Diet Reduces Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

Having my own family history of Alzheimer’s disease, I was particularly interested in some recent research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association(JAMA). Last month, JAMA reported findings from a compelling study describing a direct connection between diet and cognitive health. Researchers found that individuals who follow a “Mediterranean-type diet” have a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. In the study, individuals who adhered to a Mediterranean diet had a 32-40 percent decreased risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. In the same study, adherence to the diet combined with physical activity resulted in a 61-67 percent risk reduction for developing the disease.

Focusing on innovation, Senior Living Residences, www.seniorlivingresidences.com, has been implementing a cognitively protective diet and nutrition program for the past two years. The Memory Preservation Nutrition® program, developed by and implemented in conjunction with Nancy Emerson Lombardo, PhD, is a unique evidence-based program incorporating foods and spices, specifically selected for their nutrient-rich properties and linked in research to healthy cognition, into everyday diet to improve overall brain health. The program seeks to improve brain function, decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, and slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease for an individual who has already been diagnosed.

The main foods that are indicated through the program include fresh fruits and vegetables, especially leafy green vegetables, specific spices, whole grains, and foods containing omega-three fatty acids. All of the healthy foods in the right combinations provide the body with important disease-fighting antioxidants, nutrients with anti-inflammatory properties and also help to regulate blood sugar. These changes are all important for brain health, yours and mine.

--
Source: alzcareblog.com

Diet Reduces Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

Delayed ageing could protect from Alzheimer's

The study found that by reducing Insulin Growth Factor (IGF) signalling, activity in brain mechanisms could be boosted to protect against Alzheimer's.

The mice, genetically modified to develop Alzheimer's disease, had less inflammation in the brain when this signalling was reduced. Inflammation is a condition that occurs when body tissues react to an injury or damaged part.

"This interesting study identifies new avenues for drug development that target this process associated with ageing," Susanne Sorensen, who heads research division of Alzheimer's Society, said in a statement.

"Dementia research is desperately underfunded and without investment new treatments will not become available. One million people will develop dementia in the next 10 years. We must act now," she concludes.

Delayed ageing could protect from Alzheimer's

Potential New Target Found for Alzheimer's Disease

(HealthDay News) -- The low-density lipoprotein receptor may help reduce brain damage caused by Alzheimer's disease, a new study suggests.

Accumulation of amyloid beta-protein (A-beta) plaques in the brain plays a major role in Alzheimer's, and previous research has implicated apolipoprotein E (apoE) in the accumulation of A-beta plaques, according to background information in the study, published in the Dec. 10 issue of Neuron.

"Modulating the function of proteins that control apoE metabolism in the brain will likely alter the extent of amyloid deposition and ultimately affect the disease process," Dr. David M. Holtzman, of the Washington University School of Medicine, said in a news release from the journal's publisher. "We know that low-density lipoprotein receptor binds to apoE, yet its potential role in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis remains unclear."

In the new study, Holtzman and his colleagues genetically engineered mice that overexpressed low-density lipoprotein receptor, or LDLR, in the brain and bred them with mice engineered to feature key brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease, including A-beta accumulation.

Overexpression of LDLR decreased brain apoE levels by 50 to 90%, resulting in significant reductions in plaque formation and neuroinflammatory responses, the researchers found.

"Our study clearly demonstrates the beneficial effects of LDLR overexpression in the brain on pathogenic A-beta aggregation and subsequent neuroinflammatory responses," Holtzman said. "Given the results from these studies, the therapeutic potential of previously identified compounds and potential new agents, which regulate LDLR in peripheral tissues, merits additional testing in animal models of A-beta amyloidosis."

-- Robert Preidt



medicinenet.com
 

Potential New Target Found for Alzheimer's Disease

Planning for the holidays

Holidays can be bittersweet for families affected by Alzheimer's. Consider simple tips to make the holidays enjoyable for everyone.

By Mayo Clinic staff
 
Alzheimer's disease affects both family and community life. Holiday observances are no exception. Holiday memories from before your loved one developed Alzheimer's may darken an otherwise joyful season — and worries about how your loved one's condition may disrupt your family's plans can overshadow the simple pleasure of being together. Rather than dwell on how much things have changed or worry about what might go wrong, focus on making the holidays as enjoyable as possible.

