Tag Archives: dementia

Alzheimer’s – join the campaign to fight against mental decline

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London: Research conducted by Help the Aged has revealed that the UK public rank mental decline higher than any other worry about ageing, including big issues like the pensions crisis and the fear of isolation (1).

In response to this concern, the Charity is today launching a new website www.disconnectedmind.org.uk to help mobilise public support for one of the worldÂ’s most promising scientific projects to combat the condition.

Help the Aged has committed to fund this historic project, called The Disconnected Mind, through to its conclusion in 2015. Donations are needed now to maximise the possibility of a breakthrough in the fight against early mental decline that usually leads to dementia (2).

The project is unique because the scientists leading the study at the University of Edinburgh will revisit 1,000 volunteers, who are now aged 71, who took part in the Scottish Mental Survey in 1947 – a survey that has not been repeated since. The project will compare the participants’ childhood mental ability, current ability, biological health and 60 years of life experience.

www.disconnectedmind.org.uk uniquely divides the project into tangible pieces so that the public can see how any donation from them, however small, can make a big difference. For example, just ÂŁ45 would fund the in-depth examination of one participantÂ’s test results, which could hold the secret to the prevention or treatment of mental decline.

Early mental decline often leads to dementia that affects 700,000 people in the UK. Tragically, this is expected to rise to over a million by 2025 unless new ways are found to combat it.

More on the Survey

(1) Survey by GfK NOP for Help the Aged. A sample of 1000 adults aged 16+ in the UK were interviewed during the weekend of 4th – 6th May 2007. This survey was designed to be nationally representative of the telephone owning population of the UK. It revealed that mental decline ranks higher (41% of responses) than any other concern about ageing, including big issues like the pensions crisis/lack of savings and fear of isolation. Initial mental decline often leads to full dementia which the survey revealed is the age-related health condition of greatest concern, with 53% of respondents ranking it above strokes, incontinence and osteoporosis.

(2) Four out of five people who experience mild mental impairment go on to develop dementia within six years.

The team of experts at the University of Edinburgh performing The Disconnected Mind project are Professor Ian Deary, Doctor John Starr, Professor Jim McCulloch, Professor Joanna Wardlaw, Professor Richard Morris and Doctor Karen Horsburgh.
Help the Aged is the charity fighting to free disadvantaged older people in the UK and overseas from poverty, isolation, neglect and ageism. It campaigns to raise public awareness of the issues affecting older people and to bring about policy change. The Charity delivers a range of services: information and advice, home support and community living, including international development work. These are supported by its paid-for services and fundraising activities – which aim to increase funding in the future to respond to the growing unmet needs of disadvantaged older people. Help the Aged also funds vital research into the health issues and experiences of older people to improve the quality of later life.

Can infra red light grow new brain cells to reverse Alzheimer’s?

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London: A scientist has claimed that an experimental helmet whch bathes the brain in infra-red light is capable of stimulating the growth of new brain cells in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

The creators of the helmet, a County Durham, UK-based medical research company called Virulite, say that ten minutes use daily over a period of four weeks can reverse the symtoms of dementia.

Dr Gordon Dougal, a director of Virulite, bases the claims on a study at the University of Sunderland which found infra-red light can reverse memory loss in mice.

Dr Dougal says that the treatment not only stops brain decay but partially reverses it.

The study at Sunderland found that exposing middle-aged mice to infrared light for six minutes a day for ten days improved their performance in a three-dimensional maze. In the human trials, due to start this summer, the scientists will use levels of infra-red that occur naturally in sunlight.

Dementia suffers live four years after diagnosis, says new research

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Cambridge: People with dementia survive an average of four and a half years after diagnosis, with age, sex, and existing disability all having an influence on life expectancy, finds a study published on www.bmj.com today.

The authors hope that these estimates will be of value to patients, carers, service providers, and policy-makers.

The number of people affected by dementia is estimated to double every 20 years to 81 million by 2040. Dementia is known to be associated with increased risk of death, but no estimate exists for actual survival with dementia in England and Wales. There is also considerable uncertainty about what influences survival.

So researchers set out to describe overall survival for people with dementia and to examine the association between factors which could affect survival.

The study involved over 13,000 individuals aged 65 years and above who were taking part in a population based study in England and Wales. Participants were assessed for dementia at regular intervals over a 14-year period 1991 to 2005.

Factors known to have an association with mortality, such as age, sex and marital status, accommodation type, education level, social class, self-reported health and disability were also recorded.

438 individuals developed dementia over the study period, of which 356 (81%) died.

Age, sex, and disability before onset all influenced survival independently.

There was nearly seven years difference in survival between the youngest and the oldest people with dementia (10.7 years for those aged 65-69 and 3.8 years for those aged 90 or over).

Average survival time from dementia onset to death was 4.1 years for men and 4.6 years for women.

There was around a three year reduction in survival between the most and least disabled at onset, suggesting that the frailer individuals are at higher risk, even after age is taken into account.

However, living in the community or residential home, marital status, and self-reported health were not associated with survival once other factors were taken into account.

Those with higher education had slightly shorter survival than those with lower education, but this did not reach statistical significance. Social class also showed no pattern

Knowing which factors influence the length of survival after onset of dementia is important, say the authors. These findings will be of value to patients, carers, service providers and policy-makers.

An accompanying editorial urges doctors to pay as much attention to strengths and retained abilities as they do deficits, dysfunction and disease when planning care and support for people with dementia.

Test your brain fitness with Mindfit

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MindWeavers plc, the company behind the unique computer-based ‘brain workout’ MindFit, has set you to a memory test.

