by Admin on January 2, 2010
Recent studies have shown that Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are not helped by Ginkgo Biloba.
The research conducted was focusing on determining if ginkgo biloba had an ability to slow the rate of cognitive decline and help fight off progression of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The research into the effects of ginkgo biloba on Alzheimer’s disease was carried out on 3000 people over the age of 72.
As part of the study, people were categorized into two groups with one half taking ginkgo biloba supplements twice daily and the other half taking a placebo. Patients taking ginkgo biloba were prescribed 120 milligrams per dosage.
At the end of the study it was concluded that ginkgo biloba was not any better at preventing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia than the placebo. The use of the herbal supplement did not slow the rate of cognitive decline that is associated with both brain disorders Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Additionally, researchers concluded that there were no effect found in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease or the early stages of dementia when patients were taking ginkgo biloba.
Research into the effects of Ginkgo Biloba on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia was conducted at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
by Admin on December 28, 2009
Is there a cure for Alzheimer’s disease? This is a question that has been asked by many Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers.
There is no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, there is no treatment that will top the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Without the existence of a cure for Alzheimer’s and treatments to stop its progression, what options are open to Alzheimer’s patients and their families seeking support?
Currently in Canada and the United States, there are several medications that have shown to slow the decline of memory, language and thinking abilities in those people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. While not a cure for Alzheimer’s, these drugs do provide patients and families with some relief from the symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
There are three drugs used to treat patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. These include Aricept, Exelon and Reminyl. Moderate to advanced Alzheimer’s disease is treated with Ebixa and Aricept.
It is important to remember that these drugs are not a cure for Alzheimer’s disease and merely treat the symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s.
by Admin on December 28, 2009
The Alzheimer’s disease treatment Aricept is used to treat Alzheimer’s patients that display mild to moderate symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. It has also been used a treatment for patients with advanced Alzheimer’s disease.
Aricept is not a cure for Alzheimer’s disease but is used as an Alzheimer’s treatment for people with mild, moderate and advanced Alzheimer’s symptoms.
People with Alzheimer’s disease show a progressive degeneration in nerve cells, especially those that make acetylcholine – a chemical thought to be important for both learning and memory. The Alzheimer’s treatment Aricept works principally by reducing the breakdown of acetylcholine, resulting in more of this chemical being present in the brain of those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
With such an Alzheimer’s disease treatment, it has been suggested based on research data that Aricept enhances the action of acetylcholine by making receptors more responsive in the brain.
People treated with the Alzheimer’s disease treatment Aricept may take as long as 12 weeks to show signs of responding to the drug treatment.
In recent developments, the FDA approved a generic version of the Alzheimer’s disease treatment Aricept.
by Admin on December 28, 2009
The Alzheimer’s disease treatment Ebixa is a drug treatment prescribed to Alzheimer’s patients that display moderate to advanced symptoms of the disease.
Ebixa is not a cure for Alzheimer’s disease but treats Alzheimer’s symptoms by stabilizing the decline in cognition and daily function.
The Alzheimer’s treatment Ebixa is one of a group of drugs classed as a NMDA receptor antagonists.
Alzheimer’s disease causes nerve cells to leak large quantities of glutamate which leads to excessive interaction with the NMDA receptors resulting in the disease or death of the receiving nerve cells. With the Alzheimer’s disease treatment Ebixa, the drug interacts with the NMDA receptors and prevent glutamate from interacting with the receiving cells. This results in the normal transmission of nerve messages between nerve cells.
With such an Alzheimer’s disease treatment, there is a slowing in the decline of memory and cognition in those patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Ebixa can be used by itself or in conjunction with other Alzheimer’s disease treatments.
People treated with the Alzheimer’s disease treatment Ebixa may take as long as 12 weeks to show signs of responding to the drug treatment.
by Admin on December 27, 2009
Police in Montreal, Canada are considering using GPS to track people with Alzheimer’s disease. People who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease are often found away from their homes, unable to find their way back.
The Montreal Police Service is looking at how GPS tracking can keep Alzheimer’s disease patients safe.
Daniel Rousseau, a police spokesperson said “For us, the priority is the safety of the population. In cases where citizens go missing because of Alzheimer’s, we want to get involved as quickly as possible to return them.”
This would expand current GPS tracking used to track prisoners and expand it to track those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
People suffering from Alzheimer’s disease have a 50 percent chance of being injured if they are not discovered within 12 hours of going missing according to Montreal Alzheimer’s Society.
Using GPS tracking will allow Alzheimer’s disease patients to be quickly located and returned to a safer environment.
by Admin on December 27, 2009
There are several distinct symptoms associated with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Even those Alzheimer’s may affect different people in different ways, there are signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease that are fairly consistent with the progression of this brain disease.
Memory loss that disrupts the daily routine of a person is not necessarily aging. It may be one of the most noticeable symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Some symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include
Memory loss that disrupts daily life. This is one of the most common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and may be characterized by forgetting things recently learned, important dates and asking for the same information multiple times.
