Best sleep tips

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

---

SOURCe
National Institute of Aging, U.S. National Institutes of Health


Poor sleep aggravates dementia and increases Alzheimer's risk. Sleeping well restores and refreshes the brain. Learn to get a good night's sleep to prevent and treat dementia. Check out these tips. 

---

Getting a Good Night’s Sleep to Prevent and Treat Alzheimer's

There are many things you can do to help you get a good night’s sleep. Here are some ideas.

Sleep Essentials

• Follow a regular schedule. Go to sleep and get up at the same time each day, even on weekends. Napping in the late afternoon or evening may keep you awake at night.
• Develop a bedtime routine. About 30-45 minutes before bedtime each night, do the same things so your body will know that it’s time to sleep. Some people watch television, read a book, listen to soothing music, or soak in a warm bath.
• Your bedroom should be dark, not too hot or too cold, and as quiet as possible.
• Be sure you have a comfortable mattress, a pillow you like, and enough blankets for the season.
• Exercise at regular times each day but not within 3 hours of your bedtime.
• Make an effort to get outside in the sunlight each day.
• Be careful about when and how much you eat. Large meals close to bedtime may keep you awake, but a light snack in the evening can help you get a good night’s sleep.
• Stay away from caffeine late in the day. Caffeine (found in coffee, tea, cola, and hot chocolate) is a stimulant that can keep you awake.
• Drink less liquid in the evening. Waking up to go to the bathroom and turning on a bright light breaks up your sleep.
• Remember that alcohol won’t help you sleep. Even small amounts make it harder to stay asleep.
• Use your bedroom only for sleeping. After turning off the light give yourself about 15 minutes to fall asleep. If you’re still awake and not drowsy, get out of bed. When you feel sleepy, go back to bed.

Safe Sleeping

Try to set up a safe and restful place to sleep. Make sure there are smoke alarms on each floor and lock up the house before going to bed. Other ideas for a safe night’s sleep are:

• Keep a telephone with emergency phone numbers by your bed.
• Have a good lamp that turns on easily within reach.
• Put a glass of water next to the bed.
• Use nightlights in the bathroom and hall.
• Don’t smoke, especially in bed.
• Remove area rugs so you won’t trip if you get out of bed in the middle of the night.
• Don’t fall asleep with a heating pad on; it may burn.

Sleep & Dementia — A Special Problem

Alzheimer’s and other dementias often change a person’s sleeping habits. For example, some people with Alzheimer’s disease sleep too much; others don’t sleep enough. Some people wake up many times during the night; others wander or yell at night. The person with Alzheimer’s disease isn’t the only one who loses sleep. Caregivers may have sleepless nights, leaving them tired and out of sorts.

If you’re caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, there are steps you can take to protect his or her nighttime safety. Try the following:

• Put a gate across the stairs.
• Make sure the floor is clear of objects.
• Lock up any medicines.
• Put grab bars in the bathroom.
• Put a portable toilet in the bedroom.

Sweet Dreams

There are some tricks to help you fall asleep. You don’t really have to count sheep—just try counting slowly to 100. Some people find that playing mental games makes them sleepy—tell yourself it’s 5 minutes before you have to get up and you’re just trying to get a few extra winks. Other people find that relaxing their body puts them to sleep. You might start with your toes, and tell yourself that your toes are relaxed and sleepy. Work your way up the rest of the body saying the same words. You may drift off to sleep before getting to the top of your head.

If you feel tired and unable to do the things you usually do for more than 2-3 weeks, see a doctor. Sleep problems can cause you to feel bad, but there are changes you can make to get a better night’s sleep.

Alzheimer's is helped with long term antibiotic use

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 Chicago Medicine

Long-term antibiotic treatment decreased Alzheimer's-causing plaques in the lab. It also helped the brain fight inflammation by enhancing the neuroinflammatory activity of microglial cells. Learn how. 

---

Newswise — Long-term treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics decreased levels of amyloid plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, and activated inflammatory microglial cells in the brains of mice in a new study by neuroscientists from the University of Chicago. 

