Questions & Answers

Currently, there is no conclusive evidence linking the radio frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) emitted from cell phones or from cell phone towers to Alzheimer’s disease. However, a longitudinal Swiss study published in January 2009 reported that the longer a person lived near a high power line (which emits electrical and magnetic fields), the greater their associated risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Based on a finding such as this, one would have expected that people exposed to electrical or magnetic fields as part of their jobs (such as electric line workers and power plant operators) would also have a higher incidence of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, studies examining the effects of occupational exposure to electrical or magnetic fields on the development of neurodegenerative diseases have had conflicting results. For example, one study found that such exposure increases the risk for AD but not other neurological diseases (such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)), another found an increased risk of PD but not for AD, and yet another study found an increased risk for ALS but not for AD or PD. Thus, the literature is inconclusive regarding the use of cell phones (or exposure to electromagnetic radiation) on the increasing the risk for developing AD. Additional studies are necessary before any conclusions can be made.

Tell her family that a “good time” for an 83-year-old woman, particularly one who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, can be had by far tamer pursuits. Just spending time with her talking, reading, taking a walk or doing some other (non-alcoholic) activity she enjoys is beneficial to her emotional and cognitive well-being.

Alcohol, taken in excess, damages brain cells. As Alzheimer’s disease also damages brain cells (neurons), the fewer healthy reserve neurons there are in the brain, the more severe and rapid the disease may progress. So the woman’s family is in no way doing her a favor by getting her drunk on the weekends, and may even be hastening the progress of the disease.

Though there are a few reported cases, it is extremely rare for people to develop Alzheimer’s disease in their thirties. Memory and speech problems could be caused by a number of things besides Alzheimer’s. Stress, depression, sleep disorders, interactions from medications, certain vitamin deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, head injuries and viral infections of the brain or central nervous system can all affect cognition and memory. And there are just as many other conditions and disorders that can affect speech.

So a good first step for you would be to have your primary care physician examine your symptoms. If after having been evaluated, your doctor cannot determine any other cause of your memory and speech impairments, and you still feel as though your symptoms may be related to Alzheimer’s disease, you can contact the Neurology or Neuroscience department of a research institution (such as a university or teaching hospital, etc.) located in your area and ask if they are in need of any young individuals with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease. Your physician may even know of some of these resources. Additionally, you can search for Alzheimer’s clinical trials in your area (which sometimes, depending on the study, may be interested in assessing various clinical measures in “pre-symptomatic” individuals with a family history of AD) using the “Search for Clinical Trials” link in the Resources section of our website.

Many of the symptoms you mention, such as confusion, mood swings and memory deficits, are definitely symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. However, you also mentioned that your mother's speech is slurred, which could indicate that she may have suffered a minor stroke (or several—sometimes they are referred to as "mini-strokes" wherein a single one may go unnoticed but several can have a cumulative effect on memory and cognition). Your mother may be in denial, but it is imperative that you get her to a doctor for a thorough examination. She will probably resist this idea, so make an appointment for her with her primary care physician and then beg, force or even trick her into going. The sooner she has a medical evaluation, the sooner it may be possible to get therapy for her. Many of the Alzheimer's disease medications, when taken early on, and may help to slow the progression of cognitive impairment.

Dementia can impair the sense of temperature in a patient, as you are already aware. You may just have to set the temperature at a comfortable level and then dress your mother-in-law in easy to remove layers. This way, you (or she) can add or subtract clothing as necessary instead of constantly adjusting the temperature of the home. Keep the temperature cooler in the evening, and provide extra blankets at the foot of the bed. Make sure there is good air circulation in her bedroom at night as well—a ceiling fan or oscillating fan set on low can help.

Beyond this, it sounds as though your mother-in-law may be waking you at night, which means that her sleep-wake cycle may be disturbed. If this is the case, you can try some things to help get her back to better sleeping habits. These include:

• Try an early dinner or late afternoon snack.
• Use good bright lighting inside the house during the day and dim, calming lighting in the late afternoon and evening.
• Encourage some physical activity during the day – exercise can help a person to sleep better at night.
• Schedule more difficult activities, such as baths or doctor visits, earlier in the day.
• Avoid giving any caffeine or alcohol in the late afternoon or evening and reduce fluid before bed. In fact, it is best to avoid giving caffeinated or alcoholic beverages altogether.
• As much as possible, try to establish a bedtime routine.

Based upon your description, it is possible that your husband may be suffering from alcohol dementia, which is similar to Alzheimer's disease but has a slightly different disease progression. Alcohol dementia is caused by excessive drinking over a long period of time. Your husband's behavior could also be the result of a number of other medical or psychiatric conditions, such as depression, vitamin B12 deficiency, hormonal imbalances, stroke, or stress, most of which are treatable. A doctor's diagnosis would therefore be very valuable in helping you know what you are dealing with. Call your husband's primary care physician and inform him or her of your husband's behavior. His doctor may have some suggestions for getting him in for an appointment. If your husband refuses to go, you may have to enlist the help of other family members or friends to get him to see the doctor.

Until you can get a medical assessment for your husband (and even afterward), try to avoid confrontational situations with him. Try not to argue with him or contradict him as this will only serve to agitate him more. Whenever possible, if you sense your husband becoming upset, change the subject or redirect his attention to a new activity. And even though it may be difficult, try to remain calm and do not shout at him—if he really does have dementia shouting will only make him more agitated.

You can also contact the Alzheimer's Disease Education Referral Center (ADEAR) at 1-800-272-3900, which has professionals who can help with your immediate questions, refer you to help in your area, and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Other useful agencies can be found in the Helpful Organizations portion of our site.

Dementia patients are often reported to have disturbances in their circadian rhythms leading to sleep-wake cycle disturbances. Several studies seem to indicate that the use of bright lighting in the care facility setting improves sleep quality in dementia patients, presumably by normalizing the day-night cycle. Thus, bright lighting improved the residents' sleep patterns (longer nighttime sleep with fewer nocturnal sleep interruptions), reduced residents' agitation, and lessened the incidence of depression. There do not appear to be any studies examining the effects of bright light therapy or full-spectrum lighting on visual hallucinations. So long as the lighting does not create a strong glare upon the floor (shiny floors are particularly susceptible to this and their use should be avoided in resident facilities), then it is possible it could benefit residents by improving their ability to see obstacles on the ground and thus avoid falls.

In families afflicted by the heritable form of Alzheimer's disease (familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD), also known as early-onset AD) it is certainly possible to have half or more of the children affected by Alzheimer's disease if one of the parents carries an associated disease mutation. It is possible that in your great-grandmother (or your great-grandfather) passed an FAD-associated mutant gene on to their children. It is also possible that because all the siblings presumably grew up under the same environmental conditions, an environmental influence (such as exposure to toxins or other external factors) may have contributed to the high incidence of AD in this family. Except in cases of FAD, it is generally unusual to have more than half of the siblings in a family afflicted by Alzheimer's disease