Alzheimer's Risk Gene May Damage Brain Decades Before Symptoms Show

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Scans indicate even young adults who have the gene have some white-matter deterioration(HealthDay News) -- A gene allele that increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease starts to damage the brain 50 years before symptoms of the disease appear, a new study suggests.

An allele is one of two or more forms of a gene.

In 2009, scientists concluded that the clusterin (CLU) gene boosts the chances of Alzheimer's disease by 16 percent, but it wasn't clear how it increased risk.

This new study concluded that the C-allele of the CLU gene impairs development of myelin, the protective covering around the axons of neurons in the brain. This impairs brain wiring and can make a person more vulnerable to the onset of Alzheimer's later in life.

About 88 percent of whites have the CLU C-allele, according to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers.

For this study, they used a newer type of MRI to map the connections in the brains of nearly 400 healthy adults aged 20 to 30. The scans revealed that participants with the CLU C-allele had lower white matter integrity than those with a different variant called the CLU T-allele.

The findings are interesting on several levels, according to senior study author Paul Thompson, a professor of neurology.

"For example, Alzheimer's has traditionally been considered a disease marked by neuronal cell loss and widespread gray matter atrophy," he said in a UCLA news release. "But degeneration of the myelin in white matter fiber pathways is more and more being considered a key disease component and another possible pathway to the disease, and this discovery supports that."

Understanding the effects of the CLU C-allele could lead to ways to intervene and protect the brain in the decades before Alzheimer's develops, Thompson suggested.

The study appears in the current online edition of the Journal of Neuroscience

People with Alzheimer's Disease Turn to Art

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Scientists are doing research on people with Alzheimer's disease and other brain disorders to help unravel how the brain works and why these people are interested in creating art. In increasing numbers, people with
Alzheimer's disease are picking up paintbrushes or putting drawing pencils to paper. Some turn to art only after Alzheimer's disease has set in, and they may even be inspired by it. Both groups are helping researchers unravel the complicated and intertwined ways that biology produces creativity, including the contributions of inhibition, obsession and other personality traits. "There are virtually no situations where brain damage makes things better," says Anjan Chatterjee, a neurologist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia , who is working on a book about art and the brain. But art is, he adds, one of the few complex aspects of human cognition that doesn't necessarily get worse.

"Think of a mobile where you have different weights that settle into some kind of equilibrium," he says. "If you take away certain weights, the whole system readjusts. In some instances, the art ends up being just as beautiful.

"In other cases, it's more beautiful."

Lester Potts had never picked up a paintbrush before his Alzheimer's diagnosis in 2001, at the age of 72. He had worked in a rural Alabama sawmill through the Great Depression. He served in the Korean War and grew into an even-keeled and dependable civic leader. But when his brain disorder struck, Potts lost the ability to take care of himself, and he sank into depression.

Painting with watercolors as part of a therapy program buoyed him, says his son, Daniel C. Potts. Even more surprising, his father had talent. When Lester brought home his first creation '" a bright purple and yellow hummingbird with green wings and a red head '" his wife asked him who gave him such a beautiful painting

As Lester's disease progressed, his paintings evolved too. And even though he lost the ability to talk or write before his death in 2007, his artwork continued to feature themes from his youth, offering comfort to
his family and a fascinating look into the brain of someone with a degenerative and still-mysterious disease.

"It is a known phenomenon that folks can find....read all of People with Alzheimer's Disease Turn to Art

The Culprit in Alzheimer's Disease May Be 2 Defective Proteins Acting Together

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There are two proteins in the brain that become abnormal when a person has Alzheimer's disease. These two proteins are beta amyloid and tau. When combined, the result is problems in the parts of the brain cells that
make energy for the cells. These findings are a result of new research and have been published online in " Neurobiology of Aging. "

This research has scientists thinking that the abnormal forms of beta amyloid and tau may work together to destroy brain cells. Beta amyloid and tau make up plaques and tangles in the brain of a person with Alzheimer's disease.

This information is part of a number of findings from a few different laboratories that are studying a part of the cell called the mitochondria. Many researchers believe problems with the mitochondria may be responsible for many abnormal brain conditions like Alzheimer's disease.