The challenge comprises 12 simple questions covering events from throughout the year, each question designed to test the memory.

• Which teams played in the final of the Rugby World Cup?

• Which famous tenor’s funeral was held in Modena?

• Which novice driver came close to winning the F1 Grand Prix
Championship?

• Who was Nicholas Sarkozy’s opponent in the French Presidential
Election?

• In which month did Tony Blair finally resign?

• Which royal couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in
2007?

• In which country were thousands of monks arrested after protesting
again Human Rights abuses?

• Which virus affected British cattle farmers in 2007?

• Which Government departments were chopped in Gordon Brown’s first
cabinet reshuffle? And for a bonus point, what have they now become?

• Which concert was organised to raise awareness of global warming?

• In his final budget before becoming Prime Minister, by how much did
Gordon Brown cut income tax?

• Which novel, released in June 2007 completed the adventures of
Harry Potter?

How good is your memory and could you benefit from a regular brain ‘workout’ in 2008?

There is widespread recognition that mental as well as physical fitness helps us to live longer and healthier lives, and that an active brain maintains our quality of life as we get older. So along with the traditional New YearÂ’s resolutions to achieve physical fitness, MindFit is offering an effective way of exercising our brains as well in 2008.

Clinical trials have demonstrated that using MindFit for twenty minutes a day, three times a week can promote a healthier mind.

As the craze for brain exercise sweeps across the UK, an independent survey conducted by NOP shows that nearly two thirds of people over 50 say that they do crosswords, and one in five computer games to keep their brain active. While these forms of activity may help, MindFit has been scientifically proven to improve important skills such as memory, reaction time and spatial awareness, protecting against the effects of ageing.

MindWeavers, the team that has brought MindFit to the UK includes renowned neuroscientist Dave Moore who set up the company in 2000 whilst at Oxford University, and top brain scientist Baroness Professor Susan Greenfield, Director of the Royal Institute.

MindWeavers Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Robinson concluded, ‘’ ’MindFit raises the seriousness of brain exercise while still being fun to use.
During the season when many consider turning over a new leaf for the new year ahead, MindFit provides the ideal opportunity to keep your brain healthy in 2008.Â’Â’

MindFit can be purchased through the MindWeaversÂ’ website: www.mindweavers.co.uk or by telephoning 0845 643 2742 within the UK.

* The independent NOP Omnibus including questions commissioned by MindWeavers interviewed 473 adults aged 50+ was conducted by telephone during 24th-26th August 2007. The results were weighted in order to be nationally representative.

MindFit retails in the UK at ÂŁ89.99 and can be purchased through the MindWeaversÂ’ website: < a href="http://www.mindweavers.co.uk">www.mindweavers.co.uk

MindWeavers plc is a University of Oxford spin-out company which creates and sells software products that apply World-leading neuronal science to harness the dynamism of the human brain. The CompanyÂ’s innovative software products can maintain brain health in older people, protecting against age-related mental decline and dramatically improve childrenÂ’s language learning abilities.

MindWeavers moved into the ‘brain exercise’ and brain health market with the acquisition of BrainBoost and is currently launching a series of innovative brain exercise products for the baby boomer market, as well as trialling brain health products that aim to protect people who have been diagnosed with early cognitive decline.

Answers to the Quiz – how did you score?

• Which teams played in the final of the Rugby World Cup?
England and South Africa

• Which famous tenor’s funeral was held in Modena?

Pavarotti

• Which novice driver came close to winning the F1 Grand Prix
Championship?

Lewis Hamilton

• Who was Nicholas Sarkozy’s opponent in the French Presidential
Election?

Segolene Royal

• In which month did Tony Blair finally resign?

June
• Which royal couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in
2007?

HRH Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip

• In which country were thousands of monks arrested after protesting
again Human Rights abuses?

Burma

• Which virus affected British cattle farmers in 2007?

Blue Tongue

• Which Government departments were chopped in Gordon Brown’s first
cabinet reshuffle? And for a bonus point, what have they now become?

DTi and Department of Education

DTi now Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)

DfE now split into Department for Children, Schools and Families and Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills

• Which concert was organised to raise awareness of global warming?

Live Earth

• In his final budget before becoming Prime Minister, by how much did
Gordon Brown cut income tax?

2%

• Which novel, released in June 2007 completed the adventures of
Harry Potter?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Diabetes link to dementia

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New York: There could be a link between an adult’s diet and their risk of developing dementia, according to a newly published article in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

Individuals with diabetes are believed to be particularly susceptible to reduced cognition in old age and an unhealthy diet is known as a significant risk factor for the increasingly common condition. Eating less fattening foods and maintaining a healthy weight can help people avoid diabetes and therefore should mean they are less at risk of losing cognitive capacity in later life, the authors of the recent study suggest.

Smokers more likely to get dementia

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New York: A new study in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that people who smoke are more likely to develop dementia than nonsmokers or those who smoked in the past.

The study followed nearly 7,000 people age 55 and older for an average of seven years. Over that time, 706 of the participants developed dementia. People who were current smokers at the time of the study were 50 percent more likely to develop dementia than people who had never smoked or past smokers.

Folate shown to slow dementia, says new US report

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New York: A folate study has revealed that the vitamin can slow the cognitive decline of ageing.

The research, presented at the recent US Alzheimer’s AssociationÂ’s first conference on prevention of dementia, demonstrated that otherwise healthy people could slow the decline in their brain function by taking double the recommended daily dose of folate.

