Honor Dementia Caregivers This Labor Day (part3)

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How Extraordinary Americans Do Extraordinary Things
The fifth reason for honoring those caring for a dementia person is all the time they devote to this job. The caregiver is most likely responsible for everything from cleaning to cooking to shopping to yard work. The list seems endless. These tasks are even more difficult because while the caregiver is doing them, he must also keep the dementia person safe.

According to a report published by the national Alzheimer's Association, ten million caregivers provided 83 billion dollars worth of care in 2005.

So this Labor Day while you are relaxing or celebrating the end of summer, think about those 10 million dementia caregivers and all the under appreciated hard work they do, everyday, seven days a week, sometimes 24 hours a day. If you know someone with this challenging task, call them, thank them and offer a helping hand

Honor Dementia Caregivers This Labor Day (part 2)

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The second reason to pay tribute to ones caring for someone with dementia is their resourcefulness. Caregivers are good at coming up with unique strategies for managing and paying for the supervision of their loved one. They may get help from attending a support group in person or online. However, they are the ones ultimately responsible for a workable plan of care.

Third is recognizing that many perform physically demanding aspects of a dementia persons' care. Many do the bathing, feeding and toileting of their family member with dementia. These tasks are difficult because many with dementia are confused and combative.

Next, these caregivers should be honored for all the time they devote to all aspects of a dementia persons' life. As just mentioned, most caregivers are responsible for the physical aspects of care. But they also must engage their loved ones in meaningful activities throughout the day and sometimes well into the night. Fortunately many take advantage of adult day care to ease the burden. Unfortunately, some dementia folks refuse to participate in or have behaviors that preclude them from attending these worthwhile programs.

Honor Dementia Caregivers This Labor Day

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How Extraordinary Americans Do Extraordinary Things
According to the United States government Labor Day, celebrates the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of America. Dementia caregivers certainly meet these criteria. Because over 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with dementia, there are approximately 10 million caregivers attending to them. This is a hard job that they did not sign up for but was thrust upon them. Honor them this Labor Day for all the difficult work they do.

The first reason to honor a caregiver is for the financial burden they incur when caring for a person with dementia. First the family has consulted an Elder law attorney to get all the finances in order.

Most likely the caregiver had to cut back on the hours of paid employment. Despite using all the resources out there, all expenses for the care of a dementia person will not be covered. That means go without, or pay for necessary items out of pocket

come back soon for more on this

How nicotine patches could slow the onset of Alzheimer's disease

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Researchers have found the use of nicotine patches could prevent the deterioration of brain cells and slow down the progress of Alzheimer's disease.

Scientists, whose results were published in the 'Neurology' journal, said the results of a trial on 74 patients with mild cognitive impairment suggested the patches could "slow mental decline".

Nicotine patches slowly release the chemical into the bloodstream and are used by smokers who are trying to quit, in order to get the familiar "hit" of nicotine.

However the scientists found the nicotine played a key role in activating nerve cells which are important for memory and learning.

The people involved in the study, which was carried out at the Vanderbilt School of Medicine, showed an increased attention span and mental function.

Dr Paul Newhouse, who led the study, said: "People with mild memory loss should not start smoking or using nicotine patches by themselves, because of the harmful effects of smoking and a medication such as nicotine should only be used with a doctor's supervision."

'But this study provides strong justification for further research into the use of nicotine for people with early signs of memory loss."

"We do not know whether benefits persist over long periods of time and provide meaningful improvement."

Dr Simon Ridley, of Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "This looks promising. We hope it can help in developing therapies."

Passover's Matzoh Ball Soup May Be Good For Your Health

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AC Content

With the Jewish holiday of Passover beginning at sundown Monday, April 18 , a staple of the traditional dinner, chicken soup with matzoh balls, may take on medicinal importance based on findings published in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

The popular home remedy for the common cold sometimes known as "Grandma's Penicillin" may have a new role alongside medication and other medical measures in fighting high blood pressure, scientists in Japan are reporting.

