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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia music activity
US News and World Report
While you can't control your genes, you can improve the other two and lower your risk of dementia
By Deborah Kotz
Posted November 2, 2009
You might think of Alzheimer's disease as a genetic condition that you can do nothing to avoid. But that may not be the case. New research published today in the Archives of General Psychiatry suggests that Alzheimer's is partly driven by inflammation, a process that we do have some control over. In the study of 206 volunteers whose parents developed dementia late in life, Danish researchers found that, compared with those whose parents didn't have Alzheimers, the volunteers were more likely to have high blood pressure and high levels of inflammatory proteins called cytokines
While the researchers note that 60 percent of an individual's Alzheimer's risk
appears to be driven by genes, the rest may be due to changeable lifestyle factors. The researchers write, "Our study shows that high blood pressure and an innate pro-inflammatory cytokine response in middle age significantly contribute to Alzheimer's disease. It is important to realize that early interventions could prevent late-onset Alzheimer's disease." These interventions include screening for:
Hypertension: About 40 percent of those with a parental history of Alzheimer's had high blood pressure—defined as having either a systolic blood pressure
of 139 mm Hg or a diastolic blood pressure of 89 mm Hg—compared with 29 percent of those who didn't have parents with the disease. High blood pressure appears to speed the development of beta amyloid plaque in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer's.
[Read: How to lower your blood pressure with the DASH diet.]
Inflammation: Pro-inflammatory cytokines were higher in the offspring of Alzheimer's patients than in the control group. Cytokines are thought to contribute to the development of dementia, though it's not known exactly how.
[Here's a diet that will help stave off inflammation.]
Clogged arteries: The ankle-brachial index—which screens for artery disease by measuring the ratio of blood pressure in the lower legs to blood pressure in the arms—tended to be lower in those whose parents had Alzheimer's. This simple, noninvasive test can help alert doctors to your increased risk of both heart disease and Alzheimer's. The protein beta amyloid appears to be involved in the development of plaque in both the brain and the arteries, so taking steps to reduce your heart disease risk may also protect you from Alzheimer's.
A video about Alzheimer's disease
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Guarding your memory (part 2)
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia music activity
JOHNS HOPKINS HEALTH ALERTS
Older people who had better aerobic capacity -- meaning they were in better physical condition at the beginning of the study -- were most likely to have maintained their level of cognitive functioning six years later. People who were otherwise healthy but had poor aerobic capacity had worse cognitive scores after six years.
Physical fitness also influences brain volume. In a study published in the Journal of Gerontology, researchers asked people ages 60–79 to either walk or perform stretching and toning exercises for one hour three times per week for three months. A third group did not exercise. The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the participants' brain volumes before and after the exercise programs. After three months, brain volume had increased significantly among the people who had walked. The biggest increases were in the frontal lobes, the area of higher-order mental activity like memory and attention. Brain volume did not change in the other two groups.
Q. How much exercise is needed for optimal memory and brain preservation and brain health?
Sam: The meta-analysis of exercise programs and executive function found that 30 minutes of moderate activity three times per week had significant benefits for brain health. The U.S. Surgeon General and most health organizations recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on most days of the week to maintain good health.
Brisk walking is a popular aerobic exercise that has been found to reduce the risk of cognitive decline. In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers asked 2,257 men (ages 71–93 and with no signs of dementia) how far they walked each day. Cognitive assessments performed four to eight years later showed that the men who walked less than a quarter mile a day were nearly twice as likely to have developed dementia as those who walked two miles or more each day.
In the same issue of the journal, a study of 16,466 women found that regular exercise (including walking) reduced the risk of cognitive impairment by 20%, and the more exercise, the better. Women who exercised at least 1.5 hours per week showed less cognitive decline than those who walked 40 minutes or less each week.
Sandra: If you do a half hour to 45 minutes of exercise three times a week, you are well into the effective range. You don't have to spend an enormous amount of time exercising to benefit. Although there's no statistical evidence right now that more exercise would be any better for your brain, it wouldn't hurt. I think we could say with some confidence that it would be better for your heart, so my best guess is that it would be better for your brain, too.
Q. What's the link among exercise, stroke, and memory protection?
Sam: Exercise can dramatically reduce your risk of stroke, which is the brain equivalent of a heart attack. In the most common type of stroke, a blocked blood vessel prevents blood flow to a particular brain region, leading to neuron death and dysfunction. If you survive a stroke, you have a significantly increased risk of cognitive impairment, memory loss, and AD. A report from the Archives of Neurology showed that people with a history of full-blown stroke were about 60% more likely to receive a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease than were those with no history of stroke.
If you have significant risk factors for stroke -- such as hypertension, diabetes, and smoking -- you may have an increased risk of declines in executive function, according to a study published in Stroke that assessed the 10-year risk of stroke in more than 2,000 men and women. Obviously, a major stroke -- for instance, one in which you get a big clot in a big vessel that cuts off blood flow to a significant portion of your brain—can have a major effect on brain function and memory. But so can so-called microstrokes, which are caused by little blood clots that lodge in little vessels and deprive a small part of your brain of blood. A lot of older people have microstrokes, which are a risk factor for subsequent major strokes.
Most people don't even notice microstrokes, which usually affect only a small number of brain cells. Although microstrokes sometimes show up as tiny spots on brain scans, other times they can't be picked up at all. The bottom line is that there's no way to interpret killing off of neurons as being a good thing, even in small numbers. So it seems pretty obvious that doing anything you can to prevent microstrokes -- especially engaging in regular physical exercise -- is essential for protecting your brain and guarding your memory.
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia music activity
JOHNS HOPKINS HEALTH ALERTS
Older people who had better aerobic capacity -- meaning they were in better physical condition at the beginning of the study -- were most likely to have maintained their level of cognitive functioning six years later. People who were otherwise healthy but had poor aerobic capacity had worse cognitive scores after six years.
Physical fitness also influences brain volume. In a study published in the Journal of Gerontology, researchers asked people ages 60–79 to either walk or perform stretching and toning exercises for one hour three times per week for three months. A third group did not exercise. The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the participants' brain volumes before and after the exercise programs. After three months, brain volume had increased significantly among the people who had walked. The biggest increases were in the frontal lobes, the area of higher-order mental activity like memory and attention. Brain volume did not change in the other two groups.
Q. How much exercise is needed for optimal memory and brain preservation and brain health?
Sam: The meta-analysis of exercise programs and executive function found that 30 minutes of moderate activity three times per week had significant benefits for brain health. The U.S. Surgeon General and most health organizations recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on most days of the week to maintain good health.
Brisk walking is a popular aerobic exercise that has been found to reduce the risk of cognitive decline. In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers asked 2,257 men (ages 71–93 and with no signs of dementia) how far they walked each day. Cognitive assessments performed four to eight years later showed that the men who walked less than a quarter mile a day were nearly twice as likely to have developed dementia as those who walked two miles or more each day.
In the same issue of the journal, a study of 16,466 women found that regular exercise (including walking) reduced the risk of cognitive impairment by 20%, and the more exercise, the better. Women who exercised at least 1.5 hours per week showed less cognitive decline than those who walked 40 minutes or less each week.
Sandra: If you do a half hour to 45 minutes of exercise three times a week, you are well into the effective range. You don't have to spend an enormous amount of time exercising to benefit. Although there's no statistical evidence right now that more exercise would be any better for your brain, it wouldn't hurt. I think we could say with some confidence that it would be better for your heart, so my best guess is that it would be better for your brain, too.
Q. What's the link among exercise, stroke, and memory protection?
Sam: Exercise can dramatically reduce your risk of stroke, which is the brain equivalent of a heart attack. In the most common type of stroke, a blocked blood vessel prevents blood flow to a particular brain region, leading to neuron death and dysfunction. If you survive a stroke, you have a significantly increased risk of cognitive impairment, memory loss, and AD. A report from the Archives of Neurology showed that people with a history of full-blown stroke were about 60% more likely to receive a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease than were those with no history of stroke.
If you have significant risk factors for stroke -- such as hypertension, diabetes, and smoking -- you may have an increased risk of declines in executive function, according to a study published in Stroke that assessed the 10-year risk of stroke in more than 2,000 men and women. Obviously, a major stroke -- for instance, one in which you get a big clot in a big vessel that cuts off blood flow to a significant portion of your brain—can have a major effect on brain function and memory. But so can so-called microstrokes, which are caused by little blood clots that lodge in little vessels and deprive a small part of your brain of blood. A lot of older people have microstrokes, which are a risk factor for subsequent major strokes.
Most people don't even notice microstrokes, which usually affect only a small number of brain cells. Although microstrokes sometimes show up as tiny spots on brain scans, other times they can't be picked up at all. The bottom line is that there's no way to interpret killing off of neurons as being a good thing, even in small numbers. So it seems pretty obvious that doing anything you can to prevent microstrokes -- especially engaging in regular physical exercise -- is essential for protecting your brain and guarding your memory.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Guarding Your Memory
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia music activity
JOHNS HOPKINS HEALTH ALERTS!
What is the single most important thing people can do to protect their brains and guard their memory? In this article from the Johns Hopkins Memory Bulletin, Sandra Aamodt, Ph.D and Sam Wang, Ph.D answer this important question.
Q. What is the single most important thing people can do to protect their brains and guard their memory?
Sam: The answer is simple and surprising. It's physical exercise, especially the kind that raises your heart rate and makes you sweat. It's not known exactly why exercise works, but the best idea is that it improves blood flow to the brain. It also stimulates the secretion of neurotrophins, which are signaling molecules that help neurons grow.
A recent meta-analysis of 18 studies reports that a physical exercise program -- even one started when people are in their 70s -- can significantly boost executive function. In this case, the effect size is quite large. To return to our example, if you are an average person out of a group of 20, which would rank you as number 10, exercise can improve your rank to number five -- a huge improvement.
Sandra: What's important to remember is that there have been actual intervention studies reporting that exercise programs can significantly improve executive function and the ability to plan and execute behaviors. A meta-analysis of 18 studies published in Psychological Science concluded that a variety of physical exercise programs improved executive function substantially. Another study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found evidence that exercise also protects cognitive ability.
Older people who had.....the rest tomorrow
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia music activity
JOHNS HOPKINS HEALTH ALERTS!
What is the single most important thing people can do to protect their brains and guard their memory? In this article from the Johns Hopkins Memory Bulletin, Sandra Aamodt, Ph.D and Sam Wang, Ph.D answer this important question.
Q. What is the single most important thing people can do to protect their brains and guard their memory?
Sam: The answer is simple and surprising. It's physical exercise, especially the kind that raises your heart rate and makes you sweat. It's not known exactly why exercise works, but the best idea is that it improves blood flow to the brain. It also stimulates the secretion of neurotrophins, which are signaling molecules that help neurons grow.
A recent meta-analysis of 18 studies reports that a physical exercise program -- even one started when people are in their 70s -- can significantly boost executive function. In this case, the effect size is quite large. To return to our example, if you are an average person out of a group of 20, which would rank you as number 10, exercise can improve your rank to number five -- a huge improvement.
Sandra: What's important to remember is that there have been actual intervention studies reporting that exercise programs can significantly improve executive function and the ability to plan and execute behaviors. A meta-analysis of 18 studies published in Psychological Science concluded that a variety of physical exercise programs improved executive function substantially. Another study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found evidence that exercise also protects cognitive ability.
Older people who had.....the rest tomorrow
Friday, November 27, 2009
Natural Supplements to Prevent Senile Dementia
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
eHow
No one knows exactly how to prevent senile dementia, but some nutritional supplements may be advantageous, especially if the dementia is caused by low amounts of essential nutrients in your blood. Eating a healthy diet and taking some natural substances may help stave off this mind-robbing condition even if you have normal amounts of nutrients in your blood. Consult with your doctor before taking any supplements
Senile dementia is the loss of intellectual ability that is related to old age. Senile dementia is a group of symptoms associated with a gradual memory loss, decreasing communication ability and increasing abnormal behavior. Senile dementia is caused by the destruction of the brain cells. There are some natural supplements that seem to prevent this from happening.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D deficiency contributes to the risk of developing dementia as well as other diseases which are risk factors for dementia. Get Vitamin D from exposure to the sun or by taking a Vitamin D supplement. Talk to your doctor about the correct amount you should take for your age and body type.
B Vitamins
Vitamin B12 deficiency is common in older adults. Older people have trouble digesting B12 rich foods and absorbing B12. Low levels of B12 can cause memory problems. Getting B12 injections may be necessary if you do not absorb enough B12 from your diet.
