“The hypothesis that EBV (Epstein-Barr virus) causes MS has been investigated by our group and others for several years, but this is the first study providing compelling evidence of causality,” said Alberto Ascherio, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard Chan School and senior author of the study. “This is a big step because it suggests that most MS cases could be prevented by stopping EBV infection, and that targeting EBV could lead to the discovery of a cure for MS.”
So the good news is that we know pretty definitively what causes MS. The bad news: EVS is one of the most common viruses on earth – it’s estimated that 95% of adults have it in their bodies – and it’s already associated with a raft of diseases ranging from herpes to mononucleosis to multiple cancers and lymphomas.
But there’s good news here, too. This means that research into EVS – be it detection, vaccination or treatment – will have even more benefit to humanity. A vector to attack this virus could potentially do more to help public health than any treatment in decades.
Brought to you bysmpltec.com, Technology for Seniors News.
From Massive Science, a look at how advances can come from the oddest places.
“In the early 1980s, doctors across northern California encountered patients with curious symptoms. From Watsonville to San Jose, young people were experiencing a combination of visual hallucinations, jerking limbs, and stiffness. Their abilities to move and speak worsened over a space of mere weeks, and by the time they sought medical help they had become totally immobile.
In San Jose’s Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, psychiatrists insisted that their medical mystery patient had a neurological disorder. However, neurologists were adamant that the patient was undergoing a psychiatric episode. Amidst the arguments, Director of Neurology, William Langston, noticed a striking resemblance of the patient’s condition to that of Parkinson’s disease (PD). They were alert, but their body was rigid – with an arm involuntarily raised for long periods of time. PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder (behind Alzheimer’s disease), and the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder worldwide, but it is typically associated with old age, and symptoms develop over a period of years – not weeks.”
Basically, before you can test treatments for a symptom, you must be able to simulate that symptom in cells or test animals. For decades scientists had struggled to simulate Parkinson’s Disease in a clinical setting. The discovery that certain synthetic heroin could do that allowed for most of the advances in treatment in the last 30+ years for that disease.
Brought to you bysmpltec.com, Technology for Seniors News.
Dinnertime can sometimes feel like wartime when caring for the elderly. Dietary & medical needs, cognitive issues, dexterity problems and complex emotional relationships combine to create a minefield which has to be navigated for everyone’s health and well-being. Here are some tips for making sure meal times can be safe and calm for everyone.
Routine, routine, routine. I make this point a lot in these blogs, but I cannot stress enough how beneficial a firm – but not totally inflexible – routine can be. Having a designated time and place for meals not only helps improve seniors’ sense of time, but it also allows their bodies proper time to digest. These routines should not be immutable – if you want to go out with friends, do so, even if it means eating a bit earlier or later – but by keeping to this schedule most of the time, you substantially cut down on meal-related disagreements and flare-ups.
Ergonomic & Safety Tableware. Even the mechanics of eating can be difficult for some seniors. Arthritic hands can’t always hold a knife and fork very well, much less bring a full glass to their lips. There are tools you can use to make mealtime less of a struggle.
Flatware with ergonomic grips, which are typically larger, rounded & textured.
Smaller, lighter & shatterproof drinking cups.
“Move-resistant” plates & bowls. These typically are either heavier or have ‘grippy’ undersides, to prevent them from sliding around the table. This can also be accomplished with textured placemats.
Plates & bowls with lips. These not only make them easier to grip and lift, but they also give you a surface to push food against.
Make sure they have a diet they can live with – Almost all of us “are on a diet,” and that includes seniors. Dietary restrictions tend to accumulate as one ages, and keeping them all in mind when meal planning can be a daunting task. But a diet which is indistinguishable from prison food helps no one. If your senior loved one has a particularly challenging set of dietary restrictions, you really may want to consult with a nutritionist. They not only can tell you what to avoid, but they can also help select foods to replace those you’ve cut out. Most of us are not professional cooks, and even a little guidance can help make mealtimes fun for everyone in the home.
