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Dave Duerson had brain damage.

Dave Duerson, a former NFL player who committed suicide in February, had "moderately advanced" brain damage related to blows to the head, according to the researcher who made the diagnosis.

"It's indisputable" that Duerson had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disorder linked to repeated brain trauma, Dr. Ann McKee said Monday.

Just before ending his life he left a note telling his family that he wanted his brain tested. He specified it was to be by the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University's School of Medicine. 

Duerson played safety in the NFL for 11 seasons, seven with the Chicago Bears including the Super Bowl year of 1985-1986 and was chosen for four Pro Bowls before retiring in 1993.

 Duerson's case was "moderately advanced," McKee said. "The likelihood is that if he hadn't had the CTE, he wouldn't have developed those symptoms that he was experiencing at the end of his life and perhaps he wouldn't have been compelled to end his life."

Duerson had at least 10 concussions in his NFL career, according to his family, and lost consciousness during some. However, he never was admitted to a hospital for them, Stern said. But he said it's also important to address hits to the head that don't cause concussions.

CSTE, created in 2008, is a collaboration between the BU School of Medicine and the Sports Legacy Institute, headed by Chris Nowinski. The center has been aggressively researching head trauma in sports, and has received a $1 million gift from the NFL, which it has pushed for better treatment of concussions.

Nowinski said "the latest version of the NFL's guidelines [on concussions]are well thought out. And, I think, with the state of the science today, it's about the best we can do."

But he said the problem starts much earlier, in youth football.

"The 6-year-olds are playing the same games as the pros when we know that their brains are far more susceptible to this damage," he said. "My next focus is how do we change youth football so that a kid doesn't show up in the NFL with 10,000 hits to their head already?"

"It's amazing to me that we have pitch counts in youth baseball to protect children's elbow ligaments," he said, "but we do not count how often we hit them in the head to protect their brains."

Source: ESPN

Concussions such a problem in football that Madden game has changed rules.

Concussions in football games are taken more seriously than ever before.

Examples of danger posed by head first hitting and concussions have been mounting over the past few years with at least one player losing a significant amount of their memory even in his 40s, multiple suicides and cases of depression and brain injuries. The NFL has recently made rule changes seeking to protect players.  

The Probate Attorney Blog had discussed this problem and more detail about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy a generative disease caused by concussion and hits to the head which can cause dementia, depression and  even suicide it a few times recently here and  here

 The problems with concussions  Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy have reached such recognition and importance that now there are even no rules to protect NFL players in the next edition of the "Madden" football video game franchise when concussed players won't be allowed to return to the field in the game they are injured.

"Concussions are such a big thing, it has to be a big thing in the video game," Madden told The New York Times in a telephone interview. "It starts with young kids -- they start in video games. I think the osmosis is if you get a concussion, that's a serious thing and you shouldn't play. Or leading with the head that you want to eliminate. We want that message to be strong."

 Moore says "we have an obligation in our industry" to recognize that brain injuries are one of the biggest on-field problems facing football at all levels right now.

The game's executive producer, Phil Frazier, told The Times that "Madden NFL 12", with its new concussion rules and the exclusion of helmet-to-helmet hits and headfirst tackling can be a "teaching tool" to players of the game, particularly kids.

Gus Johnson and Cris Collinsworth, the announcers featured in the game, also will explain the dangerous nature of concussions when they announce that a player can't return to the game.

Madden agrees with the game's new emphasis on proper tackling techniques and the seriousness of concussions, telling The Times "if we show players playing through [concussions], then kids won't understand."

"There was a time when someone would get a concussion and you'd say he just got dinged, take some smelling salts and get back in the game. Those days are over," he told the newspaper.

Source ESPN

 

 

Heavy Smoking increases risks of Alzheimer disease later in life by over 100%

The source of the information below is from Helpingyourcare.com discussing a new study published in the February 28, 2011 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine which found that heavy smoking in midlife may increase the risks of getting Alzheimer Disease or Vascular Dementia later in life by more than 100%.

The authors of the study believe "this is the first study to investigate the long-term association between the amount of smoking in midlife and the risk of dementia [Alzheimer's Disease and Vascular Dementia] later in life in a large, multiethnic cohort.” Previous studies had measured only an association between smoking and short-term risk of dementia.

In the study, researchers analyzed data collected from a multi-ethnic group of 21,123 patients in the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in San Francisco and Oakland, California, who participated in a survey given as part of routine medical care between 1978 and 1985.   The survey collected a large amount of data on the subjects’ health habits, including the extent to which they smoked, as well as medical information about their height, weight, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, glucose levels, incidence of stroke and cardiovascular problems, and other data. The study participants had a mean age of 58 years at the time of survey.

The researchers analyzed the data to determine whether extent of smoking in middle age correlated with dementia in later life. Results were adjusted to control for the potential effects of other factors, including age, sex, education, race, marital status, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, body mass index, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and alcohol use.