Lack of vitamin B6, can also develop into a dementia that can be reversed. Most people older than 50 need 1.7 micrograms of Vitamin B6 a day. Over 200 micrograms a day is toxic. Many things influence how much B6 is absorbed.
Turmeric
The spice turmeric is an read all of.....Natural Supplements to Prevent Senile Dementia
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
eHow
No one knows exactly how to prevent senile dementia, but some nutritional supplements may be advantageous, especially if the dementia is caused by low amounts of essential nutrients in your blood. Eating a healthy diet and taking some natural substances may help stave off this mind-robbing condition even if you have normal amounts of nutrients in your blood. Consult with your doctor before taking any supplements
Senile dementia is the loss of intellectual ability that is related to old age. Senile dementia is a group of symptoms associated with a gradual memory loss, decreasing communication ability and increasing abnormal behavior. Senile dementia is caused by the destruction of the brain cells. There are some natural supplements that seem to prevent this from happening.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D deficiency contributes to the risk of developing dementia as well as other diseases which are risk factors for dementia. Get Vitamin D from exposure to the sun or by taking a Vitamin D supplement. Talk to your doctor about the correct amount you should take for your age and body type.
B Vitamins
Vitamin B12 deficiency is common in older adults. Older people have trouble digesting B12 rich foods and absorbing B12. Low levels of B12 can cause memory problems. Getting B12 injections may be necessary if you do not absorb enough B12 from your diet.
Lack of vitamin B6, can also develop into a dementia that can be reversed. Most people older than 50 need 1.7 micrograms of Vitamin B6 a day. Over 200 micrograms a day is toxic. Many things influence how much B6 is absorbed.
Turmeric
The spice turmeric is an read all of.....Natural Supplements to Prevent Senile Dementia
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The Most Common Cause of Dementia
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
What Is Dementia?
Dementia, an abnormal brain condition, is when your brain cells progressively die, causing memory loss, trouble thinking, learning and perceiving, as well as problems with behavior. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. Scientist have not identified any single reason why the brain cells of people with Alzheimer's disease die, but they know some risk factors that increase your chances of getting Alzheimer's disease. They also know that the accumulation of two abnormal proteins in the brain plays a role in causing Alzheimer's disease.
Controlable Risk Factors
Serious head injuries increase your chances of developing Alzheimer's disease. To protect your head from injury, buckle your seat belt when you are riding in a car, wear a helmet when you participate in sports and keep clutter to a minimum in your home.
Keep your heart and blood vessels healthy too, because your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease increases from having conditions that damage your heart or blood vessels, such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Work with your doctor if you have any of these conditions.
Findings of research reported in July 2009 at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Vienna show that living a healthy lifestyle diminishes your chances of getting Alzheimer's disease. This means maintaining a normal weight, avoiding tobacco, staying socially active and exercising your mind and body regularly.
If you suspect you may have Alzheimer's disease, make sure to get checked out by a doctor because some diseases and underlying conditions cause symptoms similar to Alzheimer's disease. These include vitamin B12 deficiency, malnutrition, hypothyroidism and hypoglycemia.
Uncontrollable Risk Factors
As you age, your....read all of The Most Common Cause of Dementia
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
What Is Dementia?
Dementia, an abnormal brain condition, is when your brain cells progressively die, causing memory loss, trouble thinking, learning and perceiving, as well as problems with behavior. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. Scientist have not identified any single reason why the brain cells of people with Alzheimer's disease die, but they know some risk factors that increase your chances of getting Alzheimer's disease. They also know that the accumulation of two abnormal proteins in the brain plays a role in causing Alzheimer's disease.
Controlable Risk Factors
Serious head injuries increase your chances of developing Alzheimer's disease. To protect your head from injury, buckle your seat belt when you are riding in a car, wear a helmet when you participate in sports and keep clutter to a minimum in your home.
Keep your heart and blood vessels healthy too, because your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease increases from having conditions that damage your heart or blood vessels, such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Work with your doctor if you have any of these conditions.
Findings of research reported in July 2009 at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Vienna show that living a healthy lifestyle diminishes your chances of getting Alzheimer's disease. This means maintaining a normal weight, avoiding tobacco, staying socially active and exercising your mind and body regularly.
If you suspect you may have Alzheimer's disease, make sure to get checked out by a doctor because some diseases and underlying conditions cause symptoms similar to Alzheimer's disease. These include vitamin B12 deficiency, malnutrition, hypothyroidism and hypoglycemia.
Uncontrollable Risk Factors
As you age, your....read all of The Most Common Cause of Dementia
Monday, November 23, 2009
How to Talk to a Person With Dementia
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
Over 5.3 million Americans suffer from dementia reports the Alzheimer's Association. You may have a loved one or client with dementia. As dementia progresses, talking with him or her becomes more challenging Following a few simple steps allow you to have a positive encounter and will improve the comminication between you and a person with dementia. Understand some moments are better than others and what works one day may not work the next.
read all about How to Talk to a Person With Dementia
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
Over 5.3 million Americans suffer from dementia reports the Alzheimer's Association. You may have a loved one or client with dementia. As dementia progresses, talking with him or her becomes more challenging Following a few simple steps allow you to have a positive encounter and will improve the comminication between you and a person with dementia. Understand some moments are better than others and what works one day may not work the next.
read all about How to Talk to a Person With Dementia
Sunday, November 22, 2009
How to Teach Others About Alzheimer's Disease
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
eHow
According to the Alzheimer's Association, as of July 2009, more than 5.3 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Stephen DeKosky, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh, says that over the next 25 years, the number of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease may double. With this in mind, it's time for you to learn about this mind-robbing disease. After you do, teach others about it.
1Learn about Alzheimer's disease. Before you can teach others, you need to be knowledgeable about the disease yourself. The Alzheimer's Association discusses the latest information about the disease on its website.
Step 2Share information with your audience in a way they can understand. The way you teach each group the information changes depending on your audience. Children need uncomplicated, simple-to-understand information; adults can assimilate more detailed data.
Step 3Teach how lifestyle changes can delay or prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Two studies published recently in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" say that there is strong evidence that long-term healthy lifestyle habits may reduce the risk of mental decline in old age.
Healthy lifestyle habits include eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish and whole grains, exercising both mentally and physically and eliminating bad health habits, such as smoking.
Step 4Visit an Alzheimer's Unit with permission. Your students see first hand what Alzheimer's disease does to people. At the same time, you provide a pleasant diversion for the unit's residents.
Step 5Provide.......read all about How to Teach Others About Alzheimer's Disease
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
eHow
According to the Alzheimer's Association, as of July 2009, more than 5.3 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Stephen DeKosky, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh, says that over the next 25 years, the number of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease may double. With this in mind, it's time for you to learn about this mind-robbing disease. After you do, teach others about it.
1Learn about Alzheimer's disease. Before you can teach others, you need to be knowledgeable about the disease yourself. The Alzheimer's Association discusses the latest information about the disease on its website.
Step 2Share information with your audience in a way they can understand. The way you teach each group the information changes depending on your audience. Children need uncomplicated, simple-to-understand information; adults can assimilate more detailed data.
Step 3Teach how lifestyle changes can delay or prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Two studies published recently in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" say that there is strong evidence that long-term healthy lifestyle habits may reduce the risk of mental decline in old age.
Healthy lifestyle habits include eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish and whole grains, exercising both mentally and physically and eliminating bad health habits, such as smoking.
Step 4Visit an Alzheimer's Unit with permission. Your students see first hand what Alzheimer's disease does to people. At the same time, you provide a pleasant diversion for the unit's residents.
Step 5Provide.......read all about How to Teach Others About Alzheimer's Disease
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Neuroimaging provides insights into new treatment options for Alzheimer's disease
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
EurekAlert
Contact: Esther Mateike
Investigators report findings in special issue of Behavioural Neurology
With about 35 million people around the world suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD) by the year 2010 and an expectation that these numbers will double every twenty years with approximately 115 million cases by 2050, pressure on healthcare systems worldwide will be intense. In a special issue of the journal Behavioural Neurology, twelve contributions from an international group of researchers discuss imaging techniques that may contribute to early diagnosis and advancements in treatment for this devastating disease.
As life expectancy increases across the globe, the incidence of AD rises dramatically. Currently, AD care costs US Medicare and Medicaid and businesses over $148 billion dollars per year. With an aging population, these costs could potentially triple by 2050. With the prevalence of AD doubling with every decade of life after age 75, merely delaying the onset of AD by five years would produce a 50% decrease in the prevalence of disease.
According to Guest Editor Adam S. Fleisher, M.D., M.A.S., Associate Director of Brain Imaging at the Banner Alzheimer's Institute, "To effectively target prevention therapies at the pre-clinical stage of the disease, we must develop biomarkers which accurately predict future dementia. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) offer great promise as biomarkers for identifying underlying structural, functional and disease specific pathology in AD, MCI and related disease processes."
In this volume, imaging experts present both reviews of the latest developments in this field as well as original work, supporting the conviction that neuroimaging will be of crucial importance in tackling this globally pervasive disease.
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
EurekAlert
Contact: Esther Mateike
Investigators report findings in special issue of Behavioural Neurology
With about 35 million people around the world suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD) by the year 2010 and an expectation that these numbers will double every twenty years with approximately 115 million cases by 2050, pressure on healthcare systems worldwide will be intense. In a special issue of the journal Behavioural Neurology, twelve contributions from an international group of researchers discuss imaging techniques that may contribute to early diagnosis and advancements in treatment for this devastating disease.
As life expectancy increases across the globe, the incidence of AD rises dramatically. Currently, AD care costs US Medicare and Medicaid and businesses over $148 billion dollars per year. With an aging population, these costs could potentially triple by 2050. With the prevalence of AD doubling with every decade of life after age 75, merely delaying the onset of AD by five years would produce a 50% decrease in the prevalence of disease.
According to Guest Editor Adam S. Fleisher, M.D., M.A.S., Associate Director of Brain Imaging at the Banner Alzheimer's Institute, "To effectively target prevention therapies at the pre-clinical stage of the disease, we must develop biomarkers which accurately predict future dementia. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) offer great promise as biomarkers for identifying underlying structural, functional and disease specific pathology in AD, MCI and related disease processes."
In this volume, imaging experts present both reviews of the latest developments in this field as well as original work, supporting the conviction that neuroimaging will be of crucial importance in tackling this globally pervasive disease.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Implications of Alzheimer's Disease
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
eHow
Alzheimer's disease represents a huge health problem because of its significant effect on people with the disease. It takes a toll on their families who often act as caregivers. There are many financial concerns for the family as well. The health care system is burdened with Alzheimer's disease because of its direct and indirect costs, and society as a whole is greatly affected now and will be even more so in the future.
Disease Progression
Alzheimer's disease is a brain function problem. It is a progressive disease that affects memory, thinking skills and behavior enough to affect a person's everyday life. There is no cure. All someone with Alzheimer's disease can hope for is to slow down the progression of the disease and hold on to as many life skills as he can for as long as he can.
Symptoms
For someone with Alzheimer's disease, more than simple lapses of memory occur. Thinking and memory problems affect communication, learning and reasoning. People with Alzheimer's disease cannot remember many things, but they also may not be able to solve problems. For example, they may not to know what to do if something on the stove is burning. Some people with Alzheimer's get angry. Some become depressed. While medications help, eventually those afflicted will become increasingly confused and unable to care for themselves.
Family
Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease is difficult and time consuming. It is draining physically and mentally, whether the person with Alzheimer's disease lives at home or is in a long-term care facility.
If your loved one lives at home, you need to make your home safe. You will need to make the day structured. You will have to deal with difficult behaviors. You will need to change your work schedule or not work at all. You will need a support system and someone to care for your loved one if you cannot.
Often the job of care giving becomes overwhelming. Placing your loved one in a long-term care facility is difficult. You can still be involved in his care, but you can step back when you need to.
Dealing with finances and medical decisions is difficult. Going to a support group can help you deal with the situation.
Health Care
According to the Alzheimer's Association's 2009 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report, total health care costs are more than three times higher for people with Alzheimer's and other dementias than for other people the same age without the disease. The number of people affected by Alzheimer's is growing. Increasing personal costs and Medicare and Medicaid costs already are having a significant impact on the world's economies and health care systems. The burden of caring for those who cannot care for themselves is growing at an alarming rate. The total annual costs per person with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias have been estimated as $1,521 in a low-income country, rising to $4,588 in middle-income countries, and $17,964 in high-income countries. These figures are reported in the April 2007 Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.