Ai Saiga, Ph.D., and colleagues cite previous studies indicating ...read all of Passover's Matzoh Ball Soup May Be Good For Your Health

Algal DHA Improved Memory and Learning in Healthy Adults Age 55 and Older

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The Memory Improvement with Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) Study (MIDAS) published online in March 2010 and in the November print issue of Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association showed that algal DHA improved memory function in healthy aging adults, by giving them memory skills of someone three years younger..
MIDAS is the first large, randomized and placebo-controlled study demonstrating the benefits of algal DHA in maintaining and improving brain health in older adults. The goal of MIDAS was to evaluate the effects of algal DHA on cognitive outcomes in healthy elderly people with a mild memory complaint. The study was funded by Martek Biosciences.
MIDAS found that healthy people over age 55 with memory complaints who took 900 mg algal DHA capsules for six months had almost double the reduction in errors on a test that measures learning and memory performance versus those who took a placebo,. The DHA was tolerated well and the people taking the DHA also had a lower heart rate, providing a benefit to their heart.
Another study, published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), conducted by the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) group, found that treatment with DHA did not show statistically significant benefit in cognitive function over placebo in a population that already had an Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and was also receiving concomitant prescription therapy. However, the study authors noted that intervention with DHA might have been effective if initiated earlier in the course of the disease in patients who do not have overt dementia. An editorial published in JAMA accompanying the study noted the same, stating that effective treatment strategies to prevent progression of Alzheimer's disease will likely need to be initiated earlier and that the treatment of mild to mo derate AD may be "too late."
Of great interest, the ADCS study demonstrated a significantly

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Poker can reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer's

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Carbon Poker

If you’ve ever wondered how 77 year-old Doyle Brunson can still play in the world’s biggest poker games, hang out in strip clubs, and participate in beer pong tournaments at an age when some people are entering the nursing home, new research by Dr. Jeffrey Cummings reveals why.

Cummings is one of the world’s leading Alzheimer’s disease researchers, and he says that playing poker can drastically reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer’s. In fact, Cummings’ research suggests that playing poker merely twice a week can reduce a person’s chances of Alzheimer’s by 50% or more.

The research done by Jeffrey Cummings makes reference to a 2009 French study where 5,000 elderly people participated in various mental games including poker. Out of all the games, poker was proven to be one of the most effective at battling Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Cummings explained the positive results that older people experience from playing poker by saying, “We have a social idea of what retirement consists of and we need to re-examine that idea. The logical extension of the data we have on dementia is that a person who is still capable of working – who is mentally stimulated with a strong sense of purpose – is better off from the cognitive point of view continuing to engage in that position.”

Judging from Cummings’ lengthy scientific explanation of poker’s benefits on the elderly, the elderly are better off jumping in some online hold’em games rather than sitting back and watching Larry King Live and Bill O’Reily every night. And while you may be nowhere close to your 70’s or 80’s, this is certainly something to keep in mind when you’re old enough to start wearing diapers again.

Why Do Memory Problems Strike Men Harder? (part 2)

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Why Do Memory Problems Strike Men Harder?

“This is the first study conducted among community-dwelling persons to find a higher prevalence of MCI in men,” said study author Ronald Petersen, MD, PhD, with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “If these results are confirmed in other studies, it may suggest that factors related to gender play a role in the disease. For example, men may experience cognitive decline earlier in life but more gradually, whereas women may transition from normal memory directly to dementia at a later age but more quickly.”

For the study, 2,050 people between the ages of 70 to 89 in Olmstead County, Minn. were interviewed about their memory and their medical history and tested on their memory and thinking skills.

The study found that nearly 14 percent of participants had mild cognitive impairment, about 10 percent had dementia and 76 percent of those tested had normal memory and thinking skills. A total of 19 percent of men had mild cognitive impairment, compared to 14 percent of women.

