Friday, July 30, 2010

2010: Alzheimer's Facts and Figures (part 5)

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Alzheimer's Association


Looking to the Future
The number of Americans surviving into their 80s and
90s and beyond is expected to grow dramatically due
to advances in medicine and medical technology, as
well as social and environmental conditions. Since the
incidence and prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and
other dementias increase with age, the number of
people with these conditions will also grow rapidly.
• In 2000, there were an estimated 411,000 new
(incident) cases of Alzheimer’s disease. For 2010,
that number is projected to be 454,000 new cases;
by 2030, 615,000; and by 2050, 959,000.(31)
• This year, more than an estimated 5.5 million
Americans are 85 years and older; by 2050, that
number will nearly quadruple to 19 million.
• While the number of Americans aged 100 years and
older is estimated at 80,000 in 2010, by 2050 there
will be more than a half million Americans aged
100 years and older.
• The 85-years-and-older population currently includes
about 2.4 million people with Alzheimer’s disease,
or 47 percent of the Alzheimer population aged 65
and over. When the first wave of baby boomers
reaches age 85 years (2031), an estimated
3.5 million people aged 85 and older will have
Alzheimer’s.(10)
• The number of people aged 65 and older with
Alzheimer’s disease is estimated to reach 7.7 million
in 2030 — more than a 50 percent increase from the
5.1 million aged 65 and older currently affected.(10)
• By 2050, the number of individuals aged 65 and
older with Alzheimer’s is projected to number
between 11 million and 16 million — unless medical
breakthroughs identify ways to prevent or more
effectively treat the disease. Barring such developments,
by 2050 more than 60 percent of people with
Alzheimer’s disease will be aged 85 or older.(10)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

2010: Alzheimer's Facts and Figures (part 4)

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Alzheimer's Association


Causes of Dementia

Although Alzheimer’s disease is the most common
form of dementia, data are emerging to suggest that
the attribution of dementia to specific types may not
be as clear cut as previously believed.(29) A study by
Schneider and colleagues reports that most older
community-dwelling people (mean age at death,
approximately 88 years) have changes in the brain
suggestive of disease. People with dementia often
have evidence of multiple types of brain disease.(30)
Of the first 141 autopsies in this study, 80 examined
brain tissue samples from people with intermediate
or high likelihood of having Alzheimer’s based on
clinical evaluation, which included medical history,
neuropsychological tests and physical examination
with an emphasis on neurologic function. Less
than half of the 80 autopsies showed evidence of
Alzheimer’s alone. Nearly a third showed evidence
of Alzheimer’s and infarcts; 15 percent showed
evidence of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease/Lewy
body disease; 5 percent showed evidence of all three
diseases; and 2.5 percent showed evidence of
Alzheimer’s and a brain disease other than infarcts
or Parkinson’s disease/Lewy body disease. Although
50 percent of participants with little or no likelihood
of having Alzheimer’s disease based on clinical
evaluation also had no evidence of dementia on
autopsy, approximately one-third showed signs of
brain infarcts. Thus, there is reason to believe that the
causes of dementia may be much more complicated
than originally believed

Monday, July 26, 2010

Pear-shaped women prone to dementia

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Press TV

While carrying excess weight had long been linked with various health concerns, a new study says a woman's body shape may influence her memory.

Previous studies have linked depositing fat around the waist with increased risk of vascular disease and inflammation, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. The former is considered as the main factor contributing to impaired memory in those carrying excess weight anywhere in the body.

According to the study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, pear-shaped women -- those with smaller waists but bigger hips and thighs -- perform worse on cognitive tests.

Carrying extra fat around the waist, on the other hand, can protect women against memory loss, the study found.

Various types of fat deposited in different parts of the body release diverse hormones with varying effects on insulin resistance, lipids and blood pressure. Estrogen released from belly fat is believed to protect the brain from cognitive decline.