Society
About 77 million American baby boomers are reaching the age of greatest risk. Alzheimer's disease and related dementias will impose
....read all of Implications of Alzheimer's Disease
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
eHow
Alzheimer's disease represents a huge health problem because of its significant effect on people with the disease. It takes a toll on their families who often act as caregivers. There are many financial concerns for the family as well. The health care system is burdened with Alzheimer's disease because of its direct and indirect costs, and society as a whole is greatly affected now and will be even more so in the future.
Disease Progression
Alzheimer's disease is a brain function problem. It is a progressive disease that affects memory, thinking skills and behavior enough to affect a person's everyday life. There is no cure. All someone with Alzheimer's disease can hope for is to slow down the progression of the disease and hold on to as many life skills as he can for as long as he can.
Symptoms
For someone with Alzheimer's disease, more than simple lapses of memory occur. Thinking and memory problems affect communication, learning and reasoning. People with Alzheimer's disease cannot remember many things, but they also may not be able to solve problems. For example, they may not to know what to do if something on the stove is burning. Some people with Alzheimer's get angry. Some become depressed. While medications help, eventually those afflicted will become increasingly confused and unable to care for themselves.
Family
Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease is difficult and time consuming. It is draining physically and mentally, whether the person with Alzheimer's disease lives at home or is in a long-term care facility.
If your loved one lives at home, you need to make your home safe. You will need to make the day structured. You will have to deal with difficult behaviors. You will need to change your work schedule or not work at all. You will need a support system and someone to care for your loved one if you cannot.
Often the job of care giving becomes overwhelming. Placing your loved one in a long-term care facility is difficult. You can still be involved in his care, but you can step back when you need to.
Dealing with finances and medical decisions is difficult. Going to a support group can help you deal with the situation.
Health Care
According to the Alzheimer's Association's 2009 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report, total health care costs are more than three times higher for people with Alzheimer's and other dementias than for other people the same age without the disease. The number of people affected by Alzheimer's is growing. Increasing personal costs and Medicare and Medicaid costs already are having a significant impact on the world's economies and health care systems. The burden of caring for those who cannot care for themselves is growing at an alarming rate. The total annual costs per person with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias have been estimated as $1,521 in a low-income country, rising to $4,588 in middle-income countries, and $17,964 in high-income countries. These figures are reported in the April 2007 Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.
Society
About 77 million American baby boomers are reaching the age of greatest risk. Alzheimer's disease and related dementias will impose
....read all of Implications of Alzheimer's Disease
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Brain Exercises for Dementia
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
eHow
Dementia, a condition affecting the brain, causes loss in memory and thinking skills. Dementia gets worse over time. The key is slowing down progression of this condition. One way to do this is to engage those with dementia in mentally stimulating brain exercises. Exercising your brain throughout your life is beneficial if you succumb to dementia. After your loved one has dementia, the trick is finding the right activities so your loved one keeps functioning at the highest possible level.
Predementia
According to a study published in the August 4, 2009, issue of Neurology, people who devote effort to activities that exercise the brain, such as reading, writing, and playing card games, may delay the rapid memory decline that occurs if they later develop dementia. The study found that for every activity a person participated in, the onset of rapid memory loss in dementia was delayed by 0.18 years.
"The point of accelerated decline was delayed by 1.29 years for the person who participated in 11 activities per week compared to the person who participated in only four activities per week," said study author Charles B. Hall, PhD, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y. This means start engaging in activities that exercise your brain.
Best Exercises
It is best to involve yourself with a variety of activities that challenge you in different ways.You want to enjoy yourself but at the same time make your brain work. Crossword puzzles and other word games are good. If that is your strong suit, try simple activities that are difficult for you. When you have dementia, this will be difficult.The trick is to challenge yourself in different ways.
Different mental exercises build up different parts of your brain, and that allows you to have the best mental functioning possible. Exercise your brain in five areas. They include memory, language, motor skills, problem solving and visual skills. You can buy books that include skills in all these areas. Alternately, go to the library or go online.
Dementia Brain Exercises
You want activities grabbing the attention of the person with dementia. Ideally the activities bring a smile to his face and boost his confidence. You want to establish a routine so doing mentally stimulating activities will be a daily occurrence.
One activity that most.......read all of Brain Exercises for Dementia
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
eHow
Dementia, a condition affecting the brain, causes loss in memory and thinking skills. Dementia gets worse over time. The key is slowing down progression of this condition. One way to do this is to engage those with dementia in mentally stimulating brain exercises. Exercising your brain throughout your life is beneficial if you succumb to dementia. After your loved one has dementia, the trick is finding the right activities so your loved one keeps functioning at the highest possible level.
Predementia
According to a study published in the August 4, 2009, issue of Neurology, people who devote effort to activities that exercise the brain, such as reading, writing, and playing card games, may delay the rapid memory decline that occurs if they later develop dementia. The study found that for every activity a person participated in, the onset of rapid memory loss in dementia was delayed by 0.18 years.
"The point of accelerated decline was delayed by 1.29 years for the person who participated in 11 activities per week compared to the person who participated in only four activities per week," said study author Charles B. Hall, PhD, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y. This means start engaging in activities that exercise your brain.
Best Exercises
It is best to involve yourself with a variety of activities that challenge you in different ways.You want to enjoy yourself but at the same time make your brain work. Crossword puzzles and other word games are good. If that is your strong suit, try simple activities that are difficult for you. When you have dementia, this will be difficult.The trick is to challenge yourself in different ways.
Different mental exercises build up different parts of your brain, and that allows you to have the best mental functioning possible. Exercise your brain in five areas. They include memory, language, motor skills, problem solving and visual skills. You can buy books that include skills in all these areas. Alternately, go to the library or go online.
Dementia Brain Exercises
You want activities grabbing the attention of the person with dementia. Ideally the activities bring a smile to his face and boost his confidence. You want to establish a routine so doing mentally stimulating activities will be a daily occurrence.
One activity that most.......read all of Brain Exercises for Dementia
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
MEDPEDIA PROJECT EXPANDS PLATFORM TO INCLUDE Q&A, NEWS & ANALYSIS AND ALERTS (PART 2)
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
About The Medpedia Project
The Medpedia Project is a long-term, worldwide project to evolve a new model for sharing and advancing knowledge about health, medicine and the body among medical professionals and the general public. This model is founded on providing a free online technology platform that is: easy to understand, collaborative, interdisciplinary, transparent, and that elevates the best medical information on the Web. The result of this effort will be to transform how both medical professionals and the general public acquire information about health and connect with each other.
Harvard Medical School, the Stanford School of Medicine, The University of Michigan Medical School, the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, and health organizations around the world have collaborated with Medpedia. Many organizations have contributed seed content free of copyright restrictions. Other organizations, such as University of Michigan Medical School are encouraging members of their faculty to edit the Medpedia encyclopedia. Other health and medical organizations that are supporting Medpedia.
Medpedia.com, Inc. is funded and managed by Ooga Labs (www.oogalabs.com) a technology greenhouse in San Francisco.
About The Medpedia Project
The content on or accessible through Medpedia.com is for informational purposes only. Medpedia is not a substitute for professional advice or expert medical services from a qualified health care professional. Organizations associated with Medpedia are not responsible for the content that appears in the editable pages of Medpedia, which can contain content submitted by other health professionals or other persons, including those who may not be affiliated with these organizations.
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
About The Medpedia Project
The Medpedia Project is a long-term, worldwide project to evolve a new model for sharing and advancing knowledge about health, medicine and the body among medical professionals and the general public. This model is founded on providing a free online technology platform that is: easy to understand, collaborative, interdisciplinary, transparent, and that elevates the best medical information on the Web. The result of this effort will be to transform how both medical professionals and the general public acquire information about health and connect with each other.
Harvard Medical School, the Stanford School of Medicine, The University of Michigan Medical School, the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, and health organizations around the world have collaborated with Medpedia. Many organizations have contributed seed content free of copyright restrictions. Other organizations, such as University of Michigan Medical School are encouraging members of their faculty to edit the Medpedia encyclopedia. Other health and medical organizations that are supporting Medpedia.
Medpedia.com, Inc. is funded and managed by Ooga Labs (www.oogalabs.com) a technology greenhouse in San Francisco.
About The Medpedia Project
The content on or accessible through Medpedia.com is for informational purposes only. Medpedia is not a substitute for professional advice or expert medical services from a qualified health care professional. Organizations associated with Medpedia are not responsible for the content that appears in the editable pages of Medpedia, which can contain content submitted by other health professionals or other persons, including those who may not be affiliated with these organizations.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
MEDPEDIA PROJECT EXPANDS PLATFORM TO INCLUDE Q&A, NEWS & ANALYSIS AND ALERTS
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
New Tools for Sharing and Advancing Medical Knowledge
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (November 10, 2009) – The Medpedia Project today announced the addition of three new services on the beta version of the technology platform for the worldwide health community: Medpedia Answers for asking and answering medical and health questions; Medpedia Alerts for displaying real-time medical and health news alerts; and Medpedia News & Analysis for sharing medical news and analysis. These free resources are available today at www.medpedia.com.
Medpedia Answers collects questions and answers about health, medicine and the body. Each question is tagged with both MeSH and plain-English headings for better discovery. Each question is also pushed into relevant areas throughout the Medpedia Project such as patient communities and article pages. Questions and answers are for general information purposes only, not as a substitute for in-person evaluation or specific professional advice. Anyone with a profile on Medpedia can participate. The Medpedia Answers Top Contributors list gives recognition to the most active contributors.
Medpedia Alerts is a platform for aggregating and distributing health and medical news alerts. Organizations with real time alerts simply plug their feed into the platform -- joining other feeds such as the CDC, the Red Cross and the American Heart Association – to attract more readers who can subscribe to custom aggregated alerts feeds for free. In addition, any member of the Medpedia community can submit an alert in the Medpedia Alert Stream, or submit a website or Twitter account to be integrated into the platform on an ongoing basis. Submissions to the Alerts platform are reviewed by the community and if approved, are included in the appropriate Alert categories.
Medpedia News & Analysis allows high-quality health and medical content sources to self organize by category and keywords on Medpedia, and then inter-link with Article pages and other parts of Medpedia. Sources reflect a wide range of professional, academic and scientific topics, and over 150 sources have added themselves and been accepted by the Medpedia community onto the News & Analysis platform. Content in the Medpedia News & Analysis section is not part of the (CC-BY-SA) license of Medpedia and copyright is held soley by the author(s). Organizations and individuals who regularly publish medical and health content online are encouraged to submit their source to the News & Analysis section of Medpedia at http://www.medpedia.com/news_analysis.
These three new interrelated tools are part of the Medpedia platform which provides medical professionals and organizations a central place to record their knowledge and receive national and international recognition and visibility for their expertise. Medpedia, which launched in February 2009, also includes a collaborative knowledge base, a Professional Network and Directory for health professionals and organizations, and Communities of Interest in which medical professionals and non-professionals can share information about conditions, treatments, lifestyle choices, etc. Since the announcement of The Medpedia Project in February 2009, thousands of people have become a part of the community and thousands of physicians, researchers, organizations and experts have begun contributing to the knowledge base.
While only physicians and Ph.D.s in a biomedical/health field can edit the Medpedia knowledge base directly, consumers have an important role to play. They can suggest changes to the Article pages, and they can participate in Communities, and they can ask and answer questions.
About The Medpedia Project.....next time
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
New Tools for Sharing and Advancing Medical Knowledge
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (November 10, 2009) – The Medpedia Project today announced the addition of three new services on the beta version of the technology platform for the worldwide health community: Medpedia Answers for asking and answering medical and health questions; Medpedia Alerts for displaying real-time medical and health news alerts; and Medpedia News & Analysis for sharing medical news and analysis. These free resources are available today at www.medpedia.com.
Medpedia Answers collects questions and answers about health, medicine and the body. Each question is tagged with both MeSH and plain-English headings for better discovery. Each question is also pushed into relevant areas throughout the Medpedia Project such as patient communities and article pages. Questions and answers are for general information purposes only, not as a substitute for in-person evaluation or specific professional advice. Anyone with a profile on Medpedia can participate. The Medpedia Answers Top Contributors list gives recognition to the most active contributors.
Medpedia Alerts is a platform for aggregating and distributing health and medical news alerts. Organizations with real time alerts simply plug their feed into the platform -- joining other feeds such as the CDC, the Red Cross and the American Heart Association – to attract more readers who can subscribe to custom aggregated alerts feeds for free. In addition, any member of the Medpedia community can submit an alert in the Medpedia Alert Stream, or submit a website or Twitter account to be integrated into the platform on an ongoing basis. Submissions to the Alerts platform are reviewed by the community and if approved, are included in the appropriate Alert categories.
