dementia views you can use: October 2018

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Is Alzheimer's caused by a germ>

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Is Alzheimer's caused by a germ? $1 million goes to anyone who can answer that. If the germ theory gets traction, it could trigger a seismic shift in how doctors understand and treat Alzheimer's. Learn why.

Shots Health News from NPR

Excerpt: full article link below...

Dr. Leslie Norins is willing to hand over $1 million of his own money to anyone who can clarify something: Is Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia worldwide, caused by a germ?

By "germ" he means microbes like bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. In other words, Norins, a physician turned publisher, wants to know if Alzheimer's is infectious.

It's an idea that just a few years ago would've seemed to many an easy way to drain your research budget on bunk science. Money has poured into Alzheimer's research for years, but until very recently not much of it went toward investigating infection in causing dementia.

But this "germ theory" of Alzheimer's, as Norins calls it, has been fermenting in the literature for decades. Even early 20th century Czech physician Oskar Fischer — who, along with his German contemporary Dr. Alois Alzheimer, was integral in first describing the condition — noted a possible connection between the newly identified dementia and tuberculosis.

If the germ theory gets traction, even in some Alzheimer's patients, it could trigger a seismic shift in how doctors understand and treat the disease.

For instance, would we see a day when dementia is prevented with a vaccine, or treated with antibiotics and antiviral medications? Norins thinks it's worth looking into.

Norins received his medical degree from Duke in the early 1960s, and after a stint at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention he fell into a lucrative career in medical publishing. He eventually settled in an admittedly aged community in Naples, Fla., where he took an interest in dementia and began reading up on the condition.

After scouring the medical literature he noticed a pattern.

"It appeared that many of the reported characteristics of Alzheimer's disease were compatible with an infectious process," Norins tells NPR. "I thought for sure this must have already been investigated, because millions and millions of dollars have been spent on Alzheimer's research."

But aside from scattered interest through the decades, this wasn't the case.

In 2017, Norins launched Alzheimer's Germ Quest Inc., a public benefit corporation he hopes will drive interest into the germ theory of Alzheimer's, and through which his prize will be distributed. A white paper he penned for the site reads: "From a two-year review of the scientific literature, I believe it's now clear that just one germ — identity not yet specified, and possibly not yet discovered — causes most AD. I'm calling it the 'Alzheimer's Germ.' "

For the full article, go to:
Infectious Theory Of Alzheimer's Disease Draws Fresh Interest

SOURCE:

Shots Health News from NPR

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Complete memory loss reversal

Manchester University

Mefenamic Acid, a commonly used anti-inflammatory drug, successfully treated Alzheimer's in the lab. The University of Manchester showed how this medication completely reversed memory loss and brain inflammation in mice.

NSAIDs & Alzheimer's

Nearly everybody will at some point in their lives take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; mefenamic acid, a common Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug (NSAID), is routinely used for period pain. In research using mice, it completely reversed memory loss and brain inflammation.

The findings are published in a paper authored by Dr David Brough and colleagues, in the respected journal Nature Communications. Dr Brough and Dr Catherine Lawrence supervised PhD student Mike Daniels, and postdoc Dr Jack Rivers-Auty who conducted most of the experiments.

Inflammatory Pathway

Though this is the first time a drug has been shown to target this inflammatory pathway, highlighting its importance in the disease model, Dr Brough cautions that more research is needed to identify its impact on humans, and the long-term implications of its use.

The research, funded by the Medical Research Council and the Alzheimer’s Society, paves the way for human trials which the team hope to conduct in the future.

Around 500,000 people in the UK have Alzheimer’s disease which gets worse over time, affecting many aspects of their lives, including the ability to remember, think and make decisions.

Mefenamic Acid Vs. Placebo

In the study transgenic mice that develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease were used. One group of 10 mice was treated with mefenamic acid, and 10 mice were treated in the same way with a placebo.

The mice were treated at a time when they had developed memory problems and the drug was given to them by a mini-pump implanted under the skin for one month.

Memory loss was completely reversed back to the levels seen in mice without the disease.

Stopping Brain Cell Damage

Dr Brough said: “There is experimental evidence now to strongly suggest that inflammation in the brain makes Alzheimer’s disease worse.

“Our research shows for the first time that mefenamic acid, a simple Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug can target an important inflammatory pathway called the NLRP3 inflammasome , which damages brain cells.”

He added: “Until now, no drug has been available to target this pathway, so we are very excited by this result.

“However, much more work needs to be done until we can say with certainty that it will tackle the disease in humans as mouse models don’t always faithfully replicate the human disease.

Available Drug, Faster to Trial

“Because this drug is already available and the toxicity and pharmacokinetics of the drug is known, the time for it to reach patients should, in theory, be shorter than if we were developing completely new drugs.

