Long-term Testing May Speed Early Treatment of Alzheimer ’s Disease
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Cognitive and Neural Systems have found evidence that long-term testing starting well before any signs of Alzheimer’s symptoms are evident could be a valuable tool in detecting which people will need intervention with therapeutic drugs that are now in clinical trials. This type of intervention could possibly halt or even reverse cognitive damage while the patient is still symptom-free. The long-term testing would be done in conjunction with brain scans.
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Source: Minding Our Elders - April 7, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
A Mechanism to Explain Age-Related Loss in Female Fertility
Here, researchers identify a form of cellular damage that appears to be a proximate cause of the loss of female fertility with advancing age. But what causes this damage? Tying their observations to other, earlier forms of damage and dysfunction in aged tissues will no doubt be a great deal of work if pursued through purely investigative methods. The fastest approach to such a situation tends to be to fix the damage and see what happens as a result, but the lack of readily available repair therapies has hampered this approach in the past. Now that the first of these treatments are emerging, such as senescent cell clearance...
Source: Fight Aging! - April 5, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
“The Inheritance” Follows ND Family as Genetic Alzheimer’s becomes Legacy
Dear Readers: For most people, finding out that they have received an inheritance is a positive experience. Not so when that inheritance is early onset familial Alzheimer’s disease (eFAD). This type of inheritance involves a gene which each family member has a 50 percent chance of inheriting. For those who inherit this gene, their chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease by middle age, if not younger, is 100 percent. In her engrossing new book “The Inheritance,” Niki Kapsambelis presents the story of a North Dakota family facing such a reality.
Read full review of "The Inheritance" on Inforum:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - April 2, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
MIND Diet Recommended for Alzheimer's Prevention
Part of a healthy lifestyle, one that may prevent heart disease, Alzheimer’s and other diseases, involves consuming a nourishing diet. According to a recent study, one way to obtain these nutrients is through the MIND diet. This berry-heavy diet, which was created by nutritional epidemiologist Martha Clare Morris, PhD and colleagues at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL, is a tweaked combination of the Mediterranean and the DASH diets. The acronym MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay.
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Source: Minding Our Elders - March 30, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
A “disabled” person speaks out against a particular form of discrimination
Amidst lots of dark and tragic stories, a bright ray on the BBC website this week: Kathleen Humberstone, a 17 year-old English girl with Down syndrome, addressed the UN in Geneva to mark World Down Syndrome Day. Rather than reading anything I have to say, a far better use of your time would be to read what Ms. Humberstone said. You can find the full text here; if you scroll down... // Read More » (Source: blog.bioethics.net)
Source: blog.bioethics.net - March 24, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Joe Gibes Tags: Genetics Health Care abortion bioethics biotechnology Culture / Ethnicity / Gender / Disability eugenics prenatal genetic testing syndicated Source Type: blogs
The Root of Alzheimer's: Could Infection and Inflammation be Part of the Equation?
When it comes to Alzheimer’s disease, a number of researchers think that it’s time to reconsider the idea of infection as a root cause. Scientists are now pointing to studies that reveal the presence of a microbe as a possible trigger for the disease. The theory is that microbes "find their way into the brain via the bloodstream and lie dormant until triggered by aging, immune system decline or by different types of stress…once they are activated, the microbes then damage brain cells - either directly or via inflammation.”
Read full article on HealthCentral about new thoughts on the root on Alzheimer's:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - March 24, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
The Root of Alzheimer's: Could Infection and Inflammation be Part of the Equation?
When it comes to Alzheimer’s disease, a number of researchers think that it’s time to reconsider the idea of infection as a root cause. Scientists are now pointing to studies that reveal the presence of a microbe as a possible trigger for the disease. The theory is that microbes "find their way into the brain via the bloodstream and lie dormant until triggered by aging, immune system decline or by different types of stress…once they are activated, the microbes then damage brain cells - either directly or via inflammation.”