Keep it simple at home

If you're caring for a loved one who has Alzheimer's at home:

• Make preparations together. If you bake, your loved one may be able to participate by measuring flour, stirring batter or rolling dough. You may find it meaningful to open holiday cards or wrap gifts together. Remember to concentrate on the process, rather than the result.

• Tone down your decorations. Blinking lights and large decorative displays can cause disorientation. Avoid lighted candles and other safety hazards, as well as decorations that could be mistaken for edible treats — such as artificial fruits.

• Host quiet, slow-paced gatherings. Music, conversation and meal preparation all add to the noise and stimulation of an event. Yet for a person who has Alzheimer's, a calm, quiet environment usually is best. Keep daily routines in place as much as possible and, as needed, provide your loved one a place to rest during family get-togethers.

Be practical away from home

If your loved one lives in a nursing home or other facility:

• Celebrate in the most familiar setting. For many people who have Alzheimer's, a change of environment — even a visit home — causes anxiety. Instead of creating that disruption, consider holding a small family celebration at the facility. You might also participate in holiday activities planned for the residents.

• Minimize visitor traffic. Arrange for a few family members to drop in on different days. Even if your loved one isn't sure who's who, two or three familiar faces are likely to be welcome, while nine or 10 may be overwhelming.

• Schedule visits at your loved one's best time of day. People who have Alzheimer's tire easily, especially as the disease progresses. Your loved one may appreciate morning and lunchtime visitors more than those in the afternoon or evening.

Care for yourself

Consider your needs, as well as those of your loved one. To manage your expectations of yourself:

• Pick and choose. Decide which holiday activities and traditions are most important, then focus on what you enjoy. Remember that you can't do it all.
• Simplify. Bake fewer cookies. Buy fewer gifts. Don't feel pressured to display all of your holiday decorations or include a handwritten note with each holiday card. Ask others to provide portions of holiday meals.
• Delegate. Remember family members and friends who've offered their assistance. Let them help with cleaning, addressing cards and shopping for gifts. Ask if one of your children or a close friend could stay with your loved one while you go to a holiday party.

Trust your instincts

As a caregiver, you know your loved one's abilities best. You also know what's most likely to agitate or upset your loved one. Resist pressure to celebrate the way others may expect you to. Remember, you can't control the progress of Alzheimer's or protect your loved one from all distress — but by planning and setting firm boundaries, you can avoid needless holiday stress and enjoy the warmth of the season.
 

Planning for the holidays

HIV Cognitive Dysfunction Shares Common Link With Alzheimer's Disease

More than half of HIV patients experience memory problems and other cognitive impairments as they age, and now research suggests HIV related cognitive deficits share a common link with Alzheimer's related dementia, namely low levels of the protein amyloid beta in the spinal fluid.

By analyzing biomarkers in the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord, the researchers could distinguish patients with HIV related cognitive impairments from patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. This is important because as patients with HIV age, some will develop cognitive deficits related to HIV and others to Alzheimer's. New Alzheimer's treatments in the pipeline to improve memory and thinking may not work for both conditions.

"HIV patients with cognitive dysfunction don't have early Alzheimer's, although some of the symptoms may be similar," says lead author David Clifford. "The underlying biology of both conditions may be related to amyloid, and we think this clue can help us find the cause of cognitive impairment in HIV patients.

Cognitive dysfunction is a major problem among the estimated 1 million Americans living with HIV. The impairments are often mild but can affect a person's daily life, relationships and ability to hold a job. They include difficulties with memory, processing complex information and making decisions. These problems are expected to worsen as HIV patients live longer, due to potent drug cocktails that keep the virus in check.

In the new research, the scientists looked at the spinal fluid of 49 HIV patients with cognitive impairments, 21 HIV patients with normal cognitive function, 68 patients with mild Alzheimer's and 50 normal, healthy "controls." The Alzheimer's patients were older (average age 74) than the controls (average age 50), impaired HIV patients (average age 48) and cognitively normal HIV patients (average age 43).

