How to know which foods mix well with dementia medication

Caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

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

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

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The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition

What's tasty and what's not for people with Alzheimer's? Find out from Teepa Snow. Learn what to expect when medication is mixed with food. Turn meals into a real time for connecting.

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How to lower dementia risk with hearing loss treatment

Caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

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

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

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

hear.com — simply good hearing

PREVENTION & THERAPY INFOMERCIAL:

Research shows that for every 10 decibels of hearing loss, the risk of developing dementia increases. Learn how the right hearing aids can lower your risk.

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Hearing Loss & Dementia

Researchers from John Hopkins recently completed an 18-year study showing participants who experienced hearing loss had an increased risk of developing dementia. A person’s risk of developing dementia increased with the severity of hearing loss. In another study, Gallacher et al concluded that for every 10 decibels of hearing loss, the risk of developing dementia increased. 

How does hearing loss impair the brain? When the ears stop hearing certain sounds and frequencies, the brain turns off the areas needed to process those sounds. The brain also begins to shrink. MRIs show that adults with untreated hearing loss lose about a cubic centimeter of brain tissue per year.

Hearing Aids May Lower the Risk of Dementia

Hearing aids receive sounds from your environment and only amplify the sounds your ears had stopped perceiving. This technology enables the brain to recognize and process those frequencies again. Therefore, the brain continues working in those areas! By keeping your brain engaged, brain shrinkage occurs more slowly and the risk for developing dementia may be lowered. 

Hearing aids also help people maintain physical, emotional, and cognitive health by giving them the chance to participate in conversations and social activities. Surveys conducted in Europe revealed hearing aid users are less tired at the end of the day and have more restful sleeps. Hearing aids users are also less depressed. In conclusion, hearing aids provide many benefits, from keeping you happy to keeping your brain healthy. 

To learn more about hearing aids and how to start wearing them, request a free consultation from hear.com. Knowledgeable experts will connect you with the top hearing specialists in your area and provide you with the most effective hearing aids available. 

Start your consultation now » 

SOURCE:

• hear.com — simply good hearing
  396 Alhambra Circle, Suite S-700
  Coral Gables, FL 33134

Best Alzheimer's Drugs

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
St. Michael's Hospital: 
See safety and effectiveness rankings for four Alzheimer's drugs. Ranked on concentration, memory, alertness and mood, learn what the researchers found. 

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An important study, ranking the safety and effectiveness of four drugs taken to enhance concentration, memory, alertness and moods, found that donepezil was most likely to effectively improve cognition in patients with Alzheimer's dementia. 

However, patients who took donepezil were more likely to experience side effects including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea than those who received a placebo, according to the study, published online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Improving Cognition in Alzheimer's

Drugs for Early to Midstage
Brand Name	Generic Name
Aricept®	donepezil
Exelon®	rivastigmine
Remynil or Razadyne®	galantamine
Drugs for Moderate to Severe Stage
Namenda® or Ebixa®	memantine

In 2015, 46 million people worldwide had Alzheimer's disease, according to the study. In 2013, 146,593 people aged 65 and older in Ontario alone used cognitive enhancers, according to a 2016 Ontario Drug Policy Research report. 

"Alzheimer's dementia is the most common form of dementia in North America, and most people who have moderate to severe Alzheimer's will be on these medications," said Dr. Andrea Tricco, a scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital and lead author of the study. "This analysis will give both patients and clinicians a full picture of how each of these drugs will likely affect their cognition, as well as their overall health."

Safety & Effectiveness

Although there have been previous reviews of the safety and effectiveness of cognitive enhancers in treating Alzheimer's dementia, the authors said this was the first to rank their comparative safety and effectiveness. 

The study used network meta-analysis, an advanced statistical analysis technique, to systematically review existing evidence from 142 clinical trials of four common cognitive enhancers administered alone or in combination published between 1996 and 2015. The number of patients in each study ranged from 13 to 2,045, and the review evaluated a total of 33,889 patients. 

