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Games seen as possible help for seniors with neurological disorders By Diane C. Lade Staff writer Posted August 22 2003 Brain. Normal. Hope. The little wooden tiles spell out these words and others across the table as Bill Barton and his new friends vie for Scrabble points. "It's fun," says Barton, 87, as he makes a mock face at the next three letters he draws. "I enjoy people, so if I'm doing something involving a bunch of people, I get along." But while the words chosen may be random, they hint that it's more than just a game. Barton is part of an experimental program at Florida Atlantic University to see whether board games, puzzles and story telling can retrain their brains. The eight men and two women clustered around three tables have some sort of dementia or cognitive disorder: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's or other neurological problems. Researchers at FAU's Memory and Wellness Center in Boca Raton are testing to see if the twice-weekly sessions, which some participants have been attending since October, can help them retain their memories and mental functioning longer. Now the program is taking another step. While Barton's group is made up of early-stage patients, FAU will start another session in early September for those whose illness is more advanced. While participants can't be in a wheelchair and must be able to speak enough to communicate, they can be on medication or residents of an assisted-living facility. The midstage groups will be smaller and have more staff, who are FAU nursing faculty and students. "While we don't want to give people false hope, we do think there likely is a benefit," said Denise Sparks, the wellness center's assistant director for programs. The programs are funded with a $1 million grant from the federal Administration on Aging. Participants will be assessed a fee based on their incomes. Research shows cognitive stimulation can offset some of the memory decline associated with normal aging. But there still are no definite conclusions when it comes to patients in the early stages with neurological diseases, said Dr. Creighton Phelps of the National Institute on Aging, and even less information for those in the midstages. "I think it's an area that needs to be looked at," said Phelps, director of the institute's Alzheimer's disease research centers program. "There just isn't a lot of evidence." One question is if cognitive retraining actually improves brain function, or if the participants simply enjoy the socializing and are less agitated -- and therefore able to think more clearly, Phelps said. The spouses of the men and women in the early-stage sessions, who can stay for their own support group and exercise class, are mixed in their opinions on whether cognitive stimulation has toned up their mates' memories. But they all agree on one thing: The sessions are a bright spot in the patients' days. "Before, Bill was just sitting at home," said Barton's wife, Hannah. "He doesn't always like to get up and come, but he comes. And then he's glad he did." Diane C. Lade can be reached at [log in to unmask] or 561-243-6618 MEMORY TRAINING Posted August 22 2003 The Memory and Wellness Center at Florida Atlantic University is offering mental-stimulation sessions for people in the middle stages of Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's, or who have other memory or neurological problems. There will be concurrent sessions for caregivers that include exercise. The sessions will be twice a week on FAU's main campus in Boca Raton, beginning in September. Fees are on a sliding scale. For more information, call 561-955-8832 SOURCE: South Florida Sun-Sentinel, FL http://tinyurl.com/kvo0 * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn