According to a Public News Service news story, the number of adult caregivers is rising sharply across the nation, and the Iowa chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association has launched a free 6-week online training program.
It’s designed to educate people about how to cope with a loved one’s dementia, and how to find resources for overcoming inevitable challenges. More than 62,000 Iowans are living with Alzheimer’s Disease, and another 80,000 serve as caregivers.
The Alzheimer’s Association Iowa Chapter’s Erica Eickren says the program teaches caregivers not only what to expect when they take on the role, but also about understanding brain health and ways to stave off dementia.
“Because what we’ve learned in the last few years with the treatments that have come out, we’ve learned more of the healthy habits for our brain that can lower our risk by about 45%. And we also know that with some of the new treatments out there, if we are catching it early enough, there are wonderful IV treatments that have been out there for a couple of years now that are actually changing the progression of the disease.”
Those drugs include Leqembi and Kisunla, which are thought to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. But despite costly research and numerous clinical trials, there remains no cure.
Eickren says the drugs work on the brain’s chemistry, but also address the physical anomalies that may develop in dementia patients.
The online program runs weekly through March, then monthly until the end of June. Eickren says the Alzheimer’s Association is gearing one of the sessions in March to Spanish speakers.
