Yesterday’s New York Times had a terrific general story about dementia turning a spouse into a stranger. Those within Brain Support Network dealing with LBD, PSP, and CBD may find this article of interest.
It’s the story of a Manhattan-based couple. Before the husband was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in his 60s, the wife was considering divorce. The wife talks about losing control when dealing with her husband, and grieving though he’s still alive. Eventually, the wife had to place him in a care facility for both of their safety. She spends several hours a day with him.
The wife notes that MDs are at a loss to forecast the progression:
“They can tell you everything that’s ever happened to anyone, but they can’t tell you what’s going to happen to you,” she said.
Here’s a touching video about this couple:
www.nytimes.com/video/health/100000001343193/in-love-and-loss.html
Dr. Bruce Miller from UCSF’s Memory & Aging Center is quoted frequently as UCSF is one of the lead institutions in the US for FTD research. He says:
“I think at least some subtypes of frontotemporal dementia will be the first neurodegenerative diseases we find a cure for.”
According to this article, there are eight sub-types of FTD. Sometimes CBD and, less often, PSP are considered FTD sub-types.
The first article has a short mention of Richard Rainwater, who has PSP:
“But even if treatments or cures for frontotemporal dementia do emerge, they will almost certainly come too late for people with advanced cases, like … Richard Rainwater, a billionaire investor who learned in 2009 that he had progressive supranuclear palsy, which some consider a form of frontotemporal dementia. Mr. Rainwater and his family have donated more than $20 million to a research consortium, but given that he has a rapidly progressive form, any advances from the consortium may be more likely to help others than to save him.”
(I assume that if Mr. Rainwater has a “rapidly progressive form” of PSP, this means he has the Richardson’s Syndrome form, which includes dementia as a primary symptom.)
Here’s a link to the full article:
www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/health/a-rare-form-of-dementia-tests-a-vow-of-for-better-for-worse.html
New York Times
The Vanishing Mind
When Illness Makes a Spouse a Stranger
By Denise Grady
May 5, 2012
Robin