuals with dementia at some point during the course of their illness. For the vast majority of individuals with dementia, these troubling symptoms are short-lived and can be successfully managed by caregivers who use behavioral modifications and non-pharmacological interventions such as reassurance, social activities to relieve boredom or agitation, reminiscence, and exercise.

Federal officials are working to place compassion at the center of how our nation aims to treat elderly patients suffering from dementia. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that they'll coordinate an effort to dramatically reduce the use of antipsychotic drugs among dementia patients in nursing homes. The agency's plan acknowledges that these powerful pharmaceuticals are often overused - and represents a valuable first step toward improving the way we treat people with this condition.

Retirement hasn't been easy for Pete Pompey. Since ending a 31-year high school coaching career in 2004 that spanned both Edmondson and Dunbar high schools, the Baltimore icon has developed severe dementia and been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He can't write, doesn't remember his birthday and often forgets where he lives. But on Saturday, the 72-year-old Pompey was reminded - at least for a moment - of the lasting impact he made on his home city. "I did this," said Pompey, watching as more than two-dozen of his former students participated in a basketball doubleheader at Edmondson High School.

Baltimore County Police are asking the public's help to locate a missing Towson man who they say suffers from dementia, and may have difficulty finding his way home. Police describe Richard Dudley Walter, 72, as a "critical missing person. " He went missing at about 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 5, from the 1500 block of Dellsway Road in Towson, according to police reports. He is described as a white male, 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, possibly driving 2001 gray Saturn sedan, Maryland tag LDB783.

The Alzheimer's Association's annual Memory Ball has drawn nine highly competitive dance couples, four well-known judges, including Maryland's first lady, and nearly 700 guests. But the star of the evening will likely be the ball honoree, Sylvia Mackey, a woman who has worked tirelessly for the association and its families. Mackey lost her husband, John Mackey , a Baltimore Colts tight end and first president of the NFL players union, last summer. He waged a long battle with frontal temporal dementia, a debilitating illness with many of the same characteristics as Alzheimer's.

The wealthy California stockbroker had never cared about art.Then, when he was 56, things inside him began to change.He would glimpse a color or a beam of light, and he would find himself suffused with pleasure. And there were times when a color or a light would seem almost unbearable, and he would feel unwell.For the first time in his life, he began to paint. His early attempts were nothing remarkable - elliptical patterns in purples and yellows. Still, he quit his job to concentrate on being an artist.

An 84-year-old man who suffers from dementia was reported missing from his home in Baltimore County Thursday evening, but he has been located and is safe, according to police. Baltimore County police said Francis Green was last seen about 5 p.m. in the 700 block of Maiden Choice Lane, Catonsville, around 5 p.m. andrea.siegel@baltsun.com

A Catonsville man, 92, who suffers from dementia, will not be charged in the death of his wife, according to the State's Attorney's office. The woman, 86, died March 15 at St. Agnes Hospital due to complications of a hip injury suffered when she tried to stop her husband from going for a walk on March 12, according to a release from the Baltimore County Police Department. The state's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled the case a homicide. The couple had been married 65 years, according to the release, and there was no history of domestic abuse.

There are plenty of tragedies and many are easy to comprehend, and deal with. In nost cases, killer are supposed to go to prison. But what do you do with a 92-year-old man suffering from dementia who pushes his wife of 65 years, causing her to fall, break her hip and die. It's a homicide, authorities say, but not one that they're going to prosecute as a crime. The case announced today in Baltimore County opens up a world of questions -- how was the couple cared for? Were they living alone?