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Angela Lunde
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Angela Lunde
Angela Lunde is a dementia education specialist in the education core of Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the Abigail Van Buren Alzheimer's Disease Research Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Angela Lunde
The transfer of information about dementias, as well as understanding the need for participation in clinical trials, is an essential component of the education core.
Angela is a member of the Alzheimer's Association board of directors and co-chair of the annual Minnesota Dementia Conference. She is a member of the Dementia Behavior Assessment and Response Team (D-BART), a multidisciplinary outreach service assisting professional and family caregivers in understanding and managing difficult behaviors often present in dementia. She facilitates several support groups, including Memory Club, an early-stage education and support series, and more recently, helped to develop and now deliver Healthy Action to Benefit Independence and Thinking (HABIT), a 10-day cognitive rehab and wellness program for people with mild cognitive impairment.
Angela takes a personal interest in understanding the complex changes that take place within relationships and among families when dementia is present. She is particularly interested in providing innovative and accessible ways for people with dementia and their families to receive information and participate in valuable programs that promote well-being.
"Amid a devastating disease, there are tools, therapies, programs and ways to cope, and it is vital that families are connected to these resources," she says.
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Alzheimer's blog
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June 12, 2009
Blog: Don't believe the hype about Alzheimer's cures
By Angela Lunde
Recently one of you wrote: "A cure has been found according to several Internet sites — supposedly mice have been cured so people are next, or so they say. Is this just a joke on we who desperately await the cure?"
I often receive inquiries similar to the one above from families affected by Alzheimer's who have heard or read about an "Alzheimer's cure." Time and time again, I'm saddened by these "stories" that build unrealistic expectations for families who desperately await a cure.
It's important to realize that research being done on mice creates only possibilities in humans — although vital to research, animal research is only a first step. It's important to realize that that mice and humans simply don't suffer from the same illnesses, including Alzheimer's disease.
Mice used in Alzheimer's related studies are genetically altered to display signs of Alzheimer's disease, but they don't have the disease the same way humans do. In fact, there've been many promising studies in animal models that once conducted in human clinical trails turn out to either not work or to have unexpected toxicity.
A cure or treatment for Alzheimer's disease that works in mice has no immediate application to humans, and any potential benefit would be years away. As with most things you read on the Internet or elsewhere, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
10 comments posted
August 7, 2009 4:43 a.m.
My wife was diagnosed as having dementia associated with parkinsons disease first in 2003 at the age of 64,and was given Parkinsons medication to no effect or improvement. The specialists then decided she had AD.She was given the drugs mentioned in the article.All her symptoms got worse and she had every side effect possible and her attitude and behaviour got so bad that she was admitted to a psychiatric geriatric hospital when I could not cope any longer.The hospital stopped the AD drugs,but the damage done was irreversible.After 3 months in the hospital she was diagnosed as having Lewy body dementia.Some of the doctors agree that the AD drugs would have speeded up her decline.She is now in a dementia care home and is a complete physical and mental wreck.My contention is that the prescibing of these drugs should only be done with the utmost care and the medical professionals should never,ever, assume anything without due care and attention.
- John
August 4, 2009 6:50 p.m.
Cerebrolysin....Only America doesn't use it. Works fabulously. Look it up in PubMed! It's been around since the 1990's.
- Sha
July 23, 2009 9:03 p.m.
I am 64 with some form of dementia. I care for my 85yr old mother with dementia. I am fatigued trying to fight my way through all the things necessary to live with this disease. I feel my deterioration has sped up greatly. The only hope I have is that a cure is found before I end up in a care home. I believe even if they did find a cure, it would take years to reach those of us that need it.
- Sherryl
July 13, 2009 11:12 a.m.
Janet, to answer you question. Yes, we are so desperate for any cure.
- Sherry
July 7, 2009 9:38 p.m.
I was recently (3 months ago) diagnosed with AD. It was creeping up on me and I had discussed it with my physician. I requested a PET Scan. Its report uses words such as mild & moderate. I searched for clues for a cure for 10 yrs while I cared for my mother and watched others in her family deteriorate with AD. Sans a cure, I'm trying to alleviate my fears of who is going to care for me--now I care for my 82 yr-old-significant other with Melanoma and make medical decisions for him--my daughters watched my mother fade, but they have no concept of what it will actually do to them when they can no longer depend on me. I will be 75 soon and have a book publishing business with a friend who is 83--started last year. I still edit books, more carefully now, and hired my grandson, a budding writer and editor, to help and double check some of my work. I hired his older sister to organize my office, learn about the financial aspects of the business, learn to do my checkbooks, invoicing and many things I will be unable to handle soon. I pay my daughter to clean my house (she's widowed and no income) to get her used to helping me out. Why am I doing this & telling you about it? Because I can. I can do many things. I refuse to be a victim or just a number until I no longer have any control. I want to work. I will as long as I can. Perhaps there will be no cure but we can make happy memories for them & even a little money. This is how I want to be remembered --not as a ve
- Lois
June 23, 2009 6:52 p.m.
I wonder if some of the people in nursing homes don't really HAVE dementia or Alzheimer's....I know of at least 3 people (one being my father) who showed symptoms which would seem to be one of those...when actually what was going on was that they had a Urinary Tract Infection.....which puts bacteria in your system. Which does a huge number on your body PLUS your mind. My father was 89, had other health concerns and died. One of the others was given antibiotics and was back to her normal self after about 3 days.
- Betty
June 23, 2009 4:24 p.m.
My spouse has Alzheimers, and I don't care what they experiment on, as long as they can find something before he reaches the point of not knowing who I am. He has been on Aricept since 2000, and just recently increased the dosage from 5 mg to 10 mg. Please let someone soon come up with something even better than Aricept. If you are not a caretaker, then don't bother to reply.
- Marion
June 17, 2009 5:32 p.m.
who is Dr. Susan Gudakunst claims several cures
- Jean Mogren
June 16, 2009 3:33 p.m.
My husband was on Aricept-didn't do anything except subject him to hallucinations. In addition, he was put on the latest one-don't remember the name, but it had gotten raves in Germany. Again, absolutely no help. His Doctor commented on the use of mice and said pigs should be used for testing because their body makeup is closest to humans.
- Alice
June 16, 2009 2:21 p.m.
So this raises the question in my mind - why are we using mice to conduct these experiments?? I am not a huge lover of mice (especially in my house), but why are we experimenting on them if the end result of the study doesn't have any application to humans? Are we so desperate for any cure? Is the chase for grant money so desperate & competitive that studies are designed with mice just to get the grant dollars? This seems quite puzzling & unkind to me.
- Janet
10 comments posted