“The finding that the frequency of mild cognitive impairment is greater in men was unexpected, since the frequency of Alzheimer’s disease is actually greater in women. It warrants further study,” says Ronald Petersen, M.D., Ph.D., neurologist and director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. “If we consider the 16 percent prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in individuals without dementia, then add the 10-11 percent of individuals who already have dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, we’re looking at 25 percent or more of the population aged 70 or older who have dementia or are at risk of developing dementia in the near future. With the aging of America, these numbers are staggering and the impact on the health care economy, as well as on individuals and their families, is quite impressive. The need for early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention is increasingly important.”

Self test for memory disorders( part 2 )

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Douglas Scharre, a neurologist at the Ohio State University Medical Center, developed the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE) to help identify individuals with mild thinking and memory impairments at an early stage.

The research shows four out of five people (80%) with mild thinking and memory (cognitive) issues will be detected by this test, and 95% of people who are normal thinking will have normal SAGE scores.

Scharre, who specializes in treating Alzheimer's disease, said treatments for Alzheimer's and dementia are more effective when they are introduced in the earliest stage of the disease. Unfortunately, he said he often sees patients more than three to four years after the first symptoms of a cognitive impairment began to appear.

"It's a recurring problem," said Scharre. "People don't come in early enough for a diagnosis, or families generally resist making the appointment because they don't want confirmation of their worst fears. Whatever the reason, it's unfortunate because the drugs we're using now work better the earlier they are started."

Self-test for memory disorders designed

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Washington, DC: Researchers have designed a self-administered test to screen for early dementia, and it could help speed the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of memory disorders, including Alzheimer's disease.

The handwritten self-assessment, which can take less than 15 minutes to complete, is a reliable tool for evaluating cognitive abilities.

The discovery has been explained in the current issue of the journal Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders.

Douglas Scharre, a neurologist at the Ohio State University Medical Center, developed the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE) to help identify individuals with mild thinking and memory impairments at an early stage.

The research shows four out of five people (80%) with mild thinking and memory (cognitive) issues will be detected by this

Early Identification Of Alzheimer's Disease With PET Scan

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Medical News Today

Westside Medical Associates of Los Angeles and Westside Medical Imaging (WMI) of Beverly Hills announce the benefit of early positron emission tomography (PET) scanning to identify Alzheimer's in its early more treatable phase. According to Dr. Norman Lepor, Professor of Medicine at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Co-director of Imaging at WMI, "the research investigators at the New York University Langone Medical Center have confirmed our long held belief that we can use advanced imaging for early identification of Alzheimer's disease in patients that have not yet developed symptoms." According to Dr. Lisa Moscone of the NYU Langone Medical Center, "treating at this early stage would have the best chance of success." According to Dr. Hooman Madyoon, Co-director of Imaging at WMI, "nearly 5 million Americans suffer from the debilitating effects of Alzheimer's with the number of Americans expected to be afflicted increasing to epidemic levels as the population ages."

According to Dr. Elliot Kolin, lead radiologist at WMI, "the NYU research team used PET with a fluorescent imaging agent called Pittsburgh Compound B that lights up clumps of a protein called beta amyloid that is a characteristic finding of Alzheimer's disease." According to Dr. Moscone not all patients with beta amyloid plaques in their brain develop Alzheimer's, the appearance of these plaques do increase the risk.

Source: Westside Medical Imaging

Report: Minorities more likely to suffer Alzheimer's disease (part 2)

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USA Today
What's not a sign of dementia

Forgetting names and appointments now and then Forgetting recently learned material

Sometimes forgetting why you came into a room or what you planned to say Problems staying organized day to day, losing track of steps in making a call or playing a game

Sometimes grasping for the right word Forgetting simple words more often

Misplacing keys and wallets Putting things in unusual places, like a watch in the sugar bowl

Trouble balancing a checkbook at times Paying bills twice or not at all

By Mary Brophy Marcus, USA TODAY

Report: Minorities more likely to suffer Alzheimer's disease

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USA Today

By Mary Brophy Marcus, USA TODAY

As deaths from heart disease and many types of cancers have dipped, living longer is putting more people at risk for Alzheimer's disease, the brain-wasting condition that a new report shows African-Americans and Hispanics are particularly vulnerable to as they grow older.
According to the Alzheimer's Association's report released today, "2010 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures," 5.3 million people are living with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. African Americans are almost twice as likely as whites to have Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, and Hispanics are about one and a half times more likely to be stricken with it.


