Alzheimer

The photographs roll by on the TV screen. There's one of a handsome young man with red hair. Another of a couple newly married and obviously in love. Yet another of a group of children leaning over a bassinet to check out the newest member of the family. "My cup runneth over," reads a caption beneath one of the photos. The photographs are all scenes from Robert Moore's life, set to background music and assembled into a "reminiscent video. " Moore, 70, a retired Presbyterian minister from Wilmington, was diagnosed three years ago with Alzheimer's disease.

A for-profit health-care firm plans to build a $6 million residential care facility in Abington for people suffering from Alzheimer's disease, township officials said yesterday. Chesapeake Healthcare Corp., a Gaithersburg, Md., firm that provides assisted-living care for Alzheimer's patients, will meet with the township's Planning Commission Jan. 25 to seek permission to build a 64-bed facility on four acres behind Manor Junior College. The one-story facility, to be called Somerford Place, would consist of four wings, each with 16 beds.

One year ago today, accountant Francis X. "Pat" Duffy Jr. was shot dead in his Philadelphia tax office on the 4200 block of Kelly Drive. The man accused of killing the 51-year-old father of five was a neighbor and long-time business associate, John Keosaian, 80. Immediately after the shooting, he made a statement to police that he had gotten "fed up" with Duffy's failed promises to negotiate a business lease for him on two properties Keosaian owns....

You were introduced to the guy at a party, you turned away for a second to grab a drink, and now you can't recall his name. You find yourself drawing a blank at familiar phone numbers - even your own. You look at your watch and realize seconds later you have no idea what time it is. You run into an old friend on the street and, to your utter dismay, you can't even remember his name. It's folk wisdom with more than a little basis in fact - past the age of 30 or so, just about everybody's memory starts to slip.

The Alzheimer's Association's Memory Walk and 5K Run brought about 3,000 people to Fairmount Park yesterday. Proceeds from registration fees and sponsors help provide support and education to Philadelphia-area families dealing with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.

QR Pharma Inc., a Radnor company that is developing treatments for Alzheimer's disease, said Tuesday that it had received a $500,000 investment from BioAdvance and additional funding from angel investors. It said those investments closed a one-year seed round totaling $2.4 million. The money will be used to fund development of two compounds, Posiphen and Bisnorcymserine, to treat Alzheimer's disease and cognitive impairment.    - Stacey Burling

HERSHEY, Pa. - There was no military honor guard. No flag-draped casket. No politicians pontificating. Instead, the life of Pennsylvania's 36th governor, George M. Leader, was celebrated Thursday with family memories, a haunting rendition of "We Shall Overcome," and lines of his own poetry - as he had scripted his own funeral, years ago. Every living governor except William W. Scranton, 95, whose family said he was too ill to attend, filled the...

The cost of caring for dementia patients has reached $109 billion annually, exceeding that for heart disease and cancer, and will double by the time the youngest baby boomers reach their 70s, according to a study. Dementia is characterized by a group of symptoms that prevent people from carrying out the tasks of daily living. Reduced mental function makes it impossible for them to do things like keep track of medications or finances. In more severe cases, patients lose the ability to handle basic tasks like bathing and dressing.

Cathedral Village, a retirement community in Philadelphia's Andorra section, last month reached what experts called a "unique" agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia to enhance care in its nursing home, especially for Alzheimer's and dementia patients. The joint agreement grew out of complaints by Barry Vernick, whose wife, suffering from Parkinson's disease and dementia, died following a brief stay at Cathedral Village in late 2008. The agreement mentions no allegations of wrongdoing by the nonprofit Cathedral Village.

Vinson Smith likes to walk, but he no longer knows where he's going. Smith, 74, is a patient in the Alzheimer's unit at Coatesville Veterans Administration Medical Center. His wife, Bernice, comes out regularly from her home in Lancaster County to be with him - even though he doesn't recognize her or their children anymore. "He still does walk and that is why I'm here, to walk him," Bernice Smith said. Bernice Smith belongs to the Alzheimer's support group at the hospital.