"What we found is that actually obesity in and of itself is an independent risk factor for declining cognitive performance," said lead researcher Diana Kerwin, adding that adopting a healthy diet and exercising can protect an individual from age-related memory decline.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Facebook cheers up nursing home residents and other frail elderly

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Perry Marshall

Yesterday I heard from a very reliable source that Facebook has triggered a sea change in the nursing home industry. This comes from a client of one of my business mentors.

The #1 reason people die is their friends have died or been dispersed to the four winds; their family doesn’t visit them anymore, and they have no more reason to get up in the morning. I’m sure all of us have visited long-term care facilities and seen the blank stares and hopelessness of aged people living out their last days.

Facebook has changed that. There are many, many 77 year old folks in nursing homes who now have 60 Facebook friends and interact with them on an hourly basis. This is literally extending life spans – to the point of wreaking havoc in the long-term care industry.

(It’s also creating some interesting social gaffes. Like after a person dies, their friends are still getting reminders: “You haven’t reached out to Ethel for awhile. Send her a note.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Caregiving spouses of Alzheimer's patients put own health at risk

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Jackie Hackbart is a caregiver under stress.

She can't leave her husband, Bob, 82, who suffers from dementia, alone in their Citrus Heights, Calif., town house - and she can't leave him with a sitter, because he forgets where she's gone and gets distressed.

Since the retired chemical engineer's diagnosis in 2005, dementia has robbed him not only of memory and cognition, but also of independence. In many ways, it's robbed his wife of her independence, too.

"The past five years have been a challenge," said Hackbart, 78, a retired dietician. "Mostly, I try to keep a stiff upper lip."

But the stiff upper lip exacts a steep toll: Hackbart has been hospitalized twice in the past year for gastrointestinal bleeding, most recently in March.

Gerontologists use the term "caregiver burden" for the ongoing emotional and physical stress of providing care, and research shows that no one feels more caregiver burden than the elderly spouses of dementia patients. They pay the highest price in terms of their own health.

Elderly caregiving spouses have a 63 percent higher chance of dying than people the same age who aren't caring for a spouse, says the American Medical Association. They're at particular risk of developing depression and sleep problems.

In a tragic irony, according to a recent American Geriatrics Society study, they're also six times more likely to develop dementia themselves compared with people whose spouses don't have dementia.

While two-thirds receive some assistance from other unpaid caregivers - usually their adult children - the number employing outside caregivers has dropped to 35 percent, says the AARP.

In short, the burden remains squarely in the home, on the spouse.

"We encourage caregivers to take care of themselves first," said Denise Davis, Alzheimer's Association program director. "With any disease, whether it's dementia, stroke or cancer, the caregiver needs to be taken care of, as well.

"So many of them think they can do it all, and they can do it best. It's hard for them to let go."

And it's hard for them to ask for help.

After Bob Weast, now 80, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2001, he developed a compulsive eating pattern and other obsessive behaviors, and for a while, he wandered from home. His constant monitoring in large part has fallen to his wife of 55 years.

"A lot of the time, you can't go places and do things you'd like to do," said Lois Weast, 73. "There's nobody available who really understands what's needed to keep an eye out for him."

In 2007, she developed pancreatitis and collapsed in their Carmichael, Calif., home.

While she spent weeks recuperating in the hospital and at a skilled nursing facility, Bob lived with their grown daughter, who enrolled him in the Sutter Senior Recreation and Respite program in the Placer County, Calif., suburbs.

"I do a little shopping and maybe a little visiting while he's there," said Weast.

On a recent morning at Twelve Bridges Library in Lincoln, Calif., where the program meets four mornings each week, participants worked on making pressed flower bookmarks. Also on the schedule were games, a talk on the Grand Canyon and a chicken tenders lunch. The whole point is to give caregivers relief from their duties: a little breathing room.

"This generation is awesome," said Joni Trykar, the program coordinator. "It's their devotion to each other. Their own health is declining. They can't really make the situation work. But they made a promise to each other that one wouldn't put the other in a nursing home.

