DEAR READERS: The mailbox was bursting with responses to the Oct. 9 letter from Frustrated Neighbor, whose 94-year-old neighbor is bedridden and nominally cared for by a girl who also holds his energy of lawyer. I’ll let the readers communicate for themselves:
“Red flags everywhere! The neighbor says the caregiver has his POA, which means she can control his money. She has no incentive to move him to a home. A person who is 100% bedridden shouldn’t be alone for 18 hours each day. This is elder abuse in my mind and quite possibly fraud. One phone call is all it should take if she explains the situation.” — RED FLAGS
“The person who wrote in should contact Adult Protective Services to make sure an unbiased individual looks at the situation and does what is necessary and what the elderly person wants. I am an attorney and volunteer member of our county’s Adult Protective Service Multidisciplinary Team. We see this sort of situation all the time.” — ON WATCH
“The poor bedbound man is a victim of abuse and neglect, and the situation should be reported to the authorities immediately. If he’s regularly being ignored for 18 hours or more, I’m sure he has bedsores or worse.” — UNNERVED
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DEAR ABBY: Alzheimer’s illness impacts thousands and thousands of Americans and their households, and the want for new approaches to remedy stays pressing. As a doctor in the Division of Geriatrics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), I’ve seen how deeply this illness can have an effect on not only folks dwelling with Alzheimer’s, but also the households and caregivers who support them. Today, I’m inspired by the alternative to assist determine new approaches to treating Alzheimer’s illness as the principal investigator at a new medical trials website in Oakland, California. One of our objectives is to make medical analysis more accessible and to enhance participation among communities that traditionally have been underrepresented in medical trials.
Abby, medical trials can not succeed with out volunteers. Just as importantly, the folks who take part in analysis should mirror the various communities affected by Alzheimer’s illness. By broadening participation, we hope to study more about potential remedies while serving to guarantee that advances in Alzheimer’s analysis can profit everyone.
At our website, we are at the moment enrolling individuals in the SPRING Trial, a medical research for folks ages 55 to 80 who have been recognized with delicate to average Alzheimer’s illness. SPRING is exploring a completely different method to Alzheimer’s remedy: concentrating on P. gingivalis, a bacterium related with gum illness that can also make its method into our brains. The drug LHP588 is designed to inactivate poisonous enzymes produced by this bacterium, with the aim of stopping or slowing down the development of Alzheimer’s illness.
I hope your readers who are dwelling with Alzheimer’s illness, or caring for someone who is, will think about studying more about the SPRING Trial and whether participation might be proper for them. More data about the research and collaborating websites across the U.S. can be discovered at springclinicaltrial.com. — T. RICHARD PARENTEAU, MD/PHD PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR, OAKLAND CLINICAL RESEARCH VOLUNTEER CLINICAL PROFESSOR, UCSF DIVISION OF GERIATRICS
DEAR DR. PARENTEAU: I’m comfortable to assist unfold the phrase that volunteers are wanted for this necessary research. Readers, if someone you know might be a candidate for this trial, I urge you to go to the web site!
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Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren. For almost 4 many years, Jeanne Phillips penned this column, which was based in 1956 by her mom, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at http://www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 270135, Kansas City, MO 64127.
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