Alzheimer's CSF Test: Useful or Useless?:

Alzheimer's disease

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

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

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities





Get your subscription to Activity Director Today's e magazine" />

Medscape Today

Andrew Wilner, MD

According to a recent editorial, neurologists should be sharpening their lumbar puncture needles in order to obtain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to improve their diagnostic accuracy of Alzheimer's disease.[1] The CSF test employs a 2-component mixture model of beta-amyloid 1-42 (AB1-42) and phosphorylated tau protein 181 (P-tau 181P).[2] Model building and validation relied on data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database (www.loni.ucla.edu/ADNI). The sensitivity of the test was 90% in those with Alzheimer's disease, 72% in those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 36% in controls. The specificity was only 62%.

Commercial assays to diagnose Alzheimer's disease by measurement of CSF beta-amyloid and tau protein have been available for more than a decade. Despite more than 5 million Americans with Alzheimer's disease, and millions more at risk, these CSF tests have yet to be widely adopted by clinical neurologists. At a minimum, there are 2 crucial questions that must be answered before recommending CSF examination as a routine test for Alzheimer's disease.

The first question is does CSF examination improve the accuracy of clinical diagnosis? Clinical diagnostic accuracy of probable Alzheimer's disease according to the standard National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (NINCDS-ADRDA) criteria using autopsy as confirmation produces greater than 85% accuracy.[3] It is not clear how much additional precision is added by a positive CSF test in patients with clinically evident Alzheimer's disease. However, CSF testing may allow more accurate earlier diagnosis.

At Last, Some Hope for Preventing the Slow Mental Decline of Alzheimer's

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

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

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities





Get your subscription to Activity Director Today's e magazine" />

Time Magazine

Researchers have known for quite some time that Alzheimer's is distinguished by the presence of protein plaques in the brain, along with the debris from dead and dying neurons. The plaques, it seems, trigger the breakdown of the neural connections that nerve cells need to stay healthy. But nothing so far — from a vaccine to drugs — has really made a difference in improving the memory loss and dementia that characterize the disease.

But now, thanks to sophisticated brain scans and better ways to look for signs of the disease in the spinal fluid and even in the blood, scientists are hoping to be able to detect the first signs of trouble earlier — even before mental decline sets in. And if they can do that, they are optimistic that they will also be able to stop the accumulation of harmful plaques as well as the death of neurons before they become too stubborn to reverse.

These efforts are still experimental, but they are an important first step toward finally having something, anything that can reverse the disease in patients.

Poker can reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer's

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

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

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities





Get your subscription to Activity Director Today's e magazine" />

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.

Expand+Midlife psychological stress and risk of dementia: a 35-year longitudinal population study

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

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

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities





Get your subscription to Activity Director Today's e magazine" />

Brain

Lena Johansson1, Xinxin Guo1, Margda Waern1, Svante Östling1, Deborah Gustafson1,2, Calle Bengtsson3 and Ingmar Skoog1
+

The number of people with dementia has increased dramatically with global ageing. Nevertheless, the pathogeneses of these diseases are not sufficiently understood. The present study aims to analyse the relationship between psychological stress in midlife and the development of dementia in late-life. A representative sample of females (n = 1462) aged 38–60 years were examined in 1968–69 and re-examined in 1974–75, 1980–81, 1992–93 and 2000–03. Psychological stress was rated according to a standardized question in 1968, 1974 and 1980. Dementia was diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria based on information from neuropsychiatric examinations, informant interviews, hospital records and registry data. During the 35-year follow-up, 161 females developed dementia (105 Alzheimer’s disease, 40 vascular dementia and 16 other dementias). We found that the risk of dementia (hazard ratios, 95% confidence intervals) was increased in females reporting frequent/constant stress in 1968 (1.60, 1.10–2.34), in 1974 (1.65, 1.12–2.41) and in 1980 (1.60, 1.01–2.52). Frequent/constant stress reported in 1968 and 1974 was associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Reporting stress at one, two or three examinations was related to a sequentially higher dementia risk. Compared to females reporting no stress, hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for incident dementia were 1.10 (0.71–1.71) for females reporting frequent/constant stress at one examination, 1.73 (1.01–2.95) for those reporting stress at two examinations and 2.51 (1.33–4.77) at three examinations. To conclude, we found an association between psychological stress in middle-aged women and development of dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease. More studies are needed to confirm our findings and to study potential neurobiological mechanisms of these associations.