"I tell people, 'If you don't take care of yourself, who will take care of your loved one as well as you do?' No one will."

For couples in their 70s and 80s, the challenges can be considerable.

People raised with traditional roles, for example, can find the role reversal uncomfortable. Caregiving wives have to adjust to paying the bills and doing house and lawn maintenance, Trykar said, while caregiving husbands have to learn to cook and clean and keep social ties alive.

The caregivers confront the living death of the person they knew, as well as their own growing tide of grief.

Maybe most difficult, they have to allow the people they've spent their lives caring for their children help take care of them.

"It takes reaching out," said Davis.

Jackie Hackbart admits she hesitates to take advantage of neighbors' offers of assistance. But her adult son and daughter are supportive, and her husband attends the Sutter program one morning a week.

"And I read," she said. "That's my release. Bob isn't combative, but he's stubborn. He's recently had seizures, and he's lost another bit of memory. He's having trouble."

So is she, though she'd never say so.

CAREGIVER RESOURCES

Among the resources available for caregivers:

The Alzheimer's Association's website, www.alz.org, includes a caregiver stress test and information on depression and how to find local support. The association maintains a helpline staffed by social workers who can answer questions and provide assistance, (800) 272-3900.

The AARP website, www.aarp.com, provides advice and hosts community conversations for caregivers.

Read more at the Kansas City Star

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Dementia May Differ in Those With and Without Diabetes

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(HealthDay News) -- Vascular disease, which affects blood flow in brain vessels, appears to be a common cause of dementia in some people with diabetes, new study findings suggest.

That's in contrast to dementia in people without diabetes, which the researchers say is more likely to be linked to the brain plaque deposits commonly seen in people with Alzheimer's disease.

The findings come from researchers at the Mayo Clinic's Florida campus and the University of California, San Francisco, who compared the ratios of two different types of amyloid beta proteins in blood samples from 211 people with dementia and 403 others without dementia.

"This helps in understanding diabetes and dementia. It suggests that the vascular dementia seen in diabetics, which appears to be related to small blood vessel disease and strokes, can potentially be averted if development of diabetes is prevented," neurologist Dr. Neill Graff-Radford said in a Mayo Clinic news release.

The study findings were slated for presentation July 14 at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease meeting, in Hawaii.

The findings support previous autopsy studies on people with diabetes and dementia, which found vascular abnormalities were related to dementia but not to the plaques and tangles characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, the authors noted in the news release.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about dementia.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

2010: Alzheimer's Facts and Figures (part 3):Treatment and Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease

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Alzheimer's Association


Treatment and Prevention of
Alzheimer’s Disease

No treatment is available to slow or stop the deterioration
of brain cells in Alzheimer’s disease. The U.S. Food
and Drug Administration has approved five drugs that
temporarily slow worsening of symptoms for about six
to 12 months, on average, for about half of the individuals
who take them. Researchers have identified
treatment strategies that may have the potential to
change its course. Approximately 90 experimental
therapies aimed at slowing or stopping the progression
of Alzheimer’s are in clinical testing in human volunteers.
Despite the current lack of disease-modifying therapies,
studies have consistently shown that active medical
management of Alzheimer’s and other dementias can
significantly improve quality of life through all stages of
the disease for diagnosed individuals and their caregivers.
Active management includes appropriate use of
available treatment options, effective integration of
coexisting conditions into the treatment plan, coordination
of care among physicians and others involved in
maximizing quality of life for people with Alzheimer’s or
other dementia and use of such supportive services as
counseling, activity and support groups and adult day
center programs.
A growing body of evidence suggests that the health of
the brain — one of the body’s most highly vascular
organs — is closely linked to the overall health of the
heart and blood vessels. Some data indicate that
management of cardiovascular risk factors, such as high
cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure,
smoking, obesity and physical inactivity may help avoid
or delay cognitive decline.(1-9) Many of these risk factors
are modifiable — that is, they can be changed to
decrease the likelihood of developing both cardiovascular
disease and the cognitive decline associated with
Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. More limited
data suggest that a low-fat diet rich in fruits and vegetables
may support brain health, as may a robust social
network and a lifetime of intellectual curiosity and
mental stimulation.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Exercise, drink tea to prevent dementia

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Lansing State Journal

proved living and diet habits - including lots of physical activity, regular tea-drinking and sufficient vitamin D levels - could reduce the risk of brain decline, according to three studies recently released.