They tested the spinal fluid for the presence of amyloid beta, the protein that folds and accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and is thought to play a key role in driving the brain damage that characterizes the disease. They also looked at other biomarkers associated with Alzheimer's, including tau, a protein found in tangled nerve fibers in Alzheimer's patients.

When amyloid beta accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, levels decrease in the spinal fluid, and Clifford and his colleagues expected to find low levels of the protein in samples of the Alzheimer's patients they studied.

But they were surprised to find the same low levels in the spinal fluid of HIV patients with cognitive dysfunction. Both groups of patients had significantly lower amyloid beta levels than HIV patients without cognitive impairments and the normal controls. The lower levels are an indicator that amyloid beta in the brain alters the normal turnover of the protein in the body.

Although Australian and European researchers had uncovered a link between HIV related cognitive deficits and amyloid beta in 2005 in a smaller study, Clifford thought that finding was an artifact and embarked on the current study largely to disprove it.

"I really did not expect the biology of HIV cognitive dysfunction to be related to Alzheimer's," Clifford says. "If you look at the brains of HIV patients with cognitive impairments, they don't look like Alzheimer's brains, they don't have the same atrophy or a plethora of plaques and tangles characteristic of Alzheimer's."

But low amyloid beta is where the similarity to Alzheimer's disease ends. The researchers found that patients with mild Alzheimer's had significantly higher levels of tau than either group of HIV patients or normal controls, a finding that strongly suggests Alzheimer's and HIV cognitive dysfunction are not one and the same, Clifford says.

He suspects the HIV related cognitive impairment may be due to low levels of the virus that hide out in the brain, beyond the reach of drugs that can't easily cross the blood-brain barrier. Another cause may be low-grade inflammation in the brain that is driven by the virus.

Almost all HIV patients in the study were taking anti-retroviral therapy. "I am almost certain the dementia in AIDS patients is linked to HIV and not to anti-retroviral drugs, we see it even in patients who haven't received HIV therapy," Clifford says. "However, the more subtle impairment may be in some way associated with a change in the way the body processes amyloid beta. This will certainly be an important area of future research."

--
Source: elements4health.com
 

HIV Cognitive Dysfunction Shares Common Link With Alzheimer's Disease

Early Use of NSAIDs Might Prevent Alzheimer's

Study in mice finds anti-inflammatories don't help those with existing disease


(HealthDay News) -- Taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) from a young age might prevent early signs of Alzheimer's disease, according to the results of a new study in mice.

Recent research suggests that the appearance of neuronal cell cycle events (CCEs) occurs early in the development of Alzheimer's. In the new study, U.S. researchers looking for triggers of neuronal CCEs found evidence that suggests that neuroinflammation plays a role in the development of Alzheimer's in mice.

Administration of the inflammatory molecule LPS triggered the early appearance of neuronal CCEs, the researchers found, and treatment with the NSAIDs ibuprofen or naproxen blocked the development of CCEs.

In older mice, treatment with NSAIDs prevented new neuronal CCEs but did not affect existing CCEs, the study authors noted.

The study, published online Nov. 9 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, offers a potential explanation for findings in humans that long-term NSAID use protects against Alzheimer's but does not benefit people who already have mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

Early Use of NSAIDs Might Prevent Alzheimer's

Does Diabetes Slow Alzheimer's?

French study suggesting delayed progression gets guarded response from U.S. experts

(HealthDay News) -- A French study finding that people with Alzheimer's disease and diabetes have less memory loss than those without diabetes should be regarded with caution, American experts say.
"It's not clear from this study and others what the relationship is," said William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer's Association.

What is clear, Thies said, is that having diabetes increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease -- a relationship acknowledged in the first sentence of a report on the French study in the Oct. 27 issue of Neurology.

But there haven't been too many studies looking at the effect of diabetes on the progression of Alzheimer's, said the report by researchers at INSERM, the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Toulouse.

So, they followed 608 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease for four years, testing their memory and thinking skills twice a year.

The 63 participants with diabetes -- 10.4 percent of the total -- started with the same average score of 20 on the test of thinking ability. There was an average overall decline of 1.24 points on that test every six months. But the decline in thinking ability scores was 0.38 points greater every six months for those without diabetes.

