A Happier Ending: September 2009

DR. ALOIS ALZHEIMER (1864-1915)

More gloomy statistics have just emerged about the inexorable rise of dementia across the globe. Experts from King’s College London predict that more than 115 million people will succumb to senile dementia by 2050. Dementia victims are patently more vulnerable to elder abuse than their lucid contemporaries – as I saw with my own father who was exploited exponentially, as his Lewy Body Dementia progressed.

This incontrovertible fact is being played out in the headlines which continue to emerge from New York where 85-year old Anthony Marshall is on trial for Grand Larceny for allegedly attempting to defraud his wealthy socialite mother, Brooke Astor, of millions of dollars, as she languished in poor physical and mental health over the last few years of her life. This week, prosecutors told the court that Mrs Astor’s Alzheimer’s had progressed so far by the early years of this century that she no longer knew where she lived and was convinced by her son that she did not have sufficient funds to buy herself a new dress.

The King’s research is part of the 2009 World Alzheimer’s Report and sees the number of dementia sufferers set to double every 20 years, to more than 65 million by 2030. The report highlights the economic impact of our ever-ageing world, as advances in healthcare and nutrition see the grey population continuing to grow.

Report contributor, Professor Martin Prince made a heartfelt plea for increased awareness: “Current investment in research, treatment and care is quite disproportionate to the overall impact of the disease on people with dementa, the carers, on health and social care systems, and on society".

Only a few weeks ago, leading geriatricians in the United Kingdom warned that the ageing population, coupled with this rise in dementia could break Britain's National Health Service. In a plea for more research investment, 11 specialists predicted that the economic burden of dementia would reach £35 billion within 20 years.

Professor Roy Weller makes an eloquent plea for more research funding here:

Mrs Astor in her Park Avenue penthouse, days before her 100th birthday in 2002.

Back in NYC, the Brooke Astor trial, which has limped on and on, since April, finally heard closing arguments last week. I hope to use this forum to post on the verdict as soon as it is announced.

WHY ALL OF US SHOULD WANT "A HAPPIER ENDING"

In December 2008, my father, Fred Jackson ISO, QFSM, CPM, finally passed away at the age of 85. Sadly his final months were blighted by a still rare and not fully understood form of Alzheimers, called Dementia with Lewy Bodies.

Even more sadly, this condition enabled several people whom he should, by rights, have been able to trust, to take advantage of his loyalty, generosity, frailty and confusion. My brave Dad, D-Day veteran, distinguished fire fighter, became yet another victim, not just of the rising tide of senile dementia, but of the burgeoning phenomenon of elderly and vulnerable adult abuse.

Child abuse is a heinous crime and deserves every headline, no matter how lurid, it receives. And yet; there is no financial incentive to abuse a child. A frail, not always 100 per cent lucid, elderly or disabled person is just as defenceless as a small child. The fact that the older victim may be in receipt of an attractive pension or live in a mortgage-free home makes them even more vulnerable - particularly in the current economic climate.

My hope for this blog is relatively modest: simply to raise awareness of the growing problem of vulnerable adult abuse and who knows, maybe even start to tackle the problem in a more concrete way? We shall see. Sincere thanks for reading.

What is Dementia with Lewy Bodies? (DLB)

DLB is a form of dementia which shares symptons with both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Diseases. It is named after Alois Alzheimer’s colleague, Frederick Lewy (1885-1950) who, in 1912, identified the eponymous ‘bodies’ or abnormal protein deposits in the brain which disrupt normal function. DLB was virtually unknown until around a decade ago, when scientists in the United Kingdom, Japan and the U.S. collaborated on the pioneering research which finally established DLB as a distinct condition.

A major problem with diagnosis is that every sufferer is different and will manifest different degrees of the characteristic symptoms. Some will show no signs of certain features, especially in the early stages. Symptoms may fluctuate as often as moment-to-moment, hour-to-hour or day-to-day.

The main characteristics include general mental decline and a lowered attention span. My father’s diagnosis was ultimately confirmed by his recurrent and vivid hallucinations. He would be convinced that he was back in the Navy or in Hong Kong; he frequently saw my late brother, sitting, smiling, on end of his bed. He was also, for the first time in eight decades, severely depressed. DLB also brings with it distressing fluctuations in autonomic processes, including blood pressure, bowel function and urination and body temperature.

In the UK alone there are more than 700,000 people living with dementia, of whom around 100,000 are thought to have DLB. This total is projected to rise to 1.8 million by 2050. In the EU, five million people suffer individually – while the number of people affected increases exponentially when you include family and caregivers.

The Lewy Body Dementia Association is a U.S. based not-for-profit support and research group. In the U.K, the Lewy Body Society does a similar job. Their motto is: "The more people who know, the fewer people who suffer...."

About Me

Dominique Jackson is a freelance writer & translator with more than 20 years' experience of the Fourth Estate. She studied Modern & Medieval Languages at Magdalen College, Oxford and trained at Reuters News Agency after graduating. She worked initially as a foreign correspondent, reporting from Latin America, South East Asia, including her native Hong Kong and the Benelux countries, Spain and Portugal, and latterly, as a writer and editor on London's Fleet Street.

Dominique's work has appeared in publications as diverse as the Guardian, the Spectator, the Financial Times, Marie Claire and Avenue magazines, the Times Educational Supplement, the Volkskrant & the South China Morning Post

Many thanks for reading!

A Happier Ending

Elder Abuse: How much longer can "the hidden problem" stay hidden - as Dementia Rates continue to rise?

Uncle Fred: 1923-2008

WHY ALL OF US SHOULD WANT "A HAPPIER ENDING"

What is Dementia with Lewy Bodies? (DLB)

About Me

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