February 22, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Leading crusade to defeat Alzheimer’s
Orien Reid: What hasn’t this Wyndmoor resident done?
by MARY PRICE LEE and RICHARD S. LEE

Orien Reid and her cohorts at WCAU-TV in the early 1980s will undoubtedly be remembered by many viewers. Seen here are (front row, from left) Deborah Knapp, Larry Kane and Steve Levy; (second row, from left) Joe Pellegrino, Herb Denenberg and Orien Reid; (back row, from left) Herb Clarke, Al Meltzer and Sheela Allen-Stephens. All are retired from journalism except Kane, who does freelance writing; Pellegrino, who does commercials for a senior citizens product, and Knapp, who is an anchor at KENS-TV in San Antonio, TX.

For one thing, she is a mighty force for Alzheimer’s Disease advocacy as the 2005-2008 chairperson of ADI, Alzheimer’s Disease International, a British-based organization active in 77 countries.

For another, this Georgia native and Wyndmoor resident was Philadelphia TV’s leading consumer reporter through the 1970s and ‘80s. When we learned we would be writing about Orien Reid, 61, we mentioned this to friends and relatives. Everyone had heard of her. This is not surprising considering that she was on KYW-TV and later, WCAU-TV, for 26 years. Her projects were varied; they included investigating the area’s personal care and nursing home industry, exposing “chop shops” where stolen cars were stripped for parts and skewering fortune-teller swindles, among many reports. Her scariest investigation? Not what you might think!

“I was set to expose a less-than-savory dating service,” she says. “A guy with ‘friends’ (were they La cosa nostra?) who made death threats. Did it stop me? No! It just made me furious; that’s all. He had a lot of nerve, thinking I’d just forget the story! I had police protection for a while after that.” That was proof, if ever it was needed, that TV reporters can’t always hide behind their screens.

Orien also looked into issues of the Sandwich Generation, people caring for their parents as well as their children. This, in a sad twist of fate, foreshadowed events in her own life. She is happily married, with grown children. But when her kids were little, her beloved mother, living in Atlanta, needed care for Alzheimer’s. Over four years as her mother’s disease progressed, Orien’s life became a mad scramble of weekend flights to Atlanta and weekdays being mommy and investigating wrongdoing for the relentless TV eye. Finally, it became too much; Orien left TV and turned her focus entirely on the disease that had claimed her mother. She joined ADI, Alzheimer’s Disease International, as a volunteer.

ADI’s President is Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, whose mother, film star Rita Hayworth, died of Alzheimer’s. Daughter Yasmin cared for the ailing legend until the end.

“I firmly believe God directs us in the way we are to go,” says Orien. It appears that His plans include in-depth efforts by good people to battle this mentally and physically crippling disease. Her statement also explains her shift from TV reporter to Alzheimer’s Disease fighter.

There could not be a better fit of skills and personality than those possessed by Orien Reid, the congenial, energetic TV journalist and holder of a Master’s Degree in Social Work, and ADI, the major international organization. Together they are arrayed against one of the world’s most dreaded diseases. Now, as chairperson of ADI through 2008, her communications skills receive more than ample workouts in the agendas created for ADI’s worldwide meetings, and the reports of the group’s many proceedings. As chairperson, Orien travels 70,000 to 80,000 miles a year, and hosts many events including the ADI’s week-long annual gatherings. Last year’s took place in Berlin; this year, Caracas.

Orien says her trips abroad broaden her appreciation of other cultures. “We make a lot of assumptions. Our frame of reference is always America, and we tend to feel our way is always the right way. I’m the one who’s in another country, though, so I make an effort not to think that way. Instead, I try to see things as people in that country do.”

When we asked Orien to describe her mission in 25 words or less, she paused for only a second.

“We need to fight for more research, more support for families coping with Alzheimer’s, for better recognition of the person,” Orien answered.

The need for dignity and understanding is perhaps the most important part of her message. Alzheimer’s patients are not all alike, she points out, and should be treated as individuals.

