Alzheimer’s Disease continues to place a burden on governments and health care systems.  However, many people fail to recognize the impact on spouses and family members who are often the first line of support and caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients.

Alzheimer’s caregivers are often family members who provide in-home care for approximately 70 percent of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.  With an aging population this means that the primary Alzheimer’s caregiver is quite often an elderly spouse with their own medical problems.

Alzheimer’s caregivers are subjected to enormous amounts of stress brought on largely by the demands associated with caring for an Alzheimer’s patient.  Caregivers often fail to take time for themselves and caring for their loved one as a duty.

Many people who find themselves in the role of being an Alzheimer’s caregiver lack both the knowledge and training required to care for a person who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.  Quite often the Alzheimer’s caregiver does not know how to respond to behavioural changes associated with Alzheimer’s.

Local Alzheimer’s associations will often have support groups and will provide training for those who find themselves in the role of Alzheimer’s caregiver as well as information on various government programs available to assist in the caring of the Alzheimer’s patient.  These support groups are filled with people who know what to expect of this brain disease and willing to provide assistance to the Alzheimer’s caregiver.

Being an Alzheimer’s caregiver often means putting ones life on hold but as a family member it is important to realize that having a loved one diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease is nothing shameful.  Asking for help is okay and is not an indication of failure as an Alzheimer’s caregiver.

An Alzheimer’s disease caregiver will tell you coping with sundown syndrome is difficult when providing care to an Alzheimer’s patient.  Described as a state of confusion and agitation, sundown syndrome usually occurs in Alzheimer’s disease patients around late afternoon or early evenings.

While the exact cause of sundown syndrome is not known, many speculate people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia have somehow had their biological clock altered because of a reduction in brain function.  With an altered internal clock, people with Alzheimer’s and dementia are suspected to have difficulty regulating behaviour and activity associated with different times of the day.

Several researchers have also theorized that sundown syndrome may be associated with a drop in blood pressure after a meal, hunger or changes in blood glucose levels may trigger periods of confusion and agitation.

In dealing with sundown syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease caregivers are often left determining what causes the periods of agitation and confusion.  Sundown syndrome triggers can vary greatly from Alzheimer’s patient to Alzheimer’s patient, leaving caregivers often at a loss at how to calm the patient.

When dealing with an Alzheimer’s disease patient prone to sundown syndrome, using full spectrum lighting to simulate sunlight may alleviate sundown symptoms.  Regulating snacks and diet may help if sundown syndrome is triggered by diet.

Some Alzheimer’s caregivers have indicated they have success with sundown syndrome if they play a person’s favourite music or move them to a quiet room.  Others have indicated using relaxation techniques and a gentle touch helps calm Alzheimer’s patients dealing with sundown syndrome.

It is important to recognize that Alzheimer’s patients experiencing sundown syndrome need reassurance and understanding of the Alzheimer’s caregiver.  Recognizing triggers and alleviating triggers known to cause sundown syndrome will make both the Alzheimer’s caregiver and Alzheimer’s patient cope with the situation at hand.

Genetic variations discovered in two genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease may provide researchers with clues that can lead to a cure for the brain disease.  British researchers have discovered that genetic mutations could account for approximately 20 percent of Alzheimer’s disease.  People possessing this genetic mutation have been shown to have an 10 to 15 percent higher risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s.

If researchers can find a way to remove the effects of these mutations, the number of Alzheimer’s disease cases could potentially be dropped 100,000 just in the Unite Kingdom.

As part of their Alzheimer’s disease research, the scientists from MacIntyre Schaffer have identified these new genetic markers for Alzheimer’s and Alzheimer’s relate dementia, the first new discovery since 1993.

Some speculate that these new genetic markers may allow for the development for a reliable genetic test for Alzheimer’s disease.  However, the researchers caution that such a genetic test for Alzheimer’s disease will be unavailable for many years.

This new discovery may provide insight into new Alzheimer’s disease treatments.  With Alzheimer’s disease being the most common form of dementia, developing effect treatments for this brain disease utilizing such genetic markers would be a major advancement in Alzheimer’s research.

Smoking is a significant risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease according to a report published by University of California – San Francisco.  These findings contradict other tobacco industry sponsored studies that indicate that smoking protects against the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers developed a study examining previously published articles examining things such as quality of journal, time of publication and tobacco industry affiliation of the authors.  The research team at UCF examined 43 published studies from 1984 to 2007.

Study authors with tobacco industry affiliation indicated that smoking provided protection against Alzheimer’s disease.  Yet in studies without tobacco industry affiliation, smoking was shown to pose a significant risk to developing Alzheimer’s disease.  In fact, the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease nearly doubled.

In studies where authors had an industry affiliation, the risk of developing Alzheimer’s was not significant.  In fact, these studies indicated smoking protected against the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

When examining all studies, the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease cause by smoking was shown to be statistically insignificant.

Clinical trials of a nutritional drink aimed at improving cognitive function in Alzheimer’s disease patients is being lead by Rush University Medical Center.

This nutritional drink in this Alzheimer’s clinical trial is thought to have an ability to improve overall cognitive performance in Alzheimer’s patients with mild to moderate forms of the degenerative brain disease.

Following on recent clinical studies conducted in Europe, where the nutritional drink known as Souvenaid was shown to have improve verbal recall in Alzheimer’s patients during a three-month study.  The current study at Rush University wanted to determine if Souvenaid could slow the degeneration of memory in those people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

The European results showed that Souvenaid improved verbal recall in patients suffering from mild Alzheimer’s disease.  Of the 225 patients studied, patients suffering from mild Alzheimer’s were randomly divided into two groups, with one being given Souvenaid and the other a placebo.