ALZHEIMER'S: Video, plus normal aging vs. warning signs
BLACKS: Church, researchers unite to fend off cognitive decline
LATINOS: Join Alzheimer's study, tackle cultural issues
LIVING WITH ALZHEIMER'S: Patient's blog welcomes comments, questions

Maria Carrillo, the Alzheimer's Association's senior director of medical and scientific relations, says higher rates of diabetes and heart disease in the African-American and Hispanic communities probably are linked to increased rates of dementia.

Carrillo, who has Hispanic roots and whose mother-in-law has Alzheimer's, says a lack of awareness of community health resources deters disease education and prevention measures, and cultural attitudes, including respect for the elderly (not questioning the authority of a senior even if he or she exhibits symptoms of dementia) can be roadblocks to early diagnosis and treatment.

Many people do not realize they have the power early on to reduce their risk of developing dementia, says Alzheimer's expert Steven DeKosky, senior vice president and dean of the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

"Exercise, watch your lipids (cholesterol) and blood pressure and abdominal girth," DeKosky says. "Exercise your brain, stay active, challenge yourself with puzzles like sudoku. Don't do just passive sorts of things."

Many are also not aware that medications can help with the symptoms, says Carrillo, who points out that for every person with Alzheimer's, one or more caretakers are juggling that patient's increasing health needs as the disease progresses. (Alzheimer's patients live an average of four to six years and as many as 20.) She worries about caretakers' health and stress levels, too.

DeKosky notes that medical centers struggle to find early-Alzheimer's patients to participate in drug studies, and that research has slowed.

According to the new report, which examined data from 2000 to 2006, deaths from Alzheimer's increased by 46% compared with heart disease deaths, which dropped by 11%; breast cancer deaths, which decreased by nearly 3%; and prostate cancer deaths, which dropped by nearly 9%.

DeKosky says that even though families may suspect a loved one has dementia, they may be less likely to visit the doctor because they know there's no cure. "We will be greatly helped when there are more powerful medications, when we can make life better for abuela," he says.

Early Alzheimer's can manifest itself in different ways, says Darby Morhardt of Northwestern University's Alzheimer's Disease Center in Chicago. Though everyone occasionally blanks, some lapses are more cause for concern.

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How to Teach Others About Alzheimer's Disease

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eHow

According to the Alzheimer's Association, as of July 2009, more than 5.3 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Stephen DeKosky, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh, says that over the next 25 years, the number of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease may double. With this in mind, it's time for you to learn about this mind-robbing disease. After you do, teach others about it.

1Learn about Alzheimer's disease. Before you can teach others, you need to be knowledgeable about the disease yourself. The Alzheimer's Association discusses the latest information about the disease on its website.

Step 2Share information with your audience in a way they can understand. The way you teach each group the information changes depending on your audience. Children need uncomplicated, simple-to-understand information; adults can assimilate more detailed data.

Step 3Teach how lifestyle changes can delay or prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Two studies published recently in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" say that there is strong evidence that long-term healthy lifestyle habits may reduce the risk of mental decline in old age.

Healthy lifestyle habits include eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish and whole grains, exercising both mentally and physically and eliminating bad health habits, such as smoking.

Step 4Visit an Alzheimer's Unit with permission. Your students see first hand what Alzheimer's disease does to people. At the same time, you provide a pleasant diversion for the unit's residents.

Step 5Provide.......read all about How to Teach Others About Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's Disease : The role of Tangles and Plaques

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Article Blast

Written by liza arwati

Alzheimer's disease is a brain disorder that affects person memory, thinking and behavior. This disease is a form of dementia that is found mainly in people over the age of 65. Alzheimer's disease accounts for approximately 70 percent of dementia cases.

