Alzheimer's Patients More Likely to Develop Cognitive Fluctuations

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Alzheimer's Patients More Likely to Develop Cognitive Fluctuations

Seniors who are developing, or already suffer from, the dreaded Alzheimer's Disease (AD) are more likely than their peers to suffer disruptions in their train of thought. These events are also known as cognitive fluctuations, and they include such things as sleepiness, staring into nothing, and disorganized or illogical thinking. The conclusion belongs to a new study carried out by experts at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The team discovered that older people with symptoms of AD tended to exhibit more such episodes than their healthy peers.

“If you have these lapses, they don't by themselves mean that you have Alzheimer's. Such lapses do occur in healthy older adults. But our results suggest that they are something your doctor needs to consider if he or she is evaluating you for problems with thinking and memory,” WUSL neurologist James Galvin, MD, explains.

The expert is based at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and is also the senior author of a new paper detailing the findings, which appears in the January 19 issue of the respected scientific journal Neurology.

In previous studies, cognitive fluctuations have been associated with a condition known as dementia with Lewy bodies. However, until the new study came along, there was no clear indication of any possible links between Alzheimer's disease and these mental lapses. “We have some ideas about why the biology of dementia with Lewy bodies causes these mental lapses, but nothing comparable for Alzheimer's. It's possible that some of the patients who were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in this study will go on to develop dementia with Lewy bodies, but at the time of the study, they weren't showing any of the Lewy body dementia's core features,” Galvin adds.

The new investigation was conducted on 511 participants. The study group had an average age of 78, and all of the subjects were determined to be experiencing memory problems. The WUSL specialists conducted a thorough survey of the symptoms each of the participants exhibited, by either consulting with the people directly, or by asking family members. The factors they were scanning for included drowsiness or lethargy in spite of sufficient sleep, the incidence of times when the test subjects were thinking in illogical and disorganized patterns, and how often the seniors stared into a single point for prolonged periods of time.

About 12 percent of all respondents were determined to exhibit all these three symptoms, the team reveals in the Neurology paper. The conclusions of the research also showed that people suffering from all three mental lapses were 4.6 times more likely than the others to eventually develop Alzheimer's disease. The work is very important because it also sheds more light on Lewy body dementia. It was shown that the condition could easily overlap with AD and Parkinson's, and the new approach to analyzing these correlations may result in novel therapy and drugs to fight dementia.

Alzheimer's Disease: past, current, and future treatments

Examiner.com
National
As the new year approaches we should be aware of Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias: past, current, and future treatments
by Meg Marquardt, Omaha Science Examiner
Agustine D., the first AD patient described by Alzheimer in 1906. Let's take an in-depth look at the history and exciting future of AD treatment.

Part I: A Historical Perspective

The history Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a short-lived one. It was identified by Alois Alzheimer as a unique manifestation of dementia in 1906, a time when senile dementia had been made a popular topic by the likes of Freud. But what of all the time before the 20th century? Certainly people were suffering from AD and dementia long before the modern period. It could be argued that there were few cases of people afflicted with diseases associated with old age simply because they are not living to an old age. The typical onset of AD is around the age of 60, and the average worldwide lifespan did not reach 60 until recent times. The World Health Organization estimates that the average global life expectancy was 31 years in 1900—and below 50 years in wealthy, developed countries. So in 1906, when Alzheimer first outlined the disease, there is a chance that there had been relatively few cases that were noticed, let alone studied.

There were other factors leading to a lack of investigation into AD, assumptions made by scientists and complacency leading the pack. It was generally held that dementia was an.....read the whole article

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Do Carbs Help With Memory?

Here is some interesting news about eating carbs ansd memory.Could eating more carbs help those with dementia?
USA Today
Need justification for grabbing that crusty roll at Christmas dinner or ripping from challah bread during Chanukah? Here it is, albeit from a small study.

A 19-woman Tufts University psychology study found that people on low-carb diets performed worse on memory tests than those on low-calorie diets. But once they started eating carbs again, their memory skills....Read the whole article
Certainly more research is needed to see if this information holds out in a larger study and if eating more carbs helps those with dementia

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Alzheimer's test is a matter of memory, some argue

ChicagoTribune.com
December 21, 2008
There's no mammogram or PSA test for Alzheimer's disease. Yet an Alzheimer's group this month began a push for simple memory screenings in a bid to catch possible warning signs of dementia sooner.

Memory screening

Five-minute mini-tests, doable at a health fair, are hugely controversial. But the provocative new report from the Alzheimer's Foundation of America contends they're a valuable but overlooked tool. The government has begun reviewing whether there's enough science to back broader use of them.

A sample test

Tell someone....read the whole article

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Top Appropriate Holiday Gifts For Those With Dementia

As the holiday season approaches, you do want to get those you know with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia an appropriate gift.
This article will help you out
prlog
Christmas,Chanukah and alike are the perfect chance to give gifts that are not only enjoyable but also are beneficial to persons with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. These presents keep on giving long after the holiday season is gone
Over 5.2 million Americans are living with dementia. Is one of them someone you know or work with? Get him/her or anyone with Alzheimer's disease a gift that will keep on giving long after the holiday is gone.

First on the list of gifts 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.

Another gift dementia persons will fancy is a holiday classic musical such as: “White Christmas” or “Holiday Inn”,

For those who are Jewish, we have, Debbie Friedman's "Miracles and Wonders: A Hanukkah Musical" and “A Taste of Chanukah”

Next is a.....read the wholw article

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Alternative Solutions in Long Term Care and Susan Berg Team Up

prlog
Susan Berg, Certified Dementia Practitioner and author, announces that her book, is now available at Alternative Solutions in Long Term Care. Learn about this premiere website and Susan Berg
Susan Berg, Certified Dementia Practitioner and author, announces that her book, Adorable Photographs of Our Baby Meaningful Mind Stimulating Activities and More for the Memory Challenged, Their Loved Ones and Involved Professionals is now available at Alternative Solutions in Long Term Care http://www.activitytherapy.com/store/books.html (Go to the bottom of the page)
Susan Berg, is a seasoned dementia healthcare professional. She has much experience engaging those with dementia in meaningful activities. She shares some of these.....read the whole story