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Alzheimer’s. It’s one of the most tragic, destructive conditions facing modern medicine. In the U.S. alone, the disease affects a staggering 4.5 million Americans. But it’s stories like this one that shed a little hope on an otherwise devastating crisis. Turns out that art helps to boost Alzheimer’s patients’ spirits. And that’s not all. [AP]
Memories In The Making
It started off in 1988 as a small program in Orange County, California. Now, Memories in the Making has dozens of chapters in 26 states across the nation. The goal: use art, and the act of creating art, to provided an extraordinary outlet for Alzheimer’s patients.
The Breakthrough
We love it when this happens: an act that starts out as purely charitable ends up carrying scientific significance. Recently, research was published that shows art actually helps Alzheimer’s patients. A small study last year of 12 people, ages 65 to 85, found that weekly sessions helped Alzheimer’s patients focus their attention for 30 to 45 minutes and that completing artwork brought them ‘’pleasure and satisfaction.'’ The only other activity that comes close to helping patients the way art does is music.
The Science
Here’s why it helps: ‘’One of the things that emerged was that even with the loss of memory the capacity for imagination still has it place,'’ said Dr. Gene Cohen, the director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities at George Washington University. ‘’Art is a wonderful activity that taps into imagination,'’ Cohen said. ‘’That is one reason there has been increasing attention to art for people with Alzheimer’s. Even as memory fades the imagination has the capacity to be robust.'’
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