These are encouraging," says William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer's Association. "These types of studies make people think, 'Well gosh, maybe I can do something about this disease.' "
The studies were presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Honolulu.
One of the studies is from the Framingham, Mass., cardiovascular risk study, in which researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, among others, tracked more than 1,200 elderly people over 20 years, 242 of whom developed dementia.
The researchers found that participants who had moderate to heavy levels of physical activity had about a 40 percent lower risk of developing any type of dementia. Those who reported the least amount of activity were 45 percent more likely to develop dementia compared with those who logged higher levels of activity.
In a second study, including data on more than 4,800 men and women ages 65 and older, participants were followed for up to 14 years. Tea drinkers had less mental decline than non-tea drinkers. Those who drank tea one to four times a week had average annual rates of decline 37 percent lower than people who didn't drink tea.

Coffee didn't show any influence except at the highest levels of consumption, researchers say. Author Lenore Arab of UCLA says, "Interestingly, the observed associations are unlikely to be related to caffeine, which is present in coffee at levels two to three times higher than in tea."
In a third study, British researchers looked at vitamin D's effect on brain health. They examined data from 3,325 U.S. adults ages 65 and older from the NHANES III study. Vitamin D levels were measured by blood test, and cognitive tests were administered. Odds of cognitive impairment were about 42 percent higher in those deficient in vitamin D, and 394 percent higher in people severely deficient.
"Vitamin D is neuro-protective in a number of ways, including the protection of the brain's blood supply and the clearance of toxins," says author David Llewellyn of the University of Exeter Peninsula Medical School.
"More and more studies are suggesting that lifestyle changes may be able to silence the expression of risk genes, a phenomenon called epigenetics," says Duke University's Murali Doraiswamy, an expert on aging. He says learning how to tap into that is going to be a high priority.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

2010: Alzheimer's Facts and Figures (part 2)

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Alzheimer's Association


5
Dementia: Definition and Specific Types
Dementia is characterized by the loss of or decline in memory
and other cognitive abilities. It is caused by various diseases
and conditions that result in damaged brain cells. To be classified
as dementia, the following criteria must be met:
• It must include decline in memory and in at least one of the
following cognitive abilities:
1) Ability to generate coherent speech or understand
spoken or written language;
2) Ability to recognize or identify objects, assuming intact
sensory function;
3 ) Ability to execute motor activities, assuming intact
motor abilities, sensory function and comprehension of the
required task; and
4 ) Ability to think abstractly, make sound judgments
and plan and carry out complex tasks.
• The decline in cognitive abilities must be severe
enough to interfere with daily life.
Different types of dementia have been associated
with distinct symptom patterns and distinguishing
microscopic brain abnormalities. Increasing evidence
from long-term epidemiological observation and
autopsy studies suggests that many people have brain
abnormalities associated with more than one type of
dementia. The symptoms of different types of dementia
also overlap and can be further complicated by coexisting
medical conditions.

