Rosemary fights aging, stroke and dementia

Published: Oct. 31, 2007 at 3:53 PM
Print story Email to a friend Font size:LA JOLLA, Calif., Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Rosemary chicken -- at least the rosemary -- may be one answer to preventing dementia and the effects of aging, says a team of U.S. and Japanese researchers.

Researchers led by Dr. Stuart Lipton of Burnham Institute in La Jolla, Calif., and Dr. Takumi Satoh of Iwate University in Japan say the herb rosemary contains an ingredient that fights off free radical damage in the brain.

The researchers say the active ingredient in rosemary, known as carnosic acid, can protect the brain from stroke and neurodegeneration due to injurious free radicals. These free radicals are believed to contribute not only to stroke and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s, but also to the ill effects of normal aging on the brain, the researchers say.

"This works through a mechanism known as redox chemistry in which electrons are transferred from one molecule to another in order to activate the body’s own defense system," Lipton says in a statement.

The findings are published in The Journal of Neurochemistry and Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

Tooth Troubles Could Raise Dementia Risk

THURSDAY, Oct. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Tooth loss and mouth illnesses may boost the risk of dementia later in life, U.S. research shows.

A team at the University of Kentucky analyzed the dental records and annual cognitive test results of 144 participants, ages 75 to 98, in the Nun Study, an examination of aging and Alzheimer's disease among sisters of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

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Of participants "who did not have dementia at the first examination (of annual exams over a 12-year period), those with few teeth -- zero to nine -- had an increased risk of developing dementia during the study, compared with those who had 10 or more teeth," the study authors wrote in the October issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association.

The team offered several possible reasons for this association, including periodontal disease, early-life nutritional deficiencies, and infections or chronic diseases that may result simultaneously in tooth loss and brain damage.

Further research is needed to confirm whether there is a direct link between tooth loss and increased risk of dementia, the researchers said.

"It is not clear from our findings whether the association is causal or casual," they wrote.

-- Robert Preidt
Link to this article

Imaging Alzheimer's Disease

A new 3-D brain imaging technique has given researchers a structured look at brain damage caused by Alzheimer's disease, which now affects about 4.5 million Americans.
The team of University of California Los Angeles researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 24 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI)—or decreased mental function not caused by disease—and 25 others with mild Alzheimer’s disease. The research team found that patients with mild Alzheimer’s had 10 to 20 percent more atrophy, or damage, in cortical areas of the brain than did MCI

Alzheimer's program is one from the art

By Kathleen Fackelmann, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — A small group gathers at Picasso's Girl Before a Mirror in a hushed gallery at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.
David Green, 84, takes one look and says, "Now there's a two-faced woman."

Tour guide Francesca Rosenberg immediately shoots back, "Are we all two-faced?" Her question draws laughter and a spontaneous "Oh, my" from Madeline Belgorod, a traditional woman who, according to her son Barry Belgorod, 54, never, ever, gives her age.

The group is off and running with a lively 10-minute discussion that veers from male
cut and paste the address below to view the rest of the story http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-10-16-alzheimers-art_N.html

Researchers On Verge of Blood Test For Alzheimer's Disease

An international team of scientists say they are on the verge of developing the first blood test for Alzheimer's disease which experts hope will help doctors identify patients with the memory-robbing disease in its earliest stages. Experts say the blood test identifies proteins that are unique to people with Alzheimer's and appear years before there are major symptoms. VOA's Jessica Berman reports.
Go to the web address below for the rest of the story
http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-10-14-voa26.cfm

Driven People May Avoid Alzheimer's

By CARLA K. JOHNSON
The Associated Press
Monday, October 1, 2007; 4:01 PM

CHICAGO -- A surprising study of elderly people suggests that those who see themselves as self-disciplined, organized achievers have a lower risk for developing Alzheimer's disease than people who are less conscientious.
click on the link below for the rest of the story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/01/AR2007100101097.html

Alzheimer's Could Be a Third Form of Diabetes

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday October 02, @05:16AM
from the i-forget-why dept.
Atzanteol writes
"Insulin, it turns out, may be as important for the mind as it is for the body. Research in the last few years has raised the possibility that Alzheimer's memory loss could be due to a novel third form of diabetes. Scientists at Northwestern University have discovered why brain insulin signaling — crucial for memory formation — would stop working in Alzheimer's disease."

Eliminate Alzheimer's with Curry Spice

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia activities

by Cathie

A promising breakthrough for the horrible , mind robbing disease called Alzheimers.
The really wonderful thing is that it could be something that is already in your home spice collection.

India produces nearly 100% of the world's turmeric, and consumes 90% of the total amount produced. It stands to reason that if India is unique in its low Alzheimer's Disease incidence, and it is unique in its consumption of turmeric, there may very well be a connection between consuming turmeric and preventing Alzheimer's.

In the Study that was published on July 16th in an online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researches from the David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles and the Human BioMolecular Research Institute in San Diego looked at blood samples of Alzheimer's disease.

In this study they found that a chemical called "bisdemethoxycurcumin" boosted immune cells called macrophages to clear amyloid beta, the protein that forms the brain plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease.

The really exciting thing is "bisdemethoxycurcumin" is the active ingredient in curcuminoids, this is a natural substance that is found in turmeric root, Turmeric is a spice that is found in "Curry" powders.

In preliminary lab tests, the chemical helped rid the blood of a key ingredient in the Alzheimer's brain plaque.

One day it just might be possible to give patients high doses of blood infusions with the curry chemical that will delete brain plaque that already exists and may become a possible cure for even the advance Alzheimers disease.

Does this mean that ,If you eat a lot of this really good and tasty spice or possibly take a "curry" pill every morning that you won't have Alzheimers?

It's not totally clear yet, but the blood infusions of "bisdemethoxycurcumin" just might achieve the right blood level of the curry chemical, this is just a theory at the moment, but it does look very promising.

In the mean time, there are several things that you can do to cut your risk of Alzheimer's Disease.

Stay mentally active.

Be socially involved.

Get Physical exercise.

Eat a brain-healthy diet.

Eat dishes that contain a lot of "Curry" spices. (there were no negative side effects to consuming 2000 to 8000 mg of curry daily)


Related themes: Alzheimer's Awareness Month | Alzheimer's Disease