Medpedia News & Analysis allows high-quality health and medical content sources to self organize by category and keywords on Medpedia, and then inter-link with Article pages and other parts of Medpedia. Sources reflect a wide range of professional, academic and scientific topics, and over 150 sources have added themselves and been accepted by the Medpedia community onto the News & Analysis platform. Content in the Medpedia News & Analysis section is not part of the (CC-BY-SA) license of Medpedia and copyright is held soley by the author(s). Organizations and individuals who regularly publish medical and health content online are encouraged to submit their source to the News & Analysis section of Medpedia at http://www.medpedia.com/news_analysis.
These three new interrelated tools are part of the Medpedia platform which provides medical professionals and organizations a central place to record their knowledge and receive national and international recognition and visibility for their expertise. Medpedia, which launched in February 2009, also includes a collaborative knowledge base, a Professional Network and Directory for health professionals and organizations, and Communities of Interest in which medical professionals and non-professionals can share information about conditions, treatments, lifestyle choices, etc. Since the announcement of The Medpedia Project in February 2009, thousands of people have become a part of the community and thousands of physicians, researchers, organizations and experts have begun contributing to the knowledge base.
While only physicians and Ph.D.s in a biomedical/health field can edit the Medpedia knowledge base directly, consumers have an important role to play. They can suggest changes to the Article pages, and they can participate in Communities, and they can ask and answer questions.
About The Medpedia Project.....next time
Monday, November 16, 2009
Trouble thinking? Better see the dentist
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Good oral care such as regular brushing, flossing and trips to the dentist, may help aging adults keep their thinking skills intact, according to a U.S. study.
Research has already established an association between poor oral health and heart disease, stroke and diabetes, as well as Alzheimer's disease.
But researchers from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York found gum disease could also influence brain function through several mechanisms, such as causing inflammation throughout the body, a risk factor for loss of mental function.
The study based on adults aged 60 and older found those with the highest levels of the gum disease-causing pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis were three times more likely to have trouble recalling a three-word sequence after a period of time.
The study based on adults aged 60 and older found those with the highest levels of the gum disease-causing pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis were three times more likely to have trouble recalling a three-word sequence after a period of time.
The study, led by Dr. James Noble, also found that adults with the highest levels of this pathogen were two times more likely to fail three-digit reverse subtraction tests.
"Despite the association of periodontitis with stroke and shared risk factors between stroke and dementia, to our knowledge, no epidemiological studies have investigated periodontitis relative to cognition," the researchers wrote in their study.
"Although results presented here are preliminary and inconclusive, a growing body of evidence supports exploration of a possible association between poor oral health and incident dementia."
The study, reported in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, was based on more than 2,350 men and women who were tested for periodontitis and completed numerous thinking skills tests as part of a national survey.
Overall 5.7 percent of the adults had trouble completing certain memory tasks, 6.5 percent had impaired delayed recall, and 22.1 percent had trouble with serial subtractions.
But those with the levels of the pathogen were nearly three times more likely to struggle with the verbal memory tests, and twice as likely to fail on both delayed verbal recall and subtraction tests.
"Although our results are preliminary, they suggest that further exploration of relationships between oral health and cognition is warranted," they concluded.
(Reporting by Joene Hendry of Reuters Health, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Good oral care such as regular brushing, flossing and trips to the dentist, may help aging adults keep their thinking skills intact, according to a U.S. study.
Research has already established an association between poor oral health and heart disease, stroke and diabetes, as well as Alzheimer's disease.
But researchers from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York found gum disease could also influence brain function through several mechanisms, such as causing inflammation throughout the body, a risk factor for loss of mental function.
The study based on adults aged 60 and older found those with the highest levels of the gum disease-causing pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis were three times more likely to have trouble recalling a three-word sequence after a period of time.
The study based on adults aged 60 and older found those with the highest levels of the gum disease-causing pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis were three times more likely to have trouble recalling a three-word sequence after a period of time.
The study, led by Dr. James Noble, also found that adults with the highest levels of this pathogen were two times more likely to fail three-digit reverse subtraction tests.
"Despite the association of periodontitis with stroke and shared risk factors between stroke and dementia, to our knowledge, no epidemiological studies have investigated periodontitis relative to cognition," the researchers wrote in their study.
"Although results presented here are preliminary and inconclusive, a growing body of evidence supports exploration of a possible association between poor oral health and incident dementia."
The study, reported in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, was based on more than 2,350 men and women who were tested for periodontitis and completed numerous thinking skills tests as part of a national survey.
Overall 5.7 percent of the adults had trouble completing certain memory tasks, 6.5 percent had impaired delayed recall, and 22.1 percent had trouble with serial subtractions.
But those with the levels of the pathogen were nearly three times more likely to struggle with the verbal memory tests, and twice as likely to fail on both delayed verbal recall and subtraction tests.
"Although our results are preliminary, they suggest that further exploration of relationships between oral health and cognition is warranted," they concluded.
(Reporting by Joene Hendry of Reuters Health, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Muscle Weakness Linked to Alzheimer's Risk in Seniors
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
Reason for association unknown, but stroke is one possibility, researchers say
(HealthDay News) -- Elderly people with weak muscles may be at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago followed 970 older adults (average age 80) who didn't have dementia at the start of the study. The participants underwent a number of evaluations, including tests of cognitive function and muscle strength.
During an average 3.6 years of follow-up, 138 (14.2 percent) of the participants developed Alzheimer's disease. Those with the highest levels of muscle strength at the start of the study were 61 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's than those with the weakest muscles, the researchers found.
The link between muscle strength and Alzheimer's remained even after the researchers accounted for other factors, such as body mass index and physical activity levels.
The researchers also found that weak muscles were associated with increased risk of mild cognitive impairment, the earliest sign of cognitive decline.
"Overall, these data show that greater muscle strength is associated with a decreased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment and suggest that a common pathogenesis may underlie loss of muscle strength and cognition in aging," wrote study author Patricia A. Boyle and colleagues.
Although the reason for the association between muscle strength and Alzheimer's risk isn't known, the study authors noted that there are a number of possibilities. Damage to the mitochondria, which produce energy for cells, may contribute to loss of both muscle strength and cognitive function. A second possibility is that decreased strength could be caused by stroke or other central nervous system disorders that also may reveal subclinical Alzheimer's disease, they suggested.
The study appears in the November issue of the journal Archives of Neurology.
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
Reason for association unknown, but stroke is one possibility, researchers say
(HealthDay News) -- Elderly people with weak muscles may be at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago followed 970 older adults (average age 80) who didn't have dementia at the start of the study. The participants underwent a number of evaluations, including tests of cognitive function and muscle strength.
During an average 3.6 years of follow-up, 138 (14.2 percent) of the participants developed Alzheimer's disease. Those with the highest levels of muscle strength at the start of the study were 61 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's than those with the weakest muscles, the researchers found.
The link between muscle strength and Alzheimer's remained even after the researchers accounted for other factors, such as body mass index and physical activity levels.
The researchers also found that weak muscles were associated with increased risk of mild cognitive impairment, the earliest sign of cognitive decline.
"Overall, these data show that greater muscle strength is associated with a decreased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment and suggest that a common pathogenesis may underlie loss of muscle strength and cognition in aging," wrote study author Patricia A. Boyle and colleagues.
Although the reason for the association between muscle strength and Alzheimer's risk isn't known, the study authors noted that there are a number of possibilities. Damage to the mitochondria, which produce energy for cells, may contribute to loss of both muscle strength and cognitive function. A second possibility is that decreased strength could be caused by stroke or other central nervous system disorders that also may reveal subclinical Alzheimer's disease, they suggested.
The study appears in the November issue of the journal Archives of Neurology.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Screening for Alzheimer's can be complex process (part 2)
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
Newsday.com
By DENISE M. BONILLA denise.bonilla@newsday.com
Even some doctors are hesitant to make the diagnosis, experts said.
"It has been said that because there is no cure physicians don't want to go to the trouble of coming up with a diagnosis and leave with the families with this new label," said Dr. Gisele Wolf-Klein, director of geriatric education for the North Shore LIJ health system. "But we don't have cures for a lot of diseases that we deal with.. . . I think in many ways it is incumbent upon the physician to come up with a diagnosis that will explain some of the patient's symptoms."
Wolf-Klein said it's also important to get an early diagnosis so that the patient can be started on drug therapies that can slow down the progress of the disease.
"What I tell my families is if I can slow down the progress so that mom is not that much worse a year from now than she is today, would that be all right for you?" Wolf-Klein said. "And of course families are delighted with that."
But many physicians are untrained in diagnosing Alzheimer's or even in the nature of the disease itself, Wolf-Klein said.
"The medical schools are so overwhelmed by the demands of the curriculum that geriatrics is often relegated to the back burner," Wolf-Klein said. "They could go through four years of training without ever having had a lecture on Alzheimer's disease. So when they move on to their residency problem, they just have absolutely no insight as to how to proceed with a diagnostic work up and the management of a patient with dementia."
Even the methods which doctors use are limited, experts said. Many begin their assessment of cognitive skills with a 30-point test known as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The questions include asking the patient the date, to count backward from 100 by sevens and to copy a drawing of two interlocking pentagons.
Although this test has become the de-facto standard first-step in diagnosis, it can be inaccurate, said Jennifer Manly, associate professor of Neuropsychology in Neurology at the G.H. Sergievsky Center and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University.
"The problem with it is . . . people who are culturally different don't do well on it and it has nothing to do with whether they are demented or not. People who have lower education - nothing to do with whether they are demented or not," Manly said. "People who are culturally in the dominant culture, people who are well-educated, they all do well on that test, even if they have dementia. As a screening measure it's not very sensitive but it is very specific in the people who it's meant to be administered to - well-educated, white, older people."
Doctors and patients alike need to have an understanding that this test is not intended to be a complete diagnostic tool but simply a screening measure, Manly said. "The standard of care is a full neuropsychological test battery and that really is the best thing to do if you have worries about your memory," Manly said.
Tests such as the MMSE can be useful to begin that initial dialogue about dementia, experts said, and it's one of the tools used in the Alzheimer's Foundation of America's National Memory Screening Day. During this event - which takes place on Nov. 17 this year - various sites around the country offer free, confidential memory screenings to those concerned about memory loss.
"If we start this process earlier, it makes the whole course of the illness easier," Vogel said. "If they're not so confused and they're not so threatened and they start to accept and find the right caregiver or we find the right program, the rest of this journey is far simpler."
To find a site for National Memory Screening Day:
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
Newsday.com
By DENISE M. BONILLA denise.bonilla@newsday.com
Even some doctors are hesitant to make the diagnosis, experts said.
"It has been said that because there is no cure physicians don't want to go to the trouble of coming up with a diagnosis and leave with the families with this new label," said Dr. Gisele Wolf-Klein, director of geriatric education for the North Shore LIJ health system. "But we don't have cures for a lot of diseases that we deal with.. . . I think in many ways it is incumbent upon the physician to come up with a diagnosis that will explain some of the patient's symptoms."
Wolf-Klein said it's also important to get an early diagnosis so that the patient can be started on drug therapies that can slow down the progress of the disease.
"What I tell my families is if I can slow down the progress so that mom is not that much worse a year from now than she is today, would that be all right for you?" Wolf-Klein said. "And of course families are delighted with that."
But many physicians are untrained in diagnosing Alzheimer's or even in the nature of the disease itself, Wolf-Klein said.
"The medical schools are so overwhelmed by the demands of the curriculum that geriatrics is often relegated to the back burner," Wolf-Klein said. "They could go through four years of training without ever having had a lecture on Alzheimer's disease. So when they move on to their residency problem, they just have absolutely no insight as to how to proceed with a diagnostic work up and the management of a patient with dementia."
Even the methods which doctors use are limited, experts said. Many begin their assessment of cognitive skills with a 30-point test known as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The questions include asking the patient the date, to count backward from 100 by sevens and to copy a drawing of two interlocking pentagons.
Although this test has become the de-facto standard first-step in diagnosis, it can be inaccurate, said Jennifer Manly, associate professor of Neuropsychology in Neurology at the G.H. Sergievsky Center and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University.
"The problem with it is . . . people who are culturally different don't do well on it and it has nothing to do with whether they are demented or not. People who have lower education - nothing to do with whether they are demented or not," Manly said. "People who are culturally in the dominant culture, people who are well-educated, they all do well on that test, even if they have dementia. As a screening measure it's not very sensitive but it is very specific in the people who it's meant to be administered to - well-educated, white, older people."