Iron linked to Alzheimer's disease

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

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

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities





Get your subscription to Activity Director Today's e magazine" />

UPI

Iron is involved in the production of brain-destroying plaques found in Alzheimer's patients, U.S. researchers say.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, led by Dr. Jack Rogers, report a link between levels of iron in the brain and the production of amyloid precursor protein that can break down into a peptide, making up the destructive plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease.

The findings, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, suggest under healthy conditions iron and the amyloid precursor protein keep each other in check. Too much iron causes the protein and a partner molecule to develop and to escort excess iron out but too little iron can cause too little of the escort molecule to be made and for iron to accumulate.

Rogers says in a statement that their work -- including information about the role of messenger RNA -- paves the way for the development of drugs to help restore the brain's iron balance.

100 simple things you can do to prevent Alzheimer's disease (part 3)

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

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

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities





Get your subscription to Activity Director Today's e magazine" />

From the book 100 Simple Things by Jean Carper


67. Build Strong Muscles
68. Take a Nature Hike
69. Do Something New
70. Get Enough Niacin
71. Think About a Nicotine Patch
72. Be Cautious About NSAIDs
73. Go Nuts over Nuts
74. Worry About Middle-Age Obesity
75. Get Help for Obstructive Sleep Apnea
76. Go for Olive Oil
77. Beware of Omega-6 Fat
78. Know Your Plaques and Tangles
79. Have a Purpose in Life
80. Get a Good Night’s Sleep
81. Forget About Smoking
82. Have a Big Social Circle
83. Don’t Forget Your Spinach
84. Investigate Statins
85. Surround Yourself with Stimulation
86. Deal with Stress
87. Avoid Strokes
88. Cut Down on Sugar
89. Drink Tea
90. Take Care of Your Teeth
91. Have Your Thyroid Checked
92. Beware of Being Underweight
93. Prevent Vascular Dementia
94. Play Video Games
95. Put Vinegar in Everything
96. Get Enough Vitamin B12
97. Don’t Neglect Vitamin D
98. Watch Your Waist
99. Walk, Walk, Walk
100. Make It Wine, Preferably Red

100 simple things you can do to prevent Alzheimer's disease (part 2)

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

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

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities





Get your subscription to Activity Director Today's e magazine" />

From the book 100 Simple Things by Jean Carper


34. Get a Higher Educationi
35. Avoid Environmental Toxins
36. Know the Estrogen Evidence
37. Enjoy Exercise
38. Be an Extrovert
39. Have Your Eyes Checked
40. Know the Dangers of Fast Foods
41. Yes, Yes, Yes — Eat Fatty Fish
42. Take Folic Acid
43. Eat a Low-Glycemic Diet
44. Google Something
45. Raise Your Good HDL Cholesterol
46. Guard Against Head Injury
47. Be Good to Your Heart
48. Keep Homocysteine Normal
49. Avoid Inactivity
50. Try to Keep Infections Away
51. Fight Inflammation
52. Find Good Information
53. Keep Insulin Normal
54. Have an Interesting Job
55. Drink Juices of All Kinds
56. Learn to Love Language
57. Avoid a Leptin Deficiency
58. Don’t Be Lonely
59. Embrace Marriage
60. Know the Dangers of Meat
61. Consider Medical Marijuana
62. Practice Meditation
63. Follow the Mediterranean Diet
64. Recognize Memory Problems
65. Keep Mentally Active
66. Take Multivitamins

More of the 100 Simple Things soon