dementia

Strong drugs are rarely warranted to control the behavior of dementia patients, specialists say. But antipsychotic medicine is being overprescribed, and not just among residents of nursing homes.

Cape Cod journalist Greg O'Brien has always found solace in running, and a diagnosis of Alzheimer's hasn't stopped him. But making it work — for himself and his family — isn't always easy.

Greg O'Brien talks about how his life has changed in the five years since he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. "More and more I don't recognize people," he says.

As vessels become more porous, researchers say, they allow toxins in the bloodstream to reach, and damage, delicate brain cells and raise the risk for dementia.

Way too many residents of U.S. nursing homes are on antipsychotic drugs, critics say. It's often just for the convenience of the staff, to sedate patients agitated by dementia. That's illegal.

The staff's goal was to reduce the prescription of antipsychotic drugs by 20 percent. In the first year, they cut use by 97 percent. How? By addressing the real reasons for agitation and aggression.

Faulty forms of the brain protein tau trigger tangles inside and outside brain cells of Alzheimer's patients. Scientists say figuring out how to stop bad tau's spread from cell to cell might be key.

Rick Rayburn became a full-time caregiver to Marianne, his wife of 42 years, after she developed dementia. She may not be the woman he married, but he says she's helping him become a better husband.

"What's good for the heart is good for the brain," one neuroscientist says. In addition to physical exercise, researchers say mental exercise, socializing and a good diet can help preserve memory.