“We are now preparing applications to perform early phase II trials to determine a proof-of-concept that the molecules have an effect on neuroinflammation in humans.”

Dr Doug Brown, Director of Research and Development at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Testing drugs already in use for other conditions is a priority for Alzheimer’s Society - it could allow us to shortcut the fifteen years or so needed to develop a new dementia drug from scratch.

“These promising lab results identify a class of existing drugs that have potential to treat Alzheimer’s disease by blocking a particular part of the immune response. However, these drugs are not without side effects and should not be taken for Alzheimer’s disease at this stage – studies in people are needed first.”

Full bibliographic information:

Fenamate NSAIDs inhibit the NLRP3 inflammasome and 2 protect against Alzheimer’s disease in rodent models, published in the journal Nature Communications

Michael J. D. Daniels, Jack Rivers-Auty, Tom Schilling, Nicholas G. Spencer, William Watremez, Victoria Fasolino, Sophie J. Booth, Claire S. White, Alex G. Baldwin, Sally Freeman, Raymond Wong, Clare Latta, Shi Yu, Joshua Jackson,
Nicolas Fischer, Violette Koziel, Thierry Pillot, James Bagnall, Stuart M. Allan, Pawel Paszek, James Galea, Michael K. Harte, Claudia Eder, Catherine B. Lawrence, David Brough*

SOURCE:

Manchester University

Friday, October 26, 2018

Alzheimer's and marijuana

IOS Press

PREVENTION & THERAPY NEWS:
The hippocampus is the brain's memory and learning center. In a big study of 26,000 people, the hippocampus did not get along with marijuana. Marijuana lowered blood flow to levels unseen in any other group. Find out why this strongly suggests higher vulnerability to Alzheimer’s.

As the U.S. races to legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational use, a large scale brain imaging study gives reason for caution. Published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, researchers using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), a sophisticated imaging study that evaluates blood flow and activity patterns, demonstrated abnormally low blood flow in virtually every area of the brain, in nearly 1,000 marijuana users compared to healthy controls.

Marijuana, Alzheimer's & the Hippocampus

The marijuana users' low blood flow patterns included areas known to be affected by Alzheimer’s pathology such as the hippocampus.

Low Blood Flow

Low blood flow in the hippocampus in marijuana users reliably distinguished marijuana users from controls. The right hippocampus during a concentration task was the single most predictive region in distinguishing marijuana users from their normal counterparts. Marijuana use is thought to interfere with memory formation by inhibiting activity in this part of the brain.

According to one of the co-authors on the study Elisabeth Jorandby, M.D., “As a physician who routinely sees marijuana users, what struck me was not only the global reduction in blood flow in the marijuana users brains, but that the hippocampus was the most affected region due to its role in memory and Alzheimer’s disease."

May Be Harbingers of Brain Damage

She continued, "Our research has proven that marijuana users have lower cerebral blood flow than non-users. Second, the most predictive region separating these two groups is low blood flow in the hippocampus on concentration brain SPECT imaging. This work suggests that marijuana use has damaging influences in the brain – particularly regions important in memory and learning and known to be affected by Alzheimer’s.”

Dr. George Perry, Editor in Chief of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease said, “Open use of marijuana, through legalization, will reveal the wide range of marijuana’s benefits and threats to human health. This study indicates troubling effects on the hippocampus that may be the harbingers of brain damage.”
MORE INFORMATION:

Amen DG, Darmal B, Raji CA, Bao W, Jorandby L, Meysami S, Raghavendra CS (2017) Discriminative Properties of Hippocampal Hypoperfusion in Marijuana Users Compared to Healthy Controls: Implications for Marijuana Administration in Alzheimer’s Dementia. J Alzheimers Dis, doi: 10.3233/JAD-160833.
Figure legend: Example of a volume rendered brain SPECT image (top down view) of a healthy control compared to an 18-year old daily user of marijuana. While the control subject has symmetric activity, the marijuana user shows overall decreased perfusion.

SOURCE:

IOS Press

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Seasons and dementia

PLOS

People with Alzheimer's have better cognition skills in the late summer and early fall, than in the winter and spring, according to a new study.

Adults both with and without Alzheimer's disease have better cognition skills in the late summer and early fall than in the winter and spring, according to a new study. (The study was published in PLOS Medicine by Andrew Lim of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto, Canada, and colleagues.)

There have been few previous studies concerning the association between season and cognition in older adults. In the new work, researchers analyzed data on 3,353 people enrolled in three different cohort studies in the U.S., Canada, and France, with fascinating results.

Participants had undergone neuropsychological testing and, for some participants, levels of proteins and genes associated with Alzheimer's disease were available.

