November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month and National Caregiver Month. About 5.1 million Americans age 65 and older have Alzheimer’s disease, with some 15 million caregivers involved in their daily lives. That means 20 million Americans are impacted by the disease.
At the Clinical Research Center, we are doing everything we can to help find treatments that will prevent, cure or slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease. We have blogged previously about our involvement in Alzheimer’s research as part of the Expedition 3 clinical trial. We‘ve now been working with the Expedition 3 patients and their study partners/caregivers for almost two years; we’re about halfway through the trial.
Since the patients and their study partners come in once a month for treatment, we’ve gotten to know them pretty well. Here’s one interesting observation made by a study nurse: Caregivers who keep their “patients” busy with activities – such as travel, movies, fishing and other hobbies – don’t complain as much about their patients’ cognitive issues. So, clearly, support for the caregivers is critical.
The Alzheimer’s Association has an amazing assortment of caregiver resources, including a 24/7 telephone Helpline and a search engine for finding assistance in your community. In addition, the Caregiver Action Network (CAN) offers programs and tips to improve the quality of life for caretakers who are managing chronic conditions, disabilities, or disease. CAN offers this important tip to caregivers: Take care of your own health so that you can be strong enough to take care of your loved one.
We’ll be posting a new video tomorrow about research at The Corvallis Clinic. This video features a patient and her study partner as they explain why they sought to participate in an Alzheimer’s disease research project. The video, although only 1 minute long, describes their journey and the hope it has inspired.
If you are interested in learning more about our studies, contact the Clinical Research Center at 541-766-2163 or send an email to research@corvallisclinic.com. Or, follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/corvallisclinicresearch.
– Julie Carrico is Associate Coordinator of The Corvallis Clinical Research Center