More About Alzheimer’s Disease
In Alzheimer’s disease, as in other types of dementia,
increasing numbers of nerve cells deteriorate and die.
A healthy adult brain has 100 billion nerve cells, or
neurons, with long branching extensions connected at
100 trillion points. At these connections, called
synapses, information flows in tiny chemical pulses
released by one neuron and taken up by the receiving
cell. Different strengths and patterns of signals move
constantly through the brain’s circuits, creating the
cellular basis of memories, thoughts and skills.
In Alzheimer’s disease, information transfer at the
synapses begins to fail, the number of synapses
declines and eventually cells die. Brains with advanced
Alzheimer’s show dramatic shrinkage from cell loss
and widespread debris from dead and dying neurons.
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease can affect different people in
different ways, but the most common symptom
pattern begins with gradually worsening difficulty in
remembering new information. This is because
disruption of brain cells usually begins in regions
involved in forming new memories. As damage
spreads, individuals experience other difficulties.
The following are warning signs of Alzheimer’s:
• Memory loss that disrupts daily life
• Challenges in planning or solving problems
• Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work
or at leisure
• Confusion with time or place
• Trouble understanding visual images and spatial
relationships
• New problems with words in speaking or writing
• Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace
steps
• Decreased or poor judgment
• Withdrawal from work or social activities
• Changes in mood and personality
For more information about the warning signs of
Alzheimer’s, visit www.alz.org/10signs.
In advanced Alzheimer’s, people need help with
bathing, dressing, using the bathroom, eating and
other daily activities. Those in the final stages of the
disease lose their ability to communicate, fail to
recognize loved ones and become bed-bound and
reliant on 24/7 care. The inability to move around in
late-stage Alzheimer’s disease can make a person
more vulnerable to infections, including pneumonia
(infection of the lungs). Alzheimer’s disease is ultimately
fatal, and Alzheimer-related pneumonia is often
the cause.
Although families generally prefer to keep the person
with Alzheimer’s at home as long as possible, most
people with the disease eventually move into a nursing
home or another residence where professional care
is available.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Study: Exercise, tea and vitamin D to ward off dementia ( 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 is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Mary Brophy Marcus USA Today

The researchers found that participants who had moderate to heavy levels of physical activity had about a 40% lower risk of developing any type of dementia. Those who reported the least amount of activity were 45% more likely to develop dementia compared with those who logged higher levels of activity.

In a second study, including data on more than 4,800 men and women ages 65 and older, participants were followed for up to 14 years. Tea drinkers had less mental decline than non-tea drinkers. Those who drank tea one to four times a week had average annual rates of decline 37% lower than people who didn't drink tea.

Coffee didn't show any influence except at the highest levels of consumption, researchers say. Author Lenore Arab of UCLA says, "Interestingly, the observed associations are unlikely to be related to caffeine, which is present in coffee at levels two to three times higher than in tea."

In a third study, British researchers looked at vitamin D's effect on brain health. They examined data from 3,325 U.S. adults ages 65 and older from the NHANES III study. Vitamin D levels were measured by blood test, and cognitive tests were administered. Odds of cognitive impairment were about 42% higher in those deficient in vitamin D, and 394% higher in people severely deficient.

"Vitamin D is neuro-protective in a number of ways, including the protection of the brain's blood supply and the clearance of toxins," says author David Llewellyn of the University of Exeter Peninsula Medical School.

"More and more studies are suggesting that lifestyle changes may be able to silence the expression of risk genes, a phenomenon called epigenetics," says Duke University's Murali Doraiswamy, an expert on aging. He says learning how to tap into that is going to be a high priority.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Study: Exercise, tea and vitamin D to ward off dementia

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

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

By Mary Brophy Marcus, USA TODAY
Improved living and diet habits — including lots of physical activity, regular tea-drinking and sufficient vitamin D levels — could reduce the risk of brain decline, according to three studies presented Sunday.
"These are encouraging," says William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer's Association. "These types of studies make people think, 'Well gosh, maybe I can do something about this disease.' "

The studies were presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Honolulu.

One of the studies is from the Framingham, Mass., cardiovascular risk study, in which researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, among others, tracked more than 1,200 elderly people over 20 years, 242 of whom developed dementia.