Scientists found that men and women 50-75 years old who took 800mcg of folate a day over three years scored significantly better in cognitive tests than peers taking a placebo. On memory tests, the supplement users had scores comparable to people 5.5 years younger, said the researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

“It’s the first study to convincingly show that [folate] can slow cognitive decline,” said lead author Jane Durga. The study involved healthy older people, not those with Alzheimer’s symptoms, so it doesn’t show if folate might ward off that disease. “That’s the key question,” Durga said.

Previous research has suggested that folate along with other B vitamins can reduce levels of homocysteine, an amino acid thought to play a role in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

The current study involved 818 middle-age adults who had elevated levels of homocysteine at baseline. They were randomized to receive either folate or a placebo for three years. Blood folate levels for those in the supplement group increased five-fold and plasma total homocysteine concentrations decreased by around 25 per cent by the end of the study.

“I think I would take [folate], assuming my doctor said it was OK,” said Johns Hopkins University neuroscientist Marilyn Albert, who chairs the Alzheimer’s Association’s science advisory council.

“We know Alzheimer’s disease, the pathology, begins many, many years before the symptoms. We ought to be thinking about the health of our brain the same way we think about the health of our heart,” she added.

Folate is found in such foods as oranges and strawberries, dark green leafy vegetables and beans. In the United States, it also is added to cereal and flour products.

Durga said it’s not clear how folate might work to protect the brain. Some studies suggest folate lowers inflammation; others suggest it may play a role in expression of dementia-related genes.

There is research now suggesting ways to protect the brain against age-related memory loss and Alzheimer’s. The Alzheimer’s Association has begun offering classes to teach people the techniques. Topping the list:

* Exercise your brain. Using it in unusual ways increases blood flow and helps the brain wire new connections. That’s important to build up what’s called cognitive reserve, an ability to adapt to or withstand the damage of Alzheimer’s a little longer.
* In youth, that means good education. Later in life, do puzzles, learn to play chess, take classes.
* Stay socially stimulated. Declining social interaction with age predicts declining cognitive function.
* Exercise your body. Bad memory is linked to heart disease and diabetes because clogged arteries slow blood flow in the brain.
* Experts recommend going for the triple-whammy of something mentally, physically and socially stimulating all at once: Coach your child’s ball team. Take a dance class. Strategize a round of golf.
* Diet’s also important. While Alzheimer’s researchers have long recommended a heart-healthy diet as good for the brain, the folate study is the first to test the advice directly.

The recommended daily dose of folate in the USA is 400 micrograms; doctors advise women of childbearing age to take a supplement to ensure they get that much.

The research findings add to mounting evidence that a diet higher in folate is important for a variety of diseases. Scientists have long thought that folate might play a role in dementia, and previous studies have shown people with low folate levels are more at risk for both heart disease and diminished cognitive function.

For more information: www.hsfolate.com

Jab to halt Alzheimer’s on way

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Zurich: An injection which halts the brain disease Alzheimer’s is being trialled by Swedish patients and could be available within a six years.

The drug works by breaking up amyloid playques – a sticky protein that attaches itself to the brain cells responsible for communication, causing memory loss and other distressing symptoms.

The drug has been developed by Zurich-based biotechnology company Cytos, which has already sold the patent for CAD106 to pharma giant Novartis.

Scientists believe that CAD106 will prevent the elderly reaching the final stages of the illness, in which patients become totally dependent.

Alzheimer’s is on the increase in developed countries as people live longer and the exact cause is unknown. It is estimated there are 25 million sufferers worldwide. Current drug therapies can delay symptoms but the new vaccine would hold the disease at bay, although it would not be able to restore damaged brain tissue.

Early tests on mice have shown that the vaccine is efficient at breaking up amyloid plaque.When the jab was given to mice suffering from a disease similar to Alzheimer’s, 80 per cent of the patches of amyloid protein were broken up.

The vaccine is now being tried out on 60 elderly Swedish patients in the early and middle stages of Alzheimer’s. Half of the men and women are being given the vaccine while half are being given dummy jabs.

Although the year-long trial is designed to show that the treatment is safe, the researchers will also look at its effect on the patients’ symptoms.

In the UK, the Alzheimer’s Society is challenging the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence – the medicines watchdog – over its ruling that three drugs, Aricept, Exelon and Reminyl will be available only to NHS patients with moderate symptoms, while a new drug called Ebixa is banned for all. The AS is taking NICE to the High Court on Monday to challenge the decision not to give the drugs which cost just ÂŁ2.50 a day.

Mix of diseases may cause Alzheimer’s

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BETHESDA: Few older people die with brains untouched by a pathological process, however, an individual’s likelihood of having clinical signs of dementia increases with the number of different disease processes present in the brain, according to a new study.

The research was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, and conducted at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Julie Schneider, MD, and colleagues report the findings in the journal Neurology online.

Among their findings is the observation that the combination of Alzheimer’s disease and strokes is the most common mix of pathologies in the brains of people with dementia. The implication of these findings is that public health efforts to prevent and treat vascular disease could potentially reduce the occurrence of dementia, the researchers say in the paper.

The researchers used data from the Rush Memory and Aging Project — an ongoing study of 1,200 elderly volunteers who have agreed to be evaluated every year and to donate their brains upon death.

The current study compared clinical and autopsy data on the first 141 participants who have died.

Annual physical and psychological exams showed that, while they were alive, 50 of the 141 had dementia. Upon death, a neuropathologist, who was unaware of the results of the clinical evaluation, analyzed each person’s brain. The autopsies showed that about 85% of the individuals had evidence of at least one chronic disease process, such as Alzheimer’s disease, strokes, Parkinson’s disease, hemorrhages, tumors, traumatic brain injury or others.

