The Friday Five - Highlighting World Alzheimer's Day

September 21st was World Alzheimer’s Day and Alzheimer’s Associations all across the globe concentrated their efforts to bring much needed attention to the disease. Not only does alzheimer’s disease effect tens of millions of people worldwide, but it costs nations billions of dollars, an estimated 604 billion worldwide. There was a lot of interesting chatter on Twitter on World Alzheimer’s Day so for this week’s Friday Five we decided to list some of the most moving and informative tweets we saw as well as tweets about what some are doing to help the cause.

Facts and Statistics
The facts and statistics surrounding dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease are quite shocking and the numbers are growing. The UK’s Alzheimer’s Society (@alzheimerssoc) uses this powerful infographic to illustrate what the future holds.

The number of people living with dementia worldwide is growing https://t.co/PKFdYetbJM #WorldAlzheimersDay #CareHour pic.twitter.com/l7fHckcllu

— Alzheimer’s Society (@alzheimerssoc) September 21, 2016

Keeping positive while living with dementia
The UK Scout Association (@UKScouting) is partnered with Alzheimer’s Society to help young people make a difference in the lives of people with dementia as part of the A Million Hands movement. A Million Hands is a campaign which focuses on improving four social issues chosen by young people. The video gives a glimpse into the life of a man living with his wife’s dementia.

It’s #WorldAlzheimersDay. Our partner @alzheimerssoc is helping young people tackle dementia with #amillionhands: https://t.co/kr2BytPkHI pic.twitter.com/SbpVNglN5C

— UK Scout Association (@UKScouting) September 21, 2016

Speak up – Break through the social stigma
Sadly there is a social stigma around dementia and people don’t often talk openly about it or what it does to families. BBC writer Catriona White (@catrionawhite) writes about her Granny and explains World Alzheimer’s Day is an important movement because “it’s not just about the disease, it’s about remembering the person, and the memories and stories of them.”

#WorldAlzheimersDay is important, it’s not just about awareness, it’s for remembering the person, and memories ❤️ https://t.co/g6lMaaxHTK

— BBC Three (@bbcthree) September 21, 2016

Who let the dogs in?
Even man’s best friend can lend a paw when it comes to dementia. The Mayhew Animal Home (@themayhew) offers many community outreach programs one of which is called TheraPaws. Volunteers and their dogs visit and spend time with elderly people who have dementia. Therapaws recognizes “the benefits of animals engaging with older people, particularly with dementia, encouraging social interaction to promote emotional and physical wellbeing.”

It’s #WorldAlzheimersDay – read about our #TheraPaws dogs’ work with @alzheimerssoc here: https://t.co/04rHqUsq7X pic.twitter.com/7qV7k8tgrI

— Mayhew Animal Home (@themayhew) September 21, 2016

Combing Through the Tangles of Alzheimer’s
An excellent article from AbbVie (@abbvie) about some encouraging new Alzheimer’s research. “If the brain operates like a superhighway, Alzheimer’s disease aims to tangle it with inefficient routes and traffic jams, ultimately creating a shutdown.”