The current study will see 500 patients with both mild and moderate Alzheimer’s disease on FDA approved Alzheimer’s medications will take part in the double-blind study.  Half of these patients will take 4 ounces of Souvenaid for 24 weeks and the other have will take a placebo similar in flavor, color and composition.

Researchers will test whether the Alzheimer’s patients show improvements in cognitive and functional performance in areas such as memory, language, attention/concentration, executive functioning, information processing and recall.

If Souvenaid is shown to be effective at improving cognitive function , this nutritional drink may be used to supplement Alzheimer’s disease treatments in the near future.

A study conducted by University of Michigan researchers has indicated that an accumulation of copper in the body may increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and diabetes.  Copper pipes are generally used for supplying water but results in metal building up in the body.  This build up of copper over a period of time increases risk of Alzheimer’s disease as people age, partially because of the body’s inability to process metal.

The study indicates that Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease are made worse by excess copper and iron.  The study shows that people with higher intake of copper lose their brain function about 3 times the normal rate, especially if their diet is comprised of high fat intake.

The researchers also recommended that people over 50-years of age stop taking vitamin and minerals that contain copper and iron, and reduce their meat consumption, as well as reduce their intake of water served through copper pipes.

The study author conducted a series of studies looking into the association of copper and iron with diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

According to new research, a loss of smell is often an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease.  Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, this new research indicates that a loss of smell could be used as warning signs for the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers from New York University’s Langone Medical Center have suggested that one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease may be loss of smell.  If detected early enough, this may provide an opportunity for early intervention before Alzheimer’s has progressed significantly, affecting the persons life.

Using mice with varying levels of amyloid plaques generally associated with Alzheimer’s disease, researchers discovered that these plaques most often affected the area responsible for smell first.  This could result in a new smell test being used for the detection of Alzheimer’s disease because even a small amount of amyloid plaques would result in a loss of smell.

Using loss of smell as an early sign of Alzheimer’s diease, it is hoped that new diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s could be developed.  This would allow treatment of Alzheimer’s before it progressed to a point having severe impact on a persons life.

The use of cell phones have been shown to positively impact brain function and may hold the key to Alzheimer’s disease prevention.  Research conducted at the University of South Florida has hown that long term cell phone use may hold the key to preventing Alzheimer’s disease.  In some cases the effects of cell phone use may even reverse Alzheimer’s disease.

The electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones impact on beta amyloid, a build up of protein associated with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, seem to be reduced from cell phone usage.

The study was conducted on mice engineered to contract Alzheimer’s disease.  An antenna was placed in their cage and delivered the some dose of electromagnetic radiation adults are exposed to when using cell phones.  Exposure was for two, one-hour periods for 7-9 months.

Mice that showed signs of Alzheimer’s disease showed a reversal of Alzheimer’s symptoms.  Memory in these mice improved throughout the course of the study showning their Alzheimer’s was indeed reversing.  Mice that had previously shown no Alzheimer’s symptoms were completely protected from the brain disease.

What was even more astonishing in this Alzheimer’s research was the normal mice showed improvement in their cognitive function.

This amazing Alzheimer’s research has implications for others who may suffer from brain injuries.  Beta amyloid also builds up in those people suffering from brain injury and this research may not only benefit Alzheimer’s patients but also these patients.

With Alzheimer’s disease affecting 1 in 10 adults over the age of 55, this potential treatment for Alzheimer’s with a potential for reversing the disease could have major implications in future treatments.  If reversing Alzheimer’s disease is possible, this will dramatically improve the quality of life for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers.?

Many associate memory loss as the most common sign associated with Alzheimer’s disease.  The onset of Alzheimer’s disease may also be signaled by other common signs other than memory loss.

Some common signs of Alzheimer’s disease typically associated with the onset of the brain disease include:

• Abrupt personality changes;
• A feeling of sadness, agitation, fear and confusion before twilight and sometimes lasting until dawn.  This has been referred to as Sundowner’s Syndrome;
• Inability to cope with change;
• Withdrawal from social activities;
• Loss of interest in family and friends

While these common signs shown to be associated with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, they may also indicate other conditions.  If a family member or loved one shows these signs it doesn’t necessarily mean Alzheimer’s disease but may be enough to have the individual evaluated by a medical professional.

Even though these are some common signs of Alzheimer’s disease it is important to keep in mind all the symptoms of Alzheimer’s when making an assessment.

The number of Alzheimer’s disease patients seeking help in the last 18-months from Alzheimer’s societies has jumped 76 percent.  This dramatic increase in Alzheimer’s patients means 2,339 more clients for the various Alzheimer’s societies across the country.

It is estimated that these dramatically rising numbers will mean that 1.125 million people or 2.8 percent of Canadians will suffer from a form of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease by 2038.  According to The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society the impacts of this disease will cost approximately $872 billion in care and result in a tenfold increase in the demand for nursing beds.

According to Mark Burnett of the Hamilton-Halton, Brantford and Haldimand-Norfolk Alzheimer’s societies, they are receiving 150 new referrals of Alzheimer’s disease patients a month.  Burnett attributes this rise to Alzheimer’s awareness campaigns aimed at earlier identification and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

These latest number provided in the report by the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada highlights research on ways to reduce the risk associated with developing dementia and to enhance quality of life after diagnosis with dementia and Alzheimer’s.  To help reduce the impact of dementia, the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada recommends taking steps including:

• Prevention programs that promote healthy diets and physical activity that can delay the onset of dementia by two years;
• Skill-building and support programs for family and caregivers responsible for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease patients;
• Assigning case managers to newly diagnosed dementia and Alzheimer’s patients which would facilitate in-home care longer, thus lessening strain on the long-term care system

With no cure for Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, the society wants to see increased funding to deal with the projected increase in Alzheimer’s and dementia patients to help address proejcted shortages in the system.