Comparison of the clinical and autopsy results showed that only 30% of people with signs of dementia had Alzheimer’s disease alone. By contrast, 42% of the people with dementia had Alzheimer’s disease with infarcts and 16% had Alzheimer’s disease with Parkinson’s disease (including two people with all three conditions). Infarcts alone caused another 12% of the cases. Also, 80 of the 141 volunteers who died had sufficient Alzheimer’s disease pathology in their brains to fulfill accepted neuropathologic criteria for Alzheimer’s disease, although in life only 47 were clinically diagnosed with probable or possible Alzheimer’s disease.

“We know that people can have Alzheimer’s pathology without having symptoms,” says Dallas Anderson, PhD, population studies program director in the NIA Neuroscience and Neuopsychology of Aging Program. “The finding that Alzheimer’s pathology with cerebral infarcts is a very common combination in people with dementia adds to emerging evidence that we might be able to reduce some of the risk of dementia with the same tools we use for cardiovascular disease such as control of blood cholesterol levels and hypertension.”

NIA is conducting clinical trials to determine whether interventions for cardiovascular disease can prevent or slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease. On-going trials cover a range of interventions such as statin drugs, vitamins and exercise.

SOURCE: The National Institutes of Health

Scientists warn of foie gras link to Alzheimer’s

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New York: People with a family history of Alzheimer’s have been warned not to eat the duck liver delicacy foie gras.

A study by researchers at the University of Tennessee Medical School have found that the foie gras contains proteins known as “amyloids” plaques which have been linked to the onset of Alzheimer’s. These proteins may also be implicated in type 2 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.

The scientists who carried out the study on mice and found that feeding them foie gras started growing amyloid proteins in various organs. They observed a similar result when extract of foie gras was injected into the rodents’ bloodstream.

Alan Solomon, an expert in amyloid-related diseases at the University of Tennessee, who led the research said: “It may be hazardous for individuals who are prone to develop other types of amyloid-related disorders such as Alzheimer’s or type 2 diabetes to consume such products.”

Foie gras is a food that has provoked much controversy because of the way food is forced down the birds’ throats so that their livers grow to a larger size. A liver weighing around 310g can fetch ÂŁ60.

Amyloid disease occurs when proteins that would normally be soluble undergo a change and become insoluable, damaging the way organs work. Although further studies are needed it may be that eating foods that already contain them is not a healthy option.

The number of sufferers of dementia and Alzheimer’s is growing as people continue to live longer. In Britain, out of a population of 60m, there are already 700,000 people with dementia. France, with a similar population, has 1m sufferers.

UK’s Alzheimer’s Society commissions new study into link between diet and dementia

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London: The UK’s AlzheimerÂ’s Society has today commissioned a new research study into the link between diet and dementia. The review hopes to answer crucial questions about what aspects of diet can help to people lower their risk of developing the devastating disease.

Experts increasingly believe eating healthily is key to reducing risks and are hoping this new research study will galvanise research into this important area.

Sarah Day, Hearts and Brains project manager, AlzheimerÂ’s Society says,

‘From fruit juice to red wine there are lots of different studies that have linked dementia to diet. For the first time in the UK, this study will bring together all of this information to give us a clearer picture of what the evidence says and where more research is needed. What we find will also help us let people know exactly what they can be doing to manage their risk.

‘People think that not much can be done, but a growing weight of evidence suggests this isn’t true. Physical exercise, keeping a low blood pressure and cholesterol, not smoking and eating healthily and can all affect your chances of developing dementia.

‘For example, studies have shown that, a healthy Mediterranean diet could reduce your risk by a third whereas obesity can double your risk. This study will combine this evidence to give us a holistic approach to the facts.’

The first half of the findings of the review will be ready for Alzheimer’s Awareness Week 2007 (1 – 7 July 2007). This year’s Awareness Week will focus on what people can do to reduce their risk of developing dementia, like make simple changes to their lifestyle.

A new booklet ‘Be Headstrong’ which tells people how they can reduce their risks is available from Alzheimer’s Society local branches during Alzheimer’s Awareness Week or from www.challengedementia.org.uk

· Alzheimer’s Awareness Week is the 1 – 7 July 2007

· Copies of the Alzheimer’s Awareness Week brochure ‘Be Headstrong. Challenge your risk of Dementia’ are available on request.

· For information about Alzheimer’s Awareness Week® 2007 and activities happening across the country visit www.challengedementia.org.uk

· 1 in 3 older people will end their lives with a form of dementia.

· 700,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia, more than half have Alzheimer’s disease. In less than 20 years nearly a million people will be living with dementia. This will soar to 1.7 million people by 2051. 1 in 5 people over 80 have dementia.

· The Alzheimer’s Society champions the rights of people living with dementia and those who care for them. The Alzheimer’s Society works in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

· As a charity, the Alzheimer’s Society depends on the generosity of the public to help it care, research and campaign for people with dementia. You can donate now by calling 0845 306 0898 or visiting www.alzheimers.org.uk

· The Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Helpline number is 0845 300 0336 or visit www.alzheimers.org.uk

Alzheimer’s charity to fight UK government drug ban in court

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London: Alzheimer’s suffers in the UK are being denied drugs that can slow the progress of this terrible disease because the Government drug rationing body says that they are not cost effective at ÂŁ2.50 a day per patient.

As a result, many patients and their families are left struggling to cope with the dreadful erosion of memory and everyday skills caused by the disease. The Alzheimer’s Society has now mounted a legal challenge to try to reverse the decision.

Around 750,000 Britons are affected by dementia – more than half of them with Alzheimer’s – at an estimated cost to the nation of ÂŁ17billion a year. And as the ageing population grows the number suffering from the disease is forecast to grow to a million.

