Most of us with Parkinson's worry about dementia down the road, particularly if, like me, you're in your 80s. Therefore I was interested in the results of two studies presented last month at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Washington, DC. They showed that inactivity, heavy TV watching, and loneliness raise one’s risk of developing dementia later in life.
If you want to read more, see my blog post on this. bit.ly/1KOLMc4
Alzheimer’s is not at all the same as Parkinson's Dementia. A brain scan will show up Alzheimer's it will not show up Parkinson's Dementia. My wife has been diagnosed as having Parkinson's Dementia after a brain scan failed to show Alzheimer's. Parkinson's Dementia is more a loss of memory. The failure to remember how to do things.. My wife's first signs was when she forgot how to cook a roast dinner. The potatoes boiled dry and the vegetables were cooked to a mush before the roast was half cooked! She now cant remember how to sit in a chair or dress herself or how to walk! She needs constant help. Having said this, when left on her own it has been known for her to get down a couple of steps into the garden!
One of the problems is that she still thinks she can do all the things she has done in the past and it is only after she starts, she gets confused then forgets what she started to do.
Sitting quietly, she is capable of having a reasonable conversation, but within minutes she will forget the conversation.
TV is not so much as entertainment as an event taking place. She cannot follow a story but can pick bits from what she sees and relates to it as if it was in real time. She will turn to me and say 'what can we do about that?' - it may be a lost dog or an abandoned child.
The one thing she does like and can follow is Cowboy's preferable with Indians!
Being at home my wife has the stimulation of Carers in the house for some 5 hours a day. When she was in a Care Home there was very little stimulation as the residents do not talk to each other and the Care workers have very little time for each resident.
Parkinson's Dementia just adds to the frustration of Parkinson's and medication is of little help.
Just goes to show nothing is risk free for everyone
Risk From Pesticides Use linked to Parkinson's 
Drug halts the progression of Lewy body dementia (in mice)
Is Parkinson's Disease brain fog a precursor to dementia? 