The study, published in Scientific Reports, also showed significant changes in the gut microbiome after antibiotic treatment, suggesting the composition and diversity of bacteria in the gut play an important role in regulating immune system activity that impacts progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

New Territory in Brain Health

“We're exploring very new territory in how the gut influences brain health,” said Sangram Sisodia, PhD, Thomas Reynolds Sr. Family Professor of Neurosciences at the University of Chicago and senior author of the study. “This is an area that people who work with neurodegenerative diseases are going to be increasingly interested in, because it could have an influence down the road on treatments.” 

Two of the key features of Alzheimer’s disease are the development of amyloidosis, accumulation of amyloid-ß (Aß) peptides in the brain, and inflammation of the microglia, brain cells that perform immune system functions in the central nervous system. Buildup of Aß into plaques plays a central role in the onset of Alzheimer’s, while the severity of neuro-inflammation is believed to influence the rate of cognitive decline from the disease.

High Doses of Antibiotics

For this study, Sisodia and his team administered high doses of broad-spectrum antibiotics to mice over five to six months. At the end of this period, genetic analysis of gut bacteria from the antibiotic-treated mice showed that while the total mass of microbes present was roughly the same as in controls, the diversity of the community changed dramatically. The antibiotic-treated mice also showed more than a two-fold decrease in Aß plaques compared to controls, and a significant elevation in the inflammatory state of microglia in the brain. Levels of important signaling chemicals circulating in the blood were also elevated in the treated mice. 

While the mechanisms linking these changes is unclear, the study points to the potential in further research on the gut microbiome’s influence on the brain and nervous system.

Antibiotics Alter Amyloid

“We don’t propose that a long-term course of antibiotics is going to be a treatment — that’s just absurd for a whole number of reasons,” said Myles Minter, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Neurobiology at UChicago and lead author of the study. “But what this study does is allow us to explore further, now that we’re clearly changing the gut microbial population and have new bugs that are more prevalent in mice with altered amyloid deposition after antibiotics.” 

The study is the result of one the first collaborations from the Microbiome Center, a joint effort by the University of Chicago, the Marine Biological Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory to support scientists at all three institutions who are developing new applications and tools to understand and harness the capabilities of microbial systems across different fields. Sisodia, Minter and their team worked with Eugene B. Chang, Martin Boyer Professor of Medicine at UChicago, and Vanessa Leone, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in Chang’s lab, to analyze the gut microbes of the mice in this study.

Ideas from Different Fields

Minter said the collaboration was enabling, and highlighted the cross-disciplinary thinking necessary to tackle a seemingly intractable disease like Alzheimer’s. “Once you put ideas together from different fields that have largely long been believed to be segregated from one another, the possibilities are really amazing,” he said. 

Sisodia cautioned that while the current study opens new possibilities for understanding the role of the gut microbiome in Alzheimer’s disease, it’s just a beginning step. 

“There’s probably not going to be a cure for Alzheimer’s disease for several generations, because we know there are changes occurring in the brain and central nervous system 15 to 20 years before clinical onset,” he said. “We have to find ways to intervene when a patient starts showing clinical signs, and if we learn how changes in gut bacteria affect onset or progression, or how the molecules they produce interact with the nervous system, we could use that to create a new kind of personalized medicine.” 

MORE INFORMATION:

• The study, “Antibiotic-induced perturbations in gut microbial diversity influences neuro-inflammation and amyloidosis in a murine model of Alzheimer’s disease,” was supported by the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Additional authors include Daina Ringus, Xiaoqiong Zhang, Paul Oyler-Castrillo, and Mark Musch from the University of Chicago; Can Zhang, Joseph Ward, and Rudolph Tanzi from Massachusetts General Hospital; and Fan Liao and David Holtzman from Washington University.

SOURCE:

• About the University of Chicago Medicine
  The University of Chicago Medicine & Biological Sciences is one of the nation's leading academic medical institutions. It comprises the Pritzker School of Medicine, a top 10 medical school in the nation; the University of Chicago Biomedical Sciences Division; and the University of Chicago Medical Center, which recently opened the Center for Care and Discovery, a $700 million specialty medical facility. Twelve Nobel Prize winners in physiology or medicine have been affiliated with the University of Chicago Medicine. Visit our research blog at sciencelife.uchospitals.edu and our newsroom at uchospitals.edu/news. Twitter @UChicagoMed, @ScienceLife Facebook.com/UChicagoMed

Put those with dementia in a better mood

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

The Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center

BETTER MOOD: In dementia, the brain loses a number of abilities. This can change a person's personality and behavior. Use this tip sheet's suggestions to better understand them.