Doctors and patients alike need to have an understanding that this test is not intended to be a complete diagnostic tool but simply a screening measure, Manly said. "The standard of care is a full neuropsychological test battery and that really is the best thing to do if you have worries about your memory," Manly said.
Tests such as the MMSE can be useful to begin that initial dialogue about dementia, experts said, and it's one of the tools used in the Alzheimer's Foundation of America's National Memory Screening Day. During this event - which takes place on Nov. 17 this year - various sites around the country offer free, confidential memory screenings to those concerned about memory loss.
"If we start this process earlier, it makes the whole course of the illness easier," Vogel said. "If they're not so confused and they're not so threatened and they start to accept and find the right caregiver or we find the right program, the rest of this journey is far simpler."
To find a site for National Memory Screening Day:
Friday, November 13, 2009
Screening for Alzheimer's can be complex process
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 brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
Newsday.com
By DENISE M. BONILLA denise.bonilla@newsday.com
Quick SummaryThe only way to get a one-hundred percent accurate Alzheimer's diagnosis is an autopsy. But, experts said, using various diagnostic tests, an accurate assessment can be made 95 percent of the time.
The only way to get a one-hundred percent accurate Alzheimer's diagnosis is an autopsy. But, experts said, using various diagnostic tests, an accurate assessment can be made 95 percent of the time. The problem, according to experts, is that the majority of those with Alzheimer's are already years into the disease process by the time they receive a diagnosis.
There are several factors in this delayed diagnosis. One is that symptoms of the disease can be difficult to recognize and many attribute them to the normal signs of aging. Another is that even when symptoms are recognized, there exists a large amount of denial on the part of both the individual and their family members. Finally, experts said, even if the symptoms are recognized and acknowledged, many primary care physicians are largely untrained in the disease and may not check cognitive function or direct patients toward further testing.
"This is a very slow, insidious kind of illness, it starts off in a very subtle kind of way," said Barbara Vogel, program coordinator for the Neuwirth Memory Disorders Program at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks. "I think when somebody's in the earlier stages of the illness, they have some awareness that they're not operating quite as they used to, but they're not ready to admit that something is really going on and they're holding on with both fists trying to control their lives rather than admitting that they're having some difficulty and looking for some assistance."
Because those in the early stages can "cover up" so well, it often takes family members some time to catch on to the changes brought by the disease. But denial plays a part as well, said Teepa Snow, a dementia care specialist and trainer based in North Carolina.
"There's still that, 'So what am I supposed to do?' They're looking for the magic silver bullet," Snow said. "They're looking for that, 'How can I make this go away? How can I make this better? Is there no cure?' And that's a really hard thing. They come often still wanting to know, maybe mom doesn't have it. Maybe this is just real bad forgetfulness."
But often, getting a formal diagnosis can be a tremendous relief, said Darlene Jyringi, program director of the Alzheimer's Disease Assistance Center of Long Island in Stony Brook.
"They think, 'I'm going crazy, something is wrong, I'm going crazy, I'm losing my mind," she said. The minute that the person is told that they have an illness that is causing the symptoms, it sort of takes that fear out of what's happening. 'Oh, there's a reason why it's happening, I'm not going crazy, I'm not losing my mind."
Still, some family members try to protect their loved ones from the news, which is a mistake, Jyringi said.
"Some family caregivers think, 'Well, if the person knows they have this disease they might give up hope," she said. "I think it's important if the person is able, especially for long-term planning. If the person is still in the early stage, they can have a say into what's going to happen to them down the road."
To find a site for National Memory Screening Day:
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
Newsday.com
By DENISE M. BONILLA denise.bonilla@newsday.com
Quick SummaryThe only way to get a one-hundred percent accurate Alzheimer's diagnosis is an autopsy. But, experts said, using various diagnostic tests, an accurate assessment can be made 95 percent of the time.
The only way to get a one-hundred percent accurate Alzheimer's diagnosis is an autopsy. But, experts said, using various diagnostic tests, an accurate assessment can be made 95 percent of the time. The problem, according to experts, is that the majority of those with Alzheimer's are already years into the disease process by the time they receive a diagnosis.
There are several factors in this delayed diagnosis. One is that symptoms of the disease can be difficult to recognize and many attribute them to the normal signs of aging. Another is that even when symptoms are recognized, there exists a large amount of denial on the part of both the individual and their family members. Finally, experts said, even if the symptoms are recognized and acknowledged, many primary care physicians are largely untrained in the disease and may not check cognitive function or direct patients toward further testing.
"This is a very slow, insidious kind of illness, it starts off in a very subtle kind of way," said Barbara Vogel, program coordinator for the Neuwirth Memory Disorders Program at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks. "I think when somebody's in the earlier stages of the illness, they have some awareness that they're not operating quite as they used to, but they're not ready to admit that something is really going on and they're holding on with both fists trying to control their lives rather than admitting that they're having some difficulty and looking for some assistance."
Because those in the early stages can "cover up" so well, it often takes family members some time to catch on to the changes brought by the disease. But denial plays a part as well, said Teepa Snow, a dementia care specialist and trainer based in North Carolina.
"There's still that, 'So what am I supposed to do?' They're looking for the magic silver bullet," Snow said. "They're looking for that, 'How can I make this go away? How can I make this better? Is there no cure?' And that's a really hard thing. They come often still wanting to know, maybe mom doesn't have it. Maybe this is just real bad forgetfulness."
But often, getting a formal diagnosis can be a tremendous relief, said Darlene Jyringi, program director of the Alzheimer's Disease Assistance Center of Long Island in Stony Brook.
"They think, 'I'm going crazy, something is wrong, I'm going crazy, I'm losing my mind," she said. The minute that the person is told that they have an illness that is causing the symptoms, it sort of takes that fear out of what's happening. 'Oh, there's a reason why it's happening, I'm not going crazy, I'm not losing my mind."
Still, some family members try to protect their loved ones from the news, which is a mistake, Jyringi said.
"Some family caregivers think, 'Well, if the person knows they have this disease they might give up hope," she said. "I think it's important if the person is able, especially for long-term planning. If the person is still in the early stage, they can have a say into what's going to happen to them down the road."
To find a site for National Memory Screening Day:
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Dementia Risk Factors Study
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Fresh data on dementia are presented in the report 'Risk of dementia hospitalisation associated with cardiovascular risk factors in midlife and older age: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.' According to recent research published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, "Cardiovascular risk factors are associated with a higher risk of developing dementia. Studies in older populations, however, have often failed to show this relationship."
"We assessed the association between cardiovascular risk factors measured in midlife and risk of being hospitalised with dementia and determined whether this association was modified by age and ethnicity. We studied 11 151 participants in the population-based Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort, aged 46-70 (23% African-Americans) in 1990-2, when participants underwent a physical exam and cognitive testing. Hospitalisations with dementia were ascertained through December 2004. During follow-up, 203 cases of hospitalisation with dementia were identified. Smoking (hazard ratio (HR), 95% CI 1.7, 1.2 to 2.5), hypertension (HR, 95% CI 1.6, 1.2 to 2.2) and diabetes (HR, 95% CI 2.2, 1.6 to 3.0) were strongly associated with dementia, in Caucasians and African-Americans. These associations were stronger when risk factors were measured at a younger age than at an older age. In analyses including updated information on risk factors during follow-up, the HR of dementia in hypertensive versus non-hypertensive participants was 1.8 at age <55 years compared with 1.0 at age 70+ years. Parallel results were observed for diabetes (HR 3.4 in <55, 2.0 in >or=70), smoking (4.8 in <55, 0.5 in >or=70) and hypercholesterolaemia (HR 1.7 in <55, 0.9 in >or=70) CONCLUSION: In this prospective study, smoking, hypertension and diabetes were strongly associated with subsequent risk of hospitalisation with dementia, particularly in middle-aged individuals," wrote A. Alonso and colleagues, University of Minnesota (see also Dementia Risk Factors).
The researchers concluded: "Our results emphasise the importance of early lifestyle modification and risk factor treatment to prevent dementia."
Alonso and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry (Risk of dementia hospitalisation associated with cardiovascular risk factors in midlife and older age: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 2009;80(11):1194-201).
For additional information, contact A. Alonso, University of Minnesota, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, 1300 S 2nd St., Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55416 USA..
The publisher's contact information for the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry is: Springer, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA.
resource Behavior Health Central
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
Fresh data on dementia are presented in the report 'Risk of dementia hospitalisation associated with cardiovascular risk factors in midlife and older age: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.' According to recent research published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, "Cardiovascular risk factors are associated with a higher risk of developing dementia. Studies in older populations, however, have often failed to show this relationship."
"We assessed the association between cardiovascular risk factors measured in midlife and risk of being hospitalised with dementia and determined whether this association was modified by age and ethnicity. We studied 11 151 participants in the population-based Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort, aged 46-70 (23% African-Americans) in 1990-2, when participants underwent a physical exam and cognitive testing. Hospitalisations with dementia were ascertained through December 2004. During follow-up, 203 cases of hospitalisation with dementia were identified. Smoking (hazard ratio (HR), 95% CI 1.7, 1.2 to 2.5), hypertension (HR, 95% CI 1.6, 1.2 to 2.2) and diabetes (HR, 95% CI 2.2, 1.6 to 3.0) were strongly associated with dementia, in Caucasians and African-Americans. These associations were stronger when risk factors were measured at a younger age than at an older age. In analyses including updated information on risk factors during follow-up, the HR of dementia in hypertensive versus non-hypertensive participants was 1.8 at age <55 years compared with 1.0 at age 70+ years. Parallel results were observed for diabetes (HR 3.4 in <55, 2.0 in >or=70), smoking (4.8 in <55, 0.5 in >or=70) and hypercholesterolaemia (HR 1.7 in <55, 0.9 in >or=70) CONCLUSION: In this prospective study, smoking, hypertension and diabetes were strongly associated with subsequent risk of hospitalisation with dementia, particularly in middle-aged individuals," wrote A. Alonso and colleagues, University of Minnesota (see also Dementia Risk Factors).
The researchers concluded: "Our results emphasise the importance of early lifestyle modification and risk factor treatment to prevent dementia."
Alonso and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry (Risk of dementia hospitalisation associated with cardiovascular risk factors in midlife and older age: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 2009;80(11):1194-201).
For additional information, contact A. Alonso, University of Minnesota, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, 1300 S 2nd St., Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55416 USA..
The publisher's contact information for the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry is: Springer, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA.
resource Behavior Health Central
Painkillers May Fight Alzheimer's Disease
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WPXI.com
Patients May Have To Start Treatment Early
Posted: 9:23 am EST November 10, 2009
Over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen or naproxen -- usually sold as Advil and Aleve -- may protect people from Alzheimer's disease, researchers reported.
The finding was based on a study in mice.
The drugs, which are known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, would need to be taken starting at an early age, according to a team at the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway and the Cleveland Clinic.
A news release on the work says that the scientists were looking into something called neuronal cell cycle events, which are an early molecular event that leads to Alzheimer's disease.
The mice were given a molecule that can trigger the neuronal CCEs. When they were treated with NSAIDs, no new CCEs formed, though old ones stayed.
The researchers said that the results are supported by other studies that have indicated that people who took painkillers long term were less likely to get Alzheimer's disease, though it did not seem to have an effect on those who already have mild to moderate symptoms.
The news release did not address any increased risks that people or mice could face from long-term NSAID use
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
WPXI.com
Patients May Have To Start Treatment Early
Posted: 9:23 am EST November 10, 2009
Over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen or naproxen -- usually sold as Advil and Aleve -- may protect people from Alzheimer's disease, researchers reported.
The finding was based on a study in mice.
The drugs, which are known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, would need to be taken starting at an early age, according to a team at the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway and the Cleveland Clinic.
A news release on the work says that the scientists were looking into something called neuronal cell cycle events, which are an early molecular event that leads to Alzheimer's disease.
The mice were given a molecule that can trigger the neuronal CCEs. When they were treated with NSAIDs, no new CCEs formed, though old ones stayed.
The researchers said that the results are supported by other studies that have indicated that people who took painkillers long term were less likely to get Alzheimer's disease, though it did not seem to have an effect on those who already have mild to moderate symptoms.
The news release did not address any increased risks that people or mice could face from long-term NSAID use
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Dual-tasking test could differentiate between Alzheimer's and depression
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Newstrack
London, Nov 9 (ANI): Scottish researchers have developed a novel diagnostic test that can help distinguish between symptoms of depression
and early Alzheimer's.
