Posted 4-8-20
Howdy fellow Digital Cornbread Table Sitter-Atters! We are finally at mid-week, I think. Where is my stinkin’ calendar? Working from home, while not completely foreign to me, if a fresh challenge in the pandemic. We do what we can do, eh?
What better day than a Wednesday to have our excursion up the body from toes-to-head discussing the waist up to the neck (the midsection) and how dementia challenges these body parts. Like all of these posts, a book could (and many have) be written on the topic, but my intent is just to highlight a few concerns and give you an opportunity to chime in. Here are my thoughts as to the biggies:
- Digestion (and a possible cause?). This link is a useful resource on the first section here... The brain controls everything to some degree. eating and digestion have all sorts of interaction with the brain: taste, controlling the tongue and other muscles in the mouth to eat and swallow, remembering how to chew…it goes on and on. Chewing and swallowing correctly is a huge issue, especially as the patent advances in the disease. Proper digestion and constipation are always a concern, of course, but aspirating food into the lungs and the resulting pneumonia is not only pretty common, it can kill. Hand feeding and feeding tubes have advantages and may become necessary as time marches forward although the jury is still out as to the helpfulness of the latter as relating to quality of life and/or extending life.
Another aspect of digestion relating to our topic is whether what is going on in the stomach (microbiota) causes some kinds of dementia. Interesting link, but pretty technical. Here are some easier ones: Link Link Link Link . I will save a deeper look at causes for another day, but all potential causes deserve consideration instead of focusing on plaques and tangles exclusively. They, to me, are not 100% conclusive and may just be a sign of the disease, like a scar is to a wound…There are folks with plaques and tangles that function fine and likewise. There is a correlation, but we have a lot to learn before we pin that down as THE cause.
- Lungs. Aspirating pneumonia, as mentioned, is a huge problem with the lungs, but it isn’t alone. There are some apparent links between having lung disease, especially at middle life, and later developing cognitive impairment and/or dementia. This could be some sort of direct link or, probably more likely, it relates to vascular issues that are common in both problems. I could reiterate here the common Alz.org statement that “What is good for the heart is good for the brain.” While this may be centered in prevention, it could be part of the cause puzzle too…
- Heart. Speaking of heart, back and forth we go between cause and effect, and this is another area this applies. The heart is hurt in dementia. The brain is hurt in dementia. How these problems interact is a challenge. Studies show that those who have heart disease tend to have more dementia, especially in certain demographic groups. The Heart Association and the Stroke Association have worked with the Alzheimer’s Association in evaluating the correlation, especially in Vascular Dementia, and more will be learned about this tie. Clearly, as I mentioned above, “What is good for the heart is good for the brain.”…and likewise.
- Other considerations. Kidney problems and dementia: Link Link Link Link Link Liver problems: Link Link Link Link Link and Link (Note: a couple of these discuss treatable diseases that mimic dementia). Pancreas and Diabetes: Link Link Link Link Link Link Link Link Link . Tonsils (some link vicariously through other organs)?! Link Link Link Gall Bladder Link Link Link Link Link
The body is a complicated, interactive little habitat for healthiness and disease alike. Everything seems to interact with everything else, for better or worse. Therefore, when something breaks it ripples through systems…and the brain is the head of much of it. What a disease… 🙁
#EndALZ
Update: The Facetime times have dried up for today, but I will be able to catch her tomorrow. A call in tells me that all is fine…same as before.
Note: I think I will save the spine/nervous system for a later day…too much for one piece. 🙂