Are you worried about being forgetful? Many people think that starting to forget is a first sign of Alzheimer’s disease. Well, not necessarily. Here is an interesting article by the National Institute on Aging which is worth a read.
Category: dementia desease research
Discover your Alzheimer Risk Reduction Score
This is an online test you can take to discover what your Risk Reduction Score is. The test is provided by brainsalvation.com.
The Risk Reduction Score is a crucial component of the brainsalvation system. The score provides a clear guideline for understanding how your lifestyle increases or decreases your chances of developing dementia and/or Alzheimer’s. The Risk Reduction Score incorporates findings from recent, peer-reviewed medical research, and was developed under the supervision of Medical Care Corporation, a data analytics company specializing in the measurement of cognition.
Picture taken from www.brainsalvation.comStop Alzheimers Now – Great initiative and an opportunity to Donate
This is an organization committed to increasing Alzheimer’s and Dementia awareness. Their mission is to raise private funding for Alzheimer’s research with the goal of eradicating the disease by the year 2020. Founded in 2013 by Shaun McDuffee, and a small group of fellow financial advisors, who decided to set a goal of walking 3652 miles, the distance from the east coast to the west coast of the United States, to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Check out their website on www.stopalzheimersnow.org.
Alzheimer’s Disease Now Fastest-Growing Threat
*: photo by www.huffingtonpost.com.
Alzheimer’s Disease Now Fastest-Growing Threat To U.S. Health, Report Finds.
Interesting article by Bill Rigby from the Huffington Post along with a quick guide on “Habits That Could Lower Alzheimer’s Risk”. Here is the link to the full article.
Top European Startups working on eHealth Elderly Care.
These days, some of the most exciting startup initiatives is coming out from the European FIWARE initiative which aims at creating a sustainable ecosystem to take advantage of the new opportunities generated by a new wave of Internet technologies. Some of the FIWARE accelerators have focused on the promotion of eHealth and a few excellent startups have been funded to develop technologies to promote healthy, active, and independent living in particular among the elderly.
Some of my favorite startups that are focusing on elderly care:
- Alzhup: This App seeks to improve the quality of life of people with Alzheimer’s by integrating actual memories and scientifically-proven therapies in a single platform, slowing the cognitive decline of the patient, as well as facilitate the active participation of the entire family and care team in the treatment process.
- Increasetime: The main focus of this startup is to promote the quality of life of the general population, with a special focus on patients with chronic diseases and on the independent, active and quality ageing. They develop health care solutions based on ICT (information and communications technology) and wireless sensors.
The solutions allow a continuous monitoring of the elderly person’s health state and, through a leading edge alarm system, they allow a quick intervention in case of an emergency. - Sentimoto: They develop novel methods for the analysis of long-term physical activity, physiological and environment data collected by wearable sensors, with the aim of identifying social withdrawal and altered behavioral patterns that are predictive of decreased quality of life and a need for social care intervention. They aim to provide easy, trusted sharing of these insights, putting well-being information into the hands of older people and their circle of care.
- InCitytogether: Is another useful App that empowers the elderly and promote healthy and active ageing. In addition to monitoring some of the person’s vital signs (e.g heart beat rate, blood pressure, sugar level) and securely sharing this data with your GP and/or a relative, this App also provides real time information from city sensors, which warn seniors about environmental changes (heat, cold, rain, etc.) and health issues (pollution, pollen count, etc.). The App (and provided sensors) can also monitor your activity level and sleep patterns, and it will even inform you about your city’s cultural, educational, and fun events happening around you :-).
In short, these initiatives all have a common goal which is to empower the elderly and allow them to remain at home* and enjoy an independent life for as long as they can.
*: According to research by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), nearly 90 percent of seniors want to stay in their own homes as they age, often referred to as “aging in place.” (source: www.iyhusa.com/AginginPlaceFacts-Data.htm)