Fighting Alzheimer's Disease

coffee reduces risk of Alzheimers

2009-01-28T17:21:00.000-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/24/health/research/24coffee.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Be sociable to combat Alzheimers disease

2009-01-23T15:54:00.000-08:00

A study was done in Sweden suggesting that people who are worriers, and rather neurotic are more likely to develop dementia that people who are calm, IF the worriers also have an isolated, socially inactive lifestyle.

The good news is that the people participating in the study who were "neurotic" --that is, inclined to worry, and to be less sociable, did not develop Alzheimer's Disease if they kept active, and had other pursuits and interests. To read the article for yourself, click on:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/health/23dementia.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Stress and Alzheimers disease

2009-01-20T14:52:00.000-08:00

A recent study done in England suggests that people who are stressed out and anxious are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than those who have calm, out-going personalities. It seems also that social behavior is a determinant with respect to Alzheimer's disease--those who are more sociable, and who interact with others are less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimers than those who are isolated and withdrawn. I don't know if this is true or not, but one theory they offer in this study is that stress and anxiety cause a chemical reaction in the body that is deleterious to the brain. A disheartening statistic they mention is that one out of three people develops dementia before they die. Makes one think that a world war, where so many of us get killed young, is not so terrible after all. At least we have a better chance of dying gloriously, and being well-remembered. If you want to read the article for your self: copy and past the following link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7833707.stm

Vascular Dementia and Alzheimers Disease

2009-01-18T11:08:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that it hasn't made much difference in my loved one's life whether her malady is diagnosed as vascular dementia or Alzheimer's disease. It all amounts to the same thing, at this stage in the game. The doctor has prescribed "Zochor" -- a cholesterol reducing drug, but this he would prescribe for either condition.

Most doctors are not quick to diagnose a patient as having Alzheimer's disease, because they know that other ailments can cause a patient to exhibit dementia symptoms. For example, in addition to Alzheimer's Disease, maladies like vascular dementia,Lewy Body's or Huntington's disease may cause a patient to act forgetful or demented. Vascular dementia is narrowing of the arteries inside the brain. The restriction of blood flow to the brain is damaging. Thus it is not surprising that a patient with vascular dementia is forgetful, disoriented, or unreasonable, acting in the same way that the Alzheimer's patient acts.

More than half of the patients who exhibit signs of dementia--forgetfulness, inability to stay focused on a task or matter at hand, mood swings, poor judgment, etc.-- have Alzheimer's Disease. Doctors claim that as many as 60 to 70 percent of their cases of dementia are attributable to Alzheimer's. However, there are a multitude of other possible causes, including the possibility that the patient suffers from more than one of these simultaneously. For example, many Alzheimer's patients also have vascular dementia.

Medical researchers are seeking ways to diminish the symptoms of dementia, however, the causes are yet elusive. Until they are pinpointed with some exactness, eradication of this disease will not happen.

To learn more about Alzheimer's look at the Mayo Clinic site. It offers some useful information about this disease. Here's the link:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alzheimers-disease-and-dementia/AZ00053

Blood Sugar and Alzheimer's Disease

2009-01-17T20:43:00.000-08:00

For years medical researchers have been searching for the causes and contributing factors of Alzheimer's disease. We will discuss some of the most recent findings with regards to the causes of Alzheimers disease.

Recently, a New York Times article reported that high blood sugar levels can adversely affect part of the brain that controls memory. Citing the fact that the body's ability to control and process glucose begins to decline naturally as it ages--the decline starts when we reach thirty or forty--researchers noted that a rise in glucose levels seems to accompany mental decline. MRI tests of older patients showed reduced blood flow to the part of the brain that controls memory (the dentate gyrus) occurs as glucose levels increase. This corresponds to earlier studies that suggest that patients with Type 2 diabetes run a greater risk of developing dementia with age than the unafflicted population. Perhaps glucose in the blood stream is injurious because it causes a restriction of blood flow to the brain leading to, or being a cause of serious cognitive problems like Alzheimer's disease.

Before you throw away all of your sugar, or products containing sugar, consider that researchers suggest that regular exercise helps the body to control its glucose levels. Perhaps the best approach is to moderate sugar intake, and to increase daily exercise. So, get out there and start walking briskly to avoid the risk of Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia that may be caused by reduced bloodflow to the head.

If you have the time, you can read the article about elevated glucose levels as a cause of Alzheimer's disease by pasting this link into your browser:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/01/health/31memory.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Recognizing Alzheimer's Disease

2009-01-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

One of the first things you might notice about someone who is beginning to have Alzheimer's disease is that when you are conversing, he or she will make non sequiter remarks. You will probably recognize the remarks as things the person has said before, probably more than once, in other contexts. The person with the early stages of Alzheimers now pulls them up as rote or stock phrases. You may stop and question the person about why he or she made such responses, and he in turn will shrug it off, or merely refuse to engage in the discussion. You get the sense that you are dealing with a passive intellect, though you probably won't realize that it is Alzheimer's Disease in an early stage. Most likely, you will not even have thought about Alzheimer's Disease in your life.