---

Changes in the way people act can be one of the biggest challenges in caring for people with Alzheimer's. 

There is much you can do to smooth the journey.

COMMON CHANGES IN PERSONALITY AND BEHAVIOR

Common personality and behavior changes you may see include:

• Getting upset, worried, and angry more easily
• Acting depressed or not interested in things
• Hiding things or believing other people are hiding things
• Imagining things that aren't there
• Wandering away from home
• Pacing a lot
• Showing unusual sexual behavior
• Hitting you or other people
• Misunderstanding what he or she sees or hears

You also may notice that the person stops caring about how he or she looks, stops bathing, and wants to wear the same clothes every day.
In addition to changes in the brain, other things may affect how people with
Alzheimer's behave:

• Feelings such as sadness, fear, stress, confusion, or anxiety
• Health-related problems, including illness, pain, new medications, or lack of sleep
• Other physical issues like infections, constipation, hunger or thirst, or problems seeing or hearing
• Problems in their surroundings, like too much noise or being in an unfamiliar place

If you don't know what is causing the problem, call the doctor. It could be caused by a physical or medical issue. 

KEEP THINGS SIMPLE… AND OTHER TIPS

Caregivers cannot stop Alzheimer's-related changes in personality and behavior, but they can learn to cope with them. Here are some tips:

1. Keep things simple. Ask or say one thing at a time.
2. Have a daily routine, so the person knows when certain things will happen.
3. Reassure the person that he or she is safe and you are there to help.
4. Focus on his or her feelings rather than words. For example, say, "You seem worried."
5. Don't argue or try to reason with the person.
6. Try not to show your frustration or anger. If you get upset, take deep breaths and count to 10. If it's safe,
7. leave the room for a few minutes.
8. Use humor when you can.
9. Give people who pace a lot a safe place to walk.
10. Try using music, singing, or dancing to distract the person.
11. Ask for help. For instance, say, "Let's set the table" or "I need help folding the clothes."

Talk with the person's doctor about problems like hitting, biting, depression, or hallucinations. Medications are available to treat some behavioral symptoms.

MORE INFORMATION: 
For more caregiving tips and other resources:

• Read "Caring for a Person with Alzheimer's Disease":
• Visit www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/topics/caregiving
• Call the ADEAR Center toll-free:
  1-800-438-4380

SOURCE:

• The Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center is a service of the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health. The Center offers information and publications for families, caregivers, and professionals about Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive changes.

Fight off vascular dementia with a selfie

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

CBC News

Catching a stroke quickly can avoid vascular dementia. See how one smart lady, with one smartphone, shot the video that saved her brain. 

---

Stacey Yepes was out for a drive when she started to experience numbness and tingling on the left side of her body. She quickly pulled over and made a video showing and describing what was happening

Using a selfie video, doctors were able to confirm that she'd had a small stroke. 

She'd been to the hospital the day before, describing a similar incident that occurred while she was at home watching TV. 

The doctors ran some tests and determined her symptoms were stress related. 

When it happened again, she fortunately caught it on video. 

"Now I am taking a picture for an example of what happens." 

"So tingling on left side...on the left side." 

After being referred to Toronto Western Hospital doctors they tested her with an MRI and that's when it was discovered that a small stroke had indeed occurred. 

When asked why she thought to take out a smart phone and start recording, she said, "I think it was just to show somebody because I knew it was not stress-related. And I thought if I could show somebody what was happening, they would have a better understanding." 

SOURCE:
CBC News

Herpes treatment may cut Alzheimer;'s by 50%

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


Frontiers in Ageing Neuroscience via EurekAlert

Most people are infected by Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV1) by the time they reach old age. New evidence shows that on top of cold sores, it can also cause Alzheimer's -- and that the antiviral drugs which fight it drastically reduce risk of dementia. Learn how this raises the tantalizing prospect of a simple, effective, preventive Alzheimer's treatment. 

