The Future of Dementia Is Orange

Sharing this article with readers ...

"Hopefully you've had the chance to take a look at our thought-provoking new campaign film #sharetheorange featuring Alzheimer's Research UK supporter Christopher Eccleston. Why have we taken this unusual approach to communication? And what's with the orange?

Use this link to watch the video http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/hilary-evans/dementia-future-is-orange_b_9016904.html

There's a simple answer to the first question: if there's one health issue that would benefit from different way of thinking, it's dementia. Society's relationship to the condition is plagued by fatalism, misunderstanding and fear. It's our job as one of the world's leading dementia charities to tackle these issues head on, and it's a role we take seriously. But it's not easy - the battle to help people think differently about dementia is a tough one to win, so ingrained are decades-old misconceptions. But we're not afraid of tough challenges, we're in brain research after all.

So our way of thinking differently about communicating dementia is to try to reduce a complex area down to a simple visual metaphor. As my previous posts on our blog have explained, we're always talking to supporters and the general public about dementia and how they relate to it. A recent round of this kind of research revealed that people are crying out for a simple symbol that captures the essence of dementia in a way anyone can understand. And this leads us to the orange itself...

Only around a quarter of people recognise that dementia is caused by physical and destructive diseases, most commonly Alzheimer's. This leaves a great many people unclear about why dementia occurs and what's going on in the brain of their loved one. It's just crossed wires. It's just age. It just happens. These are opinions that lead too many of us accept dementia as an inevitable. We are collectively taking it lying down.

In fact, the physicality of Alzheimer's and other dementia-causing diseases is stark.

Alzheimer's shrinks the brain at 400% the rate of normal ageing. A brain affected by the disease can weigh around 140g less than a healthy brain. That's about the weight of an orange. As Christopher says in the film, while scary, this does clearly make the point that we're dealing with a disease physical process in the same way as heart disease or cancer. We know what can be achieved through research in these areas. Great things.

But nobody will be ready to believe that research can prevail against dementia until we have a shared understanding of the enemy. So one of the best ways you can fight dementia in an instant is to #sharetheorange and join us in looking at dementia - a defeatable enemy - in a new light.

This is a cross blog post from Alzheimer's Research UK."

All of the above article taken from here
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/hilary-evans/dementia-future-is-orange_b_9016904.html

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This may also be of interest ...  as Alzheimer's is being referred to as Type 3 Diabetes you can read more here
http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-diseases/type-3-diabetes-metabolic-causes-of-alzheimers-disease/

All the best Jan

Interesting stuff from Amy Berger too.

Yes, many thanks for the link Chris, she lists quite a few interesting papers etc

I can't show my links like you !!!
I have to do it the long way - like this
http://www.tuitnutrition.com/p/alzheimers_13.html

Oh well, it takes us to the same place

All the best Jan

Use the "insert a link" button. Paste the link and you have a second field to add a description. Saves you having to remember html.

chris c wrote:Use the "insert a link" button. Paste the link and you have a second field to add a description. Saves you having to remember html.

Thanks Chris

There was yet another article about Alzheimer's in the Mail (and probably elsewhere)

Alzheimer's 'cause' discovered: Poisonous algae found in UK freshwater lakes and reservoirs could be fuelling dementia epidemic afflicting one million people


A poisonous toxin found in freshwater lakes and reservoirs across Britain could be fuelling the country’s dementia epidemic, scientists fear.
Researchers have found the first direct evidence that a chemical, produced by algae, might be linked to a range of devastating neurological conditions including Alzheimer’s and Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
The toxin – sometimes a by-product of increasingly common blue-green algal bloom – has been found in seafood and plants, through which it is feared it enters the food chain.
Now experts have highlighted a growing body of evidence suggesting the toxin, called BMAA, could trigger brain disease in humans.

Read more here
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3413873/Alzheimer-s-cause-discovered-Poisonous-algae-freshwater-lakes-reservoirs-UK-fuelling-dementia-epidemic-afflicting-1m-people.html

All the best Jan