The mitochondria of the cell are the energy producers inside all cells, including the neurons. The mitochondria are always working to produce the energy cells need to stay alive. Also, the mitochondria are like the control center of the cells and are in charge of many functions like keeping the amount of calcium in a cell at normal levels. If there is something wrong with a cell's mitochondria, it......read all of The Culprit in Alzheimer's Disease May Be 2 Defective Proteins Acting Together

Top Ways to Help a Veteran with Dementia on Memorial Day

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Veterans who suffer from various forms of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, often have very specific care needs. It is important that these veterans are cared for by people who understand their condition and
have the appropriate instruction and skills. Therefore, encourage family members of veterans to gain the training they need to care for their loved one with dementia.

For those in nursing homes and other institutions, make sure veterans with dementia are visited often. All people, including those with memory loss, need human contact. They need to be hugged. They need to hear your voice. They may not know you but as long as you know who they are, that's all that matters.

Talk to them about their service to our country. They will often share stories with you because their time in the service made a huge impression on them. Tell them how proud you are of them. Thank them for their service. This is sure to make them feel good. Most likely, it will make them smile. Smiling is good for everyone. It will put you and the veteran in a better mood almost automatically. Laughter is wonderful too. It is great medicine and will put both of you in a better frame of mind.

Sing patriotic songs with a veteran with dementia. They will often be able to sing many familiar songs even though they may not be able to speak. Singing in general is good for a veteran in so many ways. Read, "Sing with Me," for the reasons why.

Read to them. Have them read to you. Large simple statements are best. You or they can read prose or poetry. You could also write a story with the veteran.

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High iron, copper levels block brain-cell DNA repair

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EurekAlert

Contact: Jim Kelly
jpkelly@utmb.edu
409-772-8791
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

High iron, copper levels block brain-cell DNA repair
Discovery could shed light on Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders
GALVESTON, Texas — No one knows the cause of most cases of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders. But researchers have found that certain factors are consistently associated with these debilitating conditions. One is DNA damage by reactive oxygen species, highly destructive molecules usually formed as a byproduct of cellular respiration. Another is the presence of excessive levels of copper and iron in regions of the brain associated with the particular disorder.

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have discovered how these two pieces of the neurodegenerative disease puzzle fit together, a connection they describe in a review article in the current Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. A high level of copper or iron, they say, can function as a "double whammy" in the brain by both helping generate large numbers of the DNA-attacking reactive oxygen species and interfering with the machinery of DNA repair that prevents the deleterious consequences of genome damage.

"It's been suggested that an imbalance of DNA damage and repair produces a buildup of unrepaired genetic damage that can initiate neurodegenerative pathology," said postdoctoral fellow Muralidhar Hegde, lead author of the paper. "We don't yet know enough about all the biochemical mechanisms involved, but we have found multiple toxic mechanisms linking elevated iron and copper levels in the brain and extensive DNA damage — pathological features associated with most neurodegenerative disorders."

Humans ordinarily have small amounts of iron and copper in their bodies — in fact, the elements are essential to health. But some people's tissues contain much larger quantities of iron or copper, which overwhelm the proteins that normally bind the metals and sequester them for safe storage. The result: so-called "free" iron or copper ions, circulating in the blood and able to initiate chemical reactions that produce reactive oxygen species.

"Reactive oxygen species cause the majority of the brain cell DNA damage that we see in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, as well as most other neurodegenerative disorders," Hegde said. "It's bad enough if this damage occurs on one strand of the DNA double helix, but if both strands are damaged at locations close to each other you could have a double-strand break, which would be fatal to the cell."

Normally, special DNA repair enzymes would quickly mend the injury, restoring the genome's integrity. But experiments conducted by Hegde and his colleagues showed that iron and copper significantly interfere with the activity of two DNA repair enzymes, known as NEIL1 and NEIL2.

"Our results show that by inhibiting NEIL1 and NEIL2, iron and copper play an important role in the accumulation of DNA damage in neurodegenerative diseases," Hegde said.

The researchers got a surprise when they tested substances that bond to iron and copper and could protect NEIL1 from the metals. One of the strongest protective agents was the common South Asian spice curcumin, which also has been shown to have other beneficial health effects.

"The results from curcumin were quite beautiful, actually," Hegde said. "It was very effective in maintaining NEIL activity in cells exposed to both copper and iron."

Don't Write Off Dementia Patients .

