Alzheimer's

[Big Black Dog]

A good friend, and neighbor or mine, had Alzheimer's and eventually died from it. My sympathy goes out to anybody who has a member of their family with this condition.

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd says too late fer Granny, but den again she always been onna goofy side...

Detecting Alzheimer's early could change lives
7 July`12 - When Karen Frost got a call from her mother saying "I just want to keep you in the loop," she knew to pay attention.

Her father got lost trying to find his wife in the hospital after a routine appointment and was missing for several hours before she found him. When Alita Aldridge got a call from her mother accusing her grandson of taking money and stealing her food, she, too, knew something was wrong. Her mother had always been loving and rarely raised her voice. Suddenly, expletives peppered her outbursts.

Though their symptoms were different, both women's parents were ultimately diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, a brain-wasting illness that afflicts 5.4 million people in the USA, destroying memory, thinking and personality. It also takes a heavy toll on caregivers. The Frosts got a quick diagnosis and started mapping out their future. But Aldridge says her mother's condition went undetected for several years, and the personality changes distanced her from her family and finally landed her in the emergency room.

"I didn't know very much about Alzheimer's disease," she says. "I thought memory was affected, but I didn't think personality was. My mother's personality had changed. We even went to a doctor who said my mother was fine. What were we supposed to do at that point?"

Starting Sunday, researchers at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2012 in Vancouver, Canada, will discuss new findings on early warning signs to evaluate cognitive function sooner and on new therapies that might slow the disease's progression. The conference is expected to draw 5,000 researchers from around the world, and it follows the U.S. government's announcement in May of an ambitious plan to increase awareness and find a way to prevent the disease by 2025. Nearly half of those 85 and older have it, and the number is expected to be 16 million by 2050.

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[waltky]

Have noticed all the drinkers I grew up around either died with or have dementia...

Drinking alcohol, even in moderation, 'a dementia risk'
18 July 2012 - Drinking even "moderate" amounts of alcohol increases dementia risk, US research suggests.

The findings, presented at an international conference, challenge the notion that some alcohol could be good for ageing brains. People who stick to recommended alcohol limits are still at risk, as well as bingers and heavy drinkers, according to the work. The study tracked the health over 20 years of 1,300 women in their mid-60s. The risk, ranging from mild cognitive impairment to full blown dementia, was higher among those who reported drinking more alcohol.

Women who switched from abstinence to drinking over the course of the study also increased their risk. Those who drank alcohol "in moderation", meaning seven to 14 alcoholic drinks a week, were also more likely to develop problems with memory and brain functioning that can be a warning sign of future dementia. The lower end of this range falls within the UK's recommended limit for women, but since alcohol measures in the US are larger than in the UK, 14 drinks a week would exceed this UK weekly cut off. And since the study only looked at women, it is not possible to say if the same link will apply in elderly men.

Researcher Tina Hoang, of the Veterans Health Research Institute in San Francisco, said: "In this group of older women, moderate alcohol consumption was not protective. "Clinicians should carefully assess their older patients for both how much they drink and any changes in patterns of alcohol use." She told the Alzheimer's Association International Conference that it might be that brains become more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol as we age. Some UK experts have recommended alcohol limits should be even tighter for older people for this reason.

Alternatively, the researchers say the link could be caused by factors that drive people to drink - stress or bereavement, for example. At the same meeting, another group of US researchers presented more work showing the potential harms of binge drinking. Among the 5,075 men and women they studied, those who reported heavy bouts of drinking - at least one episode per month - were more likely to experience dementia-like problems.

More BBC News - Drinking alcohol, even in moderation, 'a dementia risk'

 

[Luissa]

When someone's chart says History of ETOH, I know they will be an interesting case. Alcohol induced dementia sometimes seems very different than other forms. They seem to have more delusions, behaviors, and seem paranoid a lot.
This is only my observation having worked with dementia for awhile.

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd gonna go goofy when he gets old - always tossin' an' turnin' an' fartin' in bed...

Bad sleep may predict Alzheimer's, says study
5 September 2012 - s there a link between sleeping patterns and dementia?