People developing Alzheimer's face mild levels of impaired reasoning and memory that are easily mistaken for signs of depression, which in turn can lead to many patients with dementia
being misdiagnosed and missing out on early treatment that could make a difference.
Now, researchers at the University of Edinburgh found that asking patients to perform two mental tasks at the same time can help tell the conditions apart.
Led by Professor Sergio Della Sala, the researchers compared the "dual-tasking" ability of 89 Alzheimer's patients, sufferers of chronic depression and healthy elderly individuals with no memory impairment.
The findings showed that people with Alzheimer's performed significantly worse than the other two groups.
This was true even when allowances were made for individual memory differences.
"This is the first piece of research to compare the performance of dual tasks in Alzheimer's disease and depression and could mean that people with dementia are diagnosed earlier. Currently, up to two-thirds of people with dementia never receive a formal diagnosis and it is often misdiagnosed as depression. Dela Sala's team aims to develop a simple screening test that will help GPs discriminate Alzheimer's from normal ageing and depression," The Scotsman quoted Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the Alzheimer's Society, as saying.
"An early diagnosis is hugely important as it may enable people with dementia to understand their condition, (and] have access to certain drugs that could help relieve some of their symptoms," he added.
The dual task experiment consists of five stages.
First the subject's short-term memory capacity is determined, the outcome called the "digit span".
Then lists of digits are read to the subject who is asked to repeat the lists, which produces a "task list score".
Stage three involves using a pencil to trace a path through a maze, giving a third score.
In stage four, the subject repeats digit lists while tracing a path, the dual task. The final stage is a retest of stage four.
The study has been published in the Journal of Neurology. (ANI)
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
Newstrack
London, Nov 9 (ANI): Scottish researchers have developed a novel diagnostic test that can help distinguish between symptoms of depression
and early Alzheimer's.
People developing Alzheimer's face mild levels of impaired reasoning and memory that are easily mistaken for signs of depression, which in turn can lead to many patients with dementia
being misdiagnosed and missing out on early treatment that could make a difference.
Now, researchers at the University of Edinburgh found that asking patients to perform two mental tasks at the same time can help tell the conditions apart.
Led by Professor Sergio Della Sala, the researchers compared the "dual-tasking" ability of 89 Alzheimer's patients, sufferers of chronic depression and healthy elderly individuals with no memory impairment.
The findings showed that people with Alzheimer's performed significantly worse than the other two groups.
This was true even when allowances were made for individual memory differences.
"This is the first piece of research to compare the performance of dual tasks in Alzheimer's disease and depression and could mean that people with dementia are diagnosed earlier. Currently, up to two-thirds of people with dementia never receive a formal diagnosis and it is often misdiagnosed as depression. Dela Sala's team aims to develop a simple screening test that will help GPs discriminate Alzheimer's from normal ageing and depression," The Scotsman quoted Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the Alzheimer's Society, as saying.
"An early diagnosis is hugely important as it may enable people with dementia to understand their condition, (and] have access to certain drugs that could help relieve some of their symptoms," he added.
The dual task experiment consists of five stages.
First the subject's short-term memory capacity is determined, the outcome called the "digit span".
Then lists of digits are read to the subject who is asked to repeat the lists, which produces a "task list score".
Stage three involves using a pencil to trace a path through a maze, giving a third score.
In stage four, the subject repeats digit lists while tracing a path, the dual task. The final stage is a retest of stage four.
The study has been published in the Journal of Neurology. (ANI)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Drink apple juice 'to stave off Alzheimer's
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DecconChronical
Washington: Want to stave off dementia? Just drink a glass of apple juice daily, says a new study.
Researchers at Massachusetts University have carried out the study and found that fresh apple juice everyday can delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease and various other age-related cognitive decline, the 'Journal of Alzheimer's Disease' reported.
For their study, the researchers carried out a number of laboratory experiments demonstrating that drinking apple juice helped mice perform better than normal in maze trials, and prevented the decline in performance that was otherwise observed as these mice aged.
They found that mice receiving the human equivalent of 2 glasses of apple juice per day for 1 month produced less of a small protein fragment, called "beta-amyloid" that is responsible for forming the "senile plaques" that are commonly found in brains of individuals suffering from Alzheimer's.
"These findings provide further evidence linking nutritional and genetic risk factors for age-related neurodegeneration and suggest that regular consumption of apple juice can not only help to keep one's mind functioning at its best, but may also be able to delay key aspects of Alzheimer's disease and augment therapeutic approaches," lead researcher Thomas Shea said.
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
DecconChronical
Washington: Want to stave off dementia? Just drink a glass of apple juice daily, says a new study.
Researchers at Massachusetts University have carried out the study and found that fresh apple juice everyday can delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease and various other age-related cognitive decline, the 'Journal of Alzheimer's Disease' reported.
For their study, the researchers carried out a number of laboratory experiments demonstrating that drinking apple juice helped mice perform better than normal in maze trials, and prevented the decline in performance that was otherwise observed as these mice aged.
They found that mice receiving the human equivalent of 2 glasses of apple juice per day for 1 month produced less of a small protein fragment, called "beta-amyloid" that is responsible for forming the "senile plaques" that are commonly found in brains of individuals suffering from Alzheimer's.
"These findings provide further evidence linking nutritional and genetic risk factors for age-related neurodegeneration and suggest that regular consumption of apple juice can not only help to keep one's mind functioning at its best, but may also be able to delay key aspects of Alzheimer's disease and augment therapeutic approaches," lead researcher Thomas Shea said.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Alzheimer's Disease Research Cure
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eHow
At present there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Once the disease develops, treatment only slows its progression. By understanding the causes of the disease, lifestyles changes can be made to reduce the risk of developing AD. The diagnosis and treatment of this disease has improved greatly in recent years, and many scientists are convinced that the next 10 years will bring even better treatments and possibly a cure for those just diagnosed with the disease
Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's Disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that over time destroys a person's memory and ability to think. As the disease progresses, even everyday tasks are impossible. Over 5.3 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and 35 million people worldwide have this mind-robbing disease.
Causes of Alzheimer's Disease
The initial cause of Alzheimer's disease is still unknown, but damage to the brain starts many years before any symptoms appear. According to the Alzheimer's Association, abnormal structures called plaques and tangles develop deep inside the brain, degrading and killing nerve cells. The damage spreads throughout the brain, especially in an area called the hippocampus. This part of the brain is like a file cabinet for new memories. When it is damaged, new memories are lost. As Alzheimer's progresses, more parts of the brain are invaded by plaques and tangles. These affected areas shrink and become non-functional. In the final stage of AD, damage to brain tissue is severe.
Present Treatment
Some drugs are available that help improve the mental action of people with Alzheimer's disease. Mental and physical exercise, eating right, socializing and eliminating unhealthy habits go along way in slowing the progression of Alzheimer's. A tranquil, orderly setting also helps those with AD. Certain supplements seem to help some people with AD, including vitamins A, B, C, D and E. Also, tumeric and fish oil show some promise in the fight against the disease.
Drug Therapies
Aricept is the most commonly used medication for Alzheimer's disease. This drug works by stopping cholinesterase from breaking down acetylcholine in the brain. Acetylcholine helps one part of the brain communicate with another part. This action keeps the brain intact longer. Aricept is the only drug acknowledged by the Food and Drug Administation for all stages of AD. Eventually this drug is not effective in the progression of AD. Also, this drug has side effects intolerable to some individuals such as trouble sleeping, stomach discomfort, muscle cramps and fatigue. Cognex, is similar to Aricept as a cholinesterase blocker, but it has more serious side effects, including abdominal pain, vomiting and liver damage.
Exelon and Razadyne are newer drugs that stop the breakdown of acetylcholine. The best results occur when they are taken in earlier stages of Alzheimer's. They also have side effects, including severe allergic reactions, depression, tremors and irregular heartbeat.
Namenda is effective for some people with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's. Its action appears to restore function to damaged nerve cells. This drug only works for some individuals and has several unwanted side effects like increased agitation, severe fatigue, changes in eyesight and severe allergic reactions.
Finding a Cure
From 1999 to 2009 scientists formulated new technologies that will speed up Alzheimer's research. The government and drug companies are putting money into research and new treatments are developed each year.
On April 29, 2009, neuroscientists Frank LaFerla and Mathew Blurton-Jones received $3.6 million for the advancement of AD therapy employing human neural stem cells. Research into a vaccine for protection against Alzheimer's will be started again and researchers from Southampton University will be re-evaluating 80 participants in a trial of a vaccine. Initially the vaccine had some deadly side effects. Hormone replacement therapy also appears to have some promise in lowering the risk of developing AD. The results among oestrogen users in a cohort study of Paganini-Hill and Henderson showed that the relative risk of developing Alzheimer's decreased with increasing doses of this hormone.
Research is also being........read all of Alzheimer's Disease Research Cure
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
eHow
At present there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Once the disease develops, treatment only slows its progression. By understanding the causes of the disease, lifestyles changes can be made to reduce the risk of developing AD. The diagnosis and treatment of this disease has improved greatly in recent years, and many scientists are convinced that the next 10 years will bring even better treatments and possibly a cure for those just diagnosed with the disease
Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's Disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that over time destroys a person's memory and ability to think. As the disease progresses, even everyday tasks are impossible. Over 5.3 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and 35 million people worldwide have this mind-robbing disease.
Causes of Alzheimer's Disease
The initial cause of Alzheimer's disease is still unknown, but damage to the brain starts many years before any symptoms appear. According to the Alzheimer's Association, abnormal structures called plaques and tangles develop deep inside the brain, degrading and killing nerve cells. The damage spreads throughout the brain, especially in an area called the hippocampus. This part of the brain is like a file cabinet for new memories. When it is damaged, new memories are lost. As Alzheimer's progresses, more parts of the brain are invaded by plaques and tangles. These affected areas shrink and become non-functional. In the final stage of AD, damage to brain tissue is severe.
Present Treatment
Some drugs are available that help improve the mental action of people with Alzheimer's disease. Mental and physical exercise, eating right, socializing and eliminating unhealthy habits go along way in slowing the progression of Alzheimer's. A tranquil, orderly setting also helps those with AD. Certain supplements seem to help some people with AD, including vitamins A, B, C, D and E. Also, tumeric and fish oil show some promise in the fight against the disease.
Drug Therapies
Aricept is the most commonly used medication for Alzheimer's disease. This drug works by stopping cholinesterase from breaking down acetylcholine in the brain. Acetylcholine helps one part of the brain communicate with another part. This action keeps the brain intact longer. Aricept is the only drug acknowledged by the Food and Drug Administation for all stages of AD. Eventually this drug is not effective in the progression of AD. Also, this drug has side effects intolerable to some individuals such as trouble sleeping, stomach discomfort, muscle cramps and fatigue. Cognex, is similar to Aricept as a cholinesterase blocker, but it has more serious side effects, including abdominal pain, vomiting and liver damage.
Exelon and Razadyne are newer drugs that stop the breakdown of acetylcholine. The best results occur when they are taken in earlier stages of Alzheimer's. They also have side effects, including severe allergic reactions, depression, tremors and irregular heartbeat.
Namenda is effective for some people with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's. Its action appears to restore function to damaged nerve cells. This drug only works for some individuals and has several unwanted side effects like increased agitation, severe fatigue, changes in eyesight and severe allergic reactions.
Finding a Cure
From 1999 to 2009 scientists formulated new technologies that will speed up Alzheimer's research. The government and drug companies are putting money into research and new treatments are developed each year.
On April 29, 2009, neuroscientists Frank LaFerla and Mathew Blurton-Jones received $3.6 million for the advancement of AD therapy employing human neural stem cells. Research into a vaccine for protection against Alzheimer's will be started again and researchers from Southampton University will be re-evaluating 80 participants in a trial of a vaccine. Initially the vaccine had some deadly side effects. Hormone replacement therapy also appears to have some promise in lowering the risk of developing AD. The results among oestrogen users in a cohort study of Paganini-Hill and Henderson showed that the relative risk of developing Alzheimer's decreased with increasing doses of this hormone.
Research is also being........read all of Alzheimer's Disease Research Cure
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Alzheimer's disease mysteries
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redOrbit
One of the many mysteries of Alzheimer's disease is how protein-like snippets called amyloid-beta peptides, which clump together to form plaques in the brain, may cause cell death, leading to the disease's devastating symptoms of memory loss and other mental difficulties. In order to answer that key question and develop new approaches to preventing the damage, scientists must first understand how amyloid-beta forms the telltale clumps
One of the many mysteries of Alzheimer's disease is how protein-like snippets called amyloid-beta peptides, which clump together to form plaques in the brain, may cause cell death, leading to the disease's devastating symptoms of memory loss and other mental difficulties.