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By KRISTEN GERENCHER
Watching a loved one with dementia reach the final stages is heartbreaking. But you don't have to give up on maintaining a meaningful connection with that person.

Even when memory fails and abilities diminish, friends and relatives can find activities that engage the afflicted person. They can adapt favorite hobbies from the past or try new ones such as listening to or playing music, doing art projects or going fishing together. The key is to keep trying to include the person in activities even if they're relatively simple or mundane, aging experts say.


Lisa Haney
."People get afraid and think 'I don't know what I'm going to say or do,'" says Beth Kallmyer, senior director of constituent services for the Alzheimer's Association in Chicago.

People with dementia may not react the way they did before they got sick, but they still need company and stimulation, she says.

"You might see their eyes light up," Ms. Kallmyer says. "They may be able to smile, make a joke, engage you in a way that surprises you."

When Andrea Kay's father started declining more rapidly in late 2008, she wanted to find a way to reach him and make the most of the time they had left together.

"When I would visit him, it would be increasingly difficult to have a conversation with him," she says.

In early 2009, she started bringing her drawing pad and offered to draw him, which she had done earlier in her life. He agreed and a new ritual was born.

"He loved it because I gave him my full attention," says Ms. Kay, a career consultant and author in Cincinnati. "When you're drawing someone, you're looking deep into their eyes and that's what I loved about it, looking deep into his face and capturing him looking back at me."

She also wrote down comments he made as they talked and her father gently criticized her work, which she says was characteristic of his earlier self. She accumulated about 30 drawings documenting her father's changing features and expressions.

After he died in August 2009, Ms. Kay turned her work into an art show and performance called Flutterby. The name comes from a conversation they had when Ms. Kay pointed out a butterfly to her ailing father, and he recalled that she had referred to them as "flutterbys" when she was little.

"There's a great need for people to understand how to be with someone who is dying or cannot communicate," Ms. Kay says. "People don't want to be around it. And yet there is a way, I discovered, to be there and to have a relationship with somebody even if they don't communicate in the old way."

More families are poised to face similar challenges as the baby-boom generation gets older. Last year, about 15 million family members and friends cared for people with Alzheimer's or other kinds of dementia, amounting to 17 billion hours of unpaid care, according to the Alzheimer's Association. By 2050, the number of people with the disease is projected to balloon to as many as 16 million Americans, up from 5.4 million today.

Shared activities don't always require a lot of effort. If a person used to like to cook or wash dishes, tasks such as mixing ingredients or scrubbing plates may serve to keep patients engaged with their families, which can help alleviate challenging behavior, says Ms. Kallmyer. "If they feel useful in the kitchen, with a little supervision that's a great activity."

As a board-certified music therapist, Kat Fulton of San Diego works with many seniors who have dementia. For some, playing a musical instrument or singing becomes a way to ease the agitation that often comes with the disease. A few months ago, an elderly woman in a skilled-nursing facility was thought to be nonverbal until Ms. Fulton began singing Tin Pan Alley songs and the woman joined in with words and happy gestures.

"The music opened up opportunities for her to feel safe to communicate in whatever ways she could communicate," she says.

Families can do their own version of music therapy, Ms. Fulton says. Her advice: Figure out what music was popular and which songs hit the charts when your loved one was young and then play and sing those tunes together.

"Maybe they were too inhibited to ever dance or too shy to ever sing or play the drum or clap their hands," Ms. Fulton says. "But now you're kind of dealing with a new person. A lot of the inhibitions are lost."

"It's never too late to teach someone with Alzheimer's something new, especially if it's brought in on a repetitive basis and it's music," she says.

The Alzheimer's Association has an always-open, toll-free helpline (1-800-272-3900), which people can call to brainstorm ideas on how to stay connected with a loved one who has dementia.

Alzheimer's disease may start in youth

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By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times

Alzheimer's disease research has shifted to looking for the earliest signs and symptoms of the disease process. A new study has found evidence of early brain damage in some young people at increased risk for the disease.

Researchers led by Dr. Paul Thompson, a UCLA professor of neurology, conducted brain scans on 398 young, healthy people ages 20 to 30. Those participants who carried a particular gene mutation that is known to raise the risk of Alzheimer's -- linked to the CLU gene -- had unique characteristics in white matter (the bundles of nerve cells) in multiple brain regions, including in some areas known to become damaged in Alzheimer's disease. The findings suggest that changes in myelin, the substance that protects nerve cells, may be a sign of increased risk of developing the disease later in life.

