Frontal Lobe Dementia

This is the illness my uncle Charley has. He is only 39 years old.

FRONTAL LOBE DEMENTIA AND PICK'S DISEASE

Like Alzheimer's disease, Pick's disease and frontal lobe dementias cause a progressive and irreversible decline in a person's abilities over a number of years. Frontal lobe dementia and Pick's disease are the cause of less than 10 per cent of all dementias and may usually be distinguished from Alzheimer's disease early in the course of the illness.

Arnold Pick first described Pick's disease in a 71-year-old man in 1892. Pick's disease affects the temporal lobes of the brain in 25 per cent of cases, frontal lobes in 25 per cent and both frontal and temporal lobes in 50 per cent. Frontal lobe dementia affects the frontal lobes initially. Damage to the frontal lobes leads to alterations in personality and behaviour, changes in the way a person feels and expresses emotion, and loss of judgement.

Who can get the disease?
Anybody can get the disease, although there may be geographical differences in the incidence of Pick's disease. Some studies suggest the disease to be more common in women while others suggest a greater risk in men. The most severe cases of Pick's disease occur before the age of 60 years. The highest incidence is between 50 and 60, but people may develop the disease earlier or up to 80 years.

What is the cause?
As with Alzheimer's disease, in most cases, the cause cannot yet be determined. However, there are strong genetic components in certain families. When there is a genetic element, it is autosomal dominant, (on average, half of the children of an affected parent will develop the disease, but half will not) but is clearly modified by a number of environmental factors as yet to be discovered. The genetic component has been variously described as affecting 20 to 50 per cent of people with Pick's disease.

Diagnosis
Although Pick's disease can only be conclusively diagnosed after a person's death by a post mortem examination of the brain, there are several techniques, such as brain scans and EEGs, which can be used during the person's lifetime to give a probable diagnosis. These techniques can help in determining whether the dementia is likely to be Pick's disease or a closely related disorder, for example, Alzheimer's disease.

Prognosis and treatment
As yet, there is no cure for Pick's disease and neither can the progression be slowed down with any medication treatment. Probably because Pick's disease is much less common than Alzheimer's disease, there is less research into Pick's, and there are currently no drug trials taking place in relation to treating Pick's disease.

The course of Pick's disease is an inevitable progressive deterioration. From the onset of the disease, life expectancy is 2-15 years, with an average of 6-12 years. Death is usually caused by infection.

Some of the symptoms of the disease can be treated effectively. For example, certain medications can reduce some of the behavioural problems. Also knowing more about the disease and why the person is behaving as they are can in itself be an effective means of helping people to cope with the disease.

Then there was 1

Ever since I was born there have been 2 constants in my life, Chris and Charley. Chris and Charley are my uncles but more like brothers. Chris was 3 years older than I and Charley is 1 year older than I. My beloved Chris died 10 years ago on June 6th. Today I called Charley to make sure he had the invite to the kids 8th grade graduation party. Charley gave me the hardest pill to swallow.

It seems that he was diagnosed with a non-curable genetic disease that effects your mind. He is going to die. As soon as he told me this I thought he was joking. As we talked I knew he was not. The tears began to flow. I spent most of today crying and in bed.

My childhood was rocky to say the very least. My mother moved us every year. through the insanity that is her life, moving, the cult she had me in, my one refuge was to see Chris and Charley every day. Sure they were typical evil boys but they were my evil protectors. I always felt safe with them around. I did not have friends growing up. I was not allowed to have non-JW friends and the JW kids didn't play with me because my mother had me out of wedlock and she was gay. Chris and Charley were my brothers and best friends all rolled up into one.

As the years passed we grew apart but always had a bond. Chris was the one most like me. Charley was the good one with a big heart. When I look at the kid sometimes I can see glimpses of Chris and Charley in him. I mentioned this to Charley but Charley told me he sees Chris.

My heart is breaking. I will be the only one left. My poor Grandmother. She will have lost both of her youngest children while she is still living. She is strong but the death of Chris almost killed her. I have no idea how she will get through the death of Charley. I am so selfish to think of my own pain but I will now be truely alone. Both of my brothers gone.

The tears keep flowing, the lump in my throat keeps getting bigger. Why does life have to be so cruel?

Sucks to be me....

Why is it that it is impossible to have 2 minutes of instruction so students can begin the class? I swear, I spent almost 20 mintues waiting for them to be quiet 2nd period. I told them I give up and everyone gets a zero. They were so loud 2 security gards, the lunch lady, mantinence person and assistant principal came in.I was so pissed. I told them they keep telling me they are grown (18-21) yet don't act like it. They act worse than 6 year olds! I hate getting angry at work. I hate feeling like these people that I am here to help could give less than a rats ass. They are so disrespectful and rude. I could be working in corporate America making double what I am now but choose to want to make a difference in lives.

As of December I have one student who was murdered, one who is going to be serving hard time 3-5 for posession while on house arrest, and one who is at large for murdering someone. It makes me so sad. Am I even making a dent in anyones life?Had to call other Goddess for a laugh. The tears were ready to flow. Luckily she had a joke so corny it distracted me. Thank Dog for BF's!

A Kiss Goodbye?

I teach at a school in a low-income area. many of these students' only meals are the ones that the school provides. As it is a small school and atendance is pretty poor, they do not serve hot lunch. These students eat cold sandwiches every day. I started a ritual during the winter of, everytime I went to Aldi's, I would buy a case of Rahman noodles. They avereged out to less than 10 cents for a hot meal. I would keep those in the classroom for students if they wanted a hot meal once an awhile.

