In this episode on the Living with Alzheimer's podcast, Christoph describes how Ginger’s dementia journey unfolded from her Alzheimer’s diagnoses until her final days. Along the way, he also shares how his role as caregiver evolved as Ginger’s needs changed over those seven years.

Christoph hopes that this overview of Ginger’s journey helps other families navigate their own journeys with loved ones who are living with dementia.

To ask questions or provide topic suggestions for future episodes, please leave a message on the Contact page of the Living With Alzheimer’s website.

In this episode of the Living with Alzheimer's podcast, Christoph interviews Dr. Catherine Madison, a Bay Area neurologist who founded the Ray Dolby Brain Health Center and recently authored Navigating Memory Loss: Essential Questions and Answers on Alzheimer's and Dementia.

As Christoph and Catherine discuss the book, Catherine shares several insights about dementia diagnosis and care. Catherine provides an overview of different dementia types and their common symptoms. They discuss the phenomenon of anosognosia, where individuals with dementia are unable to recognize changes in their own cognitive abilities. And they discuss how "therapeutic fibbing" can help avoid agitation for the person living with dementia.

Catherine emphasizes the importance of early evaluation and neuropsychological testing for individuals with memory concerns, and highlights recent advancements in dementia treatments that can significantly slow progression of the disease.

Catherine describes how her visit to the Hogeweyk® Dementia Village in the Netherlands influenced the section of her book comparing a "medical model" of care, which is focused on diagnosis and treatment, to a "social model" of care, which prioritizes quality of life and comfort.

Catherine wraps up by emphasizing the importance of individuals documenting their wishes for end-of-life care in an advanced directive. She shares the tools in her book designed to help people communicate their priorities regarding interventions like CPR, feeding tubes, and antibiotics, especially as it relates to care choices if they have become cognitively impaired by dementia.

You can find Catherine’s book at Copperfield’s Books and on Amazon.

In this episode on the Living with Alzheimer's podcast, Christoph interviews Andrea Tales, Professor of Dementia Research at Swansea University in Wales of the United Kingdom.

They discuss the book A New Approach to Dementia: Examining Sensory and Perceptual Impairment, written by Andrea and fellow researchers Jan Kremláček and Emma Richards.

The book focuses on the shifting perceptions with vision, smell, taste, and hearing that can accompany changes in the brain related to dementia.

Andrea explains that sensory changes, such as hearing loss, can help early recognition of dementia. She goes on to explain that this book focuses on understanding the sensory changes that occur during the dementia journey and how this awareness can help caregivers develop more individualized and effective care strategies.

Christoph and Andrea discuss the self-reporting of the research participants at the foundation of this book. The participants’ personal stories describe the shifting perspectives and perceptions they have experienced as they have lived with dementia. These personal stories help the general public access the insights contained in the book.

They continue their conversation discussing environmental modifications families and businesses can consider to make their environments more dementia friendly. Andrea has been an advocate for way-finding signage to help prevent people living with dementia from getting lost. She also shares how removing clutter can be a simple way to help people living with dementia.

Christoph and Andrea wrap up their conversation talking about who can benefit by reading this book, which can be found at Routledge’s website.