Do not infantilize your senior loved ones – Reading all of these suggestions, it sometimes sounds like feeding an elder loved one is no different than feeding a child. But it’s critically important to remember not to treat them like children. They see the similarities too and are almost certainly quite sensitive to that comparison. Seniors suffer a lot of indignities, but being treated like an infant by people they very likely raised is one they should never have to deal with. No matter how difficult or frustrating mealtimes become, you must treat them with respect and dignity. In other words: how you would expect to be treated.
Limit alcohol and caffeine consumption. While you don’t necessarily have to cut alcohol and caffeine completely out of all senior diets, their systems are particularly vulnerable to those substances. Alcohol tolerance diminishes greatly as we age, including decision making sectors of the brain. Multiple bodily systems which handle caffeine – including the liver and kidneys – have a harder time dealing with it, and your neurological tolerance similarly changes as you age, so it’s effects seem amplified.
These are just some of the things you can do to help keep peace at the dinner table.
Brought to you bysmpltec.com, Technology for Seniors News.
Having arthritis or similar chronic conditions doesn’t mean you have to give up on living life. There are some simple tools you can employ to relieve the pain & discomfort associated with these conditions, without prescription drugs or unknown supplements.
At-home physical therapy – Creaky Joints has a great rundown of exercises for the hands you can do at home with no special equipment. These simple activities can help alleviate pain, improve flexibility, and potentially stave off any further degradation.
Learn which tools can help – As they say, the right tool for the right job. There are a plethora of tools available now which can help ease stress on arthritic joints. From jar & bottle cap openers in the kitchen to grab sticks in the yard to seat belt aides for the car. Even small devices can often yield significant results when used correctly and consistently. Almost any tool which lets you avoid bending, stretching, or making a fist can help alleviate arthritis pain.
Listen to your body – Anyone with arthritis knows that certain activities simply hurt more than others. Identify those painful activities and take steps to avoid them. If your hips hurt, get up and stretch every hour or so. Maybe use your elbow or shoulder to open a door rather than your hand and wrist. Try changing the lead leg you use when going up or downstairs. There are a plethora of small changes you can make to help keep your body healthy.
Ask for help – Maybe the hardest step to take, but the most important. Whether this means going to a rheumatologist, or asking your loved ones for help making your home “arthritis-friendly,” or just asking them to help you with regular tasks. Sometimes, a little help can go a long way.
Brought to you bysmpltec.com, Technology for Seniors News.
I love gadgets. I love science. I love advances in medical technologies. I love caregiving. So this product was basically designed to catch my attention.
From Popular Science, the story of the iKnife. It’s a device that uses electrical pulses to delicately vaporize living tissue, then uses a mass spectrometer to identify compounds associated with cancerous cells in the ensuing smoke.
“the iKnife’s technology shows promise in identifying patients’ endometrial cancers with an almost 90 percent accuracy rate. ‘The iKnife reliably diagnosed endometrial cancer in seconds, with a diagnostic accuracy of 89 percent, minimizing the current delays for [patients] whilst awaiting a histopathological diagnosis.”
We live in a world where “A knife that uses electricity to cut cells, then identify the components of those cells by the wavelengths of light in the smoke” is a reality. We are in the sci-fi future we were promised, even if there are no jetpacks in sight.
When caring for an elder loved one, some conversations are unpleasant but necessary. One of those conversations is often about alcohol consumption.
To be clear right off the bat: this isn’t about alcoholism or addiction. Those are distinct conditions, which have to be addressed on their own.
What we’re talking about here is ‘casual’ or ‘social’ drinking. A beer in the afternoon. A couple of glasses of wine at dinner. A cocktail with their friends. The sorts of activities an older person may have engaged in regularly for most of their lives. But the body of a 70-year-old is not the body of a 25-year-old or a 40-year-old. Metabolisms change, organs and systems don’t heal up as quickly as they used to, and ‘minor’ impairments are more likely to lead to significant injuries. But this doesn’t mean your senior loved one needs to become a teetotaler.
