BY CASSANDRA JENKINS
The local perspective
Getting help
Available resources
SOURCES: ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION, HELP FOR MY PARENTS, AMAZING PLACE, CAREPARTNERS/COMMUNITY IMPACT 3 Alzheimer’s Association A nonprofit that helps families and patients with support groups, education and local resources. • www.alz.org/texas 2 CarePartners A nonprofit organization that offers a dementia day center and resources for caregivers. • www.carepartnerstexas.org 1 Amazing Place An adult day care that offers day programs for dementia patients and supports families. • www.amazingplacehouston.org
As of early May, the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute has not yet awarded any of the official $3 billion in funding. However, some research institutions have started to prepare for when funds are released, especially in Houston. Rice University has already selected 12 projects that will obtain funding through the Rice DPRIT Seed Grant program, an internal initiative to help faculty launch pilot studies tied to the new state program. UTHealth Houston has also awarded 21 seed grants to advance dementia-focused research and prepare investigators for the inaugural funding cycle of DPRIT. Wittung-Stafshede said she hopes that with the funding and creation of the new dementia institute, scientists and researchers will be able to come together to eventually identify what causes Alzheimer’s and dementia and maybe even find a cure or vaccine for the disease in five to 10 years .
While researchers wait for funding to trickle down from the state, Bailey said that she hopes families with loved ones who have dementia or Alzheimer’s start to prepare a long-term care plan early on, as 85% of families are not prepared for a dementia diagnosis, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International. “When rubber meets the road, [families] are less prepared than they thought they were,” Bailey said. Detecting early warning signs can be key to preparation, she said. Early signs of dementia can include short-term memory loss, difficulty completing familiar tasks, struggling with language and conversations, or uncharacteristic shifts in mood, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. “I see the crisis mode a lot,” Bailey said. “And if people could get ahead of the crisis, that would save them a lot of stress.”
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