Changes in planning and problem solving. This symptom of Alzheimer’s may be noticeable when a person is having trouble following familiar instructions such as a recipe or performing tasks such as keeping track of bills.
Difficulty completing familiar tasks. People developing Alzheimer’s disease may often experience difficulty completing familiar tasks.
Confusion with time or place. People with Alzheimer’s disease tend to lose track of dates and time. People displaying this symptom of Alzheimer’s disease may forget where they are or how they got to a certain location.
Problems with written or spoken language. People with Alzheimer’s disease may repeat themselves, forget certain words or use word substitutions.
These are some symptoms and signs of Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Association has compiled a list of 10 Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease.
If you suspect a loved one may be demonstrating some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease obtain a medical diagnosis. The earlier the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is made, the more treatment options available.
by Admin on December 26, 2009
The true cause of Alzheimer’s disease is not fully known. Research continues to fully understand the cause of Alzheimer’s but there are certain characteristics that characterize the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
While the cause of Alzheimer’s is not known, Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by a build-up of proteins in the brain. This build up of protein in Alzheimer’s patients can be described as either brain plaques or tangles.
Brain plaques are characterized by deposits of a protein beta-amyloid. This protein generally accumulates in the spaces between nerve cells and is thought to disrupt signals in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. Tangles are deposits of the protein tau. This protein tends to accumulate inside the nerve cells.
Recent studies have shown that brain plaques in healthy people increases their risk to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists are hoping that by studying both brain plaques and tangles they will develop an understanding into the cause of Alzheimer’s disease.
While it has been shown that most people develop brain plaques and tangles as they age, people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease develop more. It is still unknown as to why some people develop more brain plaques and tangles than those who do not develop Alzheimer’s disease. It is thought that there may be several risk factors that contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
While there is no known cause of Alzheimer’s disease, age is the number one risk factor associated with the development of Alzheimer’s. One in eight people over the age of 65 has Alzheimer’s disease and this increases to one out of every two people over the age of 85. In fact, it has been shown that the probability of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease almost doubles every five years of age after 65.
Another important factor contributing to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease is based in genetics. While it is not known if there is a genetic cause to Alzheimer’s disease, people who have parents and siblings that develop Alzheimer’s are approximately three times as likely to develop the brain disease than those families with now history of Alzheimer’s.
Scientists have shown there are two genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. If a person has the “risk gene”, the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease is increased but not guaranteed. If a person inherits the “deterministic gene”, a much rarer occurence, the person will develop Alzheimer’s disease.
The existence of these two genes form the basis of more research into the cause of Alzheimer’s disease.
by Admin on December 25, 2009
An experimental Alzheimer’s treatment known as dimebon is set to begin clinical trials.
Dimebon or dimebolin hydrochloride is an older Russian drug that was commonly used as an antihistamine. Dimebon has shown to have successes in preventing brain cell deaths associated with brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Both pre-clinical trials and Russian research has shown dimebon as a promising new Alzheimer’s treatment. When used to treat Alzheimer’s patients, dimebon resulted in improved thinking, memory and behavioral functions in early to mid-stage Alzheimer’s patients.
Entering into clinical trials as an Alzheimer’s disease treatment, dimebon is hoped to provide a new therapy for Alzheimer’s disease within the next 10 years.
by Admin on December 24, 2009
Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease is very difficult an in many cases impossible in some patients. Alzheimer’s disease will often have started progressing years prior to any outward symptoms are displayed, making it difficult for physicians to diagnose Alzheimer’s and design interventions.
Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease has been the focus of several research initiatives. It is hoped that this research will allow for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and eliminate confusion associated with other brain disorders that may be caused by strokes or even drug reactions.
One area of research focusing on the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease is the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Scientists in this research program have made enough comparisons between images from scans and autopsies that they understand changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Another group from the University of California have used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in their work on the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. They have discovered changes in the brain’s memory regions that offer measures of the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have evaluated measurable levels of a protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease in assessing the risk of developing the disease and losing brain volume later in life. It is hoped that a routine test can be developed to provide early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
With the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease being made possible by such research, patients may begin receiving treatments much ealier. Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease will hopefully lead to finding drugs that can halt the progression of the brain disease.
by Admin on December 23, 2009
A chemical found in green tea could halt Alzheimer’s disease. U.S. researchers discovered one of the green tea components can prevent and destroy protein structures associated with Alzheimer’s disease known as amyloids.
Brain disorders Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s have been shown to be impacted by amyloids. With this discovery of this chemical in green tea, researchers hope to use these findings to develop a cure for these brains diseases.
In their research, scientists discovered that amyloid plaques associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease would break apart and dissolve when exposed to a green tea compound epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). While this green tea compound shows promise as a treatment for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, researchers caution that further studies are required.
Another study published in 2006 showed those older adults who drank the most green tea were least likely to demonstrate weakened brain function.
The medicinal effects of green tea have been documented through many other studies. Its effects on Alzheimer’s disease is a positive step towards finding an effective treatment or cure.