---

What causes Alzheimer's disease? The answer could be right under our noses, says leading expert Professor Ruth Itzhaki. Her latest paper presents a lifetime of research evidence that the herpes virus responsible for cold sores can also cause Alzheimer's -- and new data which show antiviral drugs drastically reduce risk of senile dementia in patients with severe herpes infections. The review in Frontiers in Ageing Neuroscienceraises the tantalizing prospect of a simple, effective 
preventive treatment for one of humanity's costliest disorders.

The HSV1 theory of Alzheimer's disease

Herpes viruses are the dreaded 'gift that keeps on giving'. They remain lifelong in our neurons and immune cells, reactivating and resurfacing in characteristic blisters when we're run down by stress or illness. Most people are infected by Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV1) by the time they reach old age. 

But what happens to infected neurons in our brain during this reactivation? 

"HSV1 could account for 50% or more of Alzheimer's disease cases," says Professor Itzhaki, who has spent over 25 years at the University of Manchester investigating a potential link. 

HSV1 is better known as the cause of cold sores. Itzhaki has shown previously that cold sores occur more frequently in carriers of APOE-ε4 -- a gene variant that confers increased risk of Alzheimer's. 

"Our theory is that in APOE-ε4 carriers, reactivation is more frequent or more harmful in HSV1-infected brain cells, which as a result accumulate damage that culminates in development of Alzheimer's."

Proving the theory

Few countries collect the population data required to test this theory -- for example, to find out whether antiviral treatments reduce dementia risk. 

In Taiwan however, researchers have done just that. There, 99.9% of the population is enrolled in a National Health Insurance Research Database, which is being extensively mined for information on microbial infections and disease. In 2017-2018 three studies were published describing Taiwanese data on the development of senile dementia -- of which Alzheimer's is the main cause -- and the treatment of patients with marked overt signs of infection with HSV or varicella zoster virus (VZV, the chickenpox virus). 

"The striking results include evidence that the risk of senile dementia is much greater in those who are infected with HSV, and that anti-herpes antiviral treatment causes a dramatic decrease in number of those subjects severely affected by HSV1 who later develop dementia." 

Previous findings from Itzhaki's own research group provide a mechanistic link which supports these epidemiological findings. They found that HSV1 causes protein deposits characteristic of Alzheimer's: 'plaques' between neurons, and 'tangles' inside of them. 

"Viral DNA is located very specifically within plaques in postmortem brain tissue from Alzheimer's sufferers. The main proteins of both plaques and tangles accumulate also in HSV1-infected cell cultures -- and antiviral drugs can prevent this."

Towards a cure

"It should be stressed that the results of these Taiwanese studies apply only to severe HSV1 (or VZV) infections, which are rare," admits Itzhaki. "Ideally, we would study dementia rates amongst people who have suffered mild HSV1 infection, including herpes labialis (cold sores) or mild genital herpes, but these are far less likely to be documented." 

Although further work is needed to confirm and define a causal link between HSV1 infection and Alzheimer's, Itzhaki is enthusiastic about the treatment prospects. 

"Considering that over 150 publications strongly support an HSV1 role in Alzheimer's, these Taiwan findings greatly justify usage of antiherpes antivirals -- which are safe and well-tolerated -- to treat Alzheimer's disease. 

"They also incentivize development of an HSV1 vaccine, which would likely be the most effective treatment." 

This echoes the growing use worldwide of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to prevent cervical cancer -- another virus-disease link which emerged in a similar process of research. 

REFERENCE:

• Ruth F. Itzhaki. Corroboration of a Major Role for Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 in Alzheimer’s Disease. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 2018
  http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2018.00324

SOURCE:

• Frontiers in Ageing Neuroscience via EurekAlert

Dementia risk increases by 53% with vitamin D deficiency

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

American Academy of Neurology.

In the largest study of its kind, not getting enough vitamin D turned out to double the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s. See why supplements may not be the answer. Find out which foods to eat.