Alzheimer's disease was first recorded by Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician who specialized in neuropathology and histopathology, in early 1900's. One of his patients, a woman names Auguste Deter, had completely lost her memory and developed strange behaviors. When she passed away, Dr. Alzheimer decided to examiner her brain to find out the causes of the symptoms. He noticed two differences that have come to identify Alzheimer's disease, gumlike clumps outside some cells and an abnormal collection of protein inside other cells. He dubbed these plaques and tangles.

Tangles
The nutrients from the cell body need to be transported to nerve endings. Inside the healthy brain cells, long threads of proteins serve as tracks for this transport of nutrients.

When scientists examined the brains of patients with Alzheimer disease who had died, they discovered that some of these transport proteins were tangled. Neurons with tangles in their branches could not send nutrient molecules to their nerve endings, and therefore they could not communicate with other neurons. Tangles are found in the cerebral cortex of the brain mainly in the temporal lobe structures.

Plaques
The second thing Alzheimer took note of was the neuritic plaques. The neuritis plaques are made of a protein called amyloid, normally found in the body. In a person with alzheimer's disease, large sediments of the protein accumulate between the nerve cells. These plaques were later found to be comprised of deposits of aluminum silicate as well as the amyloid protein.

Amyloid plaques damage the connection points between neurons and interfere with their ability to communicate with one another. Plaques seem to develop initially in the cortical areas in the temporal lobes, which explains why Alzheimer's patients first develop profound memory loss.

Patients who suffer from a more severe form of Alzheimer disease have far more plaques than those with mild forms. The brains of persons unaffected by Alzheimer can have a few plaques.

Scientists are now on searching to find out why millions of plaques found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease while very few found in the brains of healthy older peoples.

Amyloid plaques seem to trigger an inflammatory response. In the brain, the inflammatory cells may cause injury simply by their arrival in and around the plaques. The inflammatory process appears to destroy large numbers of brain cell in alzheimer's patients.

Another contributor to Alzheimer's disease may be that the natural repair mechanism that rid the body of free radicals is faulty. Apolipoprotein E, which has the potential to protect the lipid membranes against free radical injury, might be less efficient (in repairing the damage) variant in the brain of an Alzheimer's patients. Without an adequate protection, the free radicals that are brought to the inflammation sites around a plaque can kill nearby innocent neurons too.

Antioxidants such as vitamin E, which aid in the absorption of free radicals, seem to ease the burden of Alzheimer's disease in some patients.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com

Research Demonstrates that Optimized Turmeric Extract Inhibits Amyloid-Beta...

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HerbalScience Research Demonstrates that Optimized Turmeric Extract Inhibits
Amyloid-Beta Accumulation, a Hallmark of Alzheimer's Disease
- Results of Laboratory Study Detecting Previously Unidentified Bioactives in
Standardized Turmeric Extract Will Be Published in Upcoming Issue of Current
Alzheimer's Research -




NAPLES, Fla., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Alzheimer's disease is the most common
cause of dementia among the elderly and is projected to increase in prevalence
over the next decades as the population ages -- creating an urgent need for
treatments that will prevent or reverse the now-inexorable course of cognitive
deterioration and memory loss. Because development of synthetic drugs is
expensive and complex, many researchers are focusing on botanical extracts
whose benefits have been documented by traditional medicine systems. In that
vein, scientists with HerbalScience Group LLC, working with researchers from
other organizations and medical institutions, conducted an in-depth study of
optimized turmeric extracts, demonstrating that key bioactives in the
botanical extracts inhibit aggregation and release of amyloid, a protein
fragment considered a prime causal suspect in Alzheimer's disease.

An article detailing the study, titled "Optimized Turmeric Extracts Have
Potent Anti-Amyloidogenic Effects," will be published in the December 2009
issue of Current Alzheimer's Research, a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The
authors are affiliated with several research organizations and medical
institutions, including HerbalScience Group LLC; the University of Miami
Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida; the University of South
Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, Florida; Veterans Administration Hospital,
Research Service, Tampa, Florida; and Natura Therapeutics, Tampa, Florida.