Problems sleeping may be an early sign of Alzheimer's if a study in mice also applies to people, say researchers. Clumps of protein, called plaques, in the brain are thought to be a key component of the illness. A study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, showed that when plaques first developed, the mice started having disrupted sleep. Alzheimer's Research UK argued that if the link was proven it could become a useful tool for doctors. The hunt for early hints that someone is developing Alzheimer's is thought to be crucial for treating the disease. People do not show problems with their memory or clarity of thought until very late on in the disease. At this point, parts of the brain will have been destroyed, meaning treatment will be very difficult or maybe even impossible.

'Detectable sign'

It is why researchers want to start early, years before the first symptoms. One large area of research is in plaques of beta amyloid which form on the brain. Levels of the beta amyloid protein naturally rise and fall over 24 hours in both mice and people. However, the protein forms permanent plaques in Alzheimer's disease. Experiments at Washington University showed that nocturnal mice slept for 40 minutes during every hour of daylight. However, as soon brain plaques started to form the mice were sleeping for only 30 minutes.

One of the researchers, Prof David Holtzman, said: "If sleep abnormalities begin this early in the course of human Alzheimer's disease, those changes could provide us with an easily detectable sign of [the disease]." "If these sleep problems exist, we don't yet know exactly what form they take, reduced sleep overall or trouble staying asleep or something else entirely." However, findings in mice do not always apply to people as there are many reasons for disrupted sleep.

Dr Marie Janson, from the charity Alzheimer's Research UK, called for more studies in people to see if there was a link between sleeping patterns and Alzheimer's. She added: "There has already been research linking changes in sleep patterns to a decline in thinking skills, but these results suggest that disrupted sleep may also be a warning sign of Alzheimer's. "If research confirms specific sleep changes as a possible early marker of Alzheimer's, it could prove a useful strategy for doctors to identify patients at risk of the disease."

BBC News - Bad sleep may predict Alzheimer's, says study

 

[JOSweetHeart]

My sympathy goes out to anybody who has a member of their family with this condition.

I have an aunt who has had Alzheimer's for three years now. She has been in a nursing home ever since 2010.

God bless you and her always!!!

Holly

P.S. It wasn't until she got it that I learned how bad of an affect it can have on a person that has it. Before my aunt was put in the nursing home, having this sickness made her do some pretty horrifying things.

 

[strollingbones]

my mother never drank or smoked...she walked 6 miles a day...she was not a meat eater.....she is in an assisted living facility...there is no rhyme nor reason to this disease......

i wouldnt even wish it on vick

 

[JOSweetHeart]

^^^ Sadly my aunt was a smoker and when the the sickness started doing its thing to her, not only did she forget how to smoke, she started to light her cigarettes up and then throw them behind the sofa in her house.

God bless you and her always!!!

Holly

 

[waltky]

Silver lining to Alzheimer's drug cloud...

Studies: Alzheimer drug may stabilize brain plaque
A11 Sept.`12 - An experimental drug that failed to stop mental decline in Alzheimer's patients also signaled potential benefit that suggests it might help if given earlier, fuller results of two major studies show.

Some patients on the drug had stable levels of brain plaque and less evidence of nerve damage compared to others who were given a dummy treatment, researchers reported Tuesday. The drug is called bapineuzumab (bap-ih-NOOZ-uh-mab), made by Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson. The new results suggest it might work if given sooner, before so much damage and memory loss have occurred that it might not be possible to reverse, experts say. "We're very disappointed that we were not able to come up with a treatment to provide to our dementia patients in the near term," said Dr. Reisa Sperling, director of the Alzheimer's center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and leader of one of the studies.

But brain imaging and spinal fluid tests are "very encouraging" and suggest the drug was "doing something to the biology of the disease." "We've got a path forward" now to test it in people with mild mental impairment or those who show plaque on brain imaging but have not yet developed symptoms of dementia, Sperling said. Of people with mild cognitive impairment, about 15 to 20 percent a year will develop Alzheimer's disease. About 35 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer's is the most common type. In the U.S., about 5 million have Alzheimer's. Current medicines such as Aricept and Namenda just temporarily ease symptoms. There is no known cure.

This year researchers had been hopeful of major progress in treating the disease, but study after study has proved disappointing, including results reported earlier on bapineuzumab. The drug failed to slow mental decline or improve activities of daily living for patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's in two studies in the United States and Canada. Bapineuzumab is designed to attach to and help clear amyloid, the stuff that makes up the sticky plaque that clogs patients' brains, harming nerve cells and impairing memory and thought. Doctors don't know whether amyloid is a cause or just a symptom of Alzheimer's, but many companies are testing drugs to try to remove it.