The study results found that, compared to study subjects who did not smoke, those who smoked more than 2 packs a day at midlife had a greater than 100% increase in risk of both Alzheimer’s Disease and Vascular Dementia more than two decades later.

The association between smoking and dementia, including Vascular Dementia, remained significant even after controlling for the other factors. These results suggest that the brain may suffer long-term consequences as a result of heavy smoking in midlife. 

 For more information click here

 

 

What is Assisted Living?

Assisted living is a residential option for the elderly who want or need help with some of the activities of daily living such as cooking meals, getting to the bathroom in the middle of the night, maintaining the home, coordinating services by outside health care professionals; and monitoring of resident activities to help to ensure their health, safety, and well-being.

Assisted living is helpful for those residents who would be between indepedent living when that is no longer a desirable or practical option and prior to nursing home care where they do not need 24 hour medical care. 

Assisted living facilities offer the safety and security of 24-hour support and access to care. Day or night, help is only a phone call away. However, privacy and independence are encouraged. A good facility will develop a personalized plan that meets the residents desires, interests and needs and accommodates their disabilities, while giving them the freedom to do what they can for themself.

Some assisted living facilities provide apartment-style living with scaled down kitchens, while others provide rooms. At some assisted living faciities the resident may need to share a room unless willing to pay higher cost. Most facilities have a group dining area and common areas for social and recreational activities. They may offer educational courses, exercise classes, social activities. The fees can be all inclusive so when doing the math not as much as it may at first seem with food, meals, care and other activities all included. 

If appropriate for the individual if they are at their own home but needed more assistance a Geritatric Care Manager mentioned in prior post may suggest as part of their suggested plan that based on their specific situation an assisted living facility could be a good option for them. An additional valuable service that those assist with is knowing the proper resources and professionals in the elder care field. 

Some assisted living facilities are very nice homes with good meals and activities that allow the seniors to live their life to the fulest but it is just important to evaluate each persons needs and interest to determine what the ideal living arrangements are for their golden years. 

The Assisted Living Federation of America reports that the average age of assisted living residents is 86.9 years (female average age, 87.3; male average age, 85.7). Female residents (73.6%) outnumber male residents by almost 3 to 1. The majority (76.6%) of assisted living residents are widowed, and just over 12% are still married or have a significant other. The average length of stay for assisted living residents is 28.3 months (the median is 21.0 months).

What is Geriatric Care Management?

A Geriatric Care Manager is a health and elderly services specialist who helps families care for older relatives. The Geriatric Care Manager is trained and experienced in any of several fields related to elder care management, including nursing, gerontology, social work, and/or psychology

It involves the process of planning and coordinating the care for elderly and/or disabled to improve their quality of life and to maintain their independence for as long as possible. Geriatric care managers combine a working knowledge of health and psychology, human development, family dynamics, public and private resources and funding sources while advocating for their clients throughout the continuum of care.

A Geriatric Care Manager can 

• Provide an in home professional assessment
• Help find community resources 

• Arrange care services

• Help as a source of information and an advocate for the elderly

Among functions they assist with are

First make an in home assesment this may cover issues such as the elderly persons living arrangements, their health, memory, if they are experiencing depression, have proper cognitive function or seem to be lacking on their memory, determine their everyday activities and the status of their nutritional intake as well as how their finances and related matters are doing. 

They can then provide their report and give recommendations and referrals as needed. Whether they need further medications or more regular take some pills, see a specialist re their memory or anything they observe. 

As the word manager implies the Care manager then works as a manager and provides referrals to appropriate related professionals. 

The Geriatric or Elder Care Manager can than remain on top of things regarding what the elderly parent or relative is doing and help the senior citizen to manage their needs on an occasional basis to spot situations before they become more significant problems.  

They continue to manage the situation and keep things optimal for the elderly individual they are occasionally overseeing. 

With the increase in the elderly population and the boomer population this is an exploding field of the job sector and growing rapidly for the important service. 

University of Florida Geriatric Care Management reports that the Bureau of Labor Statistics show opportunities in geriatrics and long term care are expected to grow by more than 35% - ranking among the most rapidly growing employment areas. The home and community based care sector has grown to approximately four hundred million dollars per year and the provision of services in long term care is estimated to be as much as two billion dollars per year. The University now offers a graduate program in Geriatric Management online and a special masters program given the explosive growth in the field. 

Man seeks to sell 212 area code for $1m on EBAY to pay for 98 year old mom's dementia and fund his retirement.

A New Jersey man who has a 212 phone number that is very easy to recall is getting creative in his attempts to continue helping to provide for his elderly mom who has dementia and to fund his retirement.

His solution is to try to sell a number his small business had been given 35 years earlier in the Manhattan area. Now that the numbers have run out and 646 and 347 have been added there is some demand for people to get the 212 area code as it appears that the business is more established and not just a startup as the other area codes may appear. Verizon says that no proprietary interest in the numbers so it is questionable whether it could really be sold as he is seeking to do but there is a company 212AreaCode.com who sells 212 area codes for around $50-500.