This is one of the core messages you should convey: no one is taking away all of your drinks. Simply telling an elder loved one “you can’t drink anymore” is a fast way to ensure they drink more often and more irresponsibly, going forward.
Try to schedule alcohol consumption in advance. Much the same way, dieting goes better when you have regular “cheat days” to look forward to, and a moderated alcohol intake regimen also works better when there are clear and frequent breaks. Bloody Marys at Mother’s Day brunch? A bit of the bubbly at their daughter’s birthday party? Those are great, so long as it’s not an everyday occurrence.
Family members should also try – whenever possible – to make sure alcohol consumption is done in conjunction with meals and nonalcoholic beverages. Mix in some juice or iced tea in between drinks. One of the biggest dangers of alcohol consumption comes from dehydration, and the elderly are more susceptible than most to that complication. Slowing the absorption of alcohol by eating while you drink, and consuming nonalcoholic drinks will help stave off dehydration.
Some studies show that moderate, regular alcohol consumption can have medical benefits, including improved bone density and better overall cardiovascular health. But those benefits are obliterated once the drinking moves to “excessive” levels. As a caregiver, part of your role is to find ways to allow your elder loved one to have the occasional drink while preventing overconsumption. It’s not an easy task, but a necessary one.
Brought to you bysmpltec.com, Technology for Seniors News.
A pair of brothers lost their sight to a rare genetic disorder. They’ve now turned that disability into the motivation for a quest: to make sure no one else has to go thru what they did.
“Inspiration for the brand came during a shopping trip to Bloomingdale’s in New York City. The brothers were celebrating the news that experimental gene therapy had successfully reversed a teenager’s blindness.
Eventually, they lost each other somewhere between the ties and shoe departments, and once they reunited, discovered they bought the same soft shirt.
“That set off a light bulb in our heads,” Bradford recalls. “We thought, ‘What if this could be our way to make medical breakthroughs on blindness feel real to people? What if we started a clothing brand to help the groups doing this research?’ “
The company’s website organizes many items by softness rather than color, and many items have braille reliefs woven into the fabric to make them truly blind-accessible.
Brought to you bysmpltec.com, Technology for Seniors News.
A recently released study from the University of California-Riverside may for the first time confirm the causal factor in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Researchers at the University of California- Riverside (UCR) recently published results from a study that looked at a protein called tau. By studying the different forms tau proteins take, researchers discovered the difference between people who developed dementia and those who didn’t.
The tau protein was critical for researchers because they wanted to understand what the protein could reveal about the mechanism behind plaques and tangles, two critical indicators doctors look for when diagnosing people with Alzheimer’s.
By analyzing donated brain samples, researchers found that those with brain buildup, like plaques and tangles, but had no dementia had a normal form of tau. However, those who had a “different-handed” form of tau and developed plaques or tangles did have dementia.”
Those “plaques or tangles” can build up in cells instead of being properly disassembled by normal cell processes. It’s believed that this buildup is the cause of Alzheimer’s. So what does this mean in the short term? Likely nothing immediate, but this sort of research could be foundational to a test or treatment down the road.
Brought to you bysmpltec.com, Technology for Seniors News.
A pair of brothers lost their sight to a rare genetic disorder. They’ve now turned that disability into the motivation for a quest: to make sure no one else has to go thru what they did.
“Inspiration for the brand came during a shopping trip to Bloomingdale’s in New York City. The brothers were celebrating the news that experimental gene therapy had successfully reversed a teenager’s blindness.
Eventually, they lost each other somewhere between the ties and shoe departments, and once they reunited, discovered they bought the same soft shirt.
“That set off a light bulb in our heads,” Bradford recalls. “We thought, ‘What if this could be our way to make medical breakthroughs on blindness feel real to people? What if we started a clothing brand to help the groups doing this research?’ “
The company’s website organizes many items by softness rather than color, and many items have braille reliefs woven into the fabric to make them truly blind-accessible.