In order to answer that key question and develop new approaches to preventing the damage, scientists must first understand how amyloid-beta forms the telltale clumps.
University of Michigan researchers have developed new molecular tools that can be used to investigate the process. The molecules also hold promise in Alzheimer's disease treatment. The research, led by assistant professor Mi Hee Lim, was published online this week in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Though the exact mechanism for amyloid-beta clump formation isn't known, scientists do know that copper and zinc ions are somehow involved, not only in the aggregation process, but apparently also in the resulting injury. Copper, in particular, has been implicated in generating reactive oxygen species, which can cause cell damage.
One way of studying the role of metals in the process is by sopping up the metal ions with molecules called chelators and then seeing what happens when the metal ions are out of the picture. When other scientists have done this they've found that chelators, by removing metals, hamper both amyloid beta clumping and the production of those harmful reactive oxygen species, suggesting that chelators could be useful in treating Alzheimer's disease.
However, most known chelators can't cross the blood-brain barrier, the barricade of cells that separates brain tissue from circulating blood, protecting the brain from harmful substances in the bloodstream. What's more, most chelators aren't precise enough to target only the metal ions in amyloid-beta; they're just as likely to grab and disable metals performing vital roles in other biological systems.
Lim and coworkers used a new strategy to develop "bi-functional" small molecules that not only grab metal ions, but also interact with amyloid-beta.
"The idea is simple," said Lim, who has joint appointments in the Department of Chemistry and the Life Sciences Institute. "We found molecules known for amyloid-beta recognition and then attached metal binding sites to them." In collaboration with Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy, professor of chemistry and associate professor of biophysics, Lim then used NMR spectroscopy to confirm that the new, hybrid molecules still interacted with amyloid-beta.
In experiments in solutions with or without living cells, the researchers showed that the bi-functional molecules were able to regulate copper-induced amyloid-beta aggregation, not only disrupting the formation of clumps, but also breaking up clumps that already had formed. In fact, their molecules performed better than clioquinol, a clinically-available metal chelator that showed promise in early trials with Alzheimer's patients, but has side effects that limit its long-term use.
"Based on their small size and other properties, we believe our compounds will be able to cross the blood-brain barrier, but we want to confirm that using mouse models," Lim said. The researchers also plan experiments to see if their new chelators are as good at preventing and breaking up amyloid-beta plaques in the brains of mice as they are in solutions and cultured cells.
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Here is a dementia Thanksgiving activity
redOrbit
One of the many mysteries of Alzheimer's disease is how protein-like snippets called amyloid-beta peptides, which clump together to form plaques in the brain, may cause cell death, leading to the disease's devastating symptoms of memory loss and other mental difficulties. In order to answer that key question and develop new approaches to preventing the damage, scientists must first understand how amyloid-beta forms the telltale clumps
One of the many mysteries of Alzheimer's disease is how protein-like snippets called amyloid-beta peptides, which clump together to form plaques in the brain, may cause cell death, leading to the disease's devastating symptoms of memory loss and other mental difficulties.
In order to answer that key question and develop new approaches to preventing the damage, scientists must first understand how amyloid-beta forms the telltale clumps.
University of Michigan researchers have developed new molecular tools that can be used to investigate the process. The molecules also hold promise in Alzheimer's disease treatment. The research, led by assistant professor Mi Hee Lim, was published online this week in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Though the exact mechanism for amyloid-beta clump formation isn't known, scientists do know that copper and zinc ions are somehow involved, not only in the aggregation process, but apparently also in the resulting injury. Copper, in particular, has been implicated in generating reactive oxygen species, which can cause cell damage.
One way of studying the role of metals in the process is by sopping up the metal ions with molecules called chelators and then seeing what happens when the metal ions are out of the picture. When other scientists have done this they've found that chelators, by removing metals, hamper both amyloid beta clumping and the production of those harmful reactive oxygen species, suggesting that chelators could be useful in treating Alzheimer's disease.
However, most known chelators can't cross the blood-brain barrier, the barricade of cells that separates brain tissue from circulating blood, protecting the brain from harmful substances in the bloodstream. What's more, most chelators aren't precise enough to target only the metal ions in amyloid-beta; they're just as likely to grab and disable metals performing vital roles in other biological systems.
Lim and coworkers used a new strategy to develop "bi-functional" small molecules that not only grab metal ions, but also interact with amyloid-beta.
"The idea is simple," said Lim, who has joint appointments in the Department of Chemistry and the Life Sciences Institute. "We found molecules known for amyloid-beta recognition and then attached metal binding sites to them." In collaboration with Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy, professor of chemistry and associate professor of biophysics, Lim then used NMR spectroscopy to confirm that the new, hybrid molecules still interacted with amyloid-beta.
In experiments in solutions with or without living cells, the researchers showed that the bi-functional molecules were able to regulate copper-induced amyloid-beta aggregation, not only disrupting the formation of clumps, but also breaking up clumps that already had formed. In fact, their molecules performed better than clioquinol, a clinically-available metal chelator that showed promise in early trials with Alzheimer's patients, but has side effects that limit its long-term use.
"Based on their small size and other properties, we believe our compounds will be able to cross the blood-brain barrier, but we want to confirm that using mouse models," Lim said. The researchers also plan experiments to see if their new chelators are as good at preventing and breaking up amyloid-beta plaques in the brains of mice as they are in solutions and cultured cells.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Blood Test Identifies Women At Risk From Alzheimer's
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Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
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redOrbit
Middle-aged women with high levels of a specific amino acid in their blood are twice as likely to suffer from Alzheimer's many years later, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. This discovery this could lead to a new and simple way of determining who is at risk long before there are any signs of the illness.
The thesis is based on the Prospective Population Study of Women in Gothenburg, which was started at the end of the 1960s when almost 1,500 women between the ages of 38 and 60 were examined, asked questions about their health and had blood samples taken. Nearly all of the samples have now been analysed and compared with information on who went on to suffer from Alzheimer's and dementia much later.
"Alzheimer's disease was more than twice as common among the women with the highest levels of homocysteine than among those with the lowest, and the risk for any kind of dementia was 70 per cent higher,"
Homocysteine is an amino acid that is important for the body's metabolism. It is known that high levels of homocysteine can damage the blood vessels and increase the risk of blood clots. Previous longitudinal studies linking homocysteine and dementia had 8 years of follow-up at most. The present study is by far the longest one with follow-up time of 35 years. The study is also the first to show association between homocysteine levels in middle aged women and dementia development several decades later. The researchers do not yet know whether it is the homocysteine itself that damages the brain, or whether there is some other underlying factor that both increases levels of the homocysteine and causes dementia.
Historically elevated homocysteine levels were related to certain vitamin defficiencies (B12 anf folate). Today we know that high homocysteine levels might be present even with perfectly normal vitamin status. "These days we in our clinical practice use homocysteine analyses mainly for assessment of vitamin status. However, our results mean that we could use the very same analysis för assessment of individual's risk profile for dementia development. This opens the possibility for future preventive treatment at a very early stage", says Zylberstein.
The thesis also looks at a gene which, in some variants, appears to offer protection against dementia. This gene variant reduces the risk of dementia by no less than 65 percent when present doubled (homozygous) which occures in just one in ten Swedes and by 40 percent when present in mixed form (heterozygous) i additional four of ten Swedes.
"We have only been able to carry out a genetic analysis on just over 550 of the blood samples from the Prospective Population Study of Women, and want to undertake bigger studies before we can say for sure that the gene really does protect against dementia," says professor Lauren Lissner who supervised the thesis. "We hope to be able to perform the same analysis on more samples from the study."
Read more about blood test for Alzheimer's
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
redOrbit
Middle-aged women with high levels of a specific amino acid in their blood are twice as likely to suffer from Alzheimer's many years later, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. This discovery this could lead to a new and simple way of determining who is at risk long before there are any signs of the illness.
The thesis is based on the Prospective Population Study of Women in Gothenburg, which was started at the end of the 1960s when almost 1,500 women between the ages of 38 and 60 were examined, asked questions about their health and had blood samples taken. Nearly all of the samples have now been analysed and compared with information on who went on to suffer from Alzheimer's and dementia much later.
"Alzheimer's disease was more than twice as common among the women with the highest levels of homocysteine than among those with the lowest, and the risk for any kind of dementia was 70 per cent higher,"
Homocysteine is an amino acid that is important for the body's metabolism. It is known that high levels of homocysteine can damage the blood vessels and increase the risk of blood clots. Previous longitudinal studies linking homocysteine and dementia had 8 years of follow-up at most. The present study is by far the longest one with follow-up time of 35 years. The study is also the first to show association between homocysteine levels in middle aged women and dementia development several decades later. The researchers do not yet know whether it is the homocysteine itself that damages the brain, or whether there is some other underlying factor that both increases levels of the homocysteine and causes dementia.
Historically elevated homocysteine levels were related to certain vitamin defficiencies (B12 anf folate). Today we know that high homocysteine levels might be present even with perfectly normal vitamin status. "These days we in our clinical practice use homocysteine analyses mainly for assessment of vitamin status. However, our results mean that we could use the very same analysis för assessment of individual's risk profile for dementia development. This opens the possibility for future preventive treatment at a very early stage", says Zylberstein.
The thesis also looks at a gene which, in some variants, appears to offer protection against dementia. This gene variant reduces the risk of dementia by no less than 65 percent when present doubled (homozygous) which occures in just one in ten Swedes and by 40 percent when present in mixed form (heterozygous) i additional four of ten Swedes.
"We have only been able to carry out a genetic analysis on just over 550 of the blood samples from the Prospective Population Study of Women, and want to undertake bigger studies before we can say for sure that the gene really does protect against dementia," says professor Lauren Lissner who supervised the thesis. "We hope to be able to perform the same analysis on more samples from the study."
Read more about blood test for Alzheimer's
Friday, November 6, 2009
Judicious Drinking Associated with Reduced Risk of Dementia
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 brain boosting activities
medpageToday
By John Gever, Senior Editor, MedPage Today
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco .
MAYWOOD, Ill., Having a drink only occasionally may reduce the risk of dementia, perhaps because long exposure to low alcohol levels help brain cells survive other stresses, researchers here said.
Most studies that have sought to compare drinking patterns with risk factors associated with dementia have found that moderate drinkers generally have a lower risk, according to Michael A. Collins, Ph.D., of Loyola University Chicago, and colleagues.
Yet their literature review of cardiovascular and neurological effects of ethanol, published online in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, outlined a potential neuroprotective mechanism that light-to-moderate drinking could induce.
It was derived from a variety of preclinical studies of a phenomenon known as alcohol preconditioning.
In an interview, Dr. Collins said it was analogous to ischemic preconditioning, in which exposing brain neurons to a brief period of hypoxia helps them survive later bouts of more severe ischemia, such as would occur in a stroke.
These studies have shown that neurons in vitro temporarily dosed with low levels of ethanol can survive stresses that kill untreated neurons.
Dr. Collins said the mechanism appears to involve a sensor-transducer pathway, in which focal adhesion kinase and certain protein kinase C species are activated following low-dose alcohol exposure, which in turn generates two heat shock proteins, Hsp27 and Hsp70.
These latter proteins are well-known to protect cells from stress.
The likelihood of a direct neuroprotective mechanism is boosted by laboratory studies with two known neurotoxic agents, gp120 and beta-amyloid protein. The latter is believed to play a role in Alzheimer's disease, while gp120 is responsible for HIV dementia.
Pretreatment with alcohol protected brain neurons from these agents in vitro, Dr. Collins said.
Whether the preconditioning model accurately reflects what goes on in the brains of human drinkers is uncertain, Dr. Collins acknowledged.
"It is nonetheless conceivable that light-to-moderate, stable alcohol ingestion over years exerts 'preconditioning-like' effects on glia and neurons," he and his colleagues wrote in their review.
Noting that millions of new cases of dementia are diagnosed annually, they added, "it seems imperative that as much as possible is learned about the apparent cytoprotective mechanisms engendered by low-moderate alcohol intake and levels."
The review covered more than 100 studies of the cardiovascular and neurological effects of ethanol. It summarized and updated the proceedings of a roundtable meeting organized and chaired by Dr. Collins in 2007.
