Attacking Alzheimer's
Thank you for your article regarding early-onset Alzheimer's ["Alzheimer's Today," December 11]. Most of the article, however, focused on the struggles of the actual dementia patient and did not speak to the struggles of the family who must deal with this disease daily. Caring for a family member with Alzheimer's is extremely lonely. I am 52 and have a 12-year-old son. My husband has frontal-temporal dementia. To most people, my husband looks absolutely normal, but he can no longer be trusted to perform even the most mundane daily tasks like banking and shopping. Just recently, my husband accidentally locked himself in my running car and could not figure out how to unlock the vehicle. I finally was able to talk him into putting down his window so I could unlock the car. I have a full-time law practice, typically working 50 hours a week. However, I have been culling my commitments so I can devote more time to caring for my family as my husband becomes more and more dependent. I have no one to talk to about this burden. There are no support groups in my area for spouses of younger husbands with dementia. I do not know anyone else in my age group facing the day-to-day challenges to which I must continually adapt. My husband has ceased being able to interact with me. Thankfully, he is able to interact with our son through sports and caring for our dog. I remain hopeful that more community resources will be devoted to the support of younger spouses who find themselves in my position.
GEORGIANNA I. PARISI
Dayton, Ohio
I am now 51 but was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at age 46. Most people know only about the end stages of this disease. Your article brings out many issues that face those who struggle with Alzheimer's-like working, getting Social Security, and staying connected to the world. Awareness of this devastating disease must continue so that one day we may live in a world without Alzheimer's.
KRIS BAKOWSKI
Athens, Ga.
Three of my four children lost their lives to Niemann-Pick type C disease, often referred to as the pediatric version of Alzheimer's. Approximately 1,000 children in the United States are living with this rare disorder that, like Alzheimer's, takes away the children's ability to walk, talk, and swallow. My children all appeared to be born perfectly healthy. It wasn't until our son Michael began to fall behind his peers in kindergarten that we realized something was seriously wrong with his health. After an arduous journey, Michael was diagnosed with NPC. Because NPC is a genetic disease, we had our other three children tested and, to our disbelief, our daughters, Marcia and Christa, also tested positive. Only our oldest son, Ara, was free of the defective gene. My family started a foundation in 1994 to promote research into NPC. Through foundation-sponsored research, we now know that the abnormal brain deposits found in NPC victims are almost identical to those found in Alzheimer's. Our hope is that our research will not only answer questions about the mystery of Niemann-Pick type C disease but also provide insight into Alzheimer's.
CINDY PARSEGHIAN
President
Ara Parseghian
Medical Research Foundation
Tucson, Ariz.
My father was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's in 2001 when he was 49. It was very hard on my family, especially my younger brother and sister, who were in high school at the time. They lost their home, and my father lost his job. Your article shed light on many young people suffering with Alzheimer's and the unique difficulties that they and their families face. In New Hampshire, we found almost no support for someone my father's age in terms of day care, support groups, and financial support. He died in fall 2005. He never gave up hope. I could see this spirit in the people that you interviewed for the story, and I wish them the best.
JENNIFER HILL
Jamaica Plain, Mass.
At age 70, I was recently diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's. I am just learning about this debilitating disease and wish to commend you on the article. I'm not avoiding the negative side of Alzheimer's but am looking more at what is being done to stop the disease, possibly by 2008. Of the 25,000 people diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the Kansas City area, it's sad that two support-group meetings monthly turn out only 15 to 20 patients.
KEN ROBERTS
Lenexa, Kan.
We commend you for running "The New Face of Alzheimer's." There is a great need to educate the public and to increase awareness of Alzheimer's and other dementias. Often, persons with the disease and their care partners don't know where to turn for help. We want them to know that they can turn to the Alzheimer's Association for support, programs, and a wide range of services. They can call (800) 272-3900 seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
DIAN WILKINS
President/CEO
Alzheimer's Association
Greater Michigan Chapter
Southfield, Mich.
Medal of Honor Hero
You apparently failed to notice that the gentleman in the red shirt who appears in the photo that accompanied "A Moment That Changed a War, and a World" [December 18] was wearing the Medal of Honor. His name tag identifies him as John Finn. Finn, currently 97 years old, served at the Naval Air Station at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, which was attacked just before Pearl Harbor. Of the 15 men who received the Medal of Honor for their actions at Pearl Harbor, he is the only living survivor.