"Alzheimer's has traditionally been considered a disease marked by neuronal cell loss and widespread gray matter atrophy," Thompson said in a news release. "But degeneration of myelin in white matter fiber pathways is more and more being considered a key disease component and another possible pathway to the disease, and this discovery supports that."

People who have this particular mutation in the CLU -- which is common -- aren't doomed to develop Alzheimer's disease, the authors noted. And young people who have these changes in white matter are not cognitively impaired. But knowledge about this genetic risk could be used to help prevent the disease later in life, the authors said.

The study was published online last week in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Latest Research Shows Alzheimer's Protein Disrupts Normal Brain Cell Function

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Scientists at the University of South Florida said that it was determined that a protein associated with Alzheimer's disease clogs some of the motors needed for cell transport. The experiments were conducted using human cell cultures and frog egg extracts. This finding was part of a new study at Byrd Alzheimer's Institute which is Florida's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. This finding was also reported at Indiana University. This information was published in the journal Cell Cycle online.

This protein called beta amyloid seems to interfere with the normal division of the cells in the brain. The build up of beta amyloid leads to defective neurons (nerve cells in the brain). The defective neurons contribute directly to the memory loss that is found in Alzheimer's disease. As more beta amyloid builds up more neurons are affected and this most likely causes the memory loss seen in Alzheimer's disease to progress. The scientists conducting the study feel that by identifying a new and important target of the beta amyloid protein, drugs can be developed to protect the motors from destruction and allow the brain to regenerate.

This latest study adds to earlier research done by Dr. Huntington Potter, professor of Molecular Medicine, lead investigator and those working with him. Their earlier research showed that the beta amyloid protein was the culprit that damages the transport system responsible for moving nutrients in the brain cells. The microtubules are important in separating newly duplicated chromosomes as cells divide. When the duplicated chromosomes do not segregate properly, they can create cells with the incorrect number and incorrect mixture of genes.

Over 20 years ago, Potter stated the idea that read all of Latest Research Shows Alzheimer's Protein Disrupts Normal Brain Cell Function

The Two Most Important Medical Screening Tests You Need

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If your loved one or you have dementia, you want to make sure that your other health is good so you should have The Two Most Important Medical Screening Tests You Need.

The first medical screening that every person should have is checking your blood pressure regularly. It is one of the most important and simplest things you can do to protect your health, now and in the future. A lot of
people think more men than women have high blood pressure which is also called hypertension, but in reality about half of the 75 million people who have high blood pressure in the United States are women. More women than men have died of heart disease every year since the early 1980s.

One of the risk factors for developing heart disease is having high blood pressure. When your blood pressure is higher than 140/90, it puts added stress on your heart.. Many experts believe 120/70 is a healthy target blood pressure for you to have. In fact the recommended blood pressure reading for a normal blood pressure has decreased in recent years. No longer is 120/80 considered normal. Now this is considered pre-hypertension or pre high blood pressure.

When a medical professional takes your blood pressure, he usually uses an arm cuff. Now there are special devices that the average person can use to take his blood pressure. You should have your blood pressure checked every time you go to the doctor. Even children should have their blood pressure checked. You can also have your blood pressure checked at many pharmacies now. You can also buy a simple device to check your own blood pressure. It should be noted that

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Did you get the perfect Mother's Day Gift

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If your loved one is suffering from dementia or another memory impairment make sure you read this

Choosing the right present for someone with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia on Mother's Day is certain to give her joyful times independently or with a loved one.

Over 5.3 million Americans are living with dementia. Is one of them someone you know or a client of yours? Get her or anyone with Alzheimer's disease or another dementia a gift that keeps on giving.

Of course, person appropriate offerings are the best. This means matching a gift to a person’s interests and abilities, However, there are some presents that will make them smile no matter what.

