How Stress Effects Dementia: Community Lectures Series

All are welcome to join us for “How Stress Effects Dementia” presentation by Dr. Helen Kao. Helen is Medical Director of Clinical Innovations at Lumina Hospice and Palliative Care and Professor of Medicine with the University of California San Francisco. She is board certified in internal medicine, geriatrics, and hospice & palliative medicine.

Topics discussed include:

• Dementia symptoms and ‘behaviors’ can change for many reasons
• Understand how acute stress can cause a sudden ‘decline’ in cognition
• Review common examples of “acute stress”
• Recognize differences in how a brain with dementia may process symptoms.

The 2026 Dementia Series Community Lectures is a partnership of the Albany Public Library and Lumina Hospice & Palliative Care. The community lectures are cost-free and all are welcome to attend.

Other events in Lumina’s 2026 Dementia Series at Albany Public Library:

• Feb 26, “Dementia 101”
• May 2026, “Caring for Dementia Over Time”
• August 20 at noon, “How Stress Effects Dementia”
• November 19 at noon, “Practical Ways to Manage Dementia Behaviors”