March 2010 Newsletter

Dear Subscriber,

Did you know that someday you might be able to delegate chores to a house robot or that caregiving stress can lead to a stroke? These are just a few of the articles we've included in this month's newsletter brought to you in the spirit of community. Speaking of community, you will be surprised to learn how important volunteering is to healthy aging. So rev up your personal robot to manage other tasks while you sit back to enjoy some informative reading. We hope you will find the included news interesting as well as beneficial.

Thank you,
The Team at American Companion Care

Caregivers of the Future

Because of Japan's aging population and its low birthrate, the prediction for the future is a shortage of help to care for Japan's elderly. The solution? Toyota is testing "Partner Robots" to serve as nurses' assistants in hospitals, provide some help around the house and also to do factory work.

For some background, before Toyota made cars, it made robots. When Toyota was founded in 1926, it first manufactured automatic fabric looms that could detect problems and shut down automatically. The secret to these revolutionary devices was "autonomation" - automation with human intelligence. So guess where they are going to use that human intelligence now? For some help at home!

Read More

Stress = Higher Risk for Stroke?

The results of a new study published in the journal Stroke show that caregiver spouses who find their responsibilities highly stressful may be at increased risk for stroke. The study looked at people who provide in-home care for an ailing spouse and showed that male spouse caregivers benefit from getting more day to day help in providing care. (Probably also in asking directions!)

Read about the study or get an abstract of the study here.

Prescription for Healthy Aging

Keeping aging brains sharp means staying physically active, socially connected and mentally stimulated. One group that uses volunteering as a way to be engaged was recently studied. After six months, the volunteers had increased activity in the portions of the prefrontal cortex that often decline with age, and take away the ability to focus. Those changes weren't seen in a control group who didn't volunteer.

Experience Corps is a service organization that staffs volunteers into schools. Today, 2,000 Experience Corps members work to improve the lives of 20,000 students. The program tutors children who need basic literacy skills; they mentor students who count on them for guidance; they partner with classroom teachers to make schools better places to learn; they help create healthier communities.

Volunteering and being among other people also helps give meaning and purpose to life, which in turn benefits mood, as well as memory. Another bonus: Being in a room full of kids gives a person no choice but to be physically active!

Read about Experience Corps or watch the video.

High BP, Higher Risk for Dementia

It is not news that the same triggers for heart disease--high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes--also seem to increase the risk of dementia. The results from a variety of new studies strongly suggest that controlling blood pressure just might be the best protection yet known against dementia. And it appears to be the resulting scarring from hypertension that builds up decades before memory problems appear.

So if there was one thing to do earlier in life to hedge bets against getting Alzheimer's, that would be controlling hypertension. Not only is there little downside to controlling high blood pressure as it relates to dementia, it is also the leading cause of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. Read more.

Video on Warning Signs for Alzheimer's

Dr. Mehmet Oz explains how you can spot the disease in loved ones.