One such gift is a book by Susan Berg called Adorable Photographs of Our Baby -- Meaningful, Mind-Stimulating Activities and More for the Memory Challenged, Their Loved Ones and Involved Professionals, This book features baby photographs that seniors with dementia love. This book shares a plethora of ideas and resources for you. Mothers especially love babies

Another gift dementia persons will fancy is a......read all of The Perfect Mother's Day Gift

Could a Diabetes Drug and a Supplement Work Together to Treat Alzheimer's Disease

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Metformin is a medication used to treat diabetes. Resveratrol is a supplement that has the benefits of drinking concentrated red wine. Doctors at Dundee University say that taking both of these things together may stop
Alzheimer's disease in its tracks.

The doctors report that metformin interferes with the development of tau which are neurofibratory tangles. Neurofibratory tangles severly limit communication between brain cells in Alzheimer's disease. They also say that Resveratrol limits the formation of these neurofibratory tangles. This research could help millions of people from getting Alzheimer's disease.

Resveratrol is a type of natural phenol, and is produced naturally by several plants when they are under the attack of harmful bacteria or fungi. Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes. Red wine seems to contains a high level of it.

Resveratrol was added to the cells that produce abnormal proteins called amyloid-beta. The research scientists who did this found that the levels of this abnormal protein were much lower in the cells treated with resveratrol over the untreated cells. While the scientists do not think that the amounts of resveratrol found in grapes and wine could produce the results they found in their studies using larger amounts of resveratrol. These research scientists think that grapes and wine contain molecules that, like resveratrol, are strong antioxidants. The scientists feel that resveratrol can work with other drugs like metformin to fight Alzheimer's disease.

Some experts say that it is read all of..... Could a Diabetes Drug and a Supplement Work Together to Treat Alzheimer's Disease

Nasal vaccine for Alzheimer's disease

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Fredricksburg.com
THINK OF ISRAEL: Rockets from Gaza, terrorist bombings, threats from Iran, the slaughter of settlers, an armed camp. Now, think again. For in that beleaguered New Jersey-size country lies a wellspring of medical and high-tech research, where innovations that could improve the lot of humans everywhere are even now being developed.

Imagine: a nasal vaccine that could protect against Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at Tel Aviv University's Department of Neurobiology may be on the way to producing just that. They've been able to induce an immune response in patients that may eventually be used both to prevent brain damage in stroke victims and restore cognitive function in Alzheimer's cases. Another researcher at the same university has accidentally discovered a drug that may turn off cancer cell reproduction without harming healthy cells.

One Israeli dad (an immigrant from New York) hopes to introduce salt therapy, used in Israel, to the United States. Breathing salt molecules can help patients with lung, sinus, or allergy problems. It's an ancient remedy that's received positive note in major publications like The New England Journal of Medicine.

What's more, there's an Israeli virologist working at Hebrew University's Hadassah Medical Center who has found that an extract from the Israeli elderberry plant is an effective--potentially life-saving--treatment for avian flu.

Who knew all this scientific research was ongoing in Israel? The country ranks third in the world in the ratio of advanced degrees to population, and has the largest number of biotech startups per-capita in the world. While conflict and terror may grab the headlines, it's clear: There's a lot more to this little country.

Exciting New Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease

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There is an electronic device that sticks to the neck of an Alzheimer's disease victim. It most likely works by increasing the body's production of nitric oxide. This is done with the use of infrared light transmission. This in turn relaxes the muscles in the neck. This allows the arteries diameter to increase. This will allow more blood to run through them delivering more blood to the brain. The patch is approximately the size of a band aid.

Early studies have shown that increased blood flow can slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Laboratory tests done during a recent study show that infrared light goes through the skin to stimulate, mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase, an enzyme in blood vessels which stimulates the release of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide causes arteries to widen thus enlarging the area that blood can flow through in order to get to the brain. The patch is placed on an area of the skin directly over the carotid arteries. This light emitting patch is left on the skin for a few hours at a time.

Alzheimer's disease affects over 5.3 million Americans. In the past, research for treatments has focused on getting rid of the build up of harmful proteins. These bad proteins are called amyloid plaques. They can clump together and stop nerve signals from moving throughout the brain. This can affect a person's mood, behavior and memory.

Recent studies have shown limited blood flow to the brain may also be an important factor in the development of Alzheimer's disease. It is theorized that a limited blood supply deprives the brain of important nutrients, and severely limits waste products from getting eliminated from the body. A number of research scientists feel that it is accumulation of waste products that leads to brain damage.

A study in read all of Exciting New Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease