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lizardlady · 08:13 PM

GulfGypsy, welcome to PC! I want to start off telling you that I kept thinking what a wonderful person your husband is from your description of him.

I don't know of any research linking combat PTSD with Alzheimer's. Have you tried a web search of the two?

Has your husband had a full work up by a neurologist? With all of his medical problems there needs to be work up to rule out dementia caused by a medical condition. Some docs are too quick to stick an Alzheimer's diagnosis on a patient without investigating other causes for the memory and behavior changes.

PC has a caregiver support forum you might find helpful.

GulfGypsy, I googled PTSD and Alzheimer's and came up with a ton of information. Two links I thought might be especially helpful were
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20100607/posttraumatic-stress-disorder-linked-to-dementia
June 7, 2010 -- Older veterans who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are almost twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and other age-related dementias as veterans without PTSD, a study shows.
The study is among the first to link combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder to dementia later in life, but it is not clear if having PTSD increases the risk for late-life dementias or if recurring PTSD is an early symptom of dementia in older veterans, Deborah Barnes, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco tells WebMD.
"We can't say from a study like this one that PTSD causes dementia," she says. "But if it does, one theory is that stress is to blame."
There is evidence that chronic stress may damage the hippocampus, which is the area of the brain that is critical for memory and learning.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/nowhearthis/archives/162933.asp
To learn how to participate in the study, contact NIA's Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center at 1-800-438-4380 or by email to adear@nia.nih.gov.
Meanwhile, the PTSD study seeks volunteers who are veterans with a previous medical diagnosis of PTSD, though they don't have to be enrolled in the VA system for health care to participate.
The PTSD study involves a group psychological intervention called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, or MBSR for short, which more scientific literature indicates could significantly reduce stress and provide relief for veterans with PTSD.