The charity The Alzheimer’s Society is mounting a legal challenge to the decision by the National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the High Court. Two of the drug companies who make the drugs, Eisai and Pfizer are leading a separate legal action on the ban.

Britons with dementia already have less access to diagnosis and treatment that those in other EU countries and the Government has no remedy for the increase in sufferers of the disease. diagnostic services and treatment options than patients in other EU countries.

Three drugs, Aricept, Exelon and Reminyl, which could slow the disease’s progress, are no longer available for patients with ‘mild’ Alzheimer’s in England and Wales although they are licensed in Scotland.

These drugs help boost low levels of a chemical within the brain which helps nerve cells to communicate, temporarily improving or stabilising symptoms in about half of patients who try them.

Only patients with ‘moderate’ symptoms are eligible for these medicines, while a new drug called Ebixa which improves severe behavioural problems can be used only as part of a clinical trial.

The scale of the problem is revealed in a Dementia UK report prepared by the London School of Economics and King’s College, London. It says the cost of ÂŁ17billion each year includes NHS and social services, lost income and taxes from carers, and the estimated contribution from unpaid carers.

Delaying the onset of dementia by five years would halve the number of related deaths, saving nearly 30,000 lives annually.

Use your brain or loose it

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Chicago: Brain exercises can help elderly people stay mentally fit for longer, says a new study.

It concluded that older people must “use-it-or-lose-it” . For people say aged 73 years all that was needed was ten sessions of hour-long classes and included exercises done on a computer.

Research has already shown that intellectual tasks such as crossword puzzles and reading can help keep the brain sharp as people grow old.

The $15m study which was sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, was published appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association this month. It was led by Sherry Willis, a human-development professor at Penn State University.

Age-related mental decline is expected to affect 84 million people worldwide by 2040, according to statistics in the report.

Nearly 3,000 men and women in six cities – Baltimore, Birmingham, Ala.; Boston; Detroit; Indianapolis; and State College, Pa. took part in the study.

They were randomly assigned to six-week training sessions in either memory, reasoning or speedy mental processing, and were tested before and after. A comparison group received no training but was also tested.

About 700 of the 1,877 people who completed all five years also got short refresher sessions one year and three years after their initial training.

The memory training included organizing a 15-item grocery list into categories like dairy, vegetables and meat to make it easier to remember and locate items.

The reasoning training taught participants how to see patterns in everyday tasks such as bus schedules and taking medicines at different doses and times.

The speed training had participants quickly identify flashing objects on a computer screen. Those are some of the same reaction skills used while driving.

Nearly 90 percent of the speed training group, 74 percent of the reasoning group and 26 percent of the memory group showed almost immediate improvements in scores on tests of the mental functions they were trained in. The improvements in most cases lasted throughout the five years of the study and were most notable in people who got refresher sessions.

The comparison group participants also showed some improvement – perhaps just from the stimulation of being tested – but it was not as great.

After five years, the participants assessed their ability to perform everyday tasks such as shopping, driving and managing their finances. And the researchers rated the participants in their everyday functioning.

Only the group that received reasoning training reported substantially less decline than the comparison group. And only one group actually performed better, in the researchers’ opinion – those who got refresher sessions in speed training.

See also: JAMA: www.jama.ama-assn.org

NIA: www.nia.nih.gov

UK health body bans Alzheimer’s drugs on NHS

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London: Alzheimer’s sufferers in the UK are being refused drugs that could help them until their symptoms get worse.

The Government’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has turned down appeals to allow the drugs, Aricept, Exelon and REminyl, which cost about ÂŁ2.50 a day for all sufferers. Only patients with moderate symptoms of the disease will be offered treatment Ebixa not allowed at all

The ban on their use for new patients within the state’s NHS is set to take effect from November 22 with existing patients with mild Alzheimer’s allowed to continue.

Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, was critical of the decision which he said risked the health of thousands to save just ÂŁ2.50 a day.

He added: ‘This blatant cost-cutting will rob people of priceless time early in the disease and later clinicians will have no choice but to use dangerous sedatives that increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. This is victimisation of the most vulnerable in society.’

He claimed there had been ‘ fundamental flaws’ in the appraisal process which never took account of the savings the drugs make to a carer’s time. He called for the Government to intervene, although campaigners and the drug companies may apply for judicial review of the decision.

Simple skin test for Alzheimer’s

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New York: US doctors are developing a skin test that could detect Alzheimer’s at an earlier stage.

Currently there is no way to detect the disease in which doctors believe may begin before symptoms show in old age. There is also no cure.

Early detection would mean that intervention with drugs that assist in minimising some symptoms may be more helpful if given earlier.

The new test is based on the discovery that the disease causes a change in a common body enzyme which means it can be detected by its reaction to certain chemicals.

The US team from the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute in Maryland hope to bring the test to patients within five years. Doctors Tapan Khan and Daniel Alkon report their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

An apple a day keeps dementia at bay

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New York: Apples may be effective in preventing ageing of the brain. According to the latest reseach, the juice contains a chemical that boosts an essential neurotransmitter called acetylcholine.

Neurotransmitters are chemicals released by nerve cells to transmit messages to other nerve cells and are critical for good memory and brain health.

Scientists have previously shown that increasing the amount of acetylcholine in the brain can slow the mental decline found in people with AlzheimerÂ’s disease.

Researcher Thomas Shea PhD, director of the Center for Cellular Neurobiology and Neurodegenration Research at the University of Massachusetts Lowell says: “The findings of the present study show that consumption of antioxidant-rich foods such as apples and apple juice can help reduce problems associated with memory loss.”