Previous studies of the relationship between diabetes and loss of cognitive function have had mixed results, Thies said. "Some showed a faster decline, some showed a slower decline," he said. "It is still a confused area."

One factor that has a strong influence on the results is the stage of disease in the people being studied, Thies said. "You know that early on, the disease does not progress quickly," he said. "So, if you study people in the early stage or the late stage, that can overwhelm the results."

A close look showed that the diabetic participants in the French study had Alzheimer's disease for a shorter period of time than the non-diabetics, said Dr. Robert Friedland, chair of neurology at the University of Louisville.

And the differences seen in the study "are very minimally significant, less than a point on a 30-point scale," Friedland said. "The difference in many of the mental state examination scores was very small. It was statistically significant, but clinically meaningless."

He ticked off several reasons why a difference was found. The medications taken for diabetes to help control blood sugar level could have a beneficial effect on the brain, Friedland said. "Also, patients with diabetes have more vascular disease in the heart as well as the retina, and some of their impairment might be due to that, so it was progressing more slowly," he said.

There was also a possibility of misdiagnosis, since no autopsies were done in the study, Friedland said.
"The important message is that there are potentially modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, some of which are also risk factors for diabetes -- lack of physical activity, obesity," he said.

For Thies, the lesson of the study is that "to understand relationships like this, you need more long-term cohort studies like this one. We need more studies, and the real barrier is money."


--
bighealthtree.com

Does Diabetes Slow Alzheimer's?

To cure Alzheimer's, invest in prevention

By Kate Mulgrew, Special to CNN

Editor's note: Kate Mulgrew is a stage, film and television actress who is best known for her TV role in "Star Trek: Voyager." She is currently appearing in the NBC series "Mercy." 

New York (CNN) -- After the Alzheimer's came, my mother could not know how shadows fell across our once ebullient family: our solidarity fractured, our tempers flaring in furious incomprehension, hearts breaking in mute despair.

None of us knew how to watch this woman disappear, her features slowly masked with blankness, her supple body rigid and wooden, her absolute vividness obliterated by the heavy fog of her disease.


 Click Here to read the full story



 

To cure Alzheimer's, invest in prevention

How To Live Successfully With Alzheimer’s Disease

No one would argue that living with Alzheimer’s is difficult to cope with as individual struggle to grapple with the diagnosis and prognosis that is so devastatingly the hallmark of the disease. As individuals with the disease and those who love them come to terms with the disease understanding the nature of the disease and the relationship between the brain and the manifestation of symptoms is paramount to being able to live successfully with the disease.

The first thing individuals should do when facing Alzheimer’s is to arm themselves with the facts about just how powerful the human brain really is. It controls bodily functions, thoughts, our emotions and our personality. It is at the center of all of our experiences, every action and every decision we make in life.
Alzheimer’s is a disease of the brain and not a mental illness. It is a medical condition which as such, responds to medication and non-medicated approaches to relieving the symptoms and even stalling the progression of these symptoms so that the individual and their loved ones can have the time to manage the disease successfully.


Because the brain controls every aspect of who we are and how we act and think it is no wonder that having the disease has an impact on your entire life.

The disease can act differently in different patients. Some experience a slow progression of the disease and others may watch as their loved ones goes rapidly through the stages of the disease, seemingly changing right before their eyes. There are predictable stages that the disease will progress through although the time that the disease will take to go from early stage to late stage of the disease cannot be predicted only that the disease will progress through the stages. How rapidly or slowly the progression happens cannot be predicted a head of time. Certain medications can delay the progression giving loved ones more time together (on average 6 months to 1 year) but the progression will proceed eventually through all of the stages.

The disease will affect different parts of the brain at different times. The stages can even overlap so that symptoms from different stages are being experienced at the same time.

Living successfully with Alzheimer’s disease means learning the stages and how they progress so that understanding can take place that makes it easier to cope with the disease. Living successfully means allowing the individual to achieve tasks in small steps so that he or she doesn’t become too overwhelmed. It also means recognizing that individuals are not to blame for the disease and the environment can be made more acceptable and friendly towards them such as changing a noisy environment into a quiet one.


Source: thehealthguide

How To Live Successfully With Alzheimer’s Disease