"The optimized extracts outperformed curcumin, the best studied anti-Alzheimer
extract from turmeric," said Randall S. Alberte, Ph.D., one of the authors of
the study and Chief Scientific Officer of HerbalScience Group LLC, a Naples,
Florida, and Singapore-based company dedicated to applying advanced science
and technology to the production of botanical drugs and nutraceuticals.

For the research, three standardized turmeric extracts were prepared that were
enriched in curcuminoids and turmerones, two major classes of compounds
present in turmeric. Each of the three proprietary extracts had a different
chemical profile and was standardized using advanced extraction technology
developed by HerbalScience to create herbal extracts that are dose-reliable
and efficacious. The activities of the extracts were compared to standard
curcuminoids.

Inhibition of amyloid aggregation and secretion was studied in vitro among the
different extracts and standards, and it was found that one of the extracts
had the greatest activity in inhibiting the aggregation and secretion of
amyloid. This extract, containing the highest levels of curcuminoids among all
of the extracts, demonstrated activity that was significantly greater than
curcumin alone, the most active of the four curcuminoid standards. This result
indicates that an enriched turmeric extract could be just as or more effective
than curcumin, the most commonly studied turmeric material for Alzheimer's
disease.

The HerbalScience study also used advanced DART (Direct Analysis in Real Time)
Time-of-Flight mass spectrometry technology to generate detailed chemical
profiles of each extract in order to determine the key bioactive compounds.
Only 5% of the compounds were known chemicals, with the remaining 95% being
identified for the first time. With further chemical analysis and
identification of key bioactives, highly standardized extracts such as these
could offer a rich new source for potential drug discovery for Alzheimer's and
other therapeutic targets.

The journal article detailing the study will appear in the December 2009 issue
of Current Alzheimer's Research (Vol. 6, No. 6). Authors are R. Douglas
Shytle, Paula C. Bickford, Kavon Rezai-zadeh, L Hou, Jin Zeng, Jun Tan, and
Paul Sanberg, with University of South Florida College of Medicine
affiliations including the Department of Neurosurgery Center for Excellence in
Aging and Brain Repair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Silver Child Development Center, and Neuroscience Program; Cyndy D. Sanberg of
Natura Therapeutics, Inc., Tampa, Florida; Bill Roschek Jr. and Randall S.
Alberte, of HerbalScience Group LLC, Naples, Florida; and Ryan C. Fink,
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Miami
Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida. Dr. Bickford is also
affiliated with the Veterans Administration Hospital, Research Service, Tampa,
Florida; and Drs. Shytle, Bickford, Tan, and Paul Sanberg are also affiliated
with Natura Therapeutics.

HerbalScience is a privately-held life sciences company headquartered in
Naples, Florida, with facilities in Singapore. HerbalScience is engaged in the
discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of proprietary botanical
compounds for human health in the U.S. and international markets. The company
has prominent alliances with prestigious university laboratories and prominent
researchers in the U.S., as well as research institutions in China.

Alzheimer’s Disease: Women Affected More Often than Men

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Written by Society for Women

Nearly 5.3 million people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in our country, and more than half of them are women, according to the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Md. As the general population continues to age, this number is expected to increase significantly over the next few decades.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, a group of brain disorders that interferes with a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. In AD, areas of the brain change and deteriorate, which causes a decline in cognition and memory functioning. In some patients, the deficits are large enough to get in the way of performing normal, everyday tasks.

There is evidence that AD affects women differently than men. “Many studies of gender differences in cognition have pointed to greater language deficits in women with Alzheimer’s disease as compared to men,” explains Michael S. Rafii, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Memory Disorders Clinic and an attending neurologist at the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer Disease Research Center at the University of California, San Diego.

“Naming and word-recognition skills have been reported to be more adversely affected in female patients with AD than in male patients, and the differences have been shown to be sustained over time.”