The researchers found that participants who had......more soon

Monday, July 12, 2010

2010: Alzheimer's Facts and Figures

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

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities





Get your subscription to Activity Director Today's e magazine" />

Alzheimer's Association

2010 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures provides a
statistical resource for United States data related to
Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia,
as well as other dementias. Background and context for
interpretation of the data are contained in the Overview.
This includes definitions of the types of dementia and
a summary of current knowledge about Alzheimer’s
disease. Additional sections address prevalence, mortality,
caregiving and use and costs of care and services. The
Special Report for 2010 focuses on race, ethnicity and
Alzheimer’s disease.

Specific information in this year’s
Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures

• Overall number of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease nationally and for each state
• Proportion of women and men with Alzheimer’s and other dementias
• Estimates of lifetime risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease
• Number of family caregivers, hours of care provided, economic value of unpaid care
nationally and for each state and the impact of caregiving on caregivers
• Use and costs of health care, long-term care and hospice care for people with
Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias
• Number of deaths due to Alzheimer’s disease nationally and for each state, and
death rates by age
• Current knowledge of the prevalence of Alzheimer’s and other dementias in
diverse populations
The Appendices detail sources and methods used to derive data in this document.
This report frequently cites statistics that apply to individuals with all types of dementia.
When possible, specific information about Alzheimer’s disease is provided; in other cases,
the reference may be a more general one of “Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.”
The conclusions in this report reflect currently available data on Alzheimer’s disease.
They are the interpretations of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Alzheimer's scourge hangs over ill-prepared Asia (part 3)

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Reuters

BUT FEW FACILITIES

Dedicated facilities for AD patients are scarce in Asia.

Hong Kong has 110,000 patients but only 299 places in four daycare centers, and not a single residential care facility.

Many end-stage sufferers are put into general nursing homes where staff are not trained to care for them.

"In nursing homes, their conditions get worse because they are normally tied down and they don't have any social interaction, then they die quickly," Dai said.

In Malaysia, an estimated 50,000 people suffer from dementia.

"Very few private nursing homes are dedicated to the care of the AD sufferer, although some homes will accept a few AD sufferers if they are not behaviorally challenged," said Philip Poi, head of Geriatric Medicine at University Malaya.

"Malaysia is starting to appreciate there is a problem, but currently, care giving is provided mainly by the informal careers such as the spouse or child."

China has up to 8 million dementia patients, but very few hospitals in the country have independent dementia units. By 2030, one in every four Chinese will be over 60.

"Because of China's aging population, the government sees stronger demand for care and medical facilities for the old. It's possible that in the next few years, China will establish more facilities and organizations for old people and dementia patients," said Zhang Shouzi, deputy manager of the Beijing Geriatric Hospital's dementia unit.

(Additional reporting by Venus Wu in Beijing; Editing by Chris Lewis and Jonathan Thatcher)

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Thursday, July 8, 2010

Magnets can improve language ability in Alzheimer's patients

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ANI

Scientists have demonstrated that a brain stimulation technique, known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, boosts the language ability of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or rTMS for short, is a non-invasive technique that involves the delivery of a rapid succession of magnetic pulses in frequencies of up to 100 Hz.

Previous research has shown that this can alter neuronal activity, depending on the frequency of the stimulation.

The technique, which was applied to the prefrontal lobes for 25 minutes each time at a frequency of 20 Hz, was tested in 10 patients with moderate Alzheimer's disease.

Half were randomly assigned to receive four weeks of rTMS (five days a week), and half were given a dummy treatment for two weeks, followed by two weeks of rTMS.

Each participant was tested for memory, executive functions, such as planning, and language at the start of the study, then after two and four weeks, and again after eight weeks.

Significant differences emerged between the two groups after two weeks in respect of the ability of participants to understand spoken language.

The percentage of correct answers after a comprehension test rose from 66percent to over 77 percent among those given rTMS, whereas there was no change in those given the dummy technique.