Read full article on HealthCentral about a new look at the root of Alzheimer's:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - March 9, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Heart and Brain Health Closely Related
For years the Alzheimer's Association has made good use of the catch phrase "what's good for the heart is good for the brain." As additional research is conducted in both areas, that simple phrase is proving to be solid thinking. The startling admission of notable researchers who attended the 2014 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Copenhagen that a healthy lifestyle is, at this point, the best hope we have to prevent or delay Alzheimer’s symptoms underscores this concept. Not surprisingly, the lifestyle recommended for preventing Alzheimer’s disease is also the lifestyle that is recommended for stavin...
Source: Minding Our Elders - March 8, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Alzheimer's Apathy Preventable with Stimulation
Lack of enjoyable, stimulating activity can lead to apathy for anyone but particularly those with Alzheimer’s disease. According to a 2013 report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), apathy is one of the most common neurobehavioral symptoms in dementia. Strong, focused stimulation can help people with Alzheimer's disease overcome apathy. People with mild dementia will decline more quickly into severe dementia if they also suffer from apathy, therefore engaging, stimulating activities are especially vital to this group.
Read full article on HealthCentral about how apathy in people with AD may be preventable:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - March 3, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Alzheimer's Disease Impairs Insulin Signaling, May Increase Diabetes Risk
According to the latest research, the long-held theory that diabetes may cause Alzheimer’s could prove to be the reverse, at least in some cases. In the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia, scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai published study results suggesting that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) impairs insulin signaling in the area of the brain that is responsible for regulating metabolism. The study finds this impaired signaling makes a person with Alzheimer’s disease more susceptible to diabetes.
Read complete article on HealthCentral about how AD impairs insulin:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - February 19, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Coping With an Alzheimer ’s Diagnosis
You’re 76 and are having memory problems beyond the occasional slip. Last month, you drove in circles for an hour because you forgot how to get home from the same grocery store where you’ve shopped for three decades...You’re 57 and still rising in your career. At least you were rising up until the last six months when you were told that you are upsetting clients because you’ve become short tempered.
Read full article on Kindly Care about coping with an Alzheimer's diagnosis:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - January 30, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Insulin Resistance Puts Women More at Risk of Alzheimer's Than Men
For many reasons, some identified and others still a mystery, women seem to be more at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than men are. A recent study, led by Dr. Laura Ekblad at Finland's University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, has discovered one physical issue that could be added to the list of Alzheimer's risks for women: insulin resistance. Insulin resistance, which is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes, was shown in tests to influence verbal fluency in women more than men.
Photo credit: Think Stock Read on HealthCentral the full article on the influence of insulin resistance on women:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - January 15, 2017 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Convincing People Living with Dementia To Take Pills
Dementia care demands incredible creativity. The ever changing needs of the person who has dementia challenges family caregivers and professionals alike. One particular frustration is getting important medications into their loved ones who either can’t or won’t cooperate when it comes to taking pills. As Alzheimer’s spreads throughout the brain, logic departs. The ability to understand one’s world disappears, understandably being replaced by fear and suspicion. These emotions are often blamed by caregivers when the person that they love refuses to take needed medications.
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Source: Minding Our Elders - November 1, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Thoughts on A World Without Down ’s Syndrome?
We watched the documentary prenatal screening and the reduction in people being born with Down Syndrome presented by Sally Phillips.It's on BBC iplayerhere and below is a short clip.The best article on this that I have read is byFrancis Ryan in the Guardian.I have however some points that I want to make about the programme. I tweeted these this morning and am bringing those thoughts together now.First principle is that individual women must have full bodily autonomy. Nothing in #worldwithoutdowns negates the need to legalise safe, free abortion in Ireland/elsewhere. It is still essential that Irish people #repealthe8t...
Source: The Voyage - October 6, 2016 Category: Child Development Source Type: blogs
Thoughts on A World Without Down s Syndrome?
We watched the documentary prenatal screening and the reduction in people being born with Down Syndrome (DS) presented by Sally Phillips.Below is a short clip.The best article on this that I have read is byFrancis Ryan in the Guardian.I have however some points that I want to make about the programme. I tweeted these this morning and am bringing those thoughts together now.First principle is that individual women must have full bodily autonomy. Nothing in #worldwithoutdowns negates the need to legalise safe, free abortion in Ireland/elsewhere. It is still essential that Irish people #repealthe8th and that women in the nort...
Source: The Voyage - October 6, 2016 Category: Child Development Source Type: blogs