Nutritionists already advocate eating a diet high in antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, such as blueberries, spinach, and strawberries and omega 3 oil to slow age-related mental decline better than using dietary supplements containing purified forms of antioxidants.

In the latest study, researchers looked at the effects on mice. They compared normal adult mice, normal “aged” mice, and special mice that were a genetic model for human Alzheimer’s. Human studies looking at apple consumption are planned.

The study was funded by an unrestricted grant from the US Apple Association and the Apple Products Research & Education Council.

The mice were given either a normal diet, or a diet lacking in essential nutrients, for one month. Some of the mice on the nutrient-poor diet were also given apple juice concentrate mixed in their water.

The results showed that normal adult mice and the genetically-engineered mice on normal diets had the same acetylcholine levels.

In fact, the normal adults had the same acetylcholine levels regardless of diet.

However, the genetically engineered mice on the nutrient-poor diet had lower acetylcholine levels. But this drop was prevented in those given apple juice.

In the aged mice on a normal diet, acetylcholine levels were lower than in the normal adult mice; and their levels were even lower if placed on the nutrient-poor diet. But, again, this decline was prevented by the addition of apple juice to drink.

The mice were also put through maze memory tests. “It was surprising how the animals on the apple-enhanced diets actually did a superior job on the maze tests than those not on the supplemented diet,” says Shea.

The amount of apple juice the mice drank was comparable to drinking about two 8-ounce glasses of apple juice or eating two to three apples a day for humans.

Will you get dementia?

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Stockholm: Scientists have developed a two-minute test that can access the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

There are seven lifestyle questions on age, education, health and exercise yield a personal score out of the highest of 15, which is then translated into a personal risk level. The higher the score, the more likely dementia will develop within 20 years.
The aim of the test is to shock those at risk into making lifestyle changes necessary to reduce the danger.

Accuracy is estimated at around 70 per cent The test. Those who score highest are estimated to have a 16 per cent chance of developing the disease while those at the lower end have one per cent, according to a report in The Lancet Neurology.

The number of cases of Alzheimer’s is on the increase and presently there is no cure and no predictive testing other than a genetic test.

Though it is generally recognised that there are some risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, not taking exercise, poor diet and high levels of the substance homocysteine in the blood. These may combine years before the disease to create an environment for Alzheimer’s to develop.

The doctors looked at the health of more than 1,400 middle-aged people from Finland to device the scorecard. They looked at their health when they were around 50 and then 20 years later examined them for signs of dementia.

Those who are obese or have high blood pressure or high cholesterol are twice as likely to develop dementia. Scoring badly on all three fronts raises the risk sixfold.

Swedish neurologist Dr Miia Kivipelto, who developed the scorecard, said it could change the face of dementia treatment and gave doctors and patients a better chance in intervention.

US patients will be first to try new Alzheimer’s patch

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Stockholm: Drug company Novartis is to launch a skin patch treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. US patients will be the first to try the new patch when it goes on the market.

The patch, containing the drug Exelon is absorbed into the skin, helping patients get regular doses rather than having to take tablets.

Research into the treatment has been carried out by Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, which led research into the patch which can be placed almost anywhere on the body to ensure a constant supply direct into the bloodstream.

Novartis Exelon works by preventing the breakdown of the brain neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. The once-day-patch was unveiled at the international Alzheimer’s conference and has been tested in a Swedish study of around 1,200 patients.

It compared taking 12mg pills to a lowdose patch – equivalent to 9.5 mg of Exelon daily – and a high- dose patch, equivalent to 17.4 mg.

The low-dose patch was just as effective as the high-dose pills but pill users suffered three times more nausea and vomiting than patch users.

Weight-loss in older women may be early warning of dementia

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New York: Loss of appetite in older women may be an early-warning of dementia, according to research from the Mayo Clinic in the US.

They have found that ten years before dementia, sometimes a precursor to the more serious Alzheimer’s disease sets, women may experience weight loss. Sufferers of dementia are also likely to weigh a stone less than they did 30 years earlier.

The doctors concluded that the weightloss was a direct result of the disease’s impact on the brain. They looked at 560 men and women diagnosed with dementia and noted their weight over a 30-year period. These were compared with another group free of the disease. A clear trend of weightloss amongst women with dementia emerged.

The researchers concluded that weight-loss could advance understanding of the mechanisms involved in the condition.

A younger brain – fertilise it with nutrition, exercise and the mind gym

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Lawyers, scientists, doctors, investment bankers and those of us with challenging jobs are 22 per cent less likely to suffer age-related brain diseases such as AlzheimerÂ’s or dementia in later life, according to a recent study.

Whilst this is good news, doctors now believe the onset of brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s are the result of a combination of factors that can begin in our 30s – decades before the symptoms manifest themselves. Like heart and cardio-vascular disease many of us will already silently be developing symptoms. Stress and binge-drinking can accelerate the onset of memory loss and cognitive impairment leading to more serious problems later in life.

So what can we do now to prevent or reverse this process and help our brains function better for longer? According to international nutritionist Patrick Holford, author of “The Alzheimer’s Prevention Plan” (Piatkus Books) cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s are mostly preventable and we can reverse our risk by making simple changes to our lifestyle and diet.

Cognitex (right) is a multi-supplement for the brain and is available at www.thevitalityshopuk.com

According to Holford only 1 per cent of AlzheimerÂ’s is caused by genetic factors. Roughly three in ten people over the age of 70 experience poor memory, concentration and confusion, with a further one in ten being diagnosed with dementia, the majority of which go on to develop AlzheimerÂ’s disease. So we have a 50:50 chance of entering the last quarter of our lives with our mental faculties intact.