There was no further change after four weeks, but the improvements were still evident at eight weeks.

rTMS did not alter other language abilities or other cognitive functions, including memory, which suggests that the technique is specific to the language domain of the brain, when applied to the prefrontal lobes, say the authors.

It is not completely clear how the technique works. Rhythmic stimulation may alter cortical activity in the brain, so readjusting unhealthy patterns induced by disease or damage, suggest the authors.

There is some evidence to back this up as imaging studies of people with congenital or acquired brain damage have shown that certain areas of the brain seem to be plastic and that cortical activity can be "reorganised" as a result.

"The present preliminary results ... hold considerable promise, not only for advancing our understanding of brain plasticity mechanisms, but also for designing new rehabilitation strategies in patients with neurodegenerative disease," the authors conclude.

The study has been published online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. (ANI)

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Tuesday, July 6, 2010

ICARA study: Bapineuzumab

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The goal of the ICARA (Bapi) study is to determine if an investigational drug, called bapineuzumab, can help slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Current therapies for Alzheimer's treat the symptoms associated with it, not the disease itself.

It is important for patients and families affected by Alzheimer's to consider participating in clinical studies.

A medical team, including a physician, will monitor participants throughout the study.

There is no charge to participate in this study.

To find out more about bapineuzumab

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Alzheimer's scourge hangs over ill-prepared Asia (part 2)

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

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Reuters

ONE FOR EVERY FAMILY

About 10 percent of those in their 70s can expect to have dementia, and 30 percent of those in their 80s.

"Everyone will experience this, every family. It is now common to live to your 80s," said Peter Yuen, director of the Public Policy Research Institute at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

In the United States, the annual amount spent by the government, private insurance and individuals to care for people with AD, is projected to jump more than six-fold to $1.08 trillion by 2050, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

The costs are just as substantial elsewhere.

Yuen, whose mother has Alzheimer's, told a recent AD symposium in Hong Kong that four years of daycare and two years of residential care in a general nursing home in Hong Kong would cost HK$540,000 (US$69,000) per patient.

But even that is an underestimate for 82-year-old Aw Bek-sum, whose children have had to fork out HK$15,000 (US$1,920) each month to take care of her since she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's four years ago. The sum covers daycare, visits to the doctor, a domestic helper and household expenses.

"It's devastating for families with AD patients. There is just not enough support," Yuen said

He proposes long-term financing or some form of pooled insurance for patients who are chronically ill so that services will be made available once the ability to pay is assured.

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Saturday, July 3, 2010

Breaking News: 2010 Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD)

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

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Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities





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ICAD is the world's premiere forum for reporting and discussion of groundbreaking research and information on the cause, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. As a part of the Association's research program, Alzheimer's Association ICAD serves as a catalyst for generating new knowledge about Alzheimer's and fostering a vital, collegial research community. This year ICAD takes place in Honolulu, Hawaii July 10 - 15

ICAD

Friday, July 2, 2010

Alzheimer's scourge hangs over ill-prepared Asia

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

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities





Get your subscription to Activity Director Today's e magazine

(Reuters) - Asia's fast-aging population will make up more than half of the world's dementia patients in 40 years, with China shouldering the biggest chunk.

Health | China

With very few skilled nursing homes, daycare facilities or plans to build many more, health experts say the region is ill-prepared to cope with the sharp increase in patients needing such specialized and intensive care.

"Asia will bear the burden because of the aging population in China ... figures in China will be tremendous," Dr. David Dai, coordinator of the Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association.

"We are not prepared. The whole of southeast Asia is not prepared," gerontologist Dai said in an interview.

More than 35 million people suffer from Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other forms of dementia, a number expected to almost double by 2030 and pass 115 million by 2050, according to Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI).

Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia, robs people of their memory and thought processes and, eventually, bodily functions.

In Asia, 13.7 million people had Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia in 2005. That is expected to grow to 23.7 million by 2020 and 64.6 million by 2050.

China alone will have 27 million sufferers by 2050 and India 16 million, according to ADI.

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