---

MINNEAPOLIS – In the largest study of its kind, researchers suggest that in older people, not getting enough vitamin D may double the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The study is published in the online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

he study looked at blood levels of vitamin D, which includes vitamin D from food, supplements and sun exposure. Dietary vitamin D is found in:

• Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna or mackerel
• Milk
• Eggs
• Cheese

"We expected to find an association between low Vitamin D levels and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, but the results were surprising—we actually found that the association was twice as strong as we anticipated," said study author David J. Llewellyn, PhD, of the University of Exeter Medical School in the United Kingdom. 

For the study, 1,658 people over the age of 65 who were dementia-free had their vitamin D blood levels tested. After an average of six years, 171 participants developed dementia and 102 had Alzheimer's disease. 

The study found that people with low levels of vitamin D had a 53 percent increased risk of developing dementia and those who were severely deficient had a 125 percent increased risk compared to participants with normal levels of vitamin D. 

People with lower levels of vitamin D were nearly 70 percent more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and those who had severe deficiency were over 120 percent more likely to develop the disease. 

The results remained the same after researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect risk of dementia, such as education, smoking and alcohol consumption. 

"Clinical trials are now needed to establish whether eating foods such as oily fish or taking vitamin D supplements can delay or even prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. We need to be cautious at this early stage and our latest results do not demonstrate that low vitamin D levels cause dementia. That said, our findings are very encouraging, and even if a small number of people could benefit, this would have enormous public health implications given the devastating and costly nature of dementia," said Llewellyn. 

MORE INFORMATION:
The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute on Aging, the Alzheimer's Association, the Mary Kinross Charitable Trust, the James Tudor Foundation, the Halpin Trust, the Age Related Diseases and Health Trust, the Norman Family Charitable Trust and the UK National Institute for Health Research. www.aan.com/patients.

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 27,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. 

This protein may help those with dementia remember

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 Basel
• CBS 60 Minutes

The Musashi Protein helps us forget what we don't need to remember. Can regulating it help Alzheimer's? See 60 Minutes explore turning off "forgetting". Read how it works. 

---

In order to function properly, the human brain requires the ability not only to store but also to forget: Through memory loss, unnecessary information is deleted and the nervous system retains its plasticity. A disruption of this process can lead to serious malfunctions in the brain. Basel scientists have now discovered a molecular mechanism that actively regulates the process of forgetting. 

The  scientific journal Cell has published their results.

Musashi Protein Actively Regulates Memory Loss

The human brain is build in such a way, that only necessary information is stored permanently -- the rest is forgotten over time. However, so far it was not clear if this process was active or passive. Scientists from the transfaculty research platform Molecular and Cognitive Neurosciences (MCN) at the University of Basel have now found a molecule that actively regulates memory loss. The so-called musashi protein is responsible for the structure and function of the synaptic connections of the brain, the place where information is communicated from one neuron to the next.

No Protein, Less Forgetful

Using olfactory conditioning, the researchers Attila Stetak and Nils Hadziselimovic first studied the learning abilities of genetically modified ringworms (C. elegans) that were lacking the musashi protein. The experiments showed that the worms exhibited the same learning skills as unmodified animals. However, with extended duration of the experiment, the scientists discovered that the mutants were able to remember the new information much better. In other words: The genetically modified worms lacking the musashi protein were less forgetful.

Forgetting is no coincidence

Further experiments showed that the protein inhibits the synthesis of molecules responsible for the stabilization of synaptic connections. This stabilization seems to play an important role in the process of learning and forgetting. The researchers identified two parallel mechanisms: One the one hand, the protein adducin stimulates the growth of synapses and therefore also helps to retain memory; on the other hand, the musashi protein actively inhibits the stabilization of these synapses and thus facilitates memory loss. Therefore, it is the balance between these two proteins that is crucial for the retention of memories.

Forgetting is thus not a passive but rather an active process and a disruption of this process may result in serious mental disorders. The musashi protein also has interesting implications for the development of drugs trying to prevent abnormal memory loss that occurs in diseases such as Alzheimer's. Further studies on the therapeutic possibilities of this discovery will be done.

Sources:

• University of Basel
• CBS 60 Minutes