Scientists already know that there is a correlation between the build-up of “amyloid plaques”, a protein that clogs up the brain, killing the cells and Alzheimer’s but this can only be detected after death through examination of the brain.

One of the key factors in determining whether a person is at risk is to test levels of an amino-acid called homocysteine in the blood. High levels – a healthy score is 7 – such as 15 or above are likely to indicate worsening mental alertness and the prospect of Alzheimer’s disease in later life. High homocysteine levels are also implicated in heart and cardio-vascular disease.

Holford’s recommendation’s to lower your “H” score by: eating less fatty meat, more fish and vegetables; even more green vegetables, a clove of garlic daily, don’t add salt to food, cut back on tea and coffee, limit alcohol, reduce stress, stop smoking and supplementing with homocysteine reducing nuritients each day (see Brain Boosters). One of the best, pictured, is Cognitex, which contains the essential nutrients to protect the brain. For more information telephone freefone 0800 011 2496.

At the Brain Bio Centre in London www.brainbiocentre.com Holford has been pioneering this nutrition-based method for reversing the risk of both age-related memory decline and AlzheimerÂ’s with some success.

At the recent London Anti-Ageing Conference he told medical experts that he had arrested the development of mental deterioration in men and women by changing their diet and some had also had the bonus of having their libido restored.

Since the brain is 60% fat, Holford argues, we should be eating a diet rich in oil soluble vitamins such as Vitamin E (liver and eggs), oily fish (sardines and salmon) and seeds (pumpkin and flax) which contain Omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids. One of the signs that you may not be getting enough of these vital brain nutrients is a dry skin.

His findings are confirmed by doctors at the Rush Institute for Healthy Ageing in Chicago who discovered that eating oily fish, containing DHA, a form of omega three fat, just once a week, reduces the risk of developing AlzheimerÂ’s by 60 per cent.

We must also not forget the role of hormones in memory loss. One, pregnenolone, is known as the mother hormone because it converts to a variety of others – oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA – is also important in brain function. But blood testing is essential and anyone with cancer should not take pregnenolone.

Professor Ian Robertson, of the Institute of Neuroscience at Trinity College, Dublin, in his book, Stay Young with the Mind Doctor, (published by Vermillion) has conducted experiments with exercise and mental workouts which he says make it possible to make the brain younger by up to 14 years.

He prescribes a cardiovascular workout three times a week to raise the heart rate and improve mental function by increasing blood flow to the brain. It also produces a chemical fertiliser for new brain connections and cells (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and serotonin the enhancing mood chemical. Taking up new mental challenges such as learning new skills such as learning to play a musical instrument or learning a new language work the frontal lobes – the brain’s mind manager – which otherwise shrink with age; extreme stress decreases the hippocampus, the brain’s memory centre, so reduce it and finally keep your mind happy with an active social life and positive personal relationships.

HOW SHARP IS YOUR MIND AND MEMORY?
TRY PATRICK HOLFORDÂ’S TEST NOW
Yes No

Is your memory deteriorating?

Do you find it hard to concentrate and often get confused?
Do you sometimes meet someone you know quite well but canÂ’t remember their name?

Do you often find you can remember things from the past but forget what you did yesterday?
Do you ever forget what day of the week it is?
Do you ever go looking for something and forget what you are looking for?
Do your friends and family think youÂ’re getting more forgetful now than you used to be?
Do you find it hard to add up numbers without writing them down?
Do you often experience mental tiredness?
Do you find it heard to concentrate for more than an hour?
Do you often misplace your keys?
Do you frequently repeat yourself?
Do you sometimes forget the point youÂ’re trying to make?
Does it take you longer to learn things than it used to?

Score 1 for each “yes” answer
If your score is:
Below 5: You don’t have a major problem with your memory – but you may find that simple diet changes and supplementing natural mind and memory boosters will sharpen you up even more.

5 to 10: Your memory definitely needs a boost. Certain diet changes and supplements can make a big difference.

More than 10: You are experiencing significant memory decline and need to do something about it. As well as following these diet and supplement recommendations we recommend you see a nutritionist.

TOP MEMORY BOOSTING SUPPLEMENTS

Ashwagandha – a medicinal plant used in India that has been shown to repair damaged brain cells
Acetyl-L-Carnitine Arginate –stimulates the growth of neurites in the brain as well as stimulating production of acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter
Alpa-Lipoic Acid
Choline – a substance needed by the brain to produce acetylcholine
Co Enyme Q10 – produced by the body but declines with age and energises the cells. Low levels are also associated with heart disease
DMAE – a natural substance also found in oily fish such as salmon and converts to choline and acetylcholine to build and repair brain cells.
Gingo Bilboa – a potent antioxidant supplement that strengthens capillaries, promoting healthy blood flow to the brain
Gluthione – a natural antioxidant that fights free radicals that damage cells in the body
Lecithin – a natural substance found in the body that helps maintain cell structure
N-acetyl cysteine – an amino acid that helps remove homocysteine from the blood
Omega 3 fats – found in fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel) and seeds (pumpkin and flax)
Phosphatidylserine – a natural part of the healthy cell membrane but declines with age. Helps concentration and is available as a dietary supplement in the US but only available in the UK on prescription.
Pregnenolone – mother hormone that declines with age and vital to brain function

Fat middle may raise risk of Alzheimer’s

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San Diego: A fat middle may raise the risk of Alzheimer’s, say doctors.

A new study looked at 9,000 men and women whose fat levels were monitored in early middle-age. During the next 23 years, 221 cases of Alzheimer’s were diagnosed mostly in those who were overweight with higher levels of at around the trunk.