Dr. Collins and colleagues noted that not all studies showed a decreased risk. Moreover, they said, many of the investigators who did find reduced risk factors attributed their findings to the hematologic and cardiovascular effects of alcohol, or of other components of alcoholic drinks such as resveratrol.
But the review also included a number of in vitro and animal studies suggesting that low-dose ethanol has direct neuroprotective effects.
"Light to moderate, non-binge alcohol intake . . . does no apparent harm to cognition during aging, even possibly reducing the risk of cognitive decline [and] dementia," Dr. Collins and colleagues said.
"Alcohol-related anti-inflammatory heat shock protein and protein kinase changes in the brain bear similarities to those elucidated in the heart, particularly with respect to protein kinase C and quite likely other signal transduction kinases," they added
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
medpageToday
By John Gever, Senior Editor, MedPage Today
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco .
MAYWOOD, Ill., Having a drink only occasionally may reduce the risk of dementia, perhaps because long exposure to low alcohol levels help brain cells survive other stresses, researchers here said.
Most studies that have sought to compare drinking patterns with risk factors associated with dementia have found that moderate drinkers generally have a lower risk, according to Michael A. Collins, Ph.D., of Loyola University Chicago, and colleagues.
Yet their literature review of cardiovascular and neurological effects of ethanol, published online in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, outlined a potential neuroprotective mechanism that light-to-moderate drinking could induce.
It was derived from a variety of preclinical studies of a phenomenon known as alcohol preconditioning.
In an interview, Dr. Collins said it was analogous to ischemic preconditioning, in which exposing brain neurons to a brief period of hypoxia helps them survive later bouts of more severe ischemia, such as would occur in a stroke.
These studies have shown that neurons in vitro temporarily dosed with low levels of ethanol can survive stresses that kill untreated neurons.
Dr. Collins said the mechanism appears to involve a sensor-transducer pathway, in which focal adhesion kinase and certain protein kinase C species are activated following low-dose alcohol exposure, which in turn generates two heat shock proteins, Hsp27 and Hsp70.
These latter proteins are well-known to protect cells from stress.
The likelihood of a direct neuroprotective mechanism is boosted by laboratory studies with two known neurotoxic agents, gp120 and beta-amyloid protein. The latter is believed to play a role in Alzheimer's disease, while gp120 is responsible for HIV dementia.
Pretreatment with alcohol protected brain neurons from these agents in vitro, Dr. Collins said.
Whether the preconditioning model accurately reflects what goes on in the brains of human drinkers is uncertain, Dr. Collins acknowledged.
"It is nonetheless conceivable that light-to-moderate, stable alcohol ingestion over years exerts 'preconditioning-like' effects on glia and neurons," he and his colleagues wrote in their review.
Noting that millions of new cases of dementia are diagnosed annually, they added, "it seems imperative that as much as possible is learned about the apparent cytoprotective mechanisms engendered by low-moderate alcohol intake and levels."
The review covered more than 100 studies of the cardiovascular and neurological effects of ethanol. It summarized and updated the proceedings of a roundtable meeting organized and chaired by Dr. Collins in 2007.
Dr. Collins and colleagues noted that not all studies showed a decreased risk. Moreover, they said, many of the investigators who did find reduced risk factors attributed their findings to the hematologic and cardiovascular effects of alcohol, or of other components of alcoholic drinks such as resveratrol.
But the review also included a number of in vitro and animal studies suggesting that low-dose ethanol has direct neuroprotective effects.
"Light to moderate, non-binge alcohol intake . . . does no apparent harm to cognition during aging, even possibly reducing the risk of cognitive decline [and] dementia," Dr. Collins and colleagues said.
"Alcohol-related anti-inflammatory heat shock protein and protein kinase changes in the brain bear similarities to those elucidated in the heart, particularly with respect to protein kinase C and quite likely other signal transduction kinases," they added
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Older adults with dementia at increased flu mortality risk
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 brain boosting activities
Newsport onlone
Older patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without the disorder, a new study has revealed.
“The increased mortality of older patients with dementia hospitalized for flu may be indicative of inadequacies in health care quality and accessibility. It could be beneficial to refine guidelines for the immunization, testing, and treatment of flu in older patients with dementia when planning for the possibility of a flu pandemic,” said first and senior author Elena Naumova, PhD, professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.
Dementia, defined by the authors as cognitive impairment to the extent that normal activity is impaired, causes unique obstacles to the early diagnosis and treatment of flu.
Patients may have difficulty communicating symptoms and medical complications due to poor oral hygiene or impaired swallowing.
Additionally, the researchers believe that limited access to health care services and inadequate testing practices may contribute to the higher rates of mortality and lower rates of diagnosis of flu seen in older patients with dementia.
A geographic analysis of the data showed that pneumonia and influenza (P&I) rates were highest among older adults in poor and rural areas, where there is a lower concentration of health care facilities.
“Limited access to specialized health care services can delay diagnosis and treatment of the flu, causing it to progress to pneumonia, the fifth leading cause of death among the elderly. This study has helped us identify this vulnerable population, and now further study is needed to confirm the findings and assess the testing and vaccination policies for older patients with dementia,” said Naumova.
Study data were obtained from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), and covered a span Of the 36 million hospitalization records for adults aged 65 and older, more than six million records documented a P&I diagnosis.
Of these records showing a P&I diagnosis, over 800,000 (13 percent) also showed dementia.
The demographic and geographic patterns of P&I hospitalizations and their links with hospital accessibility were explored.
Pneumonia and influenza admissions, length of stay in a hospital, and mortality rates among elderly with dementia were compared to national estimates.
The study was published online in advance of print in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. (ANI)
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
Newsport onlone
Older patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without the disorder, a new study has revealed.
“The increased mortality of older patients with dementia hospitalized for flu may be indicative of inadequacies in health care quality and accessibility. It could be beneficial to refine guidelines for the immunization, testing, and treatment of flu in older patients with dementia when planning for the possibility of a flu pandemic,” said first and senior author Elena Naumova, PhD, professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.
Dementia, defined by the authors as cognitive impairment to the extent that normal activity is impaired, causes unique obstacles to the early diagnosis and treatment of flu.
Patients may have difficulty communicating symptoms and medical complications due to poor oral hygiene or impaired swallowing.
Additionally, the researchers believe that limited access to health care services and inadequate testing practices may contribute to the higher rates of mortality and lower rates of diagnosis of flu seen in older patients with dementia.
A geographic analysis of the data showed that pneumonia and influenza (P&I) rates were highest among older adults in poor and rural areas, where there is a lower concentration of health care facilities.
“Limited access to specialized health care services can delay diagnosis and treatment of the flu, causing it to progress to pneumonia, the fifth leading cause of death among the elderly. This study has helped us identify this vulnerable population, and now further study is needed to confirm the findings and assess the testing and vaccination policies for older patients with dementia,” said Naumova.
Study data were obtained from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), and covered a span Of the 36 million hospitalization records for adults aged 65 and older, more than six million records documented a P&I diagnosis.
Of these records showing a P&I diagnosis, over 800,000 (13 percent) also showed dementia.
The demographic and geographic patterns of P&I hospitalizations and their links with hospital accessibility were explored.
Pneumonia and influenza admissions, length of stay in a hospital, and mortality rates among elderly with dementia were compared to national estimates.
The study was published online in advance of print in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. (ANI)
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Axona: Medical food to treat Alzheimer's
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 brain boosting activities
MayoClinic
Glenn Smith, Ph.D.
Axona is a prescription supplement that claims to target the nutritional needs of people with Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's is thought to hinder the brain's ability to break down glucose. According to Axona's marketing materials, the supplement provides an alternative source of glucose that the brain can use for energy.
It's not clear what benefits, if any, Axona provides. A small study, funded by the manufacturers of the product, found that memory and cognition improved for people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. However, more studies are needed to determine its safety and effectiveness.
Axona is marketed as a medical food. Medical foods are dietary supplements that help manage a disease or condition that causes nutritional deficiencies. The Alzheimer's Association, however, disputes the notion that Alzheimer's disease causes nutritional deficiencies and requires a medical food. Medical foods are given only under the supervision of a doctor. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't approve medical foods, nor does it test medical foods for safety or effectiveness.
Until more is known, the Alzheimer's Association doesn't recommend the use of medical foods, including Axona, for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
MayoClinic
Glenn Smith, Ph.D.
Axona is a prescription supplement that claims to target the nutritional needs of people with Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's is thought to hinder the brain's ability to break down glucose. According to Axona's marketing materials, the supplement provides an alternative source of glucose that the brain can use for energy.
It's not clear what benefits, if any, Axona provides. A small study, funded by the manufacturers of the product, found that memory and cognition improved for people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. However, more studies are needed to determine its safety and effectiveness.
Axona is marketed as a medical food. Medical foods are dietary supplements that help manage a disease or condition that causes nutritional deficiencies. The Alzheimer's Association, however, disputes the notion that Alzheimer's disease causes nutritional deficiencies and requires a medical food. Medical foods are given only under the supervision of a doctor. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't approve medical foods, nor does it test medical foods for safety or effectiveness.
Until more is known, the Alzheimer's Association doesn't recommend the use of medical foods, including Axona, for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Health Matters: New Discoveries In The Fight Against Alzheimer's Disease
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 brain boosting activities
WCTV
Triston Sanders-Medical Anchor
Scientists make a big step in the battle against Alzheimer's Disease.
Doctors with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida managed to remove amyloid plaques from the brains of mice.
Those plaques are a hallmark of the disease.
Researchers found the plaques clear when they injected a protein called "IL6" to the mice's immune system.
The finding's a surprise, because researchers thought the protein would have actually made the plaques worse.
The hope now is to use these findings to develop a new treatment for people with the degenerative disease.
The research appears in the "Faseb Journal," which The Federation Of American Societies For Experimental Biology publishes.
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
WCTV
Triston Sanders-Medical Anchor
Scientists make a big step in the battle against Alzheimer's Disease.
Doctors with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida managed to remove amyloid plaques from the brains of mice.
Those plaques are a hallmark of the disease.
Researchers found the plaques clear when they injected a protein called "IL6" to the mice's immune system.
The finding's a surprise, because researchers thought the protein would have actually made the plaques worse.
The hope now is to use these findings to develop a new treatment for people with the degenerative disease.
The research appears in the "Faseb Journal," which The Federation Of American Societies For Experimental Biology publishes.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
High protein diets may shrink brain and boost risk of Alzheimer's
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 brain boosting activities
MailOnline
By Fiona Macrae
High-protein diets may shrink the brain as well as the waistline, raising the risk of Alzheimer's disease in later life.
In tests, the brains of mice fed Atkins-like diets, rich in protein and low in carbohydrate, were five per cent lighter than those of other creatures.
Importantly, areas key to memory were underdeveloped.
Although it is unclear if high protein diets have the same effect in people, it is already known that low-fat diets packed with fruit and vegetables, cut the risk of dementia.
The US researchers said that looking at how different nutrients affect human brain health could lead to new ways of staving off the disease that affects 400,000 Britons.
With the number of sufferers expected to double within a generation, any method of cutting the number of cases could have a huge impact on public health.
S
am Gandy, a leading expert on Alzheimer's disease, looked at the effect of various diets, including one high in protein and low in carbohydrate on the brains of mice.
The creatures had been genetically-engineered to make amyloid-beta, the poisonous plaques blamed for brain cell death and memory loss in Alzheimer's.
Those given high-protein foods had lighter brains than other animals, the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration reports.
Read more about a high protein diet and Alzheimers
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities
MailOnline
By Fiona Macrae
High-protein diets may shrink the brain as well as the waistline, raising the risk of Alzheimer's disease in later life.
In tests, the brains of mice fed Atkins-like diets, rich in protein and low in carbohydrate, were five per cent lighter than those of other creatures.
Importantly, areas key to memory were underdeveloped.
Although it is unclear if high protein diets have the same effect in people, it is already known that low-fat diets packed with fruit and vegetables, cut the risk of dementia.
The US researchers said that looking at how different nutrients affect human brain health could lead to new ways of staving off the disease that affects 400,000 Britons.
With the number of sufferers expected to double within a generation, any method of cutting the number of cases could have a huge impact on public health.
S
am Gandy, a leading expert on Alzheimer's disease, looked at the effect of various diets, including one high in protein and low in carbohydrate on the brains of mice.
The creatures had been genetically-engineered to make amyloid-beta, the poisonous plaques blamed for brain cell death and memory loss in Alzheimer's.
Those given high-protein foods had lighter brains than other animals, the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration reports.
Read more about a high protein diet and Alzheimers
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