Brought to you bysmpltec.com, Technology for Seniors News.
We’re living through the era of social distancing, but that means remote social contact is more important than ever. It can be particularly difficult for seniors to get over the technological hurdles that come with modern teleconferencing. But there are steps you can take to make sure your senior loved ones can stay in touch during these trying times.
The hardware:
The simplest teleconference solution is a basic laptop computer. Simple laptops can be bought for as little as $200, and almost all come with a camera and microphone built in. Alternatively, you could get a screen-based digital assistant, like the Google Home or Amazon Echo View. These also have cameras and microphones built in, but can be tricky to set up for someone who isn’t tech savvy.
If they already have a computer, then a basic USB webcam with built-in mic would be the best option. They’re inexpensive, plentiful, and generally very simple to set up.
The software:
Skype – One of the oldest teleconferencing programs, and one of the most common. However, it’s also finicky and it’s user interface can be daunting for inexperienced users. Save this for cases where it’s the only recourse.
Google Hangouts/Facebook Video Calling – Two very similar programs from the biggest tech companies on earth. Both are also among the easiest to use, and chances are your senior loved one already has an account on one, if not both, platforms.
Zoom – You’ve probably heard a lot about this program on the news lately. Tons of schools, business and even medical providers are using it to interact with people remotely. It’s a great bit of software, but it’s a little trickier to set up than the alternatives listed above. But, if there are kids or teens in your life, it may be worth the effort to get this up and running, since it’s becoming so ubiquitous and will make it easy for younger ones to keep in touch with their elders.
Ideally, you should set up & test the equipment on your own and either bring it to, or ship it to, your loved one. If you have to ship it, make sure a set of clear instructions are included with the device. If you can contact the facility to get the wifi password ahead of time, even better. Make sure there are as few icons on the computer desktop as necessary, and that the necessary teleconferencing app icons are front and center. You want the set up to be as close to “plug it in, turn it on, and click that icon” as possible. Don’t leave things like account creation and system updates for your senior loved one. Giving them a system which is fully set up and updated means they can hop onto video chats and reconnect with their family as quickly and easily as possible.
Brought to you bysmpltec.com, Technology for Seniors News.
You can talk to rosie with your normal voice. Using these commands, you can setup and talk to rosie.
hello reminder rosie
Wake up Rosie (trigger). She is now ready for your next command. In addition, will announce all missed reminders.
cancel
Said after Rosie says, “can I help you?” or a beep sound within 4 seconds will put Rosie to sleep.
reminder off
Will turn off reminders.
record reminders
Record a reminder.
What can I say?
Hear all of Rosie’s voice command phrases.
What time is it?
Rosie will announce the current time.
What day is it?
Rosie will announce the current date.
Cancel
Snooze the current alarm.
Wonderful alarm!!!
We needed to get this to protect my Grandmother with dementia from exiting the front door without our knowledge. This has been a Godsend!!!!!
C4Explorer
Exactly as advertised
Purchased and installed this for a friend. It works via radio signal so as long as you have good batteries in the device, it works flawlessly. The base unit is compatible with up to 20 triggers and you can customize the signal for each door or window you’re monitoring. Highly recommended!
Tim B. Whitley
Peace of mind
I have an Autistic child that wanders and an older parent so this all in one kit was great. My mom has the pendant and I use the door alarm for my son. The absolute best part is that the alarm is portable!! I can move around inside n’ outside our apartment and always be aware of alerts.
It’s not terribly loud but since you wear the alarm base it doesn’t really need to be unless you’re a deep sleeper. If you are a deep sleeper than only rely on this during your awake hours and invest in a loud one for naps or sleep.
Also like that you can turn off the alarm on the base as my son figured out alarm means I’m going outside n’ he thinks it’s time to go buy toys lol, so if I just need to take out the garbage I turn it off til I get back inside.