The researchers compared the safety and effectiveness of any combination of donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine or memantine in treating moderate to severe Alzheimer's dementia based on the results of the clinical trials that examined a number of patient outcomes, including cognition, function behaviour, global status, mortality, serious adverse events, falls, bradycardia, headache, diarrhea, vomiting and nausea. Donepezil was likely the most effective medication for Alzheimer's dementia across all effectiveness outcomes, including cognition, behavior and overall health, according to the study.

Best Course of Alzheimer's Treatment

Donepezil was also the only cognitive enhancer that reached the minimal clinically important threshold -- meaning effects on outcomes were observed clinically, as well as statistically -- on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment cognition scale, making it the likely first choice for those patients and clinicians considering these medications, the authors said.

Although no significant risk of serious harm, falls or reduced heart rate was associated with any of the medications in the study, the data was limited on these specific outcomes.

Previous research by the authors found that cognitive enhancers do not improve cognition or function in people with mild cognitive impairment, and these patients experience significantly more nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and headaches.

The findings of the current study will help guide patients and clinicians who are making decisions about the best course of treatment for Alzheimer's dementia, said Dr. Tricco.

"The more information we are able to gather about how each of these medications can affect a patient's cognition and health, the more likely we are to be able to improve their health outcomes," she said.

REFERENCE:

• Andrea C. Tricco, Huda M. Ashoor, Charlene Soobiah, Patricia Rios, Areti Angeliki Veroniki, Jemila S. Hamid, John D. Ivory, Paul A. Khan, Fatemeh Yazdi, Marco Ghassemi, Erik Blondal, Joanne M. Ho, Carmen H. Ng, Brenda Hemmelgarn, Sumit R. Majumdar, Laure Perrier and Sharon E. Straus. Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Cognitive Enhancers for Treating Alzheimer's Disease: Systematic Review and Network Metaanalysis. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, September 2017 DOI: 10.1111/jgs.15069

SOURCE:

• St. Michael's Hospital:
  St. Michael’s Hospital provides compassionate care to all who enter its doors. The hospital also provides outstanding medical education to future health care professionals in more than 29 academic disciplines. Critical care and trauma, heart disease, neurosurgery, diabetes, cancer care, care of the homeless and global health are among the Hospital’s recognized areas of expertise. Through the Keenan Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Healthcare Education Centre, which make up the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, research and education at St. Michael’s Hospital are recognized and make an impact around the world. Founded in 1892, the hospital is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.

How nuts help the brain

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
University of South Australia

In 4,000 elders, nuts boosted cognition by 60% and delayed memory decline by 2 years. See the "Healthy Nuts" chart, detailing the benefits of 10 different nuts. Watch these videos to learn why long-term, high nut consumption is a key to better thinking in older adults. 

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Long-term, high nut consumption could be the key to better cognitive health in older people according to new research from the University of South Australia. 

In a study of 4822 Chinese adults aged 55+ years, researchers found that eating more than 10 grams of nuts a day was positively associated with better mental functioning, including improved thinking, reasoning and memory.

Cognition & Nut Intake

Lead researcher, UniSA's Dr Ming Li, says the study is the first to report an association between cognition and nut intake in older Chinese adults, providing important insights into increasing mental health issues (including dementia) faced by an ageing population. 

"Population aging is one of the most substantial challenges of the twenty-first century. Not only are people living longer, but as they age, they require additional health support which is placing unprecedented pressure on aged-care and health services," Dr Li says.

Nuts are a Preventative Dietary Modification

"In China, this is a massive issue, as the population is ageing far more rapidly than almost any other country in the world. 

"Improved and preventative health care -- including dietary modifications -- can help address the challenges that an aging population presents.

Two Teaspoons Vs. No Teaspoons of Nuts

"By eating more than 10 grams (or two teaspoons) of nuts per day older people could improve their cognitive function by up to 60 per cent- compared to those not eating nuts -- effectively warding off what would normally be experienced as a natural two-year cognition decline." 

