There were a couple of stories on the news services this week about the D word. The D word is Dementia. Apparently there is a study coming out in a neurology journal that rates the risk of developing dementia if both your parents got it. It seems that if two parents got the disease, it increases the likelihood their children will get it. But even after age 70, more than half of the kids are free of dementia symptoms. Still the rate for the general population is much lower. There is about a six percent lifetime prevalence in the US, so if both parents get dementia the rate becomes about seven times higher. There were other D word stories too. One had to do with the worries patients have when they are diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s disease. AD is only one form of dementia and does have several medications that are modestly helpful in slowing the progress of the disease. The worries patients have are about becoming dependant on others and burdensome to family. Doctors are often hesitant to tell a patient they have AD because of these fears. There is evidence from Washington University in St Louis that it relieves the patient to know and be able to make plans for long term care. The subjects in that study had no more depression or anxiety weeks after the diagnosis was announced than before they knew. Finally, the Alzheimer’s Association list of things to do if you have a diagnosis of early AD was published. They recommend hiring services like bill paying and transportation, writing notes to yourself about how to work appliances, and foremost- stay active physically and socially! If you know a person with dementia, you can help with the last suggestion- go for walks together, take them to church, invite them for a meal.