GabeOz
DAD LOVES LISTENING TO HIS FAVORITE CUSTOM PLAYLIST – PROVIDES GREAT COGNITIVE ENGAGEMENT
This music player/radio is outstanding. It is simple to set up, simple to use and well made. (I ordered ours in July 2020. We have had no problems with the construction.) You can add to the pre-programmed songs on the enclosed USB stick, or you can delete those songs and load a custom playlist of favorite songs. Or you can buy an additional USB stick and upload a custom playlist onto that. Make sure your playlist songs are mp3 formatted. (Not iTunes format, THE SONGS MUST BE MP3 FORMATTED. I purchased/downloaded the mp3 songs from Amazon.) I loved putting together the playlist for my Dad. It brought back so many memories and gave me a connection with him that I haven’t had in a long time. Other family members live closer and have been doing most of the heavy living for my Dad so it was great to be able to do something like this from far away. I shipped the radio to his assisted living facility after uploading his favorite songs onto the USB stick. My Dad’s nurse found it easy to set up too. Best of all, she told me our Dad loves it. Music therapy for dementia sufferers is well documented. This music seems to be helping my Dad. He smiles more, he’s engaged and he’s calmer. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
SpryMomDC
Mom LOVES this music box!!!
My 85 year old mother LOVES this music player!!! I’ve tried boom boxes, clock radios, cable tv music, Alexa, etc, but she couldn’t remember how to work any of them.
I went to the website & figured out how to format the music box to work with my Mac. It was fairly easy & after that, it’s just drag & drop. The time consuming part was finding & selecting the music to be loaded. All in all, it’s well worth the time it takes to set it up.
My only suggestions to improve this product would be to make a volume knob easily accessible (mom can handle one knob and some songs are just louder/quieter than others) and figure out a way to access Pandora. It would be much easier for me to pick a great station than find & download a limited assortment of songs.
Mary L
It works well
The max sound level could be higher…. but so much depends on the source so not always a SMPL problem. I found it hard to see the embossed information on the silver buttons. Perhaps add stickers to the package for vision impaired people 🙂 I made up a bunch of flash drives, for different moods for my brother who has dementia and used colour coding and printed info for the nurses. I used 8GB drives and have hours and hours of music on each.
Amazon Customer
Linda D.
Peace of mind
Got this product for my diabetic father who is in mid-stage of Alzheimer’s and so far we’re finding it to be very helpful. He responds daily to our reminder to inject himself. He says he likes hearing our voices. It gives us peace of mind until we can attend to him.
Virginia M.
This is the best clock for a visually impaired person. All they have to do is speak and it changes the times and alarms for them. A very durable piece of equipment and it will speak clearly so you are sure the time is correct.
Judi R.
Love it. Easy to program, great for my mom who has Alzheimer’s. She doesn’t have to do anything and it reminds her of all her various activities, meals, etc. at her retirement home.
Kim M.
I purchased Rosie at the recommendation of a rehabilitation specialist at the assisted living facility where my elderly dad lives. He has his own studio apartment but was rapidly losing his short term memory. As a result, the rehab specialist was working with us to see if we could find a way to allow him to remain in his current unit and maintain his independence as long as possible.
This device is helping him even more than we’d hoped it would. It was a simple process to record brief personal messages reminding him to take medicine, move around and go to meals. He especially likes hearing my voice and he responds well to the prompts.
Easy to use
Easy to setup and easy to use. I had some difficult removing the screw for setup. After that much better than the million button remote from the cable company for my senior family member.
Anita
Great for seniors with low vision
This is a terrific little remote for my 94 year old grandmother that is visually impaired. It set up perfectly for me within a matter of minutes on a Samsung tv with antenna connection (no set top box). Favorite channel buttons were easily programmed. She pretty much only watches 5 channels (FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS) so this remote works well for her and is very simple and basic. Exactly what we need!
Amazon Customer
Great for someone with dementia
I bought this for my mother, who has very poor eyesight and has dementia as well. With the usual remotes she couldn’t see any of the labels, and the sheer number of buttons led her astray. I programmed this control so that the only things that work are the power button, the mute button, and the volume control button.