The research took into account other Alzheimer’s factors, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and high cholsterol but concluded that fat around the middle was the most likely predictor of dementia.

Dr Rachel Whitmer from the Kaiser Permanent Foundation Research Institute in California told the American Academy of Neurology in San Diego that even a person of normal weight who was carrying more fat around the trunk was at risk.

The team now plan to test whether weight loss can reduce the risk of demantia and Alzheimer’s.

Silicon may help prevent Alzheimer’s

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Toulouse: Elderly women are less likely to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s if they drink plenty of water containing the trace mineral silicon.

Doctors in Toulouse, France, carried out research on some 7,968 women over a seven year period. They discovered that women with lower intakes of water performed worse on cognitive function than those with higher intakes.

Those who went on to develop Alzheimer’s disease were three times as likely to have had low intakes of silicon from water.

The richest ditary sources of silicon are grains such as whet, oats and rice. Unrefined soy products also contain relatively large amounts and it can also be taken as a supplement.

Silicon has no known effect on the brain but it does inhibit the absorption of aluminium and increases its extretion in urine. Aluminium is a toxic metal thought to play a role in dementia and has been used in cooking pans.

Doctors believe that silicon make prevent the accumulation of aluminium in the brain.

Exercising the brain at work to delay dementia – new study

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Tampa: People in stimulating jobs are less likely to get Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new report from the University of South Florida.

Lawyers, doctors and scientists are at lower risk compared to those who serve others such as barmen and waiters. Factory and manual workers who also take instructions from others are most at risk.

The study of more than 10,000 Swedish adults discoverd that those involved in complex work were at a lower risk of contracting all forms of dimentia.

Dr Ross Andel, the research leader said the findings indicated that complex mental exercises help delay the onset of dementia later in life.

Exercise may protect against Alzheimer’s

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Stockholm: Exercising at least twice weekly in middle age can help prevent the congitive brain disease, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Researchers at the Ageing Research Centre at the Karolinksa Institute in Stockholm have discovered that people in their late 40s and early 50s could cut their risk of developing these diseases by about 50 per cent simply by becoming more active, according to a study.

Dr Miia Kivipelto, of the Ageing Research Centre at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, said: ‘If an individual adopts an active lifestyle in youth and at mid-life, this may increase their probabilityof enjoying both physically and cognitively vital years in their life.’

The study, published in the medical journal The Lancet Neurology, involved nearly 1,500 men and women, of whom nearly 200 developed dementia or Alzheimer’s between the ages of 65 and 79.

The researchers looked back at how physically active the volunteers had been up to 21 years earlier, when they would have been in middle-age.
Those who developed Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia were far less likely to have been active in midlife than those who remained free of dementia.

The minimum amount of exercise that appeared to be protective was physical activity that lasted 20-30 minutes at least twice a week and which was enough to cause breathlessness and sweating.

Dr Kivipelto said that regular physical exercise might protect against dementia by keeping the small blood vessels of the brain healthy.

It could also help prevent conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure which make people more vulnerable to Alzheimer’s.

Other research has shown that mentally demanding jobs and everyday stimulating activities such as chatting on the phone, watching television or listening to the radio help to keep people mentally alert because it involves information processing.

This may help maintain a ‘reserve’ of brain cells that resists the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

Smoking lowers IQ and increases risk of dementia, experts warn.

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SMOKING can lower your IQ and increases the risk of dementia later in life, experts warned yesterday.

Long-term smokers suffer significant damage to their memory and their ability to think quickly and solve problems.

Researchers warn that this may lead to difficulties in simple everyday tasks such as counting change – and may hasten the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Experts from Aberdeen and Edinburgh universities say the study offers the first conclusive evidence that cigarettes are bad for your intelligence as well as your physical health.

They believe that toxic chemicals in smoke get into the bloodstream and harm the blood vessels that provide the brain with vital oxygen supplies.

‘Our findings are significant because they show for the first time the long-term effect of smoking on cognitive ability,’ said Dr John Starr, of Edinburgh University. ‘The impact of smoking on the IQ of the people involved may appear small, but it will impair their quality of life.

‘They will experience niggly problems with any task that requires some sort of mental agility – whether that’s organising their daily life, remembering what to buy at the shops, doing crossword puzzles or playing bridge.’

In the study, detailed in New Scientist magazine today, researchers looked at 465 individuals, all of whom were born in 1936 and had taken part in the same IQ survey at the age of 11.

The team asked these people, around half of whom were former or current smokers, to take a series of five tests designed to measure their mental functioning and IQ between 2000 and

2002 when they were aged 64 on average.

After taking into account other factors which may influence their intelligence, such as education and alcohol consumption, the results showed that smokers tended to fare worse than non-smokers.

Professor Lawrence Whalley, of Aberdeen University, said that the smokers – who had been smoking for around 40 years on average – had experienced IQ reductions of around 2 per cent as a result of their habit.

Further analysis showed that when the effect of smoking on lung function was taken into account, the negative effect on IQ was around 4 per cent.

Scientists have previously shown that damaged lung function is associated with impaired mental ability, possibly because the brain is being fed less oxygen.

Professor Whalley said former smokers – most of whom had smoked for around ten years early in adulthood – also had slightly lower scores than nonsmokers.

He said the findings contradict the belief of some smokers that a nicotine rush can actually help boost their brain power.

He added: ‘Smokers are likely to be functioning at 2 per cent lower than if they had not smoked.

‘This becomes critical if you think of the decline you see in dementia – if you are starting from a lower point then it may come on earlier.’