China has one of the fastest growing aging populations. In 2029, China's population is projected to peak at 1.44 billion, with the ratio of young to old dramatically imbalanced by the rising ranks of the elderly. By 2050, 330 million Chinese will be over age 65, and 90.4 million will be over age 80, representing the world's largest population of this most elderly age group.

17% Consume Nuts Regularly

More broadly, the World Health Organization says that by 2020, the number of people aged 60 years and older will outnumber children younger than five years old. 

The UniSA study analysed nine waves of China Health Nutrition Survey data collected over 22 years, finding that 17 per cent of participants were regular consumers of nuts (mostly peanuts). Dr Li says peanuts have specific anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects which can alleviate and reduce cognitive decline.

No Cure, But Nuts Offer Improvements

"Nuts are known to be high in healthy fats, protein and fibre with nutritional properties that can lower cholesterol and improve cognitive health," Dr Li says. 

"While there is no cure for age-related cognition decline and neurogenerative disease, variations in what people eat are delivering improvements for older people." 

The World Health Organization estimates that globally, the number of people living with dementia is at 47 million.

Modifying Diet Worth the Effort

By 2030, this is projected to rise to 75 million and by 2050, global dementia cases are estimated to almost triple. China has the largest population of people with dementia.x 

"As people age, they naturally experience changes to conceptual reasoning, memory, and processing speed. This is all part of the normal ageing process," Dr. Li says. 

"But age is also the strongest known risk factor for cognitive disease. If we can find ways to help older people retain their cognitive health and independence for longer -- even by modifying their diet -- then this absolutely worth the effort." 

SOURCE:

• ARTICLE: University of South Australia
VIDEOS: NutritionFacts.org
• CHART: The Indian Spot

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How do lettuce and oil protect the brain

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

King's College London


A diet that combines unsaturated fats with nitrite-rich vegetables, such as olive oil and lettuce, can protect you from hypertension and vascular dementia. Learn which foods are helpful and why.

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A diet that combines unsaturated fats with nitrite-rich vegetables, such as olive oil and lettuce, can protect you from hypertension, suggests a dietary study led by King's College London. Hypertension is a major risk factor for vascular dementia.

The findings, published in the journal PNAS, help to explain why some previous studies have shown that a Mediterranean diet can reduce blood pressure.

The Mediterranean diet typically includes unsaturated fats found in:

• olive oil,
• nuts
• avocados,

along with vegetables that are rich in nitrites and nitrates like: 

• spinach,
• celery
• carrots.

When these two food groups are combined, the reaction of unsaturated fatty acids with nitrogen compounds in the vegetables results in the formation of nitro fatty acids.

The study, supported by the British Heart Foundation, used mice to investigate the process by which these nitro fatty acids lower blood pressure, looking at whether they inhibited an enzyme known as soluble Epoxide Hydrolase which regulates blood pressure.

Mice genetically engineered to be resistant to this inhibitory process were found to maintain their high blood pressure despite being fed the type of nitro fatty acids that normally form when a Mediterranean diet is consumed. However, nitro fatty acids were found to lower the blood pressure of normal mice following the same diets.

Thus, the study concludes that the protective effect of the Mediterranean diet, combining unsaturated fats and vegetables abundant in nitrite and nitrate, comes at least in part from the nitro fatty acids generated which inhibit soluble Epoxide Hydrolase to lower blood pressure.

Professor Philip Eaton, Professor of Cardiovascular Biochemistry at King's College London, said: 

"The findings of our study help to explain why previous research has shown that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular problems like stroke, heart failure and heart attacks."

Source:

• King's College London

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Journal Reference:

1. Rebecca L. Charles, Olena Rudyk, Oleksandra Prysyazhna, Alisa Kamynina, Jun Yang, Christophe Morisseau, Bruce D. Hammock, Bruce A. Freeman, and Philip Eaton. Protection from hypertension in mice by the Mediterranean diet is mediated by nitro fatty acid inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase. PNAS, May 2014 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1402965111