The battery compartment and the programming controls are locked behind covers that can only be opened with a small screwdriver (supplied).
That does it.
Jerry Schwartz
Over all is a good product
Good product, you might have a little problem programming phone numbers, it doesnt seem to want to accept the numbers at first but if you keep doing it , It will eventaully work. All in All it worked out OK
PMT
Not very good directions, but was able to figure it out.
Purchased for 95 yr old who had mild stroke. With some guidance and training, she was at least able to call us.
Donna J
It’s very helpful
This phone has been very useful for my mother who is 87 and it’s on the early stages of dementia
And Alzheimers, with the pictures she is able to recognize who the people are and it’s very easy to dial just press the button, I highly recommend this phone, we are very happy with this product.
Carmen
The key pad is really big and clear
I needed a phone for a mom that has the beginning stages of memory lose. She was able to operate this phone. Thank you to the company which designed it.
Olivia G Lopez
My Mother-in-Law loves it!
For an aged person, 90’s, she can no longer manage a cell phone. With this new phone she easily manages speed dial buttons and the key pad. This has been a great boon to her keeping in touch with family. She love it.
Mark H
Effortless
How convenient and easy for my mom to use
Mark Rhodes
This is great!!
We got this for my mother in law and installed it yesterday. She argued at first because she said she can see just fine, but we reminded her she can’t remember phone numbers well. She hasn’t made a phone call in at least six months, but about an hour after we set this up, she gave us a call to try it out. So great to see her name pop up on caller ID again!!
Christi Clark
It works well
The max sound level could be higher…. but so much depends on the source so not always a SMPL problem. I found it hard to see the embossed information on the silver buttons. Perhaps add stickers to the package for vision impaired people 🙂 I made up a bunch of flash drives, for different moods for my brother who has dementia and used colour coding and printed info for the nurses. I used 8GB drives and have hours and hours of music on each.
Amazon Customer
Love, Love, Love This Player
I’ve been searching for something simple so my friend/ward with dementia can listen to her classical music and a little Sinatra in her nursing home room. It was super easy to load. It came preloaded with big band music which she also seems to enjoy. I emailed the company for questions and got a prompt reply. Solid, large and very well made. Good sound quality.
Update: being that she lives in a nursing home and lots of her items have gone missing, I wanted to insure this music player stayed put. I talked to the manufacturer and learned the player is actually made of wood. I was able to attach a small lock on the back and then secured it with a small cable to her end table. I drilled hole in the back of the end table, secure a cable clamp inside hidden behind the drawer. It will take pliers and some effort to take (or cable cutter 😔) it if wanted. It also prevents my ward from moving it or dropping it.
JosieofOhio
Absolutely perfect product for its intended purpose
As the computer nerd in my family, I was tasked with finding a music player for my 95-year-old grandmother. She was vision-impaired and pretty forgetful when it came to using devices.
It seems like this should be an easy problem to solve but it isn’t. I spent hours on Amazon reading product reviews and manuals, and more hours going to Best Buy and office supply stores to examine their offerings. Nothing was suitable. Everything requires many delicate button presses to turn on, select the appropriate input source, select the song (so it doesn’t always play the same song first), etc. etc.
After hours of searching, I had the idea to search for “Alzheimer’s music player” and landed on The Simple Music Player. It looked perfect. My family originally balked at the price for something that seems like it should be so simple and cheap. But it was really the only option we had and it ended up being absolutely perfect. My grandmother loved it. In the end, it was money very well spent. Five stars, no question. If you are considering this product, you should probably just buy it immediately!
Ingot Marker
Limitation of Liability
In no event will SiMPL Technology LLC, its representatives, affiliates, associates and the like be liable for any damages, including without limitation
direct or indirect, special, incidental, punitive or consequential damages, losses or expenses arising in connection with any failure of performance of any SiMPL devices.
