'Still Alice' raising awareness about Alzheimer's (video)

Julianne Moore won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a 49-year-old academic diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's in "Still Alice."
Julianne Moore won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a 49-year-old academic diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's in "Still Alice."

We have a saying around here: "If you've seen one case of Alzheimer's, you've seen one case of Alzheimer's."

In the movie "Still Alice," actress Julianne Moore won the Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of an academic diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's just prior to her 50th birthday.

It's a scenario becoming all to familiar to more people and their families, according to Madison Vincent, communications manager for the Alzheimer's Association Mid South Chapter, located in Chattanooga.

If you go

"Still Alice" is currently playing at the Majestic 12 on Broad Street.

10 Warning Signs

* Memory loss that disrupts daily life. Typical age-related change? Sometimes forgetting names or appointments, but remembering them later. * Challenges in planning or solving problems. Typical age-related change? Making occasional errors when balancing a checkbook. * Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure. Typical age-related change? Occasionally needing help to use the settings on a microwave or to record a television show. * Confusion with time or place. Typical age-related change? Getting confused about the day of the week but figuring it out later. * Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships. Typical age-related change? Vision changes related to cataracts. * New problems with words in speaking or writing. Typical age-related change? Sometimes having trouble finding the right word. * Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps. Typical age-related change? Misplacing things from time to time and retracing steps to find them. * Decreased or poor judgment. Typical age-related change? Making a bad decision once in a while. * Withdrawal from work or social activities. Typical age-related change? Sometimes feeling weary of work, family and social obligations. * Changes in mood and personality. Typical age-related change? Developing very specific ways of doing things and becoming irritable when a routine is disrupted. Source: Alzheimer's Association

Contact

The Alzheimer's Association Mid South Chapter office in Chattanooga serves Bledsoe, Bradley, Grundy, Hamilton, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Polk, Rhea and Sequatchie counties. Its Chattanooga office address is 7625 Hamilton Park Drive Suite and its phone number is 423-265-3600. On its Helpline, someone is available to talk 24/7 at 800-272-3900.

"More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease and that number is expected to more than triple by 2050," she says. "Younger-onset Alzheimer's affects 200,000 Americans, mostly in their 40s and 50s. The disease affects each person differently and symptoms may vary.

"Still Alice," which is currently playing in Chattanooga, "is providing a window into what it is like to live with younger-onset Alzheimer's," she says. "It's a common myth or belief that Alzheimer's only affects older people. With younger people, it is a bit harder to accept."

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, a neurological disorder that can greatly diminish a person's ability to remember, reason and plan. It is currently incurable but there are drugs that can slow its progress.

Moore, who also won a Golden Globe, a Critic's Choice award and a trophy from the Screen Actors Guild for her performance in "Still Alice," spent four months of research before starting the film, talking to women with Alzheimer's and following doctors treating the disease.

"I don't want to represent anything on screen that I haven't witnessed. I don't think it's fair," she told Parade magazine.

On the Oscars' red carpet Sunday, Moore was interviewed by broadcaster Robin Roberts, who thanked the actress for her "sensitivity" in playing the role, then brought up "a dear friend of mine," former University of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt, who announced in 2011 that she had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's.

"There's this misnomer that dementia and Alzheimer's is a normal condition of again and it's not," Moore said. "It's a disease no matter when you get it."

Cindy Lowery, senior vice president of Chattanooga's Mid South chapter, says producers and directors of "Still Alive" worked with the national Alzheimer's Association to make sure the movie's portrayal of the disease was accurate.

"The movie is a great way for people who don't deal with Alzheimer's to understand what the person and the family is going through," she says.

"I'm also excited that it may start a conservation with people who are having some memory loss and some symptoms who want to blow it off, as she [Moore's character] does in film as simply aging or menopause or stress. I don't want everyone to suddenly think they have Alzheimer's, but hopefully people will get it checked if they are concerned."

She also points out that no two cases are the same, which can lead to people, especially those in their 40s and 50s, being reluctant to get checked out.

"We have a saying around here: "If you've seen one case of Alzheimer's, you've seen one case of Alzheimer's," Lowery says.

Vincent says the film and Moore's nomination have drawn attention to the issue, as well as to the services, which are free, offered by the Alzheimer's Association. She says it is important for people recently diagnosed and their families or caregivers to understand that they are not alone, that there is a support system out there. The chapter's website offers information on local support groups, news, education programs, conferences, seminars and events.

"We have a support group for people diagnosed before age of 65," she says. "It's for caregivers and people with the disease. They come and talk about what they are feeling and discuss what is going on and what they are most afraid of."

The agency has seminars and brochures on everything from legal and financial matters to activities that can be done at home and ways to make the home safe.

"And all of it is free."

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.

photo Alzheimer's illustration.

Upcoming Events