MARK S. CATOE
Bethune, S.C.
Gnostics and Gospels
Bravo on your cover story "The Gospel Truth" [December 18]. Why has it taken so long for the western world to seriously begin to question old Christian orthodoxy, with all the knowledge and new awareness we have gained? How liberating it would have been if Gnostic principles had prevailed over the eventually empire-dominated Christian movement instead of becoming sidelined by it. Let's hope that the notion of our "blow[ing] the lid off the boring stuff we grew up with" will bear fruit and take us back to when Christians battled Gnostics over their respective values and interpretations, giving us a renewed chance to assert real, true values and spirituality.
HENRY BACHMAN
Honolulu
Gnosticism has always been the theology of me and self. Gnosticism's goal was to turn Jesus into a Jewish version of an enlightened Buddha, denying his Lordship, invalidating his redemptive work on the cross. Our egos have caused us to want to be part of our own salvation, which is why the apostle Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Ephesians: For by grace you have been saved by faith; and that is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one can boast. This passage led Martin Luther to undertake the Protestant Reformation, not some Gnostic quest for his inner true self.
K. C. MOSIER
President, World Missions Foundation
Santa Fe, N.M.
The gnostic view that jesus was more of a teacher than a Messiah followed in the footsteps of the prophets. Naturally, the Jewish priesthood at the time considered him a trouble-making reformer. This was similar to the reaction of the Church of Rome with its inquisitions, witch burning, and religious wars. The apostle James originally argued that the followers of Jesus should stay in Israel and try to persuade the Jews to modify Judaism. Other apostles gave up on reforming Judaism and left Israel for Turkey, Athens, and Rome to convert the heathens with stories of miracles performed by a Messiah. I once asked a Roman Catholic priest if he had any doubts about the second coming of Jesus. He surprised me when he said that there have been many Messiahs in the past: Moses, the prophets, Buddha, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and other spiritual thinkers.
MAURICE YANKOW, M.D.
Valhalla, N.Y.
I was sorry but not surprised to receive the December 18 edition of U.S. News with the article "In Search of the Real Jesus." Invariably, just before Christmas and Easter, you publish something that tends to cast a shadow on the veracity of Jesus Christ. The article that speaks of new research brings out nothing new, only age-old ideas reflecting human reason as opposed to evidence concerning the historicity of Jesus. The Gnostics were prevalent during the time of the apostle Paul. Please spare your readers further anxiety during busy holiday seasons by not publishing these articles.
ROBERT BANKEN
Puyallup, Wash.
Documents of the early Christian movement were a mixture of Jewish, Persian, and Gnostic beliefs, Greek mystery cults, and Egyptian concepts of the hereafter, the kind of religious diversity that flourished in the Roman Empire, until it became obvious that Roman authorities looked disapprovingly on theological differences that turned into civil disturbances. Ecclesiastics decided that peace with Rome was preferable to theological contention. Hence, with the insistence of the clerical community, clerics sought a unity of dogma in 325 that, once established with imperial favor under Constantine, made heresy and dissent unfashionable and then dangerous. The legend lives on.
DON SHARPES
Author, Lords of the Scrolls
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Clarification: "Alzheimer's Today" [December 11] should have stated that Namenda, one of five medications approved by the federal government for dementia, is licensed for severe as well as moderate forms. It is not approved for mild disease.
Corrections:
"See a Glacier (Before It Melts)" [Dec. 25, 2006-Jan. 1, 2007] should have pointed out that Mount Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania, not neighboring Kenya.
The photo captioned "Union cavalry before the action" accompanying "Gettysburg's Good News" [Dec. 4, 2006] was in fact taken after 1875.
"Five Years and Counting in Cuba" [January 8] should have reported that a decision on the rights of detainees is pending from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, not the Ninth Circuit.
Corrections:
"See a Glacier (Before It Melts)" [Dec. 25, 2006-Jan. 1, 2007] should have pointed out that Mount Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania, not neighboring Kenya.
The photo captioned "Union cavalry before the action" accompanying "Gettysburg's Good News" [Dec. 4, 2006] was in fact taken after 1875.
"Five Years and Counting in Cuba" [January 8] should have reported that a decision on the rights of detainees is pending from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, not the Ninth Circuit.
This story appears in the January 15, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.