Latest News

Editor’s Note: Here at the Penn Memory Center, the communications team has been trying out a weekly letter we call “Sunday Reads” to keep you updated on what’s been happening and what we’re currently reading in our office. To see this in your inbox first, fill out your name and email address at the top of your screen or email joyce.lee2@uphs.upenn.edu.

It’s the peak of hurricane season, which reminds us here at PMC how our patients are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters.

Tropical storms have brought some rain to Philadelphia this season, but we’ve been fortunate not to experience anything like what has hit Florida this past week. However, we must be prepared for any harsh weather that may come in the months ahead, including major snowstorms and the extreme cold.

Unpredictable weather causes chaos for everyone, but those with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia have a notably tough time coping with the difficulties of storms. Challenges include, but are not limited to: remembering to pack all of your necessities, being put into an unfamiliar environment such as an emergency shelter, and understanding what may happen if you disobey evacuation orders (which is detailed in this New York Times article).

Patty Younts, 62, learned firsthand last month just how tough it can be. Younts is the sole caregiver for her husband Howard, 66, who has a rare, visual variant of Alzheimer’s called posterior cortical atrophy. The couple, who have been married for 32 years, have also resided in the same home for just as long. Last month, their Pawley Island home was one of many in the Carolinas that faced mandatory evacuation due to Hurricane Florence.

Leaving their home to head to an unfamiliar place (a hotel) was stressful, Younts told Kaiser Health News (KHN), but returning home days after the storm had passed was perhaps even worse.

“It seems like he has been even more lost in his own home than before he left,” Younts told KHN. “He cannot find where the bathroom is. I have to take him every time to show him, get him lined in front of the toilet.”

Although each individual is different, there’s one thing that we can all do for our loved one with Alzheimer’s disease: be prepared.

Create a family disaster kit which includes recent photos of the person, medications, and favorite snacks, among other items. For a full list of what to include in the kit and how to manage separation during a disaster, check out the National Institute on Aging’s “Disaster Preparedness for Alzheimer’s Caregivers,” guide.

News & Upcoming Events

The PMC received the Caring Community Award from ARTZ Philadelphia last week. It was presented to us during a community exhibition and reception at The Philadelphia Foundation Community Arts Gallery.

The Jefferson Humanities Forum is hosting an event with Anne Basting, a theater artist and educator, titled “Anne Basting: Aging, Dementia and the Cultural Cure.” It’ll take place on Friday, October 19 from noon to 1 p.m at Jefferson. It’s free, but registration is required.

Our weekly Dance for Health session will be on Saturday, October 20 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Ralston Center. Here’s more details.

Sincerely,

The PMC Communications Team
Terrence Casey, Joyce Lee, Janissa Delzo, Linnea Langkammer, and Sharnita Midgett

Editor’s Note: Here at the Penn Memory Center, the communications team has been trying out a weekly letter we call “Sunday Reads” to keep you updated on what’s been happening and what we’re currently reading in our office. To see this in your inbox first, fill out your name and email address at the top of your screen or email joyce.lee2@uphs.upenn.edu.

Language is an undeniably powerful tool. It can persuade, lift, and inspire.

But words can also sometimes be weaponized, to marginalize and discriminate against certain individuals and groups of people.

We’ve seen this happen with people living with dementia. That is why at PMC, we are very careful with the words we use to refer to our patients and research participants. But these conversations we’ve been having in our office have become more public, and we think it’s appropriate to talk about this now.

For example, a recent column from Ravishly discusses the broad implications of our language for individuals recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

The writer, who is in recovery herself, explains how commonly used words such as  “addict” and “alcoholic” can do more harm than you may realize. And she cites research conducted at the University of Pennsylvania to support her claim.

Similarly, in a past Forbes column, PMC Co-Director Dr. Jason Karlawish, discusses the often unintentional impact our words — particularly the use of “zombie” — can have on persons with Alzheimer’s disease.

“The problem with the zombie metaphor, with thinking about the patient as a living dead, is that it limits our repertoire of emotions,” he writes. “We feel fear and disgust, emotions that in turn cause stigma, which describes a deliberate distancing and dehumanizing of a person.”

Stigma has the ability to affect people on an emotional level, but also their interactions with the health system and participation in clinical research. This is what PMC Scholar Dr. Shana Stites is working on studying. 

“One thing we’re hoping to achieve with this research is to develop mass media communications with messages that change the public stigma around Alzheimer’s disease, to make people less likely to make those negative judgments, or judgments that are untrue or unhelpful about people with Alzheimer’s disease,” she says. You can read more about Dr. Stites’ work on stigma here.

Ultimately, we’re mindful of the words we use here at PMC to combat the stigma.

You can join us too.

First, use person-first, empowering language. For example, say “person with Alzheimer’s disease,” instead of mentioning the disease first.

Second, learn about the language guidelines of talking about dementia with this document from Dementia Australia.

Together, let’s empower people who live with dementia and their loved ones.

Upcoming Events

The Ralston Center is holding a free education program called “Medications and Aging,” on Tuesday, October 9, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It will be led by Dr. Jerry Johnson, the former Chief of Penn Geriatrics. Registration is required.

It’s time for Memory Café, and this week, the Philadelphia Zoo on Wheels will be joining us! The event will take place at the usual location (Christ Church Neighborhood House) on Friday, October 12, from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Come dance with us on Saturday, October 13, at our weekly Dance for Health event. You can show off your dance moves from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Here’s more information.

Sincerely,

The PMC Communications Team
Terrence Casey, Joyce Lee, Janissa Delzo, Linnea Langkammer, and Sharnita Midgett

October Memory Café

Friday, October 12 | 10:30 a.m. to Noon
Christ Church Neighborhood House
20 N. American Street, Philadelphia
RSVP to alison.lynn@uphs.upenn.edu

Philadelphia Zoo on Wheels joins Penn Memory Center for the October Memory Café.  Zoo on Wheels emphasizes the importance of empathy and connecting with animals. Animal petting, facts, and education will be a part of the Zoo on Wheels experience for attendees. To RSVP, contact Alison Lynn at 215-360-0257 or alison.lynn@uphs.upenn.edu.

Editor’s Note: Here at the Penn Memory Center, the communications team has been trying out a weekly letter we call “Sunday Reads” to keep you updated on what’s been happening and what we’re currently reading in our office. To see this in your inbox first, fill out your name and email address at the top of your screen or email joyce.lee2@uphs.upenn.edu.

Editor’s Note: Here at the Penn Memory Center, the communications team has been trying out a weekly letter we call “Sunday Reads” to keep you updated on what’s been happening and what we’re currently reading in our office. To see this in your inbox first, fill out your name and email address at the top of your screen or email joyce.lee2@uphs.upenn.edu.

Fall is officially here, which means cooler weather, warmer clothing, and perhaps a difference in cognition—at least according to a new study published in PLOS Medicine.

The changing of the seasons doesn’t mean that your cognition will be altered. Rather, the researchers found that individuals (with and without Alzheimer’s disease) performed better on working memory and speed of perception tests when they took them in the summer or fall compared to those who took the tests in the winter or spring.

This study adds to a growing body of research that has previously found cognition may change with the four seasons. If cognition does in fact shift, the authors of the paper suggest dementia-related clinical resources should be made more available in the cooler seasons when a person’s symptoms are more severe. Certain biomarkers could be responsible for the change, but it’s not quite clear. Therefore, more research is needed.

Regardless if cognition changes or not, two things that don’t are the value of a caregiver and the importance of them getting help, too.