Treatment Of Alzheimer's Can Delay Progression Of Disease

But the education on this cruel disease came too late for Harvey Boyd. In 1941 Jean and Harvey Boyd were high school sweethearts. "She was sitting behind me and we had classes together."

After Pearl Harbor and Harvey's stint in the military, the two married, had a son and a loving marriage for sixty-two years.

In later years Jean suffered from Osteoporosis among other things. "She had cancer; she had two spine surgeries, pain down through the years," says Harvey. When it became clear she and Harvey couldn't handle the house and her illnesses, they moved to Parkway Village and that's where Jean became a patient of Geriatric Doctor Claudia Tolleson.

"She had other diseases that we were following, but towards the end of her life she developed Alzheimer's and died because of that," explains Dr. Tolleson.

Alzheimer's robs the brain cells -- the memory is usually the first to go -- and family members usually notice. "Mom made this cake every week for the last 50 years and she can't remember how to do it. They usually notice."

It progresses through different stages. In the mild phase patients have memory problems that interfere with their function but they can usually compensate fairly well.

When it moves to the moderate stage, other people usually notice as they may do more things that others consider to be strange.

"In the moderate stages they may dress, but they may do some unusual things like you know, it's summer and they put on three layers of clothes and a coat, or they might not change their clothes everyday and they don't bathe sometimes."

When things move to the next phase, that's when the family usually has to make the painful decision to move their loved one into a full time care facility. "And then when we get into severe stages that's when you know they can't function at all on their own, they require care for all of their daily functions, they can't dress themselves at all."

Doctor Tolleson says an early diagnosis can mean treatment with medications that have proven in some to slow the progression. She says there are two categories of medicines. The Cholinesterase inhibitors like Aricept, Exelon, and Razadyne and then there's Namenda, an N-methyl D-aspartate antagonist for treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's.

"We watched people for many years with no medicines," she says. "And I can tell you that I saw people decline, every six months I would test them, I would see the decline. When we got these medicines, it did slow the decline, it doesn't stop it, there is no cure unfortunately right now, but it will slow the progression."

Although Jean's Alzheimer's was caught late because of her other illnesses, Harvey says he's grateful for any extra time the treatment gave him with his sweetheart to whom he was married to for all those years. "62 --- and it was a great life."

In spring of 2010, Baptist Health will open the first in the state freestanding Alzheimer's care center at Parkway Village.
The Ginny and Bob Shell Alzheimer's Center will receive certification from the Arkansas office of Long Term Care --- and will provide a home style atmosphere for Alzheimer's patients.