Sperling's study involved people with a gene that raises the risk of developing the disease. Dr. Stephen Salloway, a neurologist at Brown Medical School in Providence, R.I., led the other study of people without the gene. Both researchers have consulted for the companies that make the drug and presented results Tuesday at a neurology conference in Stockholm. Brain imaging on a subset of patients in Sperling's study found 9 percent less amyloid in those on bapineuzumab compared to those on a dummy treatment. The drug group had stable levels while the others developed more plaque. Spinal fluid tests on some participants also showed the drug group had less of another substance called p-tau that is released when nerve cells are damaged.

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[waltky]

Alzheimer's shrinks the brain...

Charity warns of 'retreat' from dementia research
19 September 2012 - Alzheimer's significantly decreases brain volume in those affected

A leading health research charity says drugs companies may "retreat" from dementia research without more support. Alzheimer's Research UK says more government hep is needed to ensure the industry does not "retreat" from the challenge of finding new drugs. The warning follows disappointing results in recent clinical trials. The pharmaceutical industry body, the ABPI, says there are over 200 medicines under development for Alzheimer's.

It is estimated that more than 800,00 people in the UK have dementia. The majority have Alzheimer's Disease. The numbers affected are growing fast, and the search for new treatments ever-more urgent. But this summer two big trials have reported disappointing results. The drugs - bapineuzumab and solanezumab - failed to show benefits that researchers had hoped to see.

'Very disappointing'

Alzheimer's Research UK fears companies may decide that putting resources into dementia is too risky. The charity's science director, Dr Eric Karran, said the trial setbacks were "very disappointing". He warned that companies may be deterred from investing in dementia. "If you're running a business and you have options to find important new medicines in cancer, in diabetes or in neuroscience inevitably I think you have to place your bets where ultimately you will get a better chance of a return on your investment."

Dr Karran said there was a need for a new model of funding to ensure the pharmaceutical industry does not "retreat" from this challenging field of research. "Now is certainly not the time to be giving up. But we need to accept that this is a challenging area and really bring all of our resources together from the pharmaceutical industry, from academia and from government, to tackle it."

'Pipeline' of drugs

 

[sealybobo]

My grandmother has had severe Alzheimer's for the past 10 years. She hasn't drank a drop over the past decade (no fluids whatsoever) she hasn't drank a drop of a liquid in 10 years and she is currently being fed through an IV tube connected to her stomach...

Apparently the other day she picked up a bottle of booze (Jack) and started drinking it and now she has a taste for booze...

It's almost like the movie "Awakening."

It's an odd bit of progress...

She loves wine..

Did you hear about B. Smith? She’s the black Martha Stewart or she was before she got early Alzheimer’s. She was diagnosed 6 years ago. She doesn’t even know who her husband is anymore. He has a girlfriend. As long as B doesn’t know what’s going on I’m completely on board with it. I saw my dad take care of my mother and I would have been ok with a woman living there with them and sleeping with him if they felt the urge.

Dan gasby is 64. His girlfriend is 53 and beautiful.

My dad says he could never but if he met the right person I could see anyone taking on a new lover while caring for an Alzheimer’s patient. It’s hell

 

[sealybobo]

My mom got (and died) of the worst kind. They say it's a 2-5 year life expectancy, and she made it seven. She was just a shell at the end. I think the hardest thing about it was watching that steel trap of a mind erode to dust. The best part was she forgot all the rage, and spent at least a couple of years as a sweet little old lady.

My mom was stiff, frustrated, anxious, irritated, confused, angry, paranoid towards the end. The doctor said he had a drug he could give her but it would make her a zombie and be the beginning of the end.

Would you rather die in a couple months as a zombie or live another 2 years straight jacket insane crazy? I’d rather you heavily drug me and I chillax for two months.

It was a living hell.

 

[sealybobo]

The only thing that hurts worse than the knowledge of what happened to my mother is the fear that I'm next.

I only fear I’ll get it too a little. So seeing someone I love go through it was a lot worse than the fear I might get it.

 

[strollingbones]

my mom is in the last stages of this disease....it robs you of everything....just steals your life away.