I attended the opening of “Sundowner” at Parramatta Riverside Theatre last night. Directed by Kate Denborough and starring Helen Morse, its the story of a writer in her late 50s who has young onset dementia. A strong and compelling performance with moments of raw emotion and of tender poignance, the play explores the relationships of memory and of family. What […]
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Motor neurone disease (MND), as discussed in previous posts, is not a disease of pure motor symptoms. MND can also affect one’s ability to perform complex judgments (e.g. financial decision-making) and leads to changes in behaviour (e.g. a person once very active and driven can become apathetic). These non-motor symptoms and behavioural changes often go unrecognised and underdiagnosed. In a […]
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Life is full of things that are not necessarily what they seem to be, and the same applies when diseases mimic each other and make diagnosis difficult. This is particularly true for different dementias, which often show similar and overlapping symptoms.
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You are preparing to leave your house when you look out the window. You see dark clouds rolling towards you and thunder is echoing in the distance. It looks like rain. You pick up your umbrella and walk outside, prepared for the downpour.
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When you hear the word botox, you probably think of celebrities, the cosmetics industry and frozen foreheads, but botox is also used to treat a wide range of movement disorders.
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When I tell people I manage a Brain Bank they usually look quizzical and joke about making deposits and withdrawals. The reality is, they’re not so far from the truth. People make the decision to donate their brain for medical research every day and when they do, a Brain Bank is where their brain goes.
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With our NeuRA building on Barker Street, Randwick nearing completion, it’s interesting to look back in time at the history of this site. In 1855, sixty acres were selected as the site for the new Destitute Children’s Asylum for orphaned children. The main buildings were located north of our NeuRA site on Avoca Street; some still remain.
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You know the word…it’s right there…on the tip of your tongue…and…it’s gone again. Argh! Struggling to think of a certain word is something everyone encounters. For a specific group of dementia patients, however, this is a daily battle and often involves words for common household objects previously well remembered (e.g kettle). Semantic dementia is a disease that attacks language in […]
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NeuRA Super Prof George Paxinos has become a corresponding member of the Academy of Athens. The presentation was made in the ceremonial hall of the Academy, next to the University of Athens. Prof Paxinos is the second living Australian to receive the distinction, the first being the former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.
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Getting lost in shopping malls, leaving doors unlocked and difficulty remembering what you ate last night are situations that caregivers and patients with Alzheimer’s disease know well and have to deal with every day. Yet, what would you think, if instead of getting lost, someone had trouble finding the right word? Would you still call this Alzheimer’s disease?
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