Orien, who was driven by an incredible hurt of Alzheimer’s and whose career took a right turn because of her mother, knows the Larry Wilson story through her own caregiving experience, although she has never met Wilson. It is a story of love and respect. Larry Wilson, the Gwynedd Mercy College track and cross-country coach, cares for his Alzheimer’s-stricken wife, Mercedes, at home. (His story was reported in the Doylestown Intelligencer by staff writer, Ed Kracz.) While Wilson decorated a tree for their 2006 Christmas, his wife slept upstairs, unable to care for herself in any way. That is about all she does now. Wilson has help from his children and caregivers. In earlier phases of the disease, he would take Mercedes to his games, and she would walk around.

In his story, Ed Kracz quotes a friend of the Wilsons: “Larry is tireless. I sometimes wonder where he gets all his energy. But his best attribute is the genuine size and caring of his heart. He’s contagious.”

Orien explains that there are two time periods for Alzheimer’s Disease. Early onset affects one percent of the population. It occurs typically under age 60 and can strike people as young as 20. Such people, if diagnosed early, can function fairly well and do so for some time. The late-onset group, 65-plus, is what people usually associate with Alzheimer’s. Even this group can do more than we might think, and carry on in many ways if they are in structured situations. This is encouraging for a disease that has challenged many and for which there seems no answer.

“We have a member of our ADI Board who’s had Alzheimer’s for over four years,” Orien said. “Her disease is being managed, and she can make positive board-related decisions.”

As far as prevention goes, risks are greater for those with hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. There are risks for family caregivers, too. Orien explains, “If you are a spouse caring for an Alzheimer’s patient full-time, your risk of suffering some form of the disease is 20 percent.” A typical manifestation is short-term memory loss, in which doctors’ appointments and lunch dates may be forgotten.

In December, 2005, ADI released global dementia figures: more than 24 million sufferers worldwide, and one new case diagnosed every seven seconds. This number is expected to double by 2020, and double again by 2040. Third World and Southeast Asian numbers may triple. There are currently 4.5 million cases in the U.S.

The 10-66 rule is important. It means that 66 percent of the world’s countries have high dementia rates, but only 10% of related research is done there. This imbalance should be corrected if all are to benefit.

Lifestyle is a factor, too. Orien cites a study comparing Alzheimer’s rates between 2,500 Nigerians and 2,500 African-Americans living in Indianapolis. The second group had from a 14% to 115% higher incidence of dementia. The only difference: lifestyle — diet and exercise. The American subjects walked less, worked less hard and ate richer food. In this case, the good life was bad for those at risk of Alzheimer’s.

With cases here and abroad in the millions, Orien hopes we can slow down the disease. “There are some 60 drugs in clinical trials, and my hope is that one or more of them will slow the progress of Alzheimer’s. Maybe, some day, dementia patients could be helped to the point that those living to 85 or 90 could keep their quality of life — and wind up dying from something else.” Brave thought!

Among the drugs in trials is Alzhemed. It fights the progress of Alzheimer’s by attacking a possible cause, amyloid peptide. This molecule slowly erodes brain function. In animal tests, the drug has cleared amyloid peptide from brain cells. Preliminary human studies show a halt in Alzheimer’s progression in about 50% of test patients. More human trial results will be released this year. Of Alzhemed, Dr. Paul Aisen, an Alzheimer’s specialist at Georgetown University, says, “It is attacking the cause. . . . If it works, it will change the course of the disease, and that will represent a real breakthrough.”

Orien has no intention of slowing down in her work. She’s proud of her age and of the older members of her family. “I love being older,” she says. “My dad’s first cousin is 100. My favorite aunt is driving at age 94 — although maybe she shouldn’t be,” Reid adds with a laugh. “They are my heroes.

“I will totally, formally retire some day, but not yet, by far!

For Internet information on ADI: www.alz.co.uk.