The demand for noodles has been low and I haven't been to Aldi's since before Christmas. One of the students who would get noodles from me usually hadn't been in my class in almost 2 months. Yesterday he saw me in the hallway and asked for some noodles. I told him I was mad at him because I haven't seen him in months and missed him in class. While I was looking, with my arms folded, into my fellow teachers classroom with a pretend frowny face on, the student gave me a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek and said he still moved me anyways, and scampered off. I went into my fellow teachers room and we laughed about what an odd thing to see. I am a physically distant person. People, especially students, pick up on that.

Today, I met with my fellow teachers for our morning ritual of talking about yesterdays events. I shared the story and went about the day. 4th period is lunch for most of the school. That and there being a field trip which took 30 students left me with no students for 4th or 5th. One of my other fellow teachers came to me during 4th period (a much needed time to catch up on grading) and told me that the homicide police were at the school during 4th period lunch looking for the student who kissed me on my cheek the day before. It seems that a few hours before that kiss on the cheek he killed a man. During the conversation with the other teacher she too had an odd experience with him coming up behind her at her desk, giving her a quick hug and kiss on the top of her head, and told her that he loved her.

Was that because he knew he would be caut? Or that he was leaving the city and it was his way of saying goodbye? The only other time I remember an affectionate act as striking me as odd was the last time I saw my uncle Chris. When he was leaving my house after visiting for the day he hugged me and told me what a great mother I was and how proud of me he was and how much he loved me. The hug lasted longer than our standard hug and it stayed with me for days after until 2 weeks later when I got the call that he hanged himself.

I don't know now, like I didn't know then, how to feel. This was a student that was very smart, stayed up on current events, could debate political views, and was a talented writer. It is such a waste. A waste of life for the man he killed and that of the life he will spend in prison when he is caught.

Grandma

I love my Grandma!

One of my aunt's e-mailed me this morning to tell me my Grandmother was in the hospital. She'd been there since midnight on Sunday. The hospital is only a block from my house. I was pretty cheesed no one told me sooner. After I picked up the boy from school we went to the hospital and spent 3 hours with her.

One of the great things about my Grandmother is her sense of humor. She is very devilish and has quite a evil wit about her. She began telling the boy and I about the neighbors who lived next door to them in the 70's in Rogers Park. Back then my Grandparents owned a beautiful greystone 2 blocks from the lake (Lake Michigan). It was my second home and the only place I ever felt loved. The couple who lived next door to my Grandparents HATED my family. My Grandparents had 12 children, the oldest being my mother and the youngest being an uncle 1 year older than me. That uncle and my other uncle who was 3 years older than I (my beloved Chris) were constantly terrorizing the neighborhood with their boyish antics. This neighbors had several verbal spats with my Grandparents.

My Grandmother found these people to be boorish and petty. As my grandmother was a very active member of the community she worked quite a bit with the police department. Everyone knew her (and no, not from her children's activities). One summer evening my Grandmother decided to get some air. She sat on the front porch drinking some god awful orange kool aid like stuff. A police car drove by. She knew the officers. The officers also knew of the horrible neighbor with the blood feud (this guy would hold his dog over the chain link fence while it crapped so it would crap into my Grandparents back yard. The guy was a bit tapped). The police shined their bright light on the neighbor who was also sitting on his porch, then quickly got out of the squad car, walked up my Grandmothers steps, put her in cuffs, put her in the back seat and drove off. The neighbor was in shock. The great thing about this was they drove and dropped her off in the back of the house. This would happen every week or so. What a laugh! Only my feisty Grandmother could pull something like this off. My Grandmother is my hero. Not just for this but for all that she has done in my life.

52, Are You Kidding Me?

My 2nd Period Class was just given 5 new students in the last 2 days bringing my total number of students in that class to 52. It is a Consumer Ed class and let me tell you, it is next to impossible to teach 52 Alternative Ed Students at the same time.This morning a boy was in the Computer lab during my 1st period Computer class. I asked him to leave. 10 minutes later he was still there I asked him to leave again and he became volitale. I wrote him up and then had to see him the next period. Again he began to become riled up. I have security in my class this period because of the size, 52. When security tried to take him out he took a swing at the security guard. This turned into security, a male teacher and the lunch lady trying to restrain the boy. Mean while all of the students have poured into the hallway and want to jump on the teacher and security so we are trying to pull students off the faculty and not get hit in the process.I told them repeatedly there are too many students in this class. I was informed yesterday that they would not take anymore out of the class. I am stuck with 52 until June. I'm just awed I didn't get punched in the process. Here I am, all 5'3 of me pulling these 6 foot kids off of a fellow teacher. Even though the male teacher was on the ground with the kid, security and the other students, he's alright. Poor guy.Well, I guess it's back to attempting to grade papers, ha.My rant is over.And by the way, my favorite nephew has turned 18 today! I could weep when I think of him growing up. He has turned into such a cool dude. Of course having a Goddess for a Mother and Aunt doesn't hurt. Big Props to this awesome Dude!

WHAT THE HELL!!!!

I called my Grandmother about an hour ago to see how she was doing. It's been awhile since I've spoken to her. Probably since I first started teaching in September. She told me something that completely shocked me. My cousin Tyler, who is 6 months older than my son, HAS CANCER! The doctors found a tumor on his thyroid so they decided to take both out to be on the safe side. When they took out the one without the tumor they found cancer. His mother, my aunt who is the same age as my husband, had a complete liver transplant a year and a half ago due to Hepatitis C. Now her only child has cancer. I guess they tested to see if they got all of the cancer and we will know something in the next few days. How insane!