Notable sex and gender differences in behavior among Alzheimer patients have been observed as well. “Male patients exhibit greater problems than female patients in wandering, abusiveness and social impropriety, particularly in the more advanced stages of the disorder,” Rafii points out. In fact, major tranquilizers and behavior management programs are used more frequently on male patients.

While there is currently no cure for AD, researchers continue to make progress. More drugs are being studied, and researchers have identified several genes associated with the disease. “Recent work has been focused on identifying the molecule that may be causing AD symptoms,” says Rafii. Researchers from the University of Minnesota and Johns Hopkins University “discovered a protein complex in the brain that appears to impair memory.”

Combined with sophisticated imaging techniques, this discovery is enabling scientists to take a clear picture of the protein deposits in the brain. According to Rafii, “This could lead to accurate diagnosis of AD at very early stages. Previously, a definitive diagnosis of the disease could only be made through an autopsy after the patient's death, typically at a very late stage of the illness.”

Diagnosing AD can be tricky, especially because many people are under the assumption that forgetfulness is a normal part of the aging process. But patients with AD suffer from much more than simple memory lapses. Here are a few common signs and symptoms of the disease:

- Persistent forgetfulness or memory loss
- Disorientation
- Problems performing routine tasks
- Inability to express thoughts coherently or finish sentences
- Loss of judgment
- Changes in personality

As in other diseases, early diagnosis is very important for patients with AD. Certain medications have been found to be useful in the earlier stages of the disease, so the sooner the diagnosis is made, the better.

Workaholics Risk Dementia, Study Finds

BBC News

Long working hours may raise the risk of mental decline and possibly dementia, research suggests.

The Finnish-led study was based on analysis of 2,214 middle-aged British civil servants.

It found that those working more than 55 hours a week had poorer mental skills than those who worked a standard working week.

The American Journal of Epidemiology study found hard workers had problems with short-term memory and word recall.

This should say to employers that insisting people work long hours is actually not good for your business

Professor Cary Cooper
University of Lancaster
Lead researcher Dr Marianna Virtanen, from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, said: "The disadvantages of overtime work should be taken seriously."

It is not known why working long hours might have an adverse effect on the brain.

However, the researchers say key factors could include..............read more

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Alzheimer's gene 'linked to Vitamin D'

Telegraph.com
Scientists have found a new Alzheimer's gene they believe could affect how our bodies use a vital vitamin.

By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent
Researchers hope that the breakthrough could one day lead to new treatments for the devastating neurological condition.

They believe that the gene could be connected to how the brain uses vitamin D, a lack of which has been linked to memory problems.

Scientists have previously found that the onset of the devastating condition was linked to the apolipoprotein E gene.

However, this is a "weak" gene, whose influence would not be enough to cause the illness.

The study looked at the genes of 492 patients who suffered from Alzheimer's disease and compared these to genes from 498 people who did not have the condition.

The analysis was detailed enough to identify single variants within DNA cells which are more common in patients with Alzheimer's.

The variation is close to the gene which uses vitamin D in the brain and has previously been linked to memory, the findings, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, show.

"It is possible that (this variation) is in a region that may play some sort of regulatory role (with......read the whole story

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Your Smile May Offer Heart and Head Health Clues

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 29, 2008

Researchers think the way to a healthy heart and brain might be through your gums and teeth.

Evidence suggests that the healthier they are, the stronger and less disease-prone the heart is. Gum disease might be an early warning, with poor oral health linked to diabetes, kidney disease, preterm labor, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and cancer.

"A lot of research studies are coming out that seem to suggest some possible link or associations" between oral infection and systemic disorders, says Sally Cram, a periodontist and consumer adviser for the American Dental Association.

Several recent studies show a startling correlation between gum health and atherosclerosis, a condition underlying much heart disease: The worse a person's gum disease, the narrower that person's arteries as a result of a buildup of plaque.

A New England Journal of Medicine report....read the whole story and comments