A listing went up about a year ago and said they had 27 listings from $2-500 but none were "serious". Carmen the guy selling says that because his number is easy to remember that it should sell at a premium. The tax code defines value as what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller both having knowledge of all relevent facts and neither being under compulsion to buy or to sell. It is an interesting idea to try to sell the number instead of letting it go as most people do although he clearly will not find a willing seller with all the relevent facts pay as much of a premium as he is seeking sadly unless he finds someone like his mother who also has dementia then he may need to go to court as someone pursues elder law litigation for taking advantage of someone without mental capacity.  

See New York Daily News

 

Concussions new rules for treating NHL Players

Following up on the prior post about several recent examples of increased brain damage and cognitive impairment from concussions and hits to the head an article about new rules being discussed regarding concussions at the NHL meetings in Boca Raton Florida. In Boca Raton the owners and general managers are trying to control the game and make it safer with concussions having doubled in the past year. Blindside hits to the head were banned last year to prevent damage and they are continuing to seek to prevent to surge in dangers to the players. 

See Concussions new Rules for Treating NHL Players. 

 

Increase in cognitive problems caused by sports.

As the sad news regarding the suicide death of former NFL All Pro and Chicago Bears Superbowl winner from the 1985-1986 Chicago Bears made the news last month it is becoming more apparent that football players and others who play other contact sports at all levels may be causing far more physical damage than had previously be known.

He was concerned that he may have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and texted his family that he wanted to donate his brain for testing prior to shooting himself in the chest to prevent any damage to the brain. CTE is caused by repeated brain damage such as the head on head contact that football players incur or punches Hockey players take. It is linked to dementia, depression, and suicide. CTE has been discovered in other players most recently prior to Duerson was another Hockey star Bob Probert an enforcer to was frequently fighting during 16 years of NHL hockey. He ultimately died from heart trouble but Boston University concluded CTE was present and there were cognitive impairments. Another football player was former Eagles player Andre Waters and a number of other players who are now showing signs of dementia. This had been disregarded until lately but there have been multiple high profile cases recently. 

With the latest example of serious health problems from the sport and potential congnitive and other problems caused by CTE greater concern regarding the scope of the problem and whether it may impact those who bang heads in college or prior to getting to the pros.

His backfield teamate Doug Plank died in his 40s of a heart attack while driving. Another team mate Quarterback Jim Mcmahon who used to bang helmets with his offensive lineman in celebration sadly reported last year that he had brain damage and had primarily lost his memory and even walks into rooms and sometimes does not remember why.  

These injuries are sadly significantly impacting formerly players in their 40s and 50s who are now experiencing Alzheimers and related symptons sometimes depression and other problems as a result. During the lockout / strike negotations funding the past players health bills is part of the discussions. 

See Dave Duerson Legacy Look out Rick Telander Sun Times 

See Bob Probert had CTE ESPN article reported from the AP. 

See Dave Duerson Texted family

See Jim Mcmahon brain injury legacy. 

 

Alzheimer's cost and frequency expected to skyrocketed in next 40 years

As Yahoo News reports from 2010 to 2050 the costs of Alzheimer's is expected to increase 6 times going from $172 Billion annually to $1.08 Trillion annually. 

It is projected instead of 5.1 million with the disease there will be 13.5 million. 

Driving the soaring costs will be that a projected 48% are projected to be in the severe attention category which will mean attention around the clock. 

On a related note relevant to the Probate Attorney Blog this will also likely result in a lot more case of Probate Litigation and Estate Litigation as there will be more people with lack of testamentary capacity or with diminished capacity and subject to undue influence there will be more situations in which it would be appropriate to hire a will contest attorney or estate dispute lawyer to protect a beneficiaries right to an inheritance and see that the wishes of the deceased are truly carried out. Also with trillions of dollars passing on through the baby boom generation to their children and grandchildren it is likely to expect more disputes and contests in probate court to occur. 

Alzheimers - Dementia Index may help predict condition

Todd Neale a staff writer for Medpage Today reported on a series of new tests to determine if a person will develop Alzheimers. The full Alzheimers article is here. The Chicago Medical Examiner also adds that the study which was recently evaluated featured 3,000 subjects who did not have alzheimers at the start but around 480 of whom developed this condition. A 15 point index was 88% accurate in identifying a patients risk of developing Alzheimers within 6 years.

Every 70 seconds another person develops Alzheimers an incurable degenrative disease which accounts for most of the cases of dimentia. There are currently 5.3 million people who have Alzheimers most of whom are at least 65 years of age.

The dimentia index takes into account various factors aside from the obvious factor of age it is more likely for those who have lower cognitive scores on tests, who are below normal weight, who do not drink alcohol, and who have slow fine motor coordination which is judged by having people button a shirt, they also look at changes in the brain which could be determined by medical imaging among other criteria for testing Alzheimers.