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Show TheSalt Lake Tribune NATION Thursday, December3, 1998 A21 More Doctors Seeing a Link Between Dementia and Creativity the waythe disease — which typically de stroys creativity, energy and interest in Asone doorto the mind opens, anothercloses shut. Medical experts debate whatthis apparentcontradiction means KNIGHT-RiWDER NEWS SERVICE California neurologist andyellows. Still, he quit his job to con- The wealthy California stockbroker had-never cared a whit about art. Then, when he was 56, thingsinside him beganto change. He wouldglimpse a color, or a beam of light, and he would find himself suffused paint. His early attempts were nothingremarkable, elliptical patterns in purples WhenMiller first learned of the stock- It was as if a door were openingin his broker's paintings, he was surprised mind. But gradually it becameclear another door wasclosing. The stockbroker I had never thought ofa patient with dementia as simultaneously developing strengths,” Miller said The man’s original ellipses had grown began to have trouble speaking, and re- membering. He developed odd compulsions, like searchingthestreets for coins He insisted upon wearing purple shirts with pleasure. And there werealso times when a color, or a light, would seemal most unbearable, and he would feel un. well. Forthe first time in his life, he began to centrate on being anartist. andyellowpants. patients withsimilar experiences inaré centissueof the journal Neurolog into flowers, which had thefantastic sym- metry of mandalas. These progressed SomeofMiller's patients started their art in the early stages of their dementia into birds, fastidiously detailed. And the and continued to work while the disease birds evolved into animals, intensely imagined and powerfully realized. He was diagnosed as suffering from frontotemporal dementia, a wasting disease of the brain. After about 10 years, the illness brought him to BruceMiller, a gotten better. Miller, whois now director of the Alz heimer's disease center at the University of California, San Francisco. published the story of the stockbroker and other ‘Oh, my goodness,” thought Miller, pondering the pictures. “He's actually progressed. Others continued creative work they had alreadybeenpursuing in spiteof the disease the world — has left, perhaps ever opened, pockets of skill It suggests these dementias are not monolithic entities,” he says. H such discoveries help lead tot that will slow the disease. Several hundred thousand American suffer from frontotemporal d part of a group of disordersthat inc Alzheimer’s disease Miller believes that for his patients, became“the major focus, the one source of pleasurein life. As the progress of their disease d stroyedtheleft side of the brain, the center of language andsocial skills, it spared theright, whichis responsible for visual Miller finds hopein these rarecases. in skills. Depression Turns Deadly For Elderly It is seen a cause behind rising murder-suicides THE WASHINGTON POST WASHINGTON — After 58 yearsof marriage, George and El- nor White died together sometime between cocktails and dinner. The friends who arrived the next morning at the Whites’ suburban Towson, Md., home, waited outside until they realized the theyfound the two bourbon glasses George had filled. In the kitchen they discoveredthe skillet with the meat patties Elnor had been cooking. The stove was off. The television wason. gael LD Wednesday, TL LD} SERSgO ee LUaeCeAd a TTaT UaOCDAURNeeee Ua OEeReeeA eeereet) The bodies werein the garage The Whites, both 83, died Nov. 16 of single gunshots to the head. Police determined that Elnor was killed by her husband with his Army-issue handgun from World WarII, which he then turned on himself. But in homicide-suicides in- volving older couples, depression is often as muchthekiller as any bullet. Statistics and headlines suggest 21.7 Cu. Ft. Side-By-Side that such tragedies areon the rise in the UnitedStates. University of South Florida professor Donna Cohenis one of the few researchers tracking the rate of such violence, which she calls “stunning.” She disputes the frequent supposition that hus- bands and wives make a pact, each unwillingin their love to go on without the other. Almost always, it is the man, despondent about poor health or a looming separation, or perhaps exhausted by the demands of caringfor an ill spouse, who decidesthat just one solution remains. In Florida, where retirees make up about 20 percentof the popu- lation, an elderly homicide-sui- $749 Refrigerator | * Crushed/cubed ice water lispenser 139572 * Adjustable glass shelves * Gallon door storage + #TFX22JRBWW-White 39573 Spacemaker Spacemaker Dryer Washer + Extra-large 2.7 cu. ft. capacity * 8 cycle, 4 temperature + Optional undercountio stack installation + #WWXH208VWW-Wi tra-large capacitywith interior light tional undercounter or stack installation WXH43EVWW-White cycle, 4 temperatur cide is reported on average at least once a month. Guns provide *499... the means in nearly three-quar- ters of the cases. Nearly as often, Cohen said, evidence indicates that the wives do not want to be killed. “These are not crimesof love. These are crimes of desperation and depression,” she said. They devastate families and communi- Extra Large Capacity Extra Large Capacity Washer of mental illness among seniors — 6 cycle, 3 water ievels +3 wash/rinse temperature settings * Durable tuff tub basket tendsto ignore or write off signs their incidencewill increase. Homicide-suicideis a grim sub- 17.6 Cu. Ft. Two Door Dryer ties alike, and she fears that in a rapidly aging society — one that Refrigerator +3 cycle, 3 temperatures * Automatic dry control « #VBXR1060VWW-White © Up front lint filter © + #NVLR333EVWW-White set of suicide, and since 1980, re- versing a 40-year decline, more and more of America’s oldest citizens have been killing themselves. Those 65 and older nowhave the highest suicide rate White men 85 years and older are at greatest risk, with an annual rate of 68.2 *439 “649... Your va After Rebate* 30" Smooth Top Every Day Low Price Electric deaths per 100,000 people Chronic or serious illness is the most common cause of depression in older people, and depressionis the deadly undercurrent in most suicides and homicide-suicides. Yet studies show that the de- ceased rarely were underpsychiatric care or taking an antidepressant. In fact, seldom are their prablems even diagnosed. Cohen said doctors miss 80 per- cent ofcases of depressionin elderly patients. Either the doctors spendtoolittle time with them to plumb the depth of any melan- choly or, like manypeople, they believe depressionis an inevitable conbequenceof aging, she said “fnever dreamed he would take» my mother,” said Cindy White, younger daughter of George and Elnor. “My mother,” her older sister added firmly, “was not ready to die Less Rebate 1.4 Cu. 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