







This site was inspired by my Mom’s autoimmune dementia.
It is a place where we separate out the wheat from the chafe, the important articles & videos from each week’s river of news. Google gets a new post on Alzheimer’s or dementia every 7 minutes. That can overwhelm anyone looking for help. This site filters out, focuses on and offers only the best information. it has helped hundreds of thousands of people since it debuted in 2007. Thanks to our many subscribers for your supportive feedback.
The site is dedicated to all those preserving the dignity of the community of people living with dementia.
Peter Berger, Editor
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MEDICATIONS VIDEO + ARTICLE: Aspirin cleared some Alzheimer’s plaque in the lab. Plaque is the best-known culprit behind Alzheimer’s. Learn about this potential new role

Microsoft Research’s SenseCam aids memory by recording a patient’s life in photos. Subsequent review of images by a patient diagnosed with severe memory impairment was extremely positive; periodic review of images resulted in significant recall of those events.

A new test that can be completed in less than three minutes enables simple, accurate detection of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s in cognitively normal adults, including those with no symptoms of dementia. Find out more.

FUNNY VIDEO – HAPPY THANKSGIVING: Mary Maxwell, a diminutive “little old lady,” shines a very funny light on the foibles of aging, to the delight of an audience filled with senior-care experts.
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Alzheimer’s & Dementia Weekly was inspired by my mother’s journey with autoimmune dementia and my dad’s with Parkinson’s dementia.
Walking beside them opened my eyes to the confusion, the courage, and the deep humanity found in families and professionals caring for someone they love.
Since its debut in 2007, this site has had one clear mission:
to separate the wheat from the chaff — to highlight only the most essential articles, studies, tools, and videos from the overwhelming river of dementia-related information.
(At last count, Google receives a new post on Alzheimer’s or dementia every seven minutes.) For anyone seeking clarity or support, that constant flow can be exhausting and discouraging.
Alzheimer’s Weekly filters, translates, and explains what matters most, helping hundreds of thousands of families, clinicians, and care teams around the world make sense of the latest research and best practices.
This site is dedicated to everyone who works—often quietly and tirelessly—to preserve dignity in the community of people living with dementia.
With experience in dementia caregiving, public education, and Alzheimer’s-focused writing—and a professional research background shaped in what many consider one of the world’s top laboratories—I work to make complex findings clear, practical, and genuinely helpful for both families and professionals providing care.
My goal is simple:
Translate the best science into guidance that lightens the load, strengthens understanding, and helps every person with dementia live with dignity.
Peter Berger
Editor, Alzheimer’s Weekly
this was extremely helpful regarding not stopping aricept. What about dosage. My husband has been on 10mg for years. His doctor says 20 mg not good for patients.
Two common side effects of Aricept (Donepezil) are insomnia and stomach pain. I worked for 6 years as an RN Cognitive Specialist (Psych Nurse) for a large home health company, and I was often called out to Memory Care Units to assist Alzheimer’s clients that had suddenly developed psychosis (audio and/or visual hallucinations, typically accompanied by increased agitation). In many cases the psychosis was caused by sleep deprivation, and when we stopped Aricept things would often improve rapidly. I was getting dozens of people per year off of Aricept and never saw a negative outcome. Many doctors advise that it should only be used in the early stages of the disease and immediately discontinued if there is no improvement. I strongly agree with this, as the side effects, especially sleep disturbance, are a real problem.
If the resident will not take their meds, then it would make sense to stop Aricept. If the resident will take their meds, it can't hurt anything.
My next question is how much does it affect their quality of life still being on it? These are the agitated, screaming, combative residents. I'm finding it very difficult to believe that Aricept makes that much of a difference with those residents. I've had residents in late stage Alzheimers who were severely agitated who were still on Aricept who had no changes in behavior while on it vs. when they wouldn't take their meds.