The authors found that average cognitive functioning was higher in the summer and fall than the winter and spring, equivalent in cognitive effect to 4.8 years difference in age-related decline. In addition, the odds of meeting the diagnostic criteria for mild cognitive impairment or dementia were higher in the winter and spring (odds ratio 1.31, 95% CI: 1.10-1.57) than summer or fall.

The association between season and cognitive function remained significant even when the data was controlled for potential confounders, including depression, sleep, physical activity, and thyroid status.

Finally, an association with seasonality was also seen in levels of Alzheimer's-related proteins and genes in cerebrospinal fluid and the brain. However, the study was limited by the fact that each participant was only assessed once per annual cycle, and only included data on individuals from temperate northern-hemisphere regions, not from southern-hemisphere or equatorial regions.

"There may be value in increasing dementia-related clinical resources in the winter and early spring when symptoms are likely to be most pronounced," the authors say. "By shedding light on the mechanisms underlying the seasonal improvement in cognition in the summer and early fall, these findings also open the door to new avenues of treatment for Alzheimer's disease."

REFERENCE:

Andrew S. P. Lim, Chris Gaiteri, Lei Yu, Shahmir Sohail, Walter Swardfager, Shinya Tasaki, Julie A. Schneider, Claire Paquet, Donald T. Stuss, Mario Masellis, Sandra E. Black, Jacques Hugon, Aron S. Buchman, Lisa L. Barnes, David A. Bennett, Philip L. De Jager. Seasonal plasticity of cognition and related biological measures in adults with and without Alzheimer disease: Analysis of multiple cohorts. PLOS Medicine, 2018; 15 (9): e1002647 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002647

SOURCE:

PLOS

Monday, October 22, 2018

Dementia and money

Caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

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

Follow alzheimersideas on twitter
The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

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

PRNewswire for Lloyds TSB

MONEY is a tough topic when living with dementia. Protecting, organizing and talking about it is critical for people with dementia, as well as their families and caregivers. Learn 10 money management tips for people living with a dementia such as Alzheimer's.

Top tips for a person with dementia

1. Discuss money management with your family. Money can be a difficult subject to talk about but it's important you plan how you want your finances to be managed if you became unable to look after it yourself.

2. Make sure that all important papers are in order and that you know where to find them. These might include bank statements, mortgage documents, insurance policies, a will, tax and pension details and bills or guarantees.

3. If you have financial assets, such as property or savings, you can set up a trust. This ensures that the assets are managed in a way that you choose, both now and in the future. There are a number of different kinds of trusts and ways of arranging them.

4. Set up a lasting power of attorney (LPA). This enables you to choose someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf about things such as paying bills and collecting income when you no longer want to make those decisions. It's important you set up an LPA early so that you can give your full and informed consent.

5. Speak to the local bank manager. The discussion can look at extra support that may be available as your condition progresses and ways of managing money e.g. using a signature card instead of a PIN number.

Top tips for caregivers managing the money of a person with dementia

1. Make sure your loved one is receiving all the benefits to which they are entitled. Contact your local government office or Alzheimer's & dementia not-for-profit to find out exactly what should be being received. As a carer, you may also be entitled to benefits such as Carer's allowance.

2. For some, a joint account may be a useful way of managing finances in the early stages of dementia. However, most joint bank accounts are set up to operate only when both parties have capacity to use it. If a bank knows that someone is acting as a lasting power of attorney, they will usually want a separate bank account for that person.

3. Separating your account when it comes to paying for care it is also advisable. This is because a local authority ought to be means testing the person who is in receipt of the service (e.g. home care or residential care), and no one else.

4. Protect your loved one's finances by stopping junk mail and unwanted telephone calls by signing up to your region's mailing and telephone preference services. Put a 'no cold callers' sign on the door. These can be obtained from the local trading standards department and will help prevent door-to-door salesmen from visiting.

5. Speak to your local Alzheimer's & dementia support organization about attending financial workshops. It is important to get educated on how to deal with everyday life with dementia and how to plan for the future, including advice related to money management and finances.

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Does insulin therapy a dementia helper

Caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

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

Follow alzheimersideas on twitter
The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

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

Rush University Medical Center

CLINICAL TRIALS: Find out why researchers think spraying nasal insulin through the nose can improve cognition, memory and daily function in people with Alzheimer’s. Learn why this hormone used for nearly a century to treat diabetes is entering advanced Alzheimer's trials.

(CHICAGO) — Can insulin, the hormone used for nearly a century to treat diabetes, improve cognition, memory and daily function in people with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease?

Rush University Medical Center is testing this innovative potential treatment as part of a new nationwide study.

Neurologists at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center are conducting an 18-month clinical trial testing a type of insulin delivered in a nasal spray — which is used to treat diabetes in some patients — in the Study of Nasal Insulin to Fight Forgetfulness, or SNIFF for short.

