We talk to Dr. Bruce Miller, head of the Global Brain Health Institute at UCSF and a world-renowned expert on how dementia alters behavior and personality.
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I agree with Dr. Miller in that the personality changes are very frustrating and the memory issues are more of an annoyance. In my wife’s case these two factors seemed to come to my attention about the same time. She appeared to change 180 degrees in many areas , for example, Where she was a trusting type for example she became suspicious of me and everything I did especially if other women were near, where she was always concerned about others she became very self centered. I am never sure if she was always the new personality and just stopped suppressing these behaviors. The memory problems are significant enough in our situation to support the theory that the personality changes are due to disease. The medical diagnosis of MCI supports the brain disease but since my wife is in total denial and wants little to do with her physician it is difficult to look deepere into the diagnosis. I am following the MCI of the altimizers type diagnosis that her physician told me. The personality changes are so suttle that some days I wonder myself but then there are those days that the impairment is clearer. To this point there is not that extreme situation that would demand attention like incontinence, wandering or other risk behaviors that appear in the discussion groups. I think that we are fortunate that I was able to retire and become a caregiver. I am very interested in the personality aspects of the disease and appreciated this session. I am interested in more like it. I realize that it has been some time since it aired.