The randomized, phase II/III study will examine the safety and efficacy of nasal insulin at planned intervals as a treatment for mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.

Insulin irregularities may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease development

“There is growing evidence that insulin carries out multiple functions in the brain and that poor regulation of insulin may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.” said Dr. Neelum Aggarwal, a neurologist at Rush and the lead investigator of the study in the Chicago area.

“Insulin resistance, reduced cerebrospinal fluid insulin levels and reduced brain insulin signals have been found in Alzheimer’s patients, which suggests that a therapy aimed at correcting these deficiencies may be beneficial,” she says.

Short-term clinical trials of the nasal insulin approach have shown promise in improving cognition, memory and daily function. In addition, the gender of the person may play a role on the insulin effect on memory functioning.

Nasal insulin currently is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and it is not known if nasal insulin can change the course of the disease.

Study participants will be given a nasal spray device with either insulin or a placebo.

Participants will be randomly assigned to the treatment or the placebo group for 12 months. Neither the study participants nor study staff will know who is receiving active treatment with insulin and who is receiving the placebo.

After the 12-month period, all participants will be given active nasal insulin in an “open label” period for an additional six months.

In addition, the phase II/III study will examine the safety and tolerability of nasal insulin at planned intervals.

SNIFF trial at Rush seeks 275 participants

Rush is one of 30 SNIFF research sites nationwide and one of only two in Illinois.

The SNIFF trial at Rush seeks to enroll 275 adults, ages 55 to 85, who have been diagnosed with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) or early Alzheimer’s disease. Patients who volunteer for the study cannot be enrolled in another clinical trial during the study period.

If you are interested in enrolling in a clinical trial for a dementia such as Alzheimer's, go to the U.S. government's clinical trials site at:
ClinicalTrials.gov

Friday, October 19, 2018

Are Alzheimer's drugs good for other memory problems?

Caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

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

Follow alzheimersideas on twitter
The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

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

UCLA School of Nursing

New insights in using Alzheimer's drugs for other memory problems shows why these medications are no simple memory patch.

When people experience memory loss that looks a little like Alzheimer's but isn't, doctors diagnose it as "Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)". Some prescribe the Alzheimer's drug donepezil (Aricept®). New research shows why it should not be prescribed for people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) without a genetic test.

UCLA School of Nursing researchers discovered that for people who carry a specific genetic variation — the K-variant of butyrylcholinesterase, or BChE-K — donezpezil could accelerate cognitive decline.

When It Isn't Alzheimer's

Mild cognitive impairment is a transitional state between normal age-related changes in cognition and dementia. Because many people with the condition display symptoms similar to those caused by Alzheimer’s disease, some physicians prescribe donepezil, which is marketed under the brand name Aricept and is the most-prescribed medication for Alzheimer’s. Donepezil was tested as a possible treatment for mild cognitive impairment in a large, federally funded study published in 2005, but it was not approved by the FDA. Still, doctors have often prescribed the drug “off-label” — meaning that it is not approved for that specific disorder — for their patients with mild cognitive impairment.

Worse Instead of Better

From data collected during the 2005 trial, the researchers looked at the association between BChE-K and changes in cognitive function. Using two tests that measure cognitive impairment, the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes, they found that people with the genetic variation who were treated with donepezil had greater changes in their scores than those who took placebos. They also found that those who took donepezil had a faster cognitive decline than those who took the placebo.

Benefits versus Risks - Ask Your Doctor

Physicians are increasingly using personalized medicine, including pharmacogenetics — the study of how genetics affect a person’s response to a drug — to tailor their patients’ care. The findings reinforce the importance of physicians discussing the possible benefits and risks of this treatment with their patients.

SOURCE:
UCLA School of Nursing
AUTHORS:
The study was led by Sophie Sokolow, an associate professor at the UCLA School of Nursing. Co-authors were Ziaohui Li, Lucia Chen, Kent Taylor and Jerome Rotter, all of UCLA.
REFERENCE JOURNAL:
The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
FUNDING:
The work was supported by the National Institute on Aging (grant 1K23AG05141601A1).

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Recipe for brain health

Caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

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

Follow alzheimersideas on twitter
The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

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

Fruits and Veggies Matter, Adult Recipe Cards by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, public domain government resource.

ry this delicious Taste-of-India Alzheimer's-fighting side-dish. The chickpea base is rich in dementia-resistant arginine. While high-iron chickpeas and spinach guard against stroke and vascular dementia, India's curry spice is rich in neuroprotective turmeric. This offers the brain an added preventative to fight off Alzheimer's. Serve over brown rice.

For information on the health benefits of these ingredients, check out: