|
|
|
Home >
Health Conditions > Alzheimer's Disease.
Alzheimer's Disease/Dementia
Related Topics:
Popular Supplements:
Alternative News:
-
Pomegranate polyphenol
punicalagin improves learning memory deficits, redox homeostasis, and
neuroinflammation in aging mice - Phytother Res 2023 Apr 24 -
"Punicalagin (PU) is an active antioxidant polyphenol
found in pomegranates, raspberries, blueberries, and chestnuts that has
attracted considerable attention owing to its strong antioxidant and
anti-inflammatory properties. The current study focused on the neuroprotective
effect of PU on aging mice and its potential mechanisms ... PU ameliorated
deficits in learning and memory and prevented neuroinflammation, which was
evident from the decrease in microglial activation and astrocytosis.
Furthermore, PU reduced the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen
species (ROS) and inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation, reducing the levels
of inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-a
(TNF-a), interleukin-18 (IL-18), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) in both
accelerated aging and naturally senescent mouse models. PU effectively improved
neuroinflammation, learning and memory deficits, and redox homeostasis in aging
mice, and it could be a potential therapeutic agent for AD" - See
pomegranate extract at
Amazon.com.
-
nsomnia Med Tied to Lower
Alzheimer's Pathology - Medscape, 4/21/23 - "A
20-milligram dose of suvorexant (Belsomra, Merck) over a 2-night period was
associated with a 10%-20% drop in amyloid-beta (Aβ) levels and a 10%-15%
reduction in hyperphosphorylated tau in a group of cognitively healthy
individuals ... The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved suvorexant, a
dual orexin receptor antagonist, a Schedule IV controlled substance, in 2014,
and it was first marketed in 2015."
-
The relationship of omega-3
fatty acids with dementia and cognitive decline: evidence from perspective
cohort studies of supplementation, dietary intake, and blood markers - Am J
Clin Nutr 2023 Apr 5 - "long-term users of omega-3 fatty
acid supplements exhibited a 64% reduced risk of AD (adjusted hazard ratio =
0.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.54 to 0.96, p = 0.005). After
incorporating 48 longitudinal studies involving 103,651 participants,
moderate-to-high level of evidence suggested that dietary intake of omega-3
fatty acids could lower the risk of all-cause dementia or cognitive decline by
~20% , especially for DHA intake (Relative risk [RR] = 0.82, I2 =63.6%, p =
0.001) and for studies that adjusted for APOE ε4 status (RR = 0.83, I2 =65%, p =
0.006). Each increment of 0.1 g per day of DHA or EPA intake was associated with
an 8%~9.9% (Plinear < 0.0005) lower risk of cognitive decline. Moderate-to-high
levels of evidence indicated that elevated levels of plasma EPA (RR = 0.86, I2
=38.9%) and erythrocyte membrane DHA (RR = 0.94, I2 =0.4%) was associated with a
lower risk of cognitive decline" - See
omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.
-
The effects of spirulina
intake on clinical and metabolic parameters in Alzheimer's disease: A
randomized, double-blind, controlled trial - Phytother Res 2023 Mar 2 -
"Mini-mental state examination score (MMSE) ... Compared
with placebo, spirulina intake resulted in a significant improvement in MMSE
score (spirulina group: +0.30 +/- 0.99 vs. Placebo group: -0.38 +/- 1.06,
respectively, p = 0.01). In addition, spirulina intake decreased
high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (spirulina group: -0.17 +/- 0.29 vs.
Placebo group: +0.05 +/- 0.27 mg/L, p = 0.006), fasting glucose (spirulina group:
-4.56 +/- 7.93 vs. Placebo group: +0.80 +/- 2.95 mg/dL, p = 0.002), insulin
(spirulina group: -0.37 +/- 0.62 vs. Placebo group: +0.12 +/- 0.40 μIU/mL, p =
0.001) and insulin resistance (spirulina group: -0.08 +/- 0.13 vs. Placebo group:
0.03 +/- 0.08, p = 0.001), and increased insulin sensitivity (spirulina group:
+0.003 +/- 0.005 vs. Placebo group: -0.001 +/- 0.003, p = 0.003) compared with the
placebo. Overall, our study showed that spirulina intake for 12 weeks in
patients with AD improved cognitive function, glucose homeostasis parameters,
and hs-CRP levels" - See spirulina at Amazon.com.
-
Eicosapentaenoic Acid
Protects against Metabolic Impairments in the APPswe/PS1dE9 Alzheimer's Disease
Mouse Model - J Nutr 2023 Feb 1 - "Alzheimer's
disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease characterized by
amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques. Systemic inflammation and obesity may exacerbate AD
pathogenesis ... To our knowledge, this is the first report that EPA reduces
serum Aβ1-40 in obese AD male mice, warranting further investigations into
tissue-specific mechanisms of EPA in AD" - See
omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.
-
N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty
Acids in Elder with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Systemic Review and
Meta-Analysis - J Alzheimers Dis 2023 Feb 9 -
"Compared with placebo, n-3PUFAs supplements have benefits on global cognition
[SMD = 0.51 ... Our findings indicated DHA and/or EPA supplements have benefits
on global cognition, and it may also reduce the level of blood amyloid-β
(Aβ)-related biomarkers (e.g., Aβ 40, Aβ 42) and inflammatory factors (e.g.,
1L-6, 1L-10)" - See omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Luteolin and Exercise
Combination Therapy Ameliorates Amyloid-β1-42 Oligomers-Induced Cognitive
Impairment in Alzheimer's Disease Mice by Mediating Neuroinflammation and Autophagy
- J Alzheimers Dis 2023 Jan 25 - "Luteolin (100 mg/kg/d)
combined with exercise could significantly improve the performance of AD model
mice in novel object recognition test, and the improvement was greater than that
of monotherapy. Further experiments showed that luteolin and exercise alone or
in combination could reverse the increase of Aβ content, the activation of
astrocytes and microglia, and the decrease of the level of autophagy in
hippocampus and cortex in AD model induced by Aβ 1-42 oligomers. While the
combination therapy involved more intact hippocampal and cortical areas, with
greater degree of changes." - See
luteolin products at Amazon.com.
-
(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate, a Polyphenol from Green Tea, Regulates the
Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation of Alzheimer's-Related Protein Tau - J Agric
Food Chem 2023 Jan 23 - "Complementary to the inhibitory
activity of EGCG in tau fibrillization, our findings provide novel insights into
the biological activity of EGCG and offer new clues for future studies on the
molecular mechanism by which EGCG alleviates neurodegenerative diseases"
- See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
-
HRT May Prevent
Alzheimer's in High-Risk Women - Medscape, 1/17/23 -
"Results from a cohort study of almost 1200 women showed
that use of HRT was associated with higher delayed memory scores and larger
entorhinal and hippocampal brain volumes ― areas that are affected early by
Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology ... HRT was also found to be most effective,
as seen by larger hippocampal volume, when introduced during early
perimenopause"
-
Dietary choline intake is
necessary to prevent systems-wide organ pathology and reduce Alzheimer's disease
hallmarks - Aging Cell 2023 Jan 15; - "There is an
urgent need to identify modifiable environmental risk factors that reduce the
incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The B-like vitamin choline plays key
roles in body- and brain-related functions. Choline produced endogenously by the
phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase protein in the liver is not
sufficient for adequate physiological functions, necessitating daily dietary
intake. ~90% of Americans do not reach the recommended daily intake of dietary
choline ... Dietary choline deficiency altered hippocampal networks associated
with microtubule function and postsynaptic membrane regulation. In plasma,
dietary choline deficiency altered protein networks associated with insulin
metabolism, mitochondrial function, inflammation, and fructose metabolic
processing. Our data highlight that dietary choline intake is necessary to
prevent systems-wide organ pathology and reduce hallmark AD pathologies"
- See
citicholine at Amazon.com.
-
The Association of Vitamin D
Status with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Subtypes: A Cross-Sectional
Analysis in Dutch Geriatric Outpatients - J Alzheimers Dis 2023 Jan 7 -
"We observed significantly lower 25(OH)D serum levels in
both AD and VaD patients compared to no-dementia patients, but no significant
differences between MCI and Lewy body and mixed dementia subtypes in this
cross-sectional study of a geriatric outpatient clinic population" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Can 6 Minutes of Intense
Cycling Put the Brakes on Alzheimer's? - Medscape, 1/12/23 - "In
a small study of healthy adults, 6 minutes of high-intensity cycling increased
circulating levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to a
significantly greater extent than prolonged light cycling or fasting ... Both
intermittent fasting and exercise have previously been shown to have potent
neuroprotective effects; and an acute upregulation of BDNF appears to be a
common mechanistic link"
-
Some BP Meds Tied to
Significantly Lower Risk for Dementia, Alzheimer's - Medscape, 1/10/23 -
"Over the course of the study, some participants filled
at least one prescription for a stimulating angiotensin II receptor type 2 and
4, such as angiotensin II receptor type 1 blockers, dihydropyridine calcium
channel blockers, and thiazide diuretics ... Others participants filled a
prescription for an inhibiting type 2 and 4 angiotensin II receptors, including
angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, beta-blockers, and
nondihydropyridine calcium channel blockers ... All these medications lower
blood pressure, but they do it in different ways ... After adjustments, results
showed that initiation of an antihypertensive medication regimen that
exclusively stimulates, rather than inhibits, type 2 and 4 angiotensin II
receptors was associated with a 16% lower risk for incident ADRD over a
follow-up of just under 7 years (hazard ratio [HR], 0.84; ... However, "we're
not suggesting [that all patients] have their regimen switched," he added ...
That's because inhibiting medications still have an important place in the
antihypertensive treatment armamentarium, Marcum noted. As an example,
beta-blockers are used post heart attack"
-
Probiotic supplements are
effective in people with cognitive impairment: a meta-analysis of randomized
controlled trials - Nutr Rev 2023 Jan 11 -
"Cognitive function is a significant concern among the elderly and has a major
negative effect on their quality of life. Probiotics have a positive effect on
improving cognition, but the exact nature of the association between probiotic
supplements and cognitive function is poorly understood ... According to this
meta-analysis, probiotic supplementation had a highly significant effect on
cognitive function in people with cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease.
For people without cognitive impairment, probiotic supplementation may be
ineffective" - See probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Tocovid Attenuated Oxidative
Stress and Cognitive Decline by Inhibiting Amyloid-β-Induced NOX2 Activation in
Alzheimer's Disease Mice - J Alzheimers Dis 2022 Dec 22 -
"NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) is an important source of
reactive oxygen species (ROS). Activated NOX2 may contribute to Alzheimer's
disease (AD). Our previous studies showed that a novel vitamin E mixture,
Tocovid, had potential neuroprotective effects in a stroke mice model and an AD
cell model ... These findings suggest that NOX2 is a potential target in AD
pathology. Long-term administration of Tocovid may be a promising candidate for
AD treatment" - See Tocovid at
Amazon.com.
-
Resveratrol Mediated
Regulation of Hippocampal Neuroregenerative Plasticity via SIRT1 Pathway in
Synergy with Wnt Signaling: Neurotherapeutic Implications to Mitigate Memory
Loss in Alzheimer's Disease - J Alzheimers Dis 2022 Nov 28 -
"Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a major form of dementia.
Abnormal amyloidogenic event-mediated degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the
cognitive centers of the brain has been attributed to neuropathological sequelae
and behavioral deficits in AD. Besides, impaired adult neurogenesis in the
hippocampus has experimentally been realized as an underlying cause of dementia
regardless of neurodegeneration. Therefore, nourishing the neurogenic process in
the hippocampus has been considered an effective therapeutic strategy to
mitigate memory loss ... Resveratrol (RSV) is a potent Sirtuin1 (SIRT1) enhancer
that facilitates neuroprotection and promotes neurogenesis in the hippocampus of
the adult brain. While SIRT1 is an important positive regulator of Wnt
signaling, ample reports indicate that RSV treatment strongly mediates the fate
determination of stem cells through Wnt signaling. However, the possible
therapeutic roles of RSV-mediated SIRT1 enhancement on the regulation of
hippocampal neurogenesis and reversal of memory loss through the Wnt signaling
pathway have not been addressed yet. Taken together, this review describes
RSV-mediated effects on the regulation of hippocampal neurogenesis via the
activation of SIRT1 in synergy with the Wnt signaling. Further, the article
emphasizes a hypothesis that RSV treatment can provoke the activation of
quiescent neural stem cells and prime their neurogenic capacity in the
hippocampus via Wnt signaling in AD" - See
resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
-
Low-Dose Lithium
Supplementation Influences GSK3β Activity in a Brain Region Specific Manner in
C57BL6 Male Mice - J Alzheimers Dis 2022 Dec 1 -
"Lithium, a commonly used treatment for bipolar disorder, has been shown to have
neuroprotective effects for other conditions including Alzheimer's disease via
the inhibition of the enzyme glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3). However,
dose-dependent adverse effects of lithium are well-documented, highlighting the
need to determine if low doses of lithium can reliably reduce GSK3 activity ...
Results demonstrated reduced GSK3 activity in the prefrontal cortex as early as
6 weeks of lithium supplementation, in the absence of inhibitory phosphorylation
changes. Further, lithium supplementation in an obese model reduced prefrontal
cortex GSK3 activity as well as improved insulin sensitivity ... Collectively,
these data provide evidence for low-dose lithium supplementation to inhibit GSK3
activity in the brain. Moreover, these results indicate that GSK3 activity can
be inhibited despite any changes in phosphorylation. These findings contribute
to an overall greater understanding of low-dose lithium's ability to influence
GSK3 activity in the brain and its potential as an Alzheimer's disease
prophylactic" - See lithium supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Neuroprotective effects of
hawthorn leaf flavonoids in Aβ25-35 -induced Alzheimer's disease model -
Phytother Res 2022 Nov 29 - "Alzheimer's disease (AD) is
a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques,
neurofibrillary tangles, neuronal cell loss, and oxidative stress. Further
deposition of Aβ in the brain induces oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and
memory dysfunction. Hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida Bge.) leaf, a known
traditional Chinese medicine, is commonly used for the treatment of
hyperlipidemia, heart palpitations, forgetfulness, and tinnitus, and its main
bioactive components are Hawthorn Leaf Flavonoids (HLF) ... the oral
administration of HLF at a dose of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg for 30 days
significantly ameliorated neuronal cell damage and memory deficits, and markedly
increased the enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, and the
content of glutathione whereas it decreased the malondialdehyde content in the
Aβ25-35 rat model of AD as well as suppressed the activation of astrocytes. In
addition, HLF up-regulated Nrf-2, NQO-1, and HO-1 protein expressions. Also, it
reduced neuroinflammation by inhibiting activation of astrocytes. In summary,
these results indicated that HLF decreased the oxidative stress via activating
Nrf-2/antioxidant response element signaling pathways, and may suggest as a
potential candidate for AD therapeutic agent" - See
hawthorn betty
extract at Amazon.com.
-
Hawthorn flavonoid
ameliorates cognitive deficit in mice with Alzheimer's disease by increasing the
levels of Bifidobacteriales in gut microbiota and docosapentaenoic acid in serum
metabolites - Food Funct 2022 Nov 14 - "Hawthorn
flavonoid (HF) exhibits potential benefits in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but its
mechanism of action remains elusive ... Our results showed that HF reversed the
gut microbiota disturbance and metabolic disorder in AD mice by increasing the
proportions of Dubosiella, Alloprevotella, and Bifidobacterium and decreasing
the proportions of Acinetobacter, as well as increasing the levels of
docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), sphingolipid (SM), and phosphatidylcholine (PC).
Notably, a positive correlation between DPA and Bifidobacterium was observed for
the first time. Therefore, HF may serve as a promising dietary supplement for
improving the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease" - See
hawthorn betty
extract at Amazon.com.
-
Increasing brain glucose
uptake by Gypenoside LXXV ameliorates cognitive deficits in a mouse model of
diabetic Alzheimer's disease - Phytother Res 2022 Nov 3 -
"We have previously reported that Gypenoside LXXV
(GP-75), a novel natural PPARγ agonist isolated from Gynostemma pentaphyllum,
ameliorated cognitive deficits in db/db mice ... In summary, GP-75 ameliorated
cognitive deficits in APP/PS1 and APP/PS1xdb/db mice by enhancing glucose uptake
via activation of the PPARγ/Akt/GLUT4 signaling pathways" - See
gynostemma pentaphyllum at Amazon.com.
-
Associations of erythrocyte
omega-3 fatty acids with cognition, brain imaging and biomarkers in the
Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative: cross-sectional and longitudinal
retrospective analyses - Am J Clin Nutr 2022 Oct 17 -
"Cognitive tests [composite score, AD Assessment Scale
Cognitive (ADAS-Cog), Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS), Trail Making Test, Category
Fluency, Mini-Mental State Examination, Montreal Cognitive Assessment] and brain
variables [hippocampal volume, white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), positron
emission tomography (PET) amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau] were considered as outcomes in
regression models ... Longitudinally, low ω-3 index was associated with greater
Aβ accumulation and WMS cognitive decline but unexpectedly with lower total
ADAS-Cog cognitive decline. Although no associations were cross-sectionally
found in the whole population, low ω-3 index was associated with lower WMS
cognition and higher tau accumulation among ApoE ε4 carriers" - See
omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.
-
The effects of fenugreek
seed extract supplementation in patients with Alzheimer's disease: A randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - Phytother Res 2022 Oct 5 -
"The aim of the current randomized control trial (RCT)
study was to investigate the effects of fenugreek seed extract on memory,
depression, quality of life, blood pressure, and serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and
total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels in adult AD patients ... There was a
significant increase in serum levels of TAC (p < 0.001) and a reduction in serum
MDA status (p < 0.001) after 4 months of fenugreek seed extract supplementation.
In addition, increasing levels of memory (p < 0.001) and quality of life (p <
0.001), as well as reduction of depression (p = 0.002), systolic BP (p < 0.001),
and diastolic BP (p < 0.001) levels were detected in the intervention group
compared with baseline. Fenugreek seed extract supplementation in AD patients
shows promising positive effects on memory, quality of life, BP, and selective
oxidative indices levels" - See fenugreek at Amazon.com.
-
An insight into the
neuroprotective effects and molecular targets of pomegranate ( Punica granatum)
against Alzheimer's disease - Nutr Neurosci 2022 Sep 20 -
"In spite of the lack of studies on humans, there are
compelling evidence indicating that pomegranate can reduce various risk factors
involved in the causation of AD and thus can be used as a persistent
nutraceutical to slow ageing and for providing neuroprotection for the treatment
of AD" - See pomegranate extract at
Amazon.com.
-
Supplementation With
Carotenoids, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and Vitamin E Has a Positive Effect on the
Symptoms and Progression of Alzheimer's Disease - J Alzheimers Dis 2022 Sep
9 - "Following 12 months of supplementation, the active
group (n = 50) compared to the placebo group (n = 27), demonstrated
statistically significant improvements in skin carotenoid measurements, blood
carotenoids, ω-3FAs, and vitamin E concentrations (p < 0.05, for all). The
active group also performed better in objective measures of AD severity (i.e.,
memory and mood), with a statistically significant difference reported in the
clinical collateral for memory" - See mixed carotenoids at Amazon.com,
omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com and
vitamin E at Amazon.com.
-
B Vitamin Supplementation
Slows Cognitive Decline in Mild Cognitive Impairment Patients with Frontal Lobe
Atrophy - J Alzheimers Dis 2022 Sep 1 - "B vitamins
may be more effective in slowing down cognitive decline in MCI patients with
atrophy in the left frontal lobe" - See
B complex supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Low Xanthophylls, Retinol,
Lycopene, and Tocopherols in Gray and White Matter of Brains with Alzheimer's
Disease - J Alzheimers Dis 2022 Aug 16 - "AD brains
had significantly lower levels of lutein, zeaxanthin, anhydrolutein, retinol,
lycopene, and alpha-tocopherol, and significantly increased levels of XMiAD, an
unidentified xanthophyll metabolite. No meso-zeaxanthin was detected. The
overlapping protective roles of xanthophylls, carotenes, α- and γ-tocopherol are
discussed"
-
Medicine-food herb: Angelica
sinensis, a potential therapeutic hope for Alzheimer's disease and related
complications - Food Funct 2022 Aug 19 -
"Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, which has
brought a huge burden to the world. The current therapeutic approach of
one-molecule-one-target strategy fails to address the issues of AD because of
multiple pathological features of AD. Traditionally, the herb of Angelica
sinensis (AS) comes from the root of an umbrella plant Angelica sinensis (Oliv.)
Diels. As a typical medicine-food herb, studies have shown that AS can alleviate
AD and AD-complications by multiple targets through the various foundations of
pharmaceutical material and dietary supply basis ... AS contains many effective
components, such as ligustilide, z-ligustilide, n-butylidenephthalide, α-pinene,
p-cymene, myrcene, ferulic acid, vanillic acid and coniferyl ferulate. It is
found that AS, AS-active compounds and AS-compound recipes mainly treat AD
through neuroprotective, anti-inflammation, and anti-oxidant effects, improving
mitochondrial dysfunction, anti-neuronal apoptosis, regulating autophagy,
regulating intestinal flora and enhancing the central cholinergic system, which
shows the multi-component and multi-target effect of AS. The role of dietary
supplement components in AS for AD intervention is summarized, including vitamin
B12, folic acid, arginine, and oleic acid, which can improve the symptoms of AD"
- See dong quai at Amazon.com.
-
Is dietary choline intake
related to dementia and Alzheimer's disease risk: results from the Framingham
Heart Study - Am J Clin Nutr 2022 Aug 2 - "Dietary
choline intake showed non-linear relationship with incident dementia and AD.
After adjusting for covariates, low choline intake (defined as choline/100 ≤
2.19 and choline/100 ≤ 2.15 in our sample) was significantly associated with
incident dementia or incident AD" - See
citicholine at Amazon.com.
-
Moderate drinking linked to brain changes and cognitive decline - Science
Daily, 7/14/22 - "Consumption of seven or more units of
alcohol per week is associated with higher iron levels in the brain, according
to a study of almost 21,000 people publishing July 14 in the open access journal
PLOS Medicine. Iron accumulation in the brain has been linked with Alzheimer's
and Parkinson's diseases and is a potential mechanism for alcohol-related
cognitive decline"
-
Implications of Liver
Enzymes in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease - J Alzheimers Dis
2022 Jun 28 - "alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and
aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels had significant positive associations
with cognitive performance and were significantly decreased in AD patients. The
alkaline phosphatase level and AST to ALT ratio were significantly negatively
associated with cognitive performance and were significantly increased in AD
patients. This suggests that these liver enzymes might be implicated in the
pathogenesis of AD"
-
Long
term high-fat diet expands waistline and shrinks brain - Science Daily,
7/7/22 - "In the study, mice were randomly
allocated to a standard diet or a high-fat diet for 30 weeks, starting at eight
weeks of age. Food intake, body weight and glucose levels were monitored at
different intervals, along with glucose and insulin tolerance tests and
cognitive dysfunction ... The mice on the high-fat diet gained a lot of weight,
developed insulin resistance and started behaving abnormally compared to those
fed a standard diet ... Genetically modified Alzheimer's disease mice showed a
significant deterioration of cognition and pathological changes in the brain
while fed the high fat diet ... Obese individuals have about a 55 per cent
increased risk of developing depression, and diabetes will double that risk"
-
Are micronutrient levels and
supplements causally associated with the risk of Alzheimer's disease? A
two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis Food Funct 2022 Jun 20 -
"the vitamin D level was causally associated with a
decreased risk of AD (IVW, OR: 0.474 ... for minerals, the copper level acted as
a causal protective factor for AD risk (IVW, OR: 0.865" - Note: I don't
agree with that. There are a lot of supplement associated with reduced risk of
AD. What I thought was interesting was that it claims copper reduces the risk
when they used to day it increased the risk. I never bought off on that and have
always taken my Jarrow Zinc Balance
because it contain copper to offset the copper that zinc supplementation
inhibits.
-
Spermidine reduces
neuroinflammation and soluble amyloid beta in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model
- J Neuroinflammation 2022 Jul 2 - "Deposition of
amyloid beta (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau along with glial cell-mediated
neuroinflammation are prominent pathogenic hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease
(AD). In recent years, impairment of autophagy has been identified as another
important feature contributing to AD progression ... Our data highlight that the
autophagy activator spermidine holds the potential to enhance Aβ degradation and
to counteract glia-mediated neuroinflammation in AD pathology" - See
spermidine at Amazon.com.
-
Neuroprotective Effects of
Hesperidin and Naringin in SK-N-AS Cell as an In Vitro Model for Alzheimer's
Disease - J Am Nutr Assoc 2022 Jul 1 - "Hesperidin
and naringin are flavonoids that are found in citrus fruits. Our aim was to
create an in vitro model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to evaluate the
neuroprotective effects of hesperidin and naringin in SK-N-AS and AD model cells
... Hesperidin and naringin can be potentially used as neuroprotective agents.
Naringin may be more effective than hesperidin in the accumulation of β-amyloid
and tau proteins" - See hesperidin at Amazon.com
and naringin at Amazon.com.
-
Alteration of Gut Microbiota
in Alzheimer's Disease and Their Relation to the Cognitive Impairment -
J Alzheimers Dis 2022 Jun 20 - "The current work
highlighted a significant relationship between AD and gut microbiota dysbiosis.
A higher abundance of Prevotella species and lactic acid bacteria was correlated
with cognition" - See
probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Flu
vaccination linked to 40% reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease - Science
Daily, 6/24/22 - "These results underscore the strong
protective effect of the flu vaccine against Alzheimer's disease ... Since there
is evidence that several vaccines may protect from Alzheimer's disease, we are
thinking that it isn't a specific effect of the flu vaccine ... Instead, we
believe that the immune system is complex, and some alterations, such as
pneumonia, may activate it in a way that makes Alzheimer's disease worse. But
other things that activate the immune system may do so in a different way -- one
that protects from Alzheimer's disease. Clearly, we have more to learn about how
the immune system worsens or improves outcomes in this disease"
-
Probiotic Bifidobacterium
breve MCC1274 Mitigates Alzheimer's Disease-Related Pathologies in Wild-Type
Mice - Nutrients 2022 Jun 19 - "Probiotics improve
brain function, including memory and cognition, via the microbiome-gut-brain
axis. Oral administration of Bifidobacterium breve MCC1274 (B. breve MCC1274)
improves cognitive function in AppNL-G-F mice and mild cognitive impairment
(MCI) subjects, and mitigates Alzheimer's disease (AD)-like pathologies ...
These findings suggest that B. breve MCC1274 may mitigate AD-like pathologies in
WT mice by decreasing Aβ42 levels, inhibiting tau phosphorylation, attenuating
neuroinflammation, and improving synaptic protein levels" - See
probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Nicotinamide riboside and
caffeine partially restore diminished NAD availability but not altered energy
metabolism in Alzheimer's disease - Aging Cell 2022 Jun 21 -
"The redox co-factor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
(NAD) declines with age, and NAD deficits are specifically associated with
dysfunctional energy metabolism in late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD).
Nicotinamide riboside (NR), a dietary NAD precursor, has been suggested to
ameliorate the aging process or neurodegeneration. We assessed whether NR with
or without caffeine, which increases nicotinamide mononucleotide transferase
subtype 2 (NMNAT2), an essential enzyme in NAD production, modulates
bioenergetic functions in LOAD ... although NR and caffeine can partially
restore diminished NAD availability, increasing NAD alone may not be sufficient
to boost or restore energy metabolism in brain aging or alter aberrant energy
management in LOAD. Nicotinamide riboside might still be of value in combination
with other agents in preventive or therapeutic intervention strategies to
address the aging process or age-associated dementia" - See
nicotinamide riboside at Amazon.com.
-
Effect of Probiotic
Bifidobacterium breve in Improving Cognitive Function and Preventing Brain
Atrophy in Older Patients with Suspected Mild Cognitive Impairment: Results of a
24-Week Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial - J Alzheimers
Dis 2022 May 7 - "Probiotics consumption for 24 weeks
suppressed brain atrophy progression, suggesting that B. breve MCC1274 helps
prevent cognitive impairment of MCI subjects" - See
probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Association of Serum
Antioxidant Vitamins and Carotenoids With Incident Alzheimer Disease and
All-Cause Dementia Among US Adults - Neurology 2022 May 4 -
"Incident all-cause dementia was inversely associated
with serum lutein+zeaxanthin and β-cryptoxanthin levels" - See
mixed carotenoids at Amazon.com.
-
Metformin Use Likely
Reduces Alzheimer's Disease Risk - Medscape, 4/21/22 -
"Genetically proxied metformin use equivalent to a 6.75
mmol/mol (1.09%) reduction of A1c was associated with 4% lower odds of AD (P =
1.06 × 10-4) in individuals who did not have diabetes" - See
metformin at ReliableRX.
-
Can Diet Supplements of
Macular Pigment of Lutein, Zeaxanthin, and Meso-zeaxanthin Affect Cognition?
- J Alzheimers Dis 2022 Apr 11 - "The diet supplements
of L + Z or L + Z+MZ are associated with better cognitive functioning, which may
be via their beneficial effects on the vision" - See
zeaxanthin and lutein at Amazon.com.
-
Folecitin Isolated from
Hypericum oblongifolium Exerts Neuroprotection against Lipopolysaccharide-Induced
Neuronal Synapse and Memory Dysfunction via p-AKT/Nrf-2/HO-1 Signalling Pathway
- Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022 Mar 28 -
"Neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer's disease (AD), are
characterised with neuronal synapse and memory dysfunction, and thus, there is
an urgent need to find novel therapeutic medicines that can target different
pathways to restore the deficits. In this investigation, we assessed the
medicinal potency of folecitin (a flavonoid isolated from Hypericum
oblongifolium Wall.) against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced amyloidogenic
amyloid beta (Aβ) production pathway-mediated memory impairment in mice. ...
folecitin significantly decreased LPS-induced apoptotic proteins; expressed BAX,
PARP-1, and caspase-3 proteins; and inhibited BACE1 that cleaves transmembrane
amyloid precursor protein and the amyloidogenic Aβ production pathway. Folecitin
restored both preneural and postneuronal synapse, accompanied by the improvement
in memory impairment. Moreover, folecitin significantly activated endogenous
antioxidant proteins Nrf-2 and HO-1 by stimulating the phosphorylation of Akt
proteins. These findings indicate that folecitin might be a promising target for
developing novel medication to treat neurodegenerative disorders caused by
neurotoxins" - See St. John's wort at Amazon.com.
-
Astaxanthin delays brain
aging in senescence-accelerated mouse prone 10: inducing autophagy as a
potential mechanism - Nutr Neurosci 2022 Apr 6 -
"Brain aging is a complex biological process often associated with a decline in
cognitive functions and motility. Astaxanthin (AST) is a strong antioxidant
capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier. The effect of AST on brain aging
and its physiological and molecular mechanism are still unclear ... AST may
induce autophagy by regulating IGF-1/Akt/mTOR and IGF-1/Akt/FoxO3a signaling,
thereby delaying age-related neurodegeneration and cognitive decline in SAMP10
mice" - See astaxanthin at Amazon.com.
-
Relationship Between the Gut
Microbiota and Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review - J Alzheimers Dis
2022 Mar 2 - "The results of these studies support the
hypothesis that there is a relationship between the gut microbiota and cognitive
disorders through the gut-brain axis. However, today, there is a substantial
lack of human studies, especially clinical trials, which makes it difficult to
formulate clinical recommendations on this topic" - See
probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Oleic
acid -- a key to activating the brain's 'fountain of youth' - Science Daily,
3/22/22 - "Many people dread experiencing the cognitive
and mood declines that often accompany reaching an advanced age, including
memory disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and mood conditions like depression
... oleic acid produced in the brain is an essential regulator of the process
that enables learning and memory and supports proper mood regulation ... Years
ago, scientists thought that the adult mammalian brain was not able to repair
and regenerate. But research has shown that some brain regions have the capacity
of generating new neurons, a process called neurogenesis. The hippocampus region
of the adult mammalian brain has the ongoing capacity to form new neurons, to
repair and regenerate itself, enabling learning and memory and mood regulation
during the adult life ... oleic acid regulates TLX activation has major
therapeutic implications ... TLX has become a 'druggable' target, meaning that
knowing how it is activated naturally in the brain helps us to develop drugs
capable of entering the brain and stimulating neurogenesis" - Note: Oleic
acid is omega-9 like in olive oil. This article is confusing though. It's
implying that your brain can make oleic acid. I doubt if that's true.
-
Lipid
and glucose levels at age 35 associated with Alzheimer's disease - Science
Daily, 3/23/22 - "lower HDL (the good cholesterol) is
predictive of AD in early (35-50 years) and middle (51-60 years) adulthood and
that high glucose in the blood (a precursor of diabetes) during mid-adulthood is
also predictive of AD "These findings show for the first time that
cardiovascular risk factors, including HDL which has not been consistently
reported as a strong risk factor for AD, contribute to future risk of AD
starting as early as age 35," ... careful management of these factors starting
in early adulthood can lower one's risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes,
as well as Alzheimer's."Intervention targeting cholesterol and glucose
management starting in early adulthood can help maximize cognitive health in
later life,""
-
Researchers discover intake of FDA-approved drug modulates disease progression
in Alzheimer’s disease mode - Science Daily, 3/23/22 -
"Niacin, which sustains metabolism throughout the body,
is mainly obtained through a typical diet; it also can be taken in supplements
and cholesterol-lowering drugs ... After the Alzheimer's disease animal models
received niacin, they ended up with fewer plaques and they have improved
cognition ... Past epidemiology studies of niacin and Alzheimer's disease showed
that people who had higher levels of niacin in their diet had diminished risk of
the disease ... Niacin is also currently being used in clinical trials in
Parkinson's disease and glioblastoma" - See
niacin at Amazon.com.
-
Melatonin in ventricular and
subarachnoid cerebrospinal fluid: Its function in the neural glymphatic network
and biological significance for neurocognitive health - Biochem Biophys Res
Commun 2022 Mar 17 - "After the ventricular melatonin
enters the subarachnoid and Virchow-Robin spaces it is taken into the neural
tissue where it functions as a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent.
Experimental evidence indicates that it removes pathogenic toxins, e.g.,
amyloid-β and others, from the brain to protect against neurocognitive decline.
Melatonin levels drop markedly during aging, coincident with the development of
several neurodegenerative diseases and the accumulation of the associated
neurotoxins" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.
-
Just One Extra Drink a Day
May Change the Brain - Medscape, 3/16/22 - "Previous
research has found that people with alcohol use disorder have structural changes
in their brains compared to healthy people's brains, such as reduced gray matter
and white matter volume. But those findings were in people with a history of
heavy drinking, defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism as more than four drinks a day for men and more than three drinks a
day for women ... In line with past studies, the researchers found a negative
association between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volume. That
is, as a person's alcohol intake increased, their gray matter and white matter
volume decreased, getting worse the more weekly drinks they had ... But the
researchers also noted that they could tell the difference between brain images
of people who never drank alcohol and those who drank just 1 or 2 drinks a day."
-
Influence of the
Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis on Cognition in Alzheimer's Disease - J Alzheimers
Dis 2022 Mar 2 - "few of these interventions, such as
probiotics, are promising candidates for the improvement of cognition in
Alzheimer 's disease and are the focus of this review" - See
probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Effects of Resveratrol
Supplementation on the Cognitive Function of Patients with Alzheimer's Disease:
A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials - Drugs Aging 2022 Feb
21 - "The findings demonstrate that there are still few
studies in humans, but they showed that this polyphenol acts in the delay of
cognitive impairment in patients with AD, when administered alone or in
combination with glucose and malate" - See
resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
-
POTENTIAL PREVENTION AND
TREATMENT OF NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS BY OLIVE POLYPHENOLS AND HYDROX -
Mech Ageing Dev 2022 Feb 2 - "Most chronic illnesses are
caused by the biological reaction to an injury, rather than the initial injury
or the injurious agent itselves as in neurodegeneration. With respect to this,
notable attention is emerging on the therapeutic effects of dietary polyphenols
for human health, able to counteract and neutralize oxidative stress and
inflammatory processes involved in the etiopathogenesis of major
neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's
disease. The acquired concept that cellular stress at low doses induces
neuroprotective responses against degenerative processes is a frontier area of
the neurobiological research focusing on the development of novel preventive and
therapeutic interventions for neurodegenerative disorders ... In this paper we
discuss the concept of cellular stress response and hormesis and its
applications to the field of neuroprotection and the potential therapeutic
support provided by olive polyphenols, in particular hydroxytyrosol (HT)-rich
aqueous olive pulp extract (Hidrox), as a pivotal activator of Nrf2 pathway and
related vitagenes, and inhibitor of Keap1-Nrf2 interaction.Olive polyphenols are
considered potential pharmacological modulators of neuroinflammation by
upregulation of the Keap1/Nfr2/ARE pathway thus providing a strong rationale for
treating neurodegenerative disorders" - See
olive leaf extract at Amazon.com.
-
Insights into the
neuroprotective effects of Salvia officinalis L. and Salvia microphylla Kunth in
the memory impairment rat model - Food Funct 2022 Feb 9 -
"Salvia species
have a longstanding traditional culinary use, mostly being consumed in the
Mediterranean diet as a common herb added to food. Salvia is commonly consumed
as a herbal tea for memory enhancement. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most
prevalent form of dementia affecting people worldwide ... Salvia officinalis
(SOL) cultivated in Jordan and Salvia microphylla (SML) cultivated in Egypt ...
scopolamine (1.14 mg kg-1, i.p.) was administered for 7 consecutive days to
induce memory impairment in rats. SML and SOL (150 and 300 mg kg-1, p.o.) were
tested for their effects to reduce the scopolamine-induced deficits. Donepezil
(0.5 mg kg-1, i.p.) was used as a positive control. Scopolamine induced
histopathological changes in rats' prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in addition
to β-amyloid plaque deposition. Furthermore, scopolamine treatment promoted
oxidative stress and acetylcholinesterase activity. On the other hand, treatment
with Salvia extracts corrected the histological changes induced by scopolamine
and significantly reduced β-amyloid deposition. Moreover, both oxidative stress
markers and acetylcholinesterase activity were ameliorated by Salvia treatment.
Using virtual docking to the active sites of the human acetylcholinesterase
crystal structure, salvianolic acid K, rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid C
showed the best fitting binding modes to active sites of acetylcholinesterase.
Accordingly, the present study demonstrates the beneficial effects of Salvia
species from Egypt and Jordan against scopolamine-induced AD-like disorder" -
See sage at Amazon.com.
-
Salvia officinalis - Wikipedia - "Salvia officinalis,
the common sage or just sage, is a perennial, evergreen
subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to
purplish flowers. It is a member of the mint family
Lamiaceae and native to the Mediterranean region, though it
has been naturalized in many places throughout the world"
-
Salvia microphylla - Wikipedia -
"Salvia microphylla, the
baby sage, Graham's sage, or blackcurrant sage, is
an evergreen shrub found in the wild in southeastern
Arizona and the mountains of eastern, western, and
southern Mexico. It is a very complex species which
easily hybridizes, resulting in numerous hybrids and
cultivars brought into horticulture since the 1990s"
-
Gut
microbiota in patients with Alzheimer's disease spectrum: a
systematic review and meta-analysis - Aging (Albany NY) 2022
Jan 14 - "gut microbiota (GM) ... 11
studies consisting of 378 HC and 427 patients with AD spectrum
were included in the meta-analysis. Patients with AD, but not
MCI, showed significantly reduced GM diversity as compared to
HC. We also found more abundance of Proteobacteria,
Bifidobacterium and Phascolarctobacterium, but less abundance of
Firmicutes, Clostridiaceae, Lachnospiraceae and Rikenellaceae in
patients with AD spectrum as compared with HC. The profiles of
abundance of Alistipes and Bacteroides in HC and AD spectrum
were differentially affected by countries. Finally, when
considering clinical stage as a moderator, the comparisons of
abundance in Clostridiaceae and Phascolarctobacterium showed
large effect sizes, with gradient changes from MCI to AD stage"
- See probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.
-
JOTROL, a
Novel Formulation of Resveratrol, Shows Beneficial Effects in
the 3xTg-AD Mouse Model - J Alzheimers Dis 2022 Jan 11 -
"Alzheimer's disease (AD) has minimally
effective treatments currently. High concentrations of
resveratrol, a polyphenol antioxidant found in plants, have been
reported to affect several AD-related and neuroprotective genes.
To address the low bioavailability of resveratrol, we
investigated a novel oral formulation of resveratrol, JOTROLTM,
that has shown increased pharmacokinetic properties compared to
non-formulated resveratrol in animals and in humans ... JOTROL
displays significantly increased bioavailability over
non-formulated resveratrol. Treatment with JOTROL resulted in
AD-related gene expression changes (Adam10, Bace1, Bdnf, Psen1)
some of which were brain region-dependent and sex-specific, as
well as changes in inflammatory gene and cytokine levels ...
JOTROL may be effective as a prophylaxis and/or treatment for AD
through increased expression and/or activation of
neuroprotective genes, suppression of pro-inflammatory genes,
and regulation of central and peripheral cytokine levels"
- See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
-
XENOHORMESIS
UNDERLYES THE ANTI-AGING AND HEALTHY PROPERTIES OF OLIVE
POLYPHENOLS - Mech Ageing Dev 2022 Jan 13 -
"This hormetic framework is applied to
the assessment of olive polyphenols with respect to their
capacity to slow the onset and reduce the magnitude of a wide
range of age-related disorders and neurodegenerative diseases,
including Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease. It is
proposed that olive polyphenol-induced anti-inflammatory
protective effects are mediated in large part via the activation
of AMPK and the upregulation of Nrf2 pathway. Consistently,
herein we also review the importance of the modulation of
Nrf2-related stress responsive vitagenes by olive polyphenols,
which at low concentration according to the hormesis theory
activates this neuroprotective cascade to preserve brain health
and its potential use in the prevention and therapy against
aging and age-related cognitive disorders in humans"
- See
olive leaf extract at Amazon.com but it
could be the omega-9 or both.
-
Exploring the Mechanism of
Panax notoginseng Saponins against Alzheimer's Disease by Network Pharmacology
and Experimental Validation - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2021 Dec 30
- "Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) have been used for
neurodegenerative disorders such as cerebral ischemia and Alzheimer's disease
(AD) ... An ingredient-target disease and function-pathway network demonstrated
that 38 active ingredients were derived from PNS modulated 364 common targets
shared by PNS and AD. GO and KEGG analysis, further clustering analysis, showed
that mTOR signaling targets were associated with the neuroprotective effects of
PNS. In Aβ-treated PC12 cells, PNS treatment improved neuroprotective effect,
including mTOR inhibition and autophagy activation" - See
Panax ginseng
at Amazon.com.
-
Dihydromyricetin Improves
Cognitive Impairments in d-Galactose-Induced Aging Mice through Regulating
Oxidative Stress and Inhibition of Acetylcholinesterase - Mol Nutr Food Res
2021 Dec 21 - "Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a
neurodegenerative disease with phenomena of cognitive impairments. Oxidative
stress and cholinergic system dysfunction are two widely studied pathogenesis of
AD. Dihydromyricetin (DMY) is a natural dihydroflavonol with many bioactivities
... DMY alleviates the cognitive impairments in d-gal-induced aging mice partly
through regulating oxidative stress and inhibition of acetylcholinesterase"
- See dihydromyricetin at Amazon.com.
-
Probiotic Releasing
Angiotensin (1-7) in a Drosophila Model of Alzheimer's Disease Produces
Sex-Specific Effects on Cognitive Function - J Alzheimers Dis 2021 Dec 15 -
"While extensive research on the brain has failed to
identify effective therapies, using probiotics to target the gut microbiome has
shown therapeutic potential in Alzheimer's disease (AD)"
-
Stopping dementia at the nose with combination of rifampicin and resveratrol
- Science Daily, 12/29/21 - "Dementia is thought to
occur when proteins called amyloid-β, tau, and α-synuclein accumulate in the
brain and form oligomers. A research group from the Department of Translational
Neuroscience, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, had previously
shown in a study using mice that the antibiotic rifampicin removes oligomers
from the brain and improves cognitive function. However, the drug has been
associated with side effects such as liver damage. Resveratrol, a naturally
occurring antioxidant in plants, is used as a supplement in Europe and the
United States. "To combat the negative side effects of the existing drug
rifampicin, we thought of combining it with the hepatoprotective effects of
resveratrol," illustrates Professor Takami Tomiyama, who acted as lead
investigator for the current study" - See
resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
-
Rifampicin - wiki - "Rifampicin, also known as
rifampin, is an antibiotic used to treat several types of bacterial
infections, including tuberculosis (TB), Mycobacterium avium complex,
leprosy, and Legionnaires’ disease"
-
Comparison of Serum Free
and Bioavailable 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels in Alzheimer's Disease and Healthy
Control Patients - Medscape, 12/29/21 - "Free and
bioavailable 25(OH)D detected at lower levels in patients with AD limit the
target central effects of 25(OH)D; this result suggests that reduced levels of
the active free form of vitamin D may be a risk factor for AD and dementia"
- See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
α-Lipoic Acid Has the
Potential to Normalize Copper Metabolism, Which Is Dysregulated in Alzheimer's
Disease - J Alzheimers Dis 2021 Nov 30 -
"Collectively, these results provide evidence that LA has the potential to
normalize copper metabolism in AD" - See
alpha lipoic acid at Amazon.com.
-
Association Between Serum
Vitamins and the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease in Chinese Population - J
Alzheimers Dis 2021 Dec 2 - "We conclude that lower
vitamin B2, B9, B12, D, and E might be associated with the risk of AD,
especially vitamin B2, B9, and B12. And lower vitamin E might be related to
severe ability impairment of daily activities" - See
B complex supplements at Amazon.com,
vitamin D at Amazon.com and
vitamin E at Amazon.com.
-
Someone asked me about Alzheimer's. Personally, I'd be taking everything in the
book to prevent or delay it. People have no idea the burden that puts on the
family. An important item is selegiline. I've been taking it for decades for
anti-aging.
-
Selegiline
in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: a long-term randomized
placebo-controlled trial. Czech and Slovak Senile Dementia of Alzheimer Type
Study Group - J Psychiatry Neurosci. 1999 May; 24(3): 234–243 -
"A total of 143 subjects completed enough of the
trial to be entered in the analysis. Subjects were analyzed by 2 subgroups
depending on whether they had a normal or pathologic result of the Clock
Drawing Test. Analysis of variance showed significant improvement with
selegiline versus placebo among those with a normal result of the Clock
Drawing Test on the Mini Mental Status Examination (total score and
orientation-place subscale) and among those with a pathologic result of the
Clock Drawing Test of Sternberg's Memory Scanning test (for both speed and
accuracy), on the Clinical Global Impressions scale as well as in terms of
the dominant frequency on electroencephalograms. CONCLUSION: Selegiline has
a long-term beneficial effect in Alzheimer's disease on memory modalities
that reflect the function of the prefrontal areas of the brain, which are
rich in dopamine receptors. The delayed appearance of differences between
selegiline and placebo supports the notion that the mechanism of action is
through neuronal rescue or neuroprotection. The differential response of
patients with normal and pathologic results of the Clock Drawing Test may
reflect the fact that the evaluation methods' sensitivity to change depends
on the severity of dementia" - See
selegiline at ReliableRXPharmacy.
-
Blood
from marathoner mice boosts brain function in their couch-potato counterparts
- Science Daily, 12/8/21 - "It's already known that
exercise induces a number of healthy manifestations in the brain, such as more
nerve-cell production and less inflammation ... The mice getting runner blood
were smarter ... On two different lab tests of memory, sedentary mice injected
with marathoner plasma outperformed their equally sedentary peers who received
couch-potato plasma ... In addition, sedentary mice receiving plasma from
marathoner mice had more cells that give rise to new neurons in the hippocampus
(a brain structure associated with memory and navigation) than those given
couch-potato plasma transfusions ... Removing a single protein, clusterin, from
marathoner mice's plasma largely negated its anti-inflammatory effect on
sedentary mice's brains ... Separately, the investigators found that at the
conclusion of a six-month aerobic exercise program, 20 military veterans with
mild cognitive impairment, a precursor to Alzheimer's disease, had elevated
clusterin levels in their blood"
-
Cleveland Clinic Research Identifies Sildenafil as Candidate Drug for
Alzheimer’s Disease - Cleveland Clinic, 12/6/21 -
"Through a large-scale analysis of a database of more than 7 million patients,
they determined that sildenafil is associated with 69% reduced incidence of
Alzheimer’s disease" - See
sildenafil at ReliableRXPharmacy.
-
Latte
lovers rejoice! Study reveals drinking coffee could lower the risk of
Alzheimer’s disease - Science Daily, 11/23/21 -
"Drinking more coffee gave positive results in relation to certain domains of
cognitive function, specifically executive function which includes planning,
self-control, and attention ... Higher coffee intake also seemed to be linked to
slowing the accumulation of the amyloid protein in the brain, a key factor in
the development of Alzheimer's disease ... If the average cup of coffee made at
home is 240g, increasing to two cups a day could potentially lower cognitive
decline by eight per cent after 18 months ... It could also see a five per cent
decrease in amyloid accumulation in the brain over the same time period ... In
Alzheimer's disease, the amyloid clumps together forming plaques which are toxic
to the brain ... The study was unable to differentiate between caffeinated and
de-caffeinated coffee, nor the benefits or consequences of how it was prepared
(brewing method, the presence of milk and/or sugar etc)."
-
Lactobacillus plantarum
DP189 prevents cognitive dysfunction in D-galactose/AlCl 3 induced mouse model
of Alzheimer's disease via modulating gut microbiota and PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β
signaling pathway - Nutr Neurosci 2021 Nov 10 -
"Increased levels of serotonin, dopamine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid positively
affected the pathological processes by ameliorating neuronal damage,
beta-amyloid deposition, and tau pathology. L. plantarum DP189 intervention
simultaneously modulated the gut microbial communities to alleviate gut
dysbiosis. Moreover, L. plantarum DP189 inhibited tau hyperphosphorylation by
regulating the PI3 K/Akt/GSK-3β pathway. These findings indicated that L.
plantarum DP189 intervention is a promising therapeutic strategy to prevent the
onset and development of AD." - See
probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Four
commonly used medications reverse Alzheimer's disease in mice - Science
Daily, 10/27/21
-
A diet
of essential amino acids could keep dementia at bay - Science Daily,
10/22/21 - "a low protein diet can accelerate brain
degeneration in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. More importantly, they
found that Amino LP7 -- a supplement containing seven specific amino acids --
can slow down brain degeneration and dementia development in these animals ...
Amino LP7, indicating that the combination of seven specific amino acids could
inhibit brain damage" - Note: I Googled it but couldn't find the seven
ingredients.
-
Protective Effect of
Ginkgolide B against Cognitive Impairment in Mice via Regulation of Gut
Microbiota - J Agric Food Chem 2021 Oct 20 - "Ginkgolide
B (GB) is one of the main bioactive components of Ginkgo biloba leaf extracts
with neuroprotective activity. However, the neuroprotective mechanism link
between the anti-Alzheimer's disease (AD) efficiency of GB and gut microbiota
have remained elusive ... These findings demonstrated the neuroprotective
effects of GB in AD mice, which were partly mediated by modulating gut dysbiosis,
indicating that GB might be a potentially active supplement to alleviate AD"
- See
Ginkgo biloba at Amazon.com.
-
Wiggling worms suggest link between vitamin B12 and Alzheimer's - Science
Daily, 9/29/21 - "While all the worms were grown on a
diet of E. coli, it turns out that one strain of E. coli had higher levels of
vitamin B12 than the other. Although Tanis's work was focused on genetic factors
at the time, she redirected her research to examine this vitamin and its
protective role ... "The read-out is black or white -- the worms are either
moving or they are not," Tanis said. "When we gave vitamin B12 to the worms that
were vitamin B12 deficient, paralysis occurred much more slowly, which
immediately told us that B12 was beneficial. The worms with B12 also had higher
energy levels and lower oxidative stress in their cells." ... Can B12 be
protective for multiple neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and Parkinson's?
We're looking into it" - See
vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.
-
MIND
diet linked to better cognitive performance - Science Daily, 9/21/21 -
"the MIND diet is a hybrid of the Mediterranean and DASH
(Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets. Previous research studies have
found that the MIND diet may reduce a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's
disease dementia ... To adhere to and benefit from the MIND diet, a person would
need to eat at least three servings of whole grains, a green leafy vegetable and
one other vegetable every day -- along with a glass of wine -- snack most days
on nuts, have beans every other day or so, eat poultry and berries at least
twice a week and fish at least once a week. A person also must limit intake of
the designated unhealthy foods, limiting butter to less than 1 1/2 teaspoons a
day and eating less than a serving a week of sweets and pastries, whole fat
cheese, and fried or fast food."
-
Sarcopenia Is Associated
With Incident Alzheimer's Dementia, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Cognitive
Decline - Medscape, 9/3/21 - "More severe
sarcopenia at baseline was associated with a higher risk of incident AD (hazard
ratio [HR], 1.50 [95% confidence interval 1.20–1.86]; p < 0.001) and of MCI
(1.21 [1.01–1.45]; 0.04) and a faster rate of cognitive decline" - Note:
Makes you wonder if supplements the help prevent sarcopenia such as leucine
might also protect the noodle.
-
Effect of Dietary
Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Disodium Salt on Cognitive Function in Healthy
Volunteers: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Group Study
- J Am Coll Nutr 2021 Aug 20 - "Cognitive dysfunctions
are increasing alarmingly around the world, and researchers are exploring
preventive measures for improving brain performance. Pyrroloquinoline quinone
(PQQ), a naturally occurring coenzyme in foods, exhibits potent antioxidant
activity, and improves diverse functions which include mitochondrial activation,
growth, repair, protection of nerve cells by increased expression of nerve
growth factor (NGF) and NGF receptors; and suppression of fibril formation and
aggregation of amyloid β ... evaluated the efficacy and safety of PQQ disodium
salt powder (mnemoPQQ®) for improved cognitive function after 12 weeks of
supplementation in healthy Japanese male and female (age 40 to <80 Y) ...
Significant improvements were observed on the Cognitrax's cognitive function
domain score on "composite memory", "verbal memory", "reaction time", "complex
attention", "cognitive flexibility", "executive function", and "motor speed" in
the mnemoPQQ® group as compared to the placebo group. The DECO and the MMSE-J
scores were also significantly improved in the mnemoPQQ® group. No adverse
events were observed." - See pyrroloquinoline quinone at Amazon.com
and iHerb.
-
Hydrolyzed Chicken Meat
Extract Attenuates Neuroinflammation and Cognitive Impairment in Middle-Aged
Mouse by Regulating M1/M2 Microglial Polarization - J Agric Food Chem 2021
Aug 17 - "Aging is the most common cause of several
neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's
disease. The pathological hallmarks of age-dependent neuropathology consist of
chronic neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, gliosis, learning disability, and
cognitive decline. A novel hydrolyzed bioactive peptide mixture extracted from
chicken meat, that is, hydrolyzed chicken extract (HCE) has been previously
demonstrated to exert neuroprotective effects in rodents and humans. However,
the mechanism of HCE on age-related neurological disorders remains unclear.
Herein, we aimed to clarify the impact and mechanism of isolated bioactive
components (BCs) from HCE on age-dependent neuroinflammation and cognitive
impairment in middle-aged mice. We found that both BC and HCE supplementation
ameliorated age-induced memory loss, alleviated hippocampal neuroinflammation
and oxidative stress, followed by promoting hippocampal neurogenesis in mice. BC
and HCE treatment also ameliorated age-dependent morphological anomalies and
alleviated microgliosis and astrogliosis. In parallel, BC and HCE treatment
showed a significant decrease in the NF-κB p65 and p38 MAPK signaling, which
were associated with the enhancement of antioxidative enzymes activities.
Furthermore, BC treatment attenuated the neuroinflammatory phenotypes by the
decrease in M1-polarized microglia and the increase in M2-polarized microglia in
vivo and in vitro. In addition, we found that cyclo(Phe-Phe), one of the
cyclopeptides purified from BC, showed notable anti-inflammatory effects in BV2
cells. Taken together, BC might be used as a dietary supplement for alleviating
age-dependent neuropathology in middle-aged individuals" - See
collagen UC-II at Amazon
and collagen supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Association of coffee and
genetic risk with incident dementia in middle-aged and elderly adults - Nutr
Neurosci 2021 Aug 23 - "Compared to non-coffee drinking,
heavy instant coffee drinking (> 6 cups/day) and moderate decaffeinated coffee
drinking (1-3 cups/day) were associated with a higher risk of dementia (hazard
ratio [HR] 1.19-1.34) and AD (HR 1.41-1.51), while moderate ground coffee
drinking was associated with a lower risk of dementia (HR, 0.78; P = 0.001) and
vascular dementia (HR, 0.58; P < 0.001). Among participants at high genetic
risk, heavy coffee drinking was associated with a 95% (HR; 1.95, 95% CI,
1.21-3.16) higher risk of AD than non-coffee drinking. We found an interaction
between coffee and genetic risk in relation to AD"
-
Flavan-3-ol Microbial
Metabolites Modulate Proteolysis in Neuronal Cells Reducing Amyloid-beta (1-42)
Levels - Mol Nutr Food Res 2021 Jul 28 -
"Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegeneration characterized by
extensive protein aggregation and deposition in the brain, associated with
defective proteasomal and autophagic-lysosomal proteolytic pathways. Since
current drugs can only reduce specific symptoms, the identification of novel
treatments is a major concern in AD research. Among natural compounds,
(poly)phenols and their derivatives/metabolites are emerging as candidates in AD
prevention due to their multiple beneficial effects"
-
Neuroprotective Efficacy of
Apple Cider Vinegar on Zinc-High Fat Diet-Induced Mono Amine Oxidase Alteration
in Murine Model of AD - J Am Coll Nutr 2021 Jul 29 -
"Monoamine Oxidase (MAO), which catalyzes the oxidative deamination of amines
present in the brain and peripheral tissues, is involved in the metabolism of
monoamines and is vital for cognition. This study was designed to examine the
protective effect of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) on MAO and amine
neurotransmitters such as dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), non-adrenaline (NA)
levels ... The findings suggest that ACV, might prove to be a beneficial
nutraceutical & provide a protective effect against Alzheimer's disease
(AD)-like neurological diseases" - See
apple cider vinegar at Amazon.com.
-
Ginkgolide B protects
against cognitive impairment in senescence-accelerated P8 mice by mitigating
oxidative stress, inflammation and ferroptosis - Biochem Biophys Res Commun
2021 Jul 28 - "Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a destructive
neurodegenerative disease that currently has no effective treatment option
available. Ginkgolide B (GB) is a terpene lactone derivative of Ginkgo biloba
that possesses neuroprotective effects in various diseases ... GB improved the
cognitive dysfunction of SAMP8 mice in the Morris water maze and novel object
recognition test, which was associated with the attenuation of oxidative stress,
inflammation and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/glutathione
peroxidase 4 (GPX4) pathway-mediated ferroptosis. Furthermore, Ras-selective
lethal small molecule 3, a GPX4 inhibitor and ferroptosis inducer, compromised
GB-induced cognitive performance in SAMP8 mice. These findings suggested that GB
alleviated AD-induced cognitive defects by mitigating oxidative stress,
neuroinflammation and ferroptosis, and that the inhibition of ferroptosis is
required for GB to have beneficial effects in AD" - See
Ginkgo biloba at Amazon.com.
-
Green Tea Suppresses Amyloid
β Levels and Alleviates Cognitive Impairment by Inhibiting APP Cleavage and
Preventing Neurotoxicity in 5XFAD Mice - Mol Nutr Food Res 2021 Aug 3 -
"Our findings indicated GTE suppresses Aβ levels and
alleviates cognitive impairment in 5XFAD mice. These beneficial effects were
accompanied by inhibition of APP cleavage pathways, suppression of glial cell
activation and pro-inflammatory responses, and a reduction of synapse loss"
- See green tea extract at Amazon.com and
green tea extract at iHerb.
-
Dietary sugar intake and
risk of Alzheimer's disease in older women - Nutr Neurosci 2021 Jul
30;1-12 - "An estimated increase of 10 g/day in total
sugar intake (about 2.4 teaspoons) was associated with an increased AD risk by
1.3-1.4%. Of six subtypes of sugar intake, lactose was significantly associated
with AD risk."
-
Flavan-3-ol Microbial
Metabolites Modulate Proteolysis in Neuronal Cells Reducing Amyloid-beta (1-42)
Levels - Mol Nutr Food Res 2021 Jul 28 -
"Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegeneration characterized by
extensive protein aggregation and deposition in the brain, associated with
defective proteasomal and autophagic-lysosomal proteolytic pathways. Since
current drugs can only reduce specific symptoms, the identification of novel
treatments is a major concern in AD research. Among natural compounds,
(poly)phenols and their derivatives/metabolites are emerging as candidates in AD
prevention due to their multiple beneficial effects. Here, we investigated the
ability of a selection of phenyl-γ-valerolactones, gut microbiota-derived
metabolites of flavan-3-ols, to modulate the functionality of cellular
proteolytic pathways ... Our findings establish, for the first time, that these
metabolites exert a neuroprotective activity by regulating intracellular
proteolysis and confirm the role of autophagy and cathepsin B as possible
targets of AD preventive/therapeutic strategies" - See
flavonoids at Amazon.com and
flavonoids at iHerb.com.
-
Vitamin D Intake and Brain
Cortical Thickness in Community-Dwelling Overweight Older Adults: A
Cross-Sectional Study - J Nutr 2021 Jun 10 -
"Vitamin D is critical to brain health and a promising candidate to prevent
cognitive decline and onset of Alzheimer disease (AD), although the underlying
brain mechanisms are unclear ... In cognitively unimpaired older adults, total
and supplemental vitamin D intakes were associated with cortical thickness in
regions vulnerable to AD" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
'Precision' Nutrition? DHA
Benefit Modified by AD Genetic Risk - Medscape, 5/7/21 -
"In cognitively unimpaired middle-aged adults at high
genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD), higher intake of dietary
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was associated with greater resistance to
disease-related brain atrophy on neuroimaging ... So, in other words, the people
with the highest genetic risk for Alzheimer's because of the APOE allele, those
were the patients who had benefit from greater fish intake" - See
docosahexaenoic acid at Amazon.com.
-
DHA intake relates to better
cerebrovascular and neurodegeneration neuroimaging phenotypes in middle-aged
adults at increased genetic risk of Alzheimer disease - Am J Clin Nutr 2021
Mar 18 - "The number of APOE-ε4 alleles is a major
nonmodifiable risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer disease (AD). There is
increasing evidence on the benefits of dietary DHA (22:6n-3) before the onset of
AD symptoms, particularly in APOE-ε4 carriers. Brain alterations in the
preclinical stage can be detected by structural MRI ... In 340 participants of
the ALFA (ALzheimer and FAmilies) study, which is enriched for APOE-ε4
carriership (n = 122, noncarriers; n = 157, 1 allele; n = 61, 2 alleles), we
assessed self-reported DHA intake through an FFQ. We measured cognitive
performance by administering episodic memory and executive function tests. We
performed high-resolution structural MRI to assess cerebral small vessel disease
[white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and cerebral microbleeds (CMBs)] and
AD-related brain atrophy (cortical thickness in an AD signature). We constructed
regression models adjusted for potential confounders, exploring the interaction
DHA × APOE-ε4 ... We observed no significant associations between DHA and
cognitive performance or WMH burden. We observed a nonsignificant inverse
association between DHA and prevalence of lobar CMBs (OR: 0.446; 95% CI: 0.195,
1.018; P = 0.055). DHA was found to be significantly related to greater cortical
thickness in the AD signature in homozygotes but not in nonhomozygotes
(P-interaction = 0.045). The association strengthened when analyzing homozygotes
and nonhomozygotes matched for risk factors" - See
docosahexaenoic acid at Amazon.com.
-
Eicosapentaenoic Acid Is
Associated with Decreased Incidence of Alzheimer's Dementia in the Oldest Old
- Nutrients 2021 Jan 30 - "Omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6
(n-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may have different effects on
cognitive health due to their anti- or pro-inflammatory properties ... During
the follow-up window of seven years, 233 participants developed dementia. Higher
concentrations of EPA were associated with a lower incidence of AD (hazard ratio
(HR) 0.76 (95% CI 0.63; 0.93)). We also observed that higher concentrations of
EPA were associated with a decreased risk for all-cause dementia (HR 0.76 (95%
CI 0.61; 0.94)) and AD (HR 0.66 (95% CI 0.51; 0.85)) among apolipoprotein E ε4
(APOE ε4) non-carriers but not among APOE ε4 carriers. No other fatty acids were
significantly associated with AD or dementia" - See
omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Plasma carotenoids and
medial temporal lobe atrophy in older adults - Clin Nutr 2020 Oct 14 -
"Carotenoids are vegetable pigments with neuroprotective
properties. Clinical studies found efficacy of specific carotenoids on improving
brain perfusion and functioning with aging ... In adjusted linear mixed models,
each increase of 1 SD in plasma level of total carotenoids and of β-carotene was
associated with 0.02 cm3 (95% CI, 0.001-0.04; P = 0.04) and 0.02 cm3 (95% CI,
0.01-0.04; P = 0.008) smaller medial temporal lobe volume loss per year,
respectively" - See mixed carotenoids at Amazon.com.
-
Discovery of Natural
Inhibitors of Cholinesterases from Hydrangea: In Vitro and In Silico Approaches
- Nutrients 2021 Jan 17;13(1):254 - "Alzheimer's disease
(AD) is a neurodegenerative disease conceptualized as a clinical-biological
neurodegenerative construct where amyloid-beta pathophysiology is supposed to
play a role. The loss of cognitive functions is mostly characterized by the
rapid hydrolysis of acetylcholine by cholinesterases including
acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). Moreover, both
enzymes are responsible for non-catalytic actions such as interacting with
amyloid β peptide (Aβ) which further leads to promote senile plaque formation.
In searching for a natural cholinesterase inhibitor, the present study focused
on two isocoumarines from hydrangea, thunberginol C (TC) and hydrangenol
8-O-glucoside pentaacetate (HGP). Hydrangea-derived compounds were demonstrated
to act as dual inhibitors of both AChE and BChE. Furthermore, the compounds
exerted selective and non-competitive mode of inhibition via hydrophobic
interaction with peripheral anionic site (PAS) of the enzymes. Overall results
demonstrated that these natural hydrangea-derived compounds acted as selective
dual inhibitors of AChE and BChE, which provides the possibility of potential
source of new type of anti-cholinesterases with non-competitive binding property
with PAS" - See Hydrangea
supplements at Amazon.com.
-
NAD+
can restore age-related muscle deterioration, research finds - Science
Daily, 1/20/21 - "Although aggregated proteins have been
suggested to contribute to brain aging, this is the first time that they have
been shown to contribute to muscle aging and to directly damage mitochondria.
"These abnormal proteotoxic aggregates could serve as novel biomarkers for the
aging process, beyond the brain and muscle," says Auwerx ... the researchers fed
worms the vitamin nicotinamide riboside and the antitumor agent Olaparib, both
of which boost the levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a
biomolecule that is essential for maintaining mitochondrial function, and whose
levels decline during aging ... The encouraging results led the researchers to
test nicotinamide riboside in aged mice. The treatment also activated the
mitochondrial defense systems and reduced the number and size of amyloid
aggregates in different skeletal muscle tissues ... Drugs that boost
mitochondrial quality control could therefore be tested in the clinic to reverse
these age-related proteotoxic aggregates and rejuvenate tissues" - See
nicotinamide riboside at Amazon.com.
-
The Microbiota-Gut-Brain
Axis and Alzheimer's Disease: Neuroinflammation Is to Blame? - Nutrients
2020 Dec 24 - "microbiota-gut-brain (MGB) axis ...
Modulation of the gut microbiota with antibiotics or probiotic supplementation
may create new preventive and therapeutic options in AD. Accumulating evidences
affirm that research on MGB involvement in AD is necessary for new treatment
targets and therapies for AD" - See
probiotic supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Can Some Vaccines Reduce Your Alzheimer’s Risk? - WebMD, 12/3/20 -
"getting a pneumonia vaccine between ages 65 and 75
reduced the risk of Alzheimer's disease by up to 30%. In people who didn't carry
a specific Alzheimer's genetic risk factor -- called rs2075650 G -- the
reduction in Alzheimer's risk was even better -- up to 40% ... In another study
this year, people who got one or more flu vaccines were 17% less likely to get
Alzheimer's disease. Those who got their flu shot more often had an additional
13% lower risk. Getting the first flu shot earlier in life -- at age 60 --
seemed to offer better protection than waiting until age 70 to get the vaccine
... These aren't the only studies to link vaccines with a reduced risk of
Alzheimer's disease. An older study of 4,000 people ages 65 and older found that
people who'd been exposed to the diphtheria, tetanus, polio, or flu vaccine had
a lower risk for dementia. In another study, people with chronic kidney disease
who got the flu vaccine were 30% to 40% less likely to get dementia, compared to
those who weren't vaccinated"
-
Air Pollution Linked to
Brain Amyloid Pathology - Medscape, 12/2/20 - "For
the current study, the researchers analyzed data from the Imaging Dementia –
Evidence for Amyloid Scanning (IDEAS) Study, which included more than 18,000 US
participants with cognitive impairment who received an amyloid positron-emission
tomography (PET) scan between 2016 and 2018 ... Results showed that those living
in an area with increased air pollution, as determined using concentrations of
predicted fine particulate matter (PM2.5), had a higher probability of a
positive amyloid PET scan. This association was dose dependent and statistically
significant after adjusting for demographic, lifestyle, and socioeconomic
factors as well as medical comorbidities. The association was seen in both
periods; the adjusted odds ratio was 1.10 in 2002–2003 and 1.15 in 2015–2016 ...
Every unit increase in PM2.5 in 2002–2003 was associated with an increased
probability of positive amyloid findings on PET of 0.5%. Every unit increase in
PM2.5 in for the 2015–2016 period was associated with an increased probability
of positive amyloid findings on PET of 0.8%"
-
Dietary carotenoids related
to risk of incident Alzheimer dementia (AD) and brain AD neuropathology: a
community-based cohort of older adults - Am J Clin Nutr 2020 Nov 12 -
"Studies have reported a protective relation to
cognitive decline with long-term intake of total and individual dietary
carotenoids ... Among 927 participants from the Rush Memory and Aging Project
who were free from AD at baseline and were followed up for a mean of 7 y ...
Higher intake of total carotenoids was associated with substantially lower
hazard of AD after controlling for age, sex, education, ApoE-ε4, participation
in cognitively stimulating activities, and physical activity level. Comparing
the top and bottom quintiles (median intake: 24.8 compared with 6.7 mg/d) of
total carotenoids, the multivariate HR (95% CI) was 0.52 (0.33, 0.81), P-trend <
0.01. A similar association was observed for lutein-zeaxanthin, a weaker linear
inverse association was observed for β-carotene, and a marginally significant
linear inverse association was found for β-cryptoxanthin. Among the deceased
participants, consumers of higher total carotenoids (top compared with bottom
tertile, 18.2 compared with 8.2 mg/d) had less global AD pathology (b: -0.10; SE
= 0.04; P-trend = 0.01). For individual carotenoids, lutein-zeaxanthin and
lycopene were inversely associated with brain global pathology, whereas lutein-zeaxanthin
showed additional inverse associations with AD diagnostic score, neuritic plaque
severity, and neurofibrillary tangle density and severity" - See
mixed carotenoids at Amazon.com.
-
Link
between Alzheimer's disease and gut microbiota is confirmed - Science Daily,
11/16/20 - "A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE)
and the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) in Switzerland, together with
Italian colleagues from the National Research and Care Center for Alzheimer's
and Psychiatric Diseases Fatebenefratelli in Brescia, University of Naples and
the IRCCS SDN Research Center in Naples, confirm the correlation, in humans,
between an imbalance in the gut microbiota and the development of amyloid
plaques in the brain, which are at the origin of the neurodegenerative disorders
characteristic of Alzheimer's disease ... This discovery paves the way for
potentially highly innovative protective strategies -- through the
administration of a bacterial cocktail, for example, or of pre-biotics to feed
the "good" bacteria in our intestine" - See
prebiotic supplements at
Amazon.com and
iHerb and probiotic supplements at Amazon.com
and
iHerb.
-
β-Hydroxybutyrate inhibits
inflammasome activation to attenuate Alzheimer's disease pathology - J
Neuroinflammation 2020 Sep 21 - "we find BHB levels are
lower in red blood cells and brain parenchyma of AD patients when compared with
non-AD controls. Furthermore, exogenous BHB administration reduced plaque
formation, microgliosis, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a
caspase recruitment domain (Asc) speck formation, and caspase-1 activation in
the 5XFAD mouse model of AD. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that BHB
reduces AD pathology by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Additionally,
our data suggest dietary or pharmacological approaches to increase BHB levels as
promising therapeutic strategies for AD" - See
beta-Hydroxybutyrate at Amazon.com and
iHerb.
-
Homocysteine-Lowering by B Vitamins Slows the Rate of Accelerated Brain Atrophy
in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Controlled Trial - PLoS One 2010
Sep 8 - "An increased rate of brain atrophy is often
observed in older subjects, in particular those who suffer from cognitive
decline. Homocysteine is a risk factor for brain atrophy, cognitive impairment
and dementia. Plasma concentrations of homocysteine can be lowered by dietary
administration of B vitamins ... Participants were randomly assigned to two
groups of equal size, one treated with folic acid (0.8 mg/d), vitamin B(12) (0.5
mg/d) and vitamin B(6) (20 mg/d), the other with placebo; treatment was for 24
months ... The mean rate of brain atrophy per year was 0.76% [95% CI, 0.63-0.90]
in the active treatment group and 1.08% [0.94-1.22] in the placebo group (P =
0.001). The treatment response was related to baseline homocysteine levels: the
rate of atrophy in participants with homocysteine >13 µmol/L was 53% lower in
the active treatment group (P = 0.001). A greater rate of atrophy was associated
with a lower final cognitive test scores. There was no difference in serious
adverse events according to treatment category ... The accelerated rate of brain
atrophy in elderly with mild cognitive impairment can be slowed by treatment
with homocysteine-lowering B vitamins. Sixteen percent of those over 70 y old
have mild cognitive impairment and half of these develop Alzheimer's disease.
Since accelerated brain atrophy is a characteristic of subjects with mild
cognitive impairment who convert to Alzheimer's disease, trials are needed to
see if the same treatment will delay the development of Alzheimer's disease"
- [Nutra
USA] - See B complex supplements at
Amazon.com and
iHerb.
-
‘A Rinsing of the
Brain.’ New Research Shows How Sleep Could Ward Off Alzheimer's Disease -
Time, 8/6/20 - "Spira studied brain scans of 70 healthy
adults with an average age of 76. Indeed, the scans of those who reported less
or compromised sleep showed higher levels of amyloid plaques than the scans of
those who slept better ... These results very much support the notion that one
of the roles of sleep is to actually accelerate the clearance of beta amyloid
from the brain ... in healthy adults, during the day when the brain is active,
there is less fluid bathing neurons and tissues in the organ. During sleep--and
especially during deeper sleep--this solution saturates the brain in a cleansing
flood. The finding reinforced Nedergaard's theory that sleeping may help clear
the brain of toxic proteins that can eventually cause disease ... She and others
don't believe sleep alone can fully prevent Alzheimer's or halt its progression.
But together with other therapies that could emerge to treat the disease, sleep
may be a powerful way to help people lower their risk even further. It's even
possible that sleep could play an important role in keeping our brains healthy
in other ways: by controlling metabolism and other cellular functions behind
diseases like diabetes, hypertension and even cancer. As the latest research
shows, a good night's sleep isn't a luxury--it's critical for keeping the brain
healthy."
-
Forty
percent of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by targeting 12 risk
factors throughout life - Science Daily, 7/30/20 -
"Aim to maintain systolic blood pressure of 130 mm Hg or less from the age of 40
... Encourage use of hearing aids for hearing loss and reduce hearing loss by
protecting ears from high noise levels ... Reduce exposure to air pollution and
second-hand tobacco smoke ... Prevent head injury (particularly by targeting
high-risk occupations) ... Limit alcohol intake to no more than 21 units per
week (one unit of alcohol equals 10 ml or 8 g pure alcohol) ... Stop smoking and
support others to stop smoking ... Provide all children with primary and
secondary education ... Lead an active life into mid-life and possibly later
life ... Reduce obesity and the linked condition of diabetes"
-
Brain delivery of supplemental docosahexaenoic acid (DHA): A randomized
placebo-controlled clinical trial - EBioMedicine 2020 Jul 17 -
"The increase in CSF EPA in non-APOE4 carriers after
supplementation was three times greater than APOE4 carriers ... Dementia
prevention trials using omega-3 supplementation doses equal or lower to 1 g per
day may have reduced brain effects, particularly in APOE4 carriers" - [Nutra
USA] - See omega-3 supplements at Amazon.com and
iHerb.
-
Flu,
pneumonia vaccinations tied to lower risk of Alzheimer's dementia -
Science Daily, 7/27/20 - "At least one flu
vaccination was associated with a 17% reduction in Alzheimer's incidence. More
frequent flu vaccination was associated with another 13% reduction in
Alzheimer's incidence ... Vaccination against pneumonia between ages 65 and 75
reduced Alzheimer's risk by up to 40% depending on individual genes ... The
researchers found the protective association between the flu vaccine and the
risk of Alzheimer's was strongest for those who received their first vaccine at
a younger age -- for example, the people who received their first documented flu
shot at age 60 benefitted more than those who received their first flu shot at
age 70 ... pneumococcal vaccination between ages 65-75 reduced risk of
developing Alzheimer's by 25-30% after adjusting for sex, race, birth cohort,
education, smoking, and number of G alleles. The largest reduction in the risk
of Alzheimer's (up to 40%) was observed among people vaccinated against
pneumonia who were non-carriers of the risk gene"
-
Magnolol
Ameliorates Behavioral Impairments and Neuropathology in a Transgenic Mouse
Model of Alzheimer’s Disease - Oxid Med Cell Longev 2020 Jul 3 -
"Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative
disease characterized by progressive memory loss. Magnolol (MN), the main active
ingredient of Magnolia officinalis, possesses anti-AD effects in several
experimental models of AD ... The results demonstrated that MN (20 and 40 mg/kg)
could markedly ameliorate the cognitive deficits in TgCRND8 mice. In addition,
MN significantly increased the expression of postsynaptic density protein 93
(PSD93), PSD-95, synapsin-1, synaptotagmin-1, synaptophysin (SYN), and
interleukin-10 (IL-10), while markedly reduced the protein levels of tumor
necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), IL-6, IL-1β, Aβ 40, and Aβ 42, and modulated the
amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing and phosphorylation.
Immunofluorescence showed that MN significantly suppressed the activation of
microglia (Iba-1) and astrocytes (GFAP) in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex
of TgCRND8 mice. Mechanistic studies revealed that MN could significantly
increase the ratios of p-GSK-3β (Ser9)/GSK-3β, p-Akt (Ser473)/Akt, and p-NF-κB
p65/NF-κB p65. These findings indicate that MN exerted cognitive deficits
improving effects via suppressing neuroinflammation, amyloid pathology, and
synaptic dysfunction through regulating the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3and NF-κB pathways,
suggesting that MN is a promising naturally occurring polyphenol worthy of
further developing into a therapeutic agent for AD treatment" - [Nutra
USA] - See Magnolia officinalis at
Amazon.com and
iHerb.
-
'Love
hormone' oxytocin could be used to treat cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's
- Science Daily, 7/20/20 - "oxytocin―the hormone that we
commonly know to induce feelings of love and well-being―can also effectively
reverse some of the damage caused by amyloid plaques in the learning and memory
center of the brain in an animal model of Alzheimer's ... Oxytocin was recently
found to be involved in regulating learning and memory performance, but so far,
no previous study deals with the effect of oxytocin on Aβ-induced cognitive
impairment ... This is the first study in the world that has shown that oxytocin
can reverse Aβ-induced impairments in the mouse hippocampus" - See
Oxytocin at Amazon.com but the nasal
spray has bad ratings. If you Google it, a lot of places are selling the
injectable for animals. You might be able to get the injectable. You
might be able to get the injectable from a place
like this
but I'm betting the prescription costs an arm and a leg. A vial is
only
$23 if you can get the prescription. The version for pets is
only $10.
-
Effects of Citicoline as an
Adjunct Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review - J
Alzheimers Dis 2020 Jun 6 - "Limited evidence from
pooled data of two observational studies suggests that CC used in adjunct with
AChEIs in the treatment of AD was well-tolerated and showed improvement in
cognition, mood, and behavioral symptoms compared to treating with AChEIs alone"
- See citicholine at Amazon.com and
iHerb.
-
High
calcium levels in mitochondria linked to neuronal death in Alzheimer's disease
- Science Daily, 5/13/20 - ""High calcium levels in the
mitochondria cause oxidative stress, and the death of neurons via apoptosis,"
says Calvo-Rodriguez. "We propose that by blocking the neuronal mitochondrial
calcium uniporter we can prevent cell death and impact disease progression."
Their work suggests targeting calcium entry to the mitochondria could be a
promising new therapeutic approach in Alzheimer's disease"
-
Fruits, Tea May Help Fend Off Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD, 5/13/20 -
"The researchers suspect that flavonoids -- substances
naturally found in plant foods -- are providing these potential benefits in
brain health. One major health benefit associated with flavonoids is reduced
inflammation. Inflammation has been linked to Alzheimer's disease and other
forms of dementia" - See flavonoids at Amazon.com and
flavonoids at iHerb.com.
-
More
berries, apples and tea may have protective benefits against Alzheimer's -
Science Daily, 5/5/20 - "The research team determined
that low intake of three flavonoid types was linked to higher risk of dementia
when compared to the highest intake. Specifically: Low intake of flavonols
(apples, pears and tea) was associated with twice the risk of developing ADRD
... Low intake of anthocyanins (blueberries, strawberries, and red wine) was
associated with a four-fold risk of developing ADRD ... Low intake of flavonoid
polymers (apples, pears, and tea) was associated with twice the risk of
developing ADRD ... The results were similar for AD" - See
blueberry extract at Amazon.com.
-
Schisandra Extract and
Ascorbic Acid Synergistically Enhance Cognition in Mice through Modulation of
Mitochondrial Respiration - Nutrients. 2020 Mar 25 -
"Here, we demonstrate that a mixture of Schisandra chinensis extract (SCE) and
ascorbic acid (AA) improved cognitive function and induced synaptic
plasticity-regulating proteins by enhancing mitochondrial respiration. Treatment
of embryonic mouse hippocampal mHippoE-14 cells with a 4:1 mixture of SCE and AA
increased basal oxygen consumption rate. We found that mice injected with the
SCE-AA mixture showed enhanced learning and memory and recognition ability. We
further observed that injection of the SCE-AA mixture in mice significantly
increased expression of postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95), an increase
that was correlated with enhanced brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)
expression. These results demonstrate that a mixture of SCE and AA improves
mitochondrial function and memory, suggesting that this natural compound mixture
could be used to alleviate AD and aging-associated memory decline" - [Nutra
USA] - See
Schizandra at Amazon.com and
Schizandra at iHerb.com and vitamin C products at Amazon.com and
vitamin C at iHerb.com.
-
Long-term dietary
flavonoid intake and risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias in the
Framingham Offspring Cohort - Clin Nutr. 2020 Apr 1 - Am J Clin Nutr. 2020
Apr 22 - "Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD)
... We used data from the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort exams 5
through 9. Participants were ADRD-free with a valid FFQ at baseline. Flavonoid
intakes were updated at each exam to represent the cumulative average intake
across the 5 exams, and were expressed as percentile categories of intake
(≤15th, >15th to 30th, >30th to 60th, >60th) to handle their nonlinear relation
with ADRD and AD ... Over an average follow-up of 19.7 y in 2801 participants
(mean baseline age = 59.1 y; 52% females), there were 193 ADRD events of which
158 were AD. After multivariate and dietary adjustments, individuals with the
highest (>60th percentile) intakes of flavonols, anthocyanins, and flavonoid
polymers had a lower risk of ADRD relative to individuals with the lowest
intakes (≤15th percentile), with HRs (95% CI; P-trend) of 0.54 (0.32, 0.90; P =
0.003) for flavonols, 0.24 (0.15, 0.39; P < 0.001) for anthocyanins, and 0.58
(0.35, 0.94; P = 0.03) for flavonoid polymers. The same pattern of associations
was seen with AD for flavonols and anthocyanins but not for flavonoid polymers"
- See flavonoids at Amazon.com and
flavonoids at iHerb.com.
-
Alzheimer's: Can an amino acid help to restore memories? - Science Daily,
3/3/20 - "supplying a specific amino acid as a
nutritional supplement in a mouse model of Alzheimer's restores spatial memory
affected early. This is a promising path for reducing memory loss related to
that disease ... With the identification of the role of L-serine in memory
disorders and the experimental efficacy of nutritional supplementation, new
strategies appear that may complement medical treatment, to combat early
symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and other diseases that display metabolic
deficits, like Parkinson's and Huntington's. Since L-serine is available as a
nutritional supplement, this compound should be rigorously tested in humans,
through controlled clinical trials" - See
L-serine at Amazon.com.
-
Aerobic
exercise training linked to enhanced brain function - Science Daily, 2/3/20
- "Compared to the participants maintaining their usual
level of physical activity, individuals assigned to the active training program
improved their cardiorespiratory fitness, spent less time sedentary after the
training program ended, and performed better on cognitive tests of executive
functioning (but not episodic memory). Executive function, an aspect of
cognition that is known to decline with the progression of AD, comprises the
mental processes enabling individuals to plan, focus attention, remember
instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. The participants' improved
cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with increased brain glucose metabolism
in the posterior cingulate cortex, an area of the brain linked to AD ... "This
research shows that a lifestyle behavior -- regular aerobic exercise -- can
potentially enhance brain and cognitive functions that are particularly
sensitive to the disease. The findings are especially relevant to individuals
who are at a higher risk due to family history or genetic predisposition," noted
Dr. Okonkwo"
-
Dietary flavonols and
risk of Alzheimer dementia - Neurology. 2020 Jan 29 -
"Participants with the highest intake of total flavonols
had higher levels of education and more participation in physical and cognitive
activities. In Cox proportional hazards models, dietary intakes of flavonols
were inversely associated with incident Alzheimer dementia in models adjusted
for age, sex, education, APOE ɛ4, and participation in cognitive and physical
activities. Hazard ratios (HRs) for the fifth vs first quintiles of intake were
as follows: for total flavonol, 0.52 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.33-0.84);
for kaempferol, 0.49 (95% CI, 0.31-0.77); for myricetin, 0.62 (95% CI,
0.4-0.97); and for isorhamnetin, 0.62 (95% CI, 0.39-0.98). Quercetin was not
associated with Alzheimer dementia (HR, 0.69" - Note: I don't know
why they're saying 0.69 is not associated. Maybe it has to do with being
'statistical significant'.
-
Dietary Lactoferrin
Supplementation Prevents Memory Impairment and Reduces Amyloid-β Generation in
J20 Mice - J Alzheimers Dis. 2020 Jan 24 - "Lactoferrin
(LF) is present in senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brains of
Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and amyloid-β protein precursor transgenic
(AβPP-Tg) mice. LF has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions, which exert
neuroprotective effects against AD ... Nine-month-old J20 mice were fed with
control, 2% lactoferrin-containing (LF), and 0.5% pepsin-hydrolyzed lactoferrin-containing
(LF-hyd) diets for 3 months. We found that both the LF and LF-hyd diets
attenuated memory impairment in J20 mice and decreased brain Aβ 40 and Aβ 42
levels through the inhibition of amyloidogenic processing of AβPP, as it
decreased ����-site amyloid protein precursor cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) levels.
Furthermore, we found for the first time that LF and LF-hyd treatments increased
both ApoE secretion and ATP-binding cassette A1 (ABCA1) protein levels in the
brains of J20 mice and in primary astrocyte cultures. Moreover, LF and LF-hyd
promoted extracellular degradation of Aβ in primary astrocyte cultures. These
findings indicate that the reduction in Aβ levels in the brains of mice fed with
both the LF and LF-hyd diets may also be mediated by increased ApoE secretion
and ABCA1 protein levels, which in turn leads to the enhanced degradation of Aβ
in the brains of J20 mice. Our findings suggest that LF and LF-hyd can be used
for the treatment and/or prevention of the development of AD" - See
lactoferrin at Amazon.com.
-
First Evidence Dietary
Flavonols Linked to Lower Alzheimer Risk - Medscape, 1/30/20 -
"Kaempferol, isorhamnetin, and myricetin may not be
household names, but investigators at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago,
Illinois, found that for those who reported diets highest in these flavonols,
the rate of incident AD was 48% lower than that of their counterparts who
consumed the lowest levels of these dietary compounds ... Kale, beans, spinach,
apples, olive oil, and tomato sauce are among the sources richest of these
flavonols"
-
Can
lithium halt progression of Alzheimer's disease? - Science Daily, 1.25/20 -
"when given in a formulation that facilitates passage to
the brain, lithium in doses up to 400 times lower than what is currently being
prescribed for mood disorders is capable of both halting signs of advanced
Alzheimer's pathology such as amyloid plaques and of recovering lost cognitive
abilities ... While it is unlikely that any medication will revert the
irreversible brain damage at the clinical stages of Alzheimer's it is very
likely that a treatment with microdoses of encapsulated lithium should have
tangible beneficial effects at early, preclinical stages of the disease"
- See lithium supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Theanine, the Main Amino
Acid in Tea, Prevents Stress-Induced Brain Atrophy by Modifying Early Stress
Responses - Nutrients. 2020 Jan 8;12(1) - "Npas4 and
Lcn2 are involved in the brain atrophy and stress vulnerability of SAMP10 mice,
which are prevented by the consumption of theanine, causing changes in the
expression of these genes" - See theanine at Amazon.com.
-
Keep
exercising: New study finds it's good for your brain's gray matter - Science
Daily, 1/2/20 - "Brain tissue is made up of gray matter,
or cell bodies, and filaments, called white matter, that extend from the cells.
The volume of gray matter appears to correlate with various skills and cognitive
abilities. The researchers found that increases in peak oxygen uptake were
strongly associated with increased gray matter volume ... The results suggest
cardiorespiratory exercise may contribute to improved brain health and
decelerate a decline in gray matter. An editorial by three Mayo Clinic experts
that accompanies the Mayo Clinic Proceedings study says the results are
"encouraging, intriguing and contribute to the growing literature relating to
exercise and brain health." ... According to Mayo Clinic experts, moderate and
regular exercise -- about 150 minutes per week -- is recommended. Good
cardiorespiratory fitness also involves: Not smoking ... Following healthy
eating habits ... Losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight level ...
Managing blood pressure and avoiding hypertension ... Controlling cholesterol
levels ... Reducing blood sugar, which over time can damage your heart and other
organs"
-
Association of
Strawberries and Anthocyanidin Intake with Alzheimer's Dementia Risk -
Nutrients. 2019 Dec 14;11(12) - "A total of 245
participants developed Alzheimer's dementia over the mean follow-up of 6.7
(±3.6) years. Higher strawberry intake was associated with reduced risk of
Alzheimer's dementia (HR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.60-0.96). In separate adjusted
models, highest vs. lowest quartile intakes of Vitamin C (HR = 0.64, 95% CI:
0.45, 0.92), Pelargonidin (0.63, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.92), total anthocyanidins
(0.69, 95% CI: 0.48, 0.99), and total flavonoids (0.67, 95% CI: 0.46, 0.98) were
each associated with lower Alzheimer's dementia risk" - See
fisetin at
Amazon.com.
-
Genistein protects
against amyloid-beta-induced toxicity in SH-SY5Y cells by regulation of Akt and
Tau phosphorylation - Phytother Res. 2019 Dec 3 -
"Differentiated SH-SY5Y cells were pre-treated for 24 hr with genistein (1 and
10 nM) and exposed to Aβ25-35 (25 μM), and we found that genistein partially
inhibited Aβ induced cell death, primarily apoptosis. Furthermore, the
protective effect of genistein was associated with the inhibition of Aβ-induced
Akt inactivation and Tau hyperphosphorylation. These findings reinforce the
neuroprotective effects of genistein against Aβ toxicity and provide evidence
that its mechanism may involve regulation of Akt and Tau proteins" - See
genistein at Amazon.com.
-
Consider Vitamin D in
Alzheimer's Prevention and Management - Medscape, 11/18/19 -
"A recent study from China suggests that there actually
may be a role for vitamin D supplementation in this area. Investigators
randomized 210 people (105 in each arm) with Alzheimer's disease to 800 IU/day
of vitamin D or placebo for 12 months. They looked not only at the potential
beneficial effects of vitamin D supplementation on cognitive function, but also
at its impact on Alzheimer's disease biomarkers like amyloid beta. Although the
study was small and conducted at only one center, it was nonetheless positive in
showing that vitamin D supplementation not only improved various measures of
cognitive function in people already diagnosed with the earliest phases of
Alzheimer's, but it also had a positive impact on Alzheimer's disease
biomarkers" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Curiosity, Skepticism Over
New Algae-Derived Chinese Alzheimer's Drug - Medscape, 11/14/19 -
"Oligomannate is a drug manufactured from an
oligosaccharide extracted from marine algae and is the first novel drug approved
for AD globally since 2003 ... The drug works on the gut microbiome. It
reportedly reconditions dysbiosis of gut microbiota, inhibits the abnormal
increase of intestinal flora metabolites, and modulates peripheral and central
inflammation, thereby reducing amyloid protein deposition and tau
hyperphosphorylation to improve cognitive function" - See
oligosaccharide at Amazon.com.
-
Potential vitamin and Alzheimer's drug produced in yeast - Science Daily,
11/11/19 - "Ergothioneine is a natural amino acid with
antioxidative properties. It prevents cellular stress, which can lead to brain
diseases, neurological damage and cancer. In rats and roundworms, research shows
that ergothioneine has promising effects in preventing neurodegenerative
diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's. Also, it has been reported that
patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases have significantly lower
blood levels of ergothioneine than others. These findings suggest that
ergothioneine might have great potential as a vitamin to prevent or delay the
onset of those diseases ... Currently, it is both complicated and expensive to
produce ergothioneine with chemical synthesis. However, by engineering and
optimising baker's yeast, scientists from The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for
Biosustainability (DTU Biosustain) has for the first time exploited the
potential of making ergothioneine in yeast in a bio-based fashion" - See
ergothioneine at Amazon.com.
-
High-salt diet promotes cognitive impairment through the Alzheimer-linked
protein tau - Science Daily, 10/23/19 - "The 2018 study found that a
high-salt diet caused dementia in mice. The rodents became unable to complete
daily living tasks such as building their nests and had problems passing memory
tests. The research team determined that the high-salt diet was causing cells in
the small intestine to release the molecule interleukin-17 (IL-17), which
promotes inflammation as part of the body's immune response ... IL-17 then
entered the bloodstream and prevented the cells in the walls of blood vessels
feeding the brain from producing nitric oxide. This compound works by relaxing
and widening the blood vessels, allowing blood to flow. Conversely, a shortage
of nitric oxide can restrict blood flow ... Based on these findings, Dr. Iadecola, Dr. Faraco and their colleagues theorized that salt likely caused
dementia in mice because it contributed to restricted blood flow to the brain,
essentially starving it"
-
A Curcumin Analog Reduces
Levels of the Alzheimer's Disease-Associated Amyloid-β Protein by Modulating
AβPP Processing and Autophagy - J Alzheimers Dis. 2019 Oct 17 -
"Curcumin is a natural compound primarily found in the
widely used culinary spice, turmeric, which displays therapeutic potential for
AD. Recently, we reported the development of curcumin analogs and identified a
lead compound, curcumin-like compound-R17 (CLC-R17), that significantly
attenuates Aβ deposition in an AD transgenic mouse model. Here, we elucidated
the mechanisms of this analog on Aβ levels and AβPP processing using cell models
of AD. Using biochemical methods and our recently developed nanoplasmonic fiber
tip probe technology, we showed that the lead compound potently lowers Aβ levels
in conditioned media and reduces oligomeric amyloid levels in the cells.
Furthermore, like curcumin, the lead compound attenuates the maturation of AβPP
in the secretory pathway. Interestingly, it upregulated α-secretase processing
of AβPP and inhibited β-secretase processing of AβPP by decreasing BACE1 protein
levels. Collectively, our data reveal mechanisms of a promising curcumin analog
in reducing Aβ levels, which strongly support its development as a potential
therapeutic for AD" - See curcumin at
Amazon.com.
-
Treatment of metabolic dysfunction could be a potential therapy for Alzheimer's
disease - Science Daily, 10/17/19 - "metabolic defects occur well before any
significant increase in the amount of amyloid-beta protein could be detected.
The research used a tiny worm called Caenorhabditis elegans to identify these
changes because it shares many similarities at the molecular level with human
cells. A further breakthrough came when the team found that treatment of the
worms with a common anti-diabetes drug called Metformin reversed these metabolic
defects and normalised the worms' healthspan and lifespan"
-
Flavanol-rich lychee
fruit extract substantially reduces progressive cognitive and molecular deficits
in a triple-transgenic animal model of Alzheimer disease - Nutr Neurosci.
2019 Oct 11:1-15 - "Effective treatment to prevent or
arrest the advance of Alzheimer disease (AD) has yet to be discovered. We
investigated whether OligonolR, an FDA-approved flavanol-rich extract prepared
from lychee fruit and green tea, exerted beneficial effects relevant to AD in a
triple transgenic male mouse model of AD (3×Tg-AD). At 9 months of age,
untreated 3×Tg-AD mice vs. wild-type (WT) controls displayed cognitive deficits
in behavioral assays and, at 12 months, elevated levels of hippocampal amyloid
beta-protein (Aβ), amyloid precursor protein (APP), tau phosphorylation, and
pro-inflammatory cytokines. 3×Tg-AD mice given Oligonol showed fewer cognitive
deficits and attenuated pathological indices at 12 months. Oligonol treatment of
3×Tg-AD mice modulated expression of some critical brain proteins that involve
multiple pathways relevant to mitochondrial dysfunction, proteasomal failure,
endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and synaptic impairment. Together, these
results demonstrate that continuous Oligonol treatment attenuates AD-like
pathology and cognitive impairment of 3×Tg-AD mice and set the stage for
clinical trials of this flavanol-rich plant extract in patients with early AD"
- See Oligonol at Amazon.com.
-
Common
nutrient supplementation may hold the answers to combating Alzheimer's disease
- Science Daily, 9/27/19 - "when these mice are given
high choline in their diet throughout life, they exhibit improvements in spatial
memory, compared with those receiving a normal choline regimen ... Choline acts
to protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease in at least two ways, both of
which are explored in the new study. First, choline blocks the production of
amyloid-beta plaques. Amyloid-beta plaques are the hallmark pathology observed
in Alzheimer's disease ... Secondly, choline supplementation reduces the
activation of microglia. Over-activation of microglia causes brain inflammation
and can eventually lead to neuronal death, thereby compromising cognitive
function. Choline supplementation reduces the activation of microglia, offering
further protection from the ravages of AD ... it is well understood that
Alzheimer's disease causes harm to the brain long before clinical symptoms are
made evident. And once these symptoms are identified, it is too late -- the
disease has become irreversible. In addition to causing disorientation and
memory loss, the disease causes loss of motor control in those who are afflicted
... This study shows that the simple addition of choline in the diet throughout
life may reduce AD pathology in those most affected by the disease ... The
current established adequate intake level of choline for adult women (>19yrs of
age) is 425mg/day, and 550mg/day for adult men. A converging line of evidence
indicates that even the current recommended daily intake (RDI) may not be
optimal for a proper aging process, especially in women ... The tolerable upper
limit (TUL) of choline unlikely to cause side effects for adult females and
males (>19yrs of age) is 3500mg/day, which is 8.24 times higher than the
425mg/day recommendation for females and 6.36 times higher than the 550mg/day
recommendation for males ... vitamin supplements containing choline, for example
choline bitartrate and choline chloride, are widely available at affordable
costs. The vitamin supplements containing choline are particularly relevant for
those who are on plant-based diets" - See
citicholine at Amazon.com
 .
-
Bacopa
monnieri, a Neuroprotective Lead in Alzheimer Disease: A Review on Its
Properties, Mechanisms of Action, and Preclinical and Clinical Studies -
Drug Target Insights. 2019 Jul 31 - "Many
traditional plants especially B monnieri have intricate mixtures of chemical
compounds, which exhibit various pharmacological and biological activities.
They have been used as traditional medicines and for anti-aging. According
to the long-established hypothesis, plant compounds are able to maintain the
fundamental vitality in the body and have various neuroprotective mechanisms
that empower them to be used as part of our well-being. This review reveals
the effective use of B monnieri in cognition and neuroprotection and its
phytoconstituents that can be used in novel drug discovery" - [Nutra
USA] - See Bacopa monnieri at
Amazon.com. 4.8/5.0 stars with 297 reviews:
-
Diet's
effect on gut bacteria could play role in reducing Alzheimer's risk -
Science Daily, 9/3/19 - "a modified Mediterranean-ketogenic
diet produced changes in the gut microbiome and its metabolites that correlated
with reduced levels of Alzheimer's markers in the members of both study groups"
-
Probiotics for the
Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes: A Review of Randomized Controlled Trials -
Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2019 Aug 29 - "Based on the
evidence reviewed, multi-strain probiotics that contain seven million to 100
billion colony forming units of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Streptococcus
thermophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and/or Bifidobacterium lactis
administered for six to twelve weeks may be efficacious for improving glycemic
control in adults with T2DM" - See
probiotic products at Amazon.com.
-
Suggested move to plant-based diets risks worsening brain health nutrient
deficiency - Science Daily, 8/29/19 - "To make
matters worse, the UK government has failed to recommend or monitor dietary
levels of this nutrient -- choline -- found predominantly in animal foods ...
Choline is an essential dietary nutrient, but the amount produced by the liver
is not enough to meet the requirements of the human body ... Choline is critical
to brain health, particularly during fetal development. It also influences liver
function, with shortfalls linked to irregularities in blood fat metabolism as
well as excess free radical cellular damage ... The primary sources of dietary
choline are found in beef, eggs, dairy products, fish, and chicken, with much
lower levels found in nuts, beans, and cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli
... In 1998, recognising the importance of choline, the US Institute of Medicine
recommended minimum daily intakes. These range from 425 mg/day for women to 550
mg/day for men, and 450 mg/day and 550 mg/day for pregnant and breastfeeding
women, respectively" - See
citicholine at Amazon.com.
-
How Exercise Lowers
the Risk of Alzheimer’s by Changing Your Brain - Time, 8/9/19 -
"Through a series of studies, the team has been building
knowledge about which biological processes seem to change with exercise.
Okonkwo’s latest findings show that improvements in aerobic fitness mitigated
one of the physiological brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s: the slowing
down of how neurons breakdown glucose ... But they found that in people who
reported exercising at moderate intensity at least 150 minutes a week, as public
health experts recommend, brain scans showed that these changes were
significantly reduced and in some cases non-existent compared to people who were
not active ... In yet another previous study, Okonkwo and his team also found
that people with higher aerobic fitness showed lower amounts of white matter
hyperintensities, brain changes that are signs of neuron degeneration and show
up as brighter spots on MRI images (hence the name). White matter
hyperintensities tend to increase in the brain with age, and are more common in
people with dementia or cognitive impairment. They form as neurons degrade and
the myelin that surrounds their long-reaching arms—which helps nerves
communicate with each other effectively—starts to deteriorate. In people with
dementia, that process happens faster than normal, leading to an increase in
white matter hyperintensities. Okonwko found that people who were more
aerobically fit showed lower amounts of these hyperintensities than people who
were less fit."
-
Dietary
choline associates with reduced risk of dementia - Science Daily, 8/6/19 -
"The new study now shows that the risk of dementia was 28% lower in men with the
highest intake of dietary phosphatidylcholine, when compared to men with the
lowest intake. Men with the highest intake of dietary phosphatidylcholine also
excelled in tests measuring their memory and linguistic abilities" - See
phosphatidylcholine at Amazon.com.
-
Role of Resveratrol and
Selenium on Oxidative Stress and Expression of Antioxidant and Anti-Aging Genes
in Immortalized Lymphocytes from Alzheimer's Disease Patients -
Nutrients. 2019 Jul 31;11(8) - "Oxidative damage is
involved in the pathophysiology of age-related ailments, including Alzheimer's
disease (AD). Studies have shown that the brain tissue and also lymphocytes from
AD patients present increased oxidative stress compared to healthy controls
(HCs). Here, we use lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) from AD patients and HCs to
investigate the role of resveratrol (RV) and selenium (Se) in the reduction of
reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated after an oxidative injury ... AD LCLs
showed higher ROS levels than those from HCs in response to H2O2 and FeSO4
oxidative insults. RV triggered a protective response against ROS under control
and oxidizing conditions, whereas Se exerted antioxidant effects only in AD LCLs
under oxidizing conditions. RV increased the expression of genes encoding known
antioxidants (catalase, copper chaperone for superoxide dismutase 1, glutathione
S-transferase zeta 1) and anti-aging factors (sirtuin 1 and sirtuin 3) in both
AD and HC LCLs. Our findings support RV as a candidate for inducing resilience
and protection against AD, and reinforce the value of LCLs as a feasible
peripheral cell model for understanding the protective mechanisms of
nutraceuticals against oxidative stress in aging and AD" - See
resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
-
Gum Disease Bacteria a
Novel Treatment Target for Alzheimer's? - Medscape, 7/22/19 -
"As more disappointing results emerge from anti-amyloid
drug trials in Alzheimer's disease (AD), there is growing interest in novel
treatment approaches for this condition ... One such approach is based on the
hypothesis that Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), the bacteria involved in
periodontal disease, may cause AD ... Almost 100% of the samples from
Alzheimer's patients had Pg, and about one third or maybe 40% of the control
brains had Pg"
-
Tyrosol Reduces Amyloid-β
Oligomer Neurotoxicity and Alleviates Synaptic, Oxidative, and Cognitive
Disturbances in Alzheimer's Disease Model Mice - J Alzheimers Dis. 2019 Jun
21 - "Rhodiola rosea extracts and one of its main constituents, tyrosol,
significantly inhibited AβO-induced caspase-3 activation ... Immunohistochemical
analysis revealed that the immunoreactivity of spinophilin, a dendritic synaptic
protein, was significantly reduced in three hippocampal subregions of
vehicle-treated AD mice compared with non-transgenic mice, which was reversed in
tyrosol-treated AD mice. Tyrosol treatment also prevented the enhancement of
4-hydroxy-2-nonenal immunoreactivity in the hippocampal CA3 region of AD mice.
By contrast, tyrosol administration did not affect Aβ accumulation, as evaluated
by immunohistochemical and biochemical analyses. Moreover, the Barnes maze test
showed that tyrosol administration modestly mitigated spatial memory impairment
in AD mice. These findings collectively indicate that the natural agent tyrosol
protects neurons against AβO neurotoxicity in vitro and ameliorates synaptic
disturbance, oxidative stress responses, and cognitive impairment in vivo. We
thus suggest that tyrosol is potentially an effective, safe, and unique drug
candidate for AD" - See
Rhodiola rosea at Amazon.com.
-
Acute Sleep Loss Increases
Blood Levels of Alzheimer's Biomarker - Medscape, 6/11/19 -
"Acute sleep loss results in increased plasma levels of
tau, which has been proposed as a biomarker to assess subsequent risk of
Alzheimer's disease (AD) ... This may be because of "increased neuronal activity
that's required to sustain wakefulness during the night ... We noted an evening
to morning increase in plasma levels of total tau following the acute sleep loss
condition, while levels of total tau decreased in the normal sleep condition,
such that there was a significant change in the evening to morning levels
between these two conditions"
-
Neuroprotective Potential
of Curcumin-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carrier in an Animal Model of
Alzheimer's Disease: Behavioral and Biochemical Evidence - J Alzheimers
Dis. 2019;69(3):671-686 - "Alzheimer's disease (AD) is
one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases and is caused by accumulation
of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and is associated with neurological abnormalities in
learning and memory. The protective role of curcumin on nerve cells, along with
a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity, has been widely
studied. However, its low bioavailability and limited transport ability across
the blood-brain barrier are two major drawbacks of its application in the
treatment of different neurodegenerative diseases. The present study was
designed to improve the effectiveness of curcumin in the treatment of Aβ-induced
cognitive deficiencies in a rat model of AD by loading it into nanostructured
lipid carriers (NLCs) ... The result of studying the neuroprotective potential
of Cur-NLC in both pre-treatment and treatment modes showed that loading
curcumin in NLCs is an effective strategy for increasing curcumin delivery to
the brain and reducing Aβ-induced neurological abnormalities and memory defects
and that it can be the basis for further studies in the area of AD prevention
and treatment"
-
Lithium as a Treatment
for Alzheimer's Disease: The Systems Pharmacology Perspective - J
Alzheimers Dis. 2019;69(3):615-62 - "Lithium chloride, a
pharmacological compound approved for the therapy of psychiatric disorders,
represents a poorly explored compound for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease
(AD). Lithium has been shown to reduce downstream effects associated with the
aberrant overactivation of certain molecular pathways, such as glycogen synthase
kinase 3 subunit β (GSK3-β)-related pathways, involved in AD-related
pathophysiology. It seems that overactivation and overexpression of GSK3-β lead
to an impairment of long-term potentiation and amyloid-β induced neurotoxicity
that can be normalized using lithium. Moreover, a growing body of evidence has
demonstrated that lithium's GSK3-β inhibitory effect prevents tau
phosphorylation in mouse models of tauopathies. Clinical data have been
inconclusive, partly due to methodological limitations. The lack of studies
exploring the dynamics of protein misfolding in AD and investigating the
specific tau-isoforms appearing prior to the accumulation of neurofibrillary
tangles calls for new and optimized clinical trials. Advanced computer modeling
based on a formal implementation of quantitative parameters and basic enzymatic
insights into a mechanism-based model would present a good start to tackle these
non-linear interactions. This innovative approach will pave the way for
developing "molecularly" biomarker-guided targeted therapies, i.e., treatments
specifically adapted ("tailored") to the individual, consistently with the
primary objectives and key conceptual points of precision medicine and precision
pharmacology" - See lithium supplements
at Amazon.com.
-
Brush
your teeth -- postpone Alzheimer's - Science Daily, 6/3/19 -
"We discovered DNA-based proof that the bacteria causing
gingivitis can move from the mouth to the brain ... The bacteria produces a
protein that destroys nerve cells in the brain, which in turn leads to loss of
memory and ultimately, Alzheimer´s ... Brush your teeth and use floss ... Mydel and his colleagues examined 53
persons with Alzheimer´s and discovered the enzyme in 96 per cent of the cases." -
Err! They keep ignoring the fact that there's little evidence flossing
helps. I'm for dipping GUM Go-Betweens
in
Periogard and going between the teeth. You'll need to get a
prescription for the Periogard from a dentist.
-
Medical benefits of dental floss unproven - Washington Post, 8/2/16 -
"The AP looked at the most rigorous research conducted
over the past decade, focusing on 25 studies that generally compared the use of
a toothbrush with the combination of toothbrushes and floss. The findings? The
evidence for flossing is “weak, very unreliable,” of “very low” quality, and
carries “a moderate to large potential for bias.” ... The majority of available
studies fail to demonstrate that flossing is generally effective in plaque
removal"
-
Metformin Improves
Learning and Memory in the SAMP8 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease - J
Alzheimers Dis. 2019 Apr 3 - "Diabetics are at an increased risk of developing
dementia. Recent epidemiological studies suggest that metformin treatment
prevents cognitive decline in diabetics ... Preclinical studies suggest
metformin reduces Alzheimer-like pathology in mouse models of Alzheimer's
disease (AD). In the current study ... Metformin significantly increased
pGSK-3βser9 at 200 mg/kg, and decreased Aβ at 20 mg/kg and pTau404 and APPc99 at
both 20 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg ... Metformin improved learning and memory in the
SAMP8 mouse model of spontaneous onset AD. Biochemical analysis indicates that
metformin improved memory by decreasing APPc99 and pTau"
-
Homocysteine Status
Modifies the Treatment Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Cognition in a
Randomized Clinical Trial in Mild to Moderate Alzheimer's Disease: The OmegAD
Study - J Alzheimers Dis. 2019 Apr 1 - "The effect
of ω3-FA supplementation on MMSE and CDR appears to be influenced by baseline
tHcy, suggesting that adequate B vitamin status is required to obtain beneficial
effects of ω3-FA on cognition" - See B
complex supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Gum
bacteria implicated in Alzheimer's and other diseases - Science Daily,
4/7/19 - "The researchers compared brain samples from
deceased people with and without Alzheimer's disease who were roughly the same
age when they died. They found P. gingivalis was more common in samples from
Alzheimer's patients, evidenced by the bacterium's DNA fingerprint and the
presence of its key toxins, known as gingipains ... In studies using mice, they
showed P. gingivalis can move from the mouth to the brain and that this
migration can be blocked by chemicals that interact with gingipains ... P.
gingivalis commonly begins to infiltrate the gums during the teenage years.
About one in five people under age 30 have low levels of the bacterium in their
gums. While it is not harmful in most people, if it grows to large numbers the
bacteria provoke the body's immune system to create inflammation, leading to
redness, swelling, bleeding and the erosion of gum tissue ... The best way to
prevent P. gingivalis from growing out of control is by brushing and flossing
regularly and visiting a dental hygienist at least once a year"
-
Could Common Germs Be Tied to Alzheimer's? - WebMD, 3/7/19 -
"They found that people who had had gum disease for 10
years were 70% more likely to develop Alzheimer's. However, the study did not
say that gum disease caused Alzheimer’s" - Note: I'm all for oral
hygiene but this may be the chicken or the egg. People whose minds are
slipping may also be neglecting oral hygiene.
-
Keeping
active in middle age may be tied to lower risk of dementia - Science Daily,
2/25/19 - "women with a high level of mental activities
were 46 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and 34 percent less
likely to develop dementia overall than the women with the low level of mental
activities. The women who were physically active were 52 percent less likely to
develop dementia with cerebrovascular disease and 56 percent less likely to
develop mixed dementia than the women who were inactive"
-
Native
California medicinal plant may hold promise for treating Alzheimer's -
Science Daily, 2/20/19 - "Through the screen, the lab identified a molecule
called sterubin as Yerba santa's most active component. The researchers tested
sterubin and other plant extracts for their impact on energy depletion in mouse
nerve cells, as well as other age-associated neurotoxicity and survival pathways
directly related to the reduced energy metabolism, accumulation of misfolded,
aggregated proteins and inflammation seen in Alzheimer's. Sterubin had a potent
anti-inflammatory impact on brain cells known as microglia. It was also an
effective iron remover -- potentially beneficial because iron can contribute to
nerve cell damage in aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Overall, the compound
was effective against multiple inducers of cell death in the nerve cells,
according to Maher ... This is a compound that was known but ignored ... Not
only did sterubin turn out to be much more active than the other flavonoids in
Yerba santa in our assays, it appears as good as, if not better than, other
flavonoids we have studied" - See Yerba santa
at Amazon.com.
-
How
exercise may protect against Alzheimer's - Science Daily, 2/8/19 -
"A few years ago, exercise researchers discovered a
hormone called irisin that is released into the circulation during physical
activity. Initial studies suggested that irisin mainly played a role in energy
metabolism. But newer research found that the hormone may also promote neuronal
growth in the brain's hippocampus, a region critical for learning and memory ...
irisin is present in the human hippocampus and that hippocampal levels of the
hormone are reduced in individuals with Alzheimer's ... irisin, in mice,
protects the brain's synapses and the animals' memory: When irisin was disabled
in the hippocampus of healthy mice, synapses and memory weakened. Similarly,
boosting brain levels of irisin improved both measures of brain health ... mice
who swam nearly every day for five weeks did not develop memory impairment
despite getting infusions of beta amyloid -- the neuron-clogging, memory-robbing
protein implicated in Alzheimer's ... Blocking irisin with a drug completely
eliminated the benefits of swimming, the researchers also found"
-
Gum Disease Bacteria Found in Alzheimer's Brains - WebMD, 1/15/19 -
"Tests
on mice confirmed the bacteria, Porphyromonas gingivalis could migrate from the
mouth to the brain and that a toxic protein they secrete (gingipain) destroyed
brain neurons ... The bacteria also boosted production of amyloid beta, a
component of brain plaques associated with Alzheimer's ... The study adds to
evidence of a link between gum disease and dementia, but it's still not clear if
gum disease bacteria actually trigger Alzheimer's ... Previous studies linking
gum disease with dementia include one published last year that found that people
with chronic gum disease for 10 years or more had a 70 percent higher risk of
Alzheimer's than those without gum disease" - Note: See a dental
hygienist. Ask them about soaking Gum
Go-Betweens in
Periogard to get the bacteria between your teeth.
-
Essential nutrient may help fight Alzheimer's across generations - Science
Daily, 1/8/19 - "The study focuses on mice bred to display AD-like symptoms.
Results showed that when these mice are given high choline in their diet, their
offspring show improvements in spatial memory, compared with those receiving a
normal choline regimen in the womb ... Remarkably, the beneficial effects of
choline supplementation appear to be transgenerational, not only protecting mice
receiving choline supplementation during gestation and lactation, but also the
subsequent offspring of these mice ... While this second generation received no
direct choline supplementation, they nevertheless reaped the benefits of
treatment, likely due to inherited modifications in their genes ... First,
choline reduces levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that can act as a potent
neurotoxin, contributing to the hallmarks of AD: neurodegeneration and the
formation of amyloid plaques ... Secondly, choline supplementation reduces the
activation of microglia -- cells responsible for clearing away debris in the
brain. While their housekeeping functions are essential to brain health,
activated microglia can get out of control, as they typically do during AD.
Over-activation of microglia causes brain inflammation and can eventually lead
to neuronal death" - See choline at Amazon.com.
-
Drinking coffee may reduce your chances of developing Alzheimer's, Parkinson's
- Science Daily, 11/5/18 - "The team chose to
investigate three different types of coffee -- light roast, dark roast, and
decaffeinated dark roast ... The caffeinated and de-caffeinated dark roast both
had identical potencies in our initial experimental tests ... Dr. Mancini then
identified a group of compounds known as phenylindanes, which emerge as a result
of the roasting process for coffee beans. Phenylindanes are unique in that they
are the only compound investigated in the study that prevent -- or rather,
inhibit -- both beta amyloid and tau, two protein fragments common in
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, from clumping ... So phenylindanes are a
dual-inhibitor ... As roasting leads to higher quantities of phenylindanes, dark
roasted coffee appears to be more protective than light roasted coffee"
-
Link
found between chronic inflammation and risk for Alzheimer's disease -
Science Daily, 10/18/18 - "ApoE4 linked with chronic
inflammation dramatically increases the risk for AD. This can be detected by
sequential measurements of C-reactive protein, a common clinical test which can
be could be done routinely in a clinical setting ... Since many elders have
chronic low-grade inflammation after suffering from common diseases like
cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, pneumonia and urinary tract infection, or
after having surgeries, rigorously treating chronic systemic inflammation in
ApoE4 carriers could be effective for prevention of Alzheimer's dementia"
- See my inflammation page and
c-reactive protein page for ways to reduce it.
-
NAD+ supplementation
normalizes key Alzheimer's features and DNA damage responses in a new AD mouse
model with introduced DNA repair deficiency - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018
Feb 20 - "NR-treated 3xTgAD/Polβ+/- mice exhibited
reduced DNA damage, neuroinflammation, and apoptosis of hippocampal neurons and
increased activity of SIRT3 in the brain. NR improved cognitive function in
multiple behavioral tests and restored hippocampal synaptic plasticity in 3xTgAD
mice and 3xTgAD/Polβ+/- mice. In general, the deficits between genotypes and the
benefits of NR were greater in 3xTgAD/Polβ+/- mice than in 3xTgAD mice. Our
findings suggest a pivotal role for cellular NAD+ depletion upstream of
neuroinflammation, pTau, DNA damage, synaptic dysfunction, and neuronal
degeneration in AD. Interventions that bolster neuronal NAD+ levels therefore
have therapeutic potential for AD" - [Nutra
USA] - See nicotinomide riboside at
Amazon.com.
-
Brain pathology is
related to total daily physical activity in older adults - Neurology. 2018
Apr 25 - "Macroinfarcts, nigral neuronal loss, and white matter pathologies are
related to total daily physical activity in older adults, but further studies
are needed to explain its pathologic basis more fully"
-
The effects of
astaxanthin and docosahexaenoic acid-acylated astaxanthin on Alzheimer's disease
in APP/PS1 double transgenic mice - J Agric Food Chem. 2018 Apr 25 -
"The
results of radial 8-arm maze and Morris water maze tests showed that AST-DHA
exerted more significant effects than AST in enhancing learning and memory
levels of APP/PS1 mice. Further mechanical studies suggested that AST-DHA was
superior to AST in regulating the parameters of oxidative stress, reducing Tau
hyper-phosphorylation, suppressing neuro-inflammation and regulating
inflammasome expression and activation in APP/PS1 mice. The findings suggested
AST-DHA attenuated cognitive disorders by reducing pathological features in
APP/PS1 mice, suggesting AST-DHA might be a potential therapeutic agent for
Alzheimer's disease" - See
astaxanthin at Amazon.com
and
docosahexaenoic acid at Amazon.com.
-
Curcumin's Cognitive
Benefits Look Convincing - Medscape, 3/1/18 - "The philosophy behind this
new nanoparticle version of curcumin (Theracumin®) is that it will lead to
better absorption. When this trial was performed, not only did the patients who
were randomized to the active form of curcumin have improved memory function at
18 months, but they actually had less amyloid in specific parts of their brain
that correlated with Alzheimer's disease." - See
Theracumin�� curcumin at Amazon.com.
-
Largest
study of its kind finds alcohol use biggest risk factor for dementia -
Science Daily, 2/20/18 - "The findings indicate that
heavy drinking and alcohol use disorders are the most important risk factors for
dementia, and especially important for those types of dementia which start
before age 65, and which lead to premature deaths ... on average, alcohol use
disorders shorten life expectancy by more than 20 years, and dementia is one of
the leading causes of death for these people ... Screening for and reduction of
problem drinking, and treatment for alcohol use disorders need to start much
earlier in primary care"
-
Poor
fitness linked to weaker brain fiber, higher dementia risk - Science Daily,
2/14/18 - "a new study from UT Southwestern's O'Donnell
Brain Institute suggests that the lower the fitness level, the faster the
deterioration of vital nerve fibers in the brain. This deterioration results in
cognitive decline, including memory issues characteristic of dementia patients
... This research supports the hypothesis that improving people's fitness may
improve their brain health and slow down the aging process ... lower fitness
levels were associated with weaker white matter, which in turn correlated with
lower brain function"
-
The Startling Link Between Sugar and Alzheimer's - The Atlantic, 1/26/18 -
"A longitudinal study, published Thursday in the journal
Diabetologia, followed 5,189 people over 10 years and found that people with
high blood sugar had a faster rate of cognitive decline than those with normal
blood sugar—whether or not their blood-sugar level technically made them
diabetic. In other words, the higher the blood sugar, the faster the cognitive
decline ... People who have type 2 diabetes are about twice as likely to get
Alzheimer’s, and people who have diabetes and are treated with insulin are also
more likely to get Alzheimer’s, suggesting elevated insulin plays a role in
Alzheimer’s. In fact, many studies have found that elevated insulin, or “hyperinsulinemia,”
significantly increases your risk of Alzheimer’s ... The group that ate the most
carbs had an 80 percent higher chance of developing mild cognitive impairment—a
pit stop on the way to dementia—than those who ate the smallest amount of carbs"
- See my Insulin and Aging page.
-
Curcumin improves memory and mood - Science Daily, 1/23/18 -
"The double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved 40
adults between the ages of 50 and 90 years who had mild memory complaints.
Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or 90 milligrams
of curcumin twice daily for 18 months ... The people who took curcumin
experienced significant improvements in their memory and attention abilities,
while the subjects who received placebo did not, Small said. In memory tests,
the people taking curcumin improved by 28 percent over the 18 months. Those
taking curcumin also had mild improvements in mood, and their brain PET scans
showed significantly less amyloid and tau signals in the amygdala and
hypothalamus than those who took placebos" - [Nutra
USA] [Abstract] - See
curcumin products at Amazon.com.
-
Diabetes drug 'significantly reverses memory loss' in mice with Alzheimer's
- Science Daily, 1/1/18 - "Although the benefits of these 'triple agonist' drugs
have so far only been found in mice, other studies with existing diabetes drugs
such as liraglutide have shown real promise for people with Alzheimer's ... This
is the first time that a triple receptor drug has been used which acts in
multiple ways to protect the brain from degeneration. It combines GLP-1, GIP and
Glucagon which are all growth factors ...In a maze test, learning and memory
formation were much improved by the drug which also: ... enhanced levels of a
brain growth factor which protects nerve cell functioning ... reduced the amount
of amyloid plaques in the brain linked with Alzheimer's ... reduced both chronic
inflammation and oxidative stress ... slowed down the rate of nerve cell loss
... Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer's and has been implicated in
the progression of the disease. Impaired insulin has been linked to cerebral
degenerative processes in type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Insulin
desensitisation has also been observed in the Alzheimer's disease brain. The
desensitisation could play a role in the development of neurodegenerative
disorders as insulin is a growth factor with neuroprotective properties"
-
Trace
elements of lithium in drinking water linked to longer life in Alzheimer's
patients - Science Daily, 12/5/17 - "We found
counties that had above the median level of lithium in tap water (40 micrograms
per litre) experienced less increases in Alzheimer's disease mortality over
time, whereas counties below that median level had even higher increases in
Alzheimer's deaths over time ... The frequency of obesity and Type 2 diabetes
also went down when the drinking water contained similar lithium levels ...
Previous studies have demonstrated lithium's ability to protect against
Alzheimer's disease, obesity and diabetes ... The Brock research comes on the
heels of an August study from the University of Copenhagen linking high lithium
levels in drinking water to decreases in dementia rates" - See
lithium supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Resveratrol as a Natural
Autophagy Regulator for Prevention and Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease -
Nutrients. 2017 Aug 24;9(9) - "Although several
underlying mechanisms for explaining the pathogenesis of AD are elucidated, the
effective supplements or drugs for the intervention of AD are still limited.
Recently, impaired autophagy associated with miRNA dysfunction has been reported
to involve in aging and aging-related neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, the
activation of autophagy through effectively regulating miRNAs may become a
potential target for the prevention or treatment of AD. Mounting evidence from
in vitro and in vivo AD models has demonstrated that resveratrol, one of
polyphenolic compounds, can exert neuroprotective role in neurodegenerative
diseases especially AD" - See
resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
-
Lithium in Drinking Water
May Lower Dementia Risk - Medscape, 8/23/17 -
"Animal studies have shown that lithium improves learning and memory, and
observational studies suggest lithium may reduce the risk for dementia in
patients with bipolar disorder ... In addition, a randomized placebo-controlled
trial showed that daily treatment with subtherapeutic doses (150 to 600 mg) of
lithium has stabilizing effects in adults with mild cognitive impairment, while
a separate controlled trial showed that a microdose (300 µg/d) of lithium
stabilized cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer's disease ... The
hypothesis that a low lithium concentration in drinking water may protect
against dementia is "mechanistically plausible" as lithium effects many
biological pathways linked to neuroprogressive and neurodegenerative disorders"
- See
lithium supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Serotonin Loss May Drive
Cognitive Decline - Medscape, 8/22/17 - "In
comparison with control participants, for patients with MCI, levels of serotonin
transporters were lower in cortical and limbic areas that are typically affected
by pathologic processes in AD. Levels were also lower in sensory and motor
areas, the striatum, and the thalamus, which are relatively spared in AD"
- Note: So does that mean taking 5-HTP might help prevent Alzheimer's?
I don't think they know.
-
Running
rats remember better - Science Daily, 8/14/17 -
"Early life interventions that increase physical activity may therefore help to
build up this reserve, potentially delaying the onset of neurodegenerative
disorders such as Alzheimer's disease"
-
Effects of curcumin on
short-term spatial and recognition memory, adult neurogenesis and
neuroinflammation in a streptozotocin-induced rat model of dementia of
Alzheimer's type - Behav Brain Res. 2017 Aug 8 -
"These results suggest a positive effect of curcumin in object recognition
memory which was not related to hippocampal neurogenesis" - See
curcumin products at Amazon.com.
-
Using
omega 3 fatty acids to treat Alzheimer's and other diseases? - Science
Daily, 7/18/17 - "Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a key
essential Omega-3 fatty acid, produces signaling molecules called docosanoids in
response to disruptions in the state of equilibrium within cells caused by
injury or disease. Neuroprotectin D1 (NDP1) is a docosanoid that the Bazan lab
discovered and found protects neurons by controlling which and how certain genes
in the retina and brain respond ... The Minireview summarizes the effects of the
essential fatty acid family member DHA and its bioactive derivative NPD1 in the
context of a specific target of gene regulation. The authors also describe the
mechanism of a pathway of regulation by a bioactive lipid that has a significant
impact on cellular homeostasis -- how NPD1 activates pro-survival genes and
suppresses pro-death genes" - See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Natural
plant compound may reduce mental effects of aging, more evidence shows -
Science Daily, 7/10/17 - "At 10 months, the differences
between these two groups were striking ... Mice not treated with fisetin had
difficulties with all the cognitive tests as well as elevated markers of stress
and inflammation. Brain cells called astrocytes and microglia, which are
normally anti-inflammatory, were now driving rampant inflammation. Mice treated
with fisetin, on the other hand, were not noticeably different in behavior,
cognitive ability or inflammatory markers at 10 months than a group of untreated
3-month-old mice with the same condition. Additionally, the team found no
evidence of acute toxicity in the fisetin-treated mice, even at high doses of
the compound" - See fisetin at
Amazon.com.
-
Effects of Aged Garlic
Extract on Cholinergic, Glutamatergic and GABAergic Systems with Regard to
Cognitive Impairment in Aβ-Induced Rats - Nutrients. 2017 Jul 1;9(7)-
"AGE significantly improved
the working memory and tended to improve the reference memory in
cognitively-impaired rats. In addition, AGE significantly ameliorated the loss
of cholinergic neurons and increased the VGLUT1 and GAD levels in the
hippocampus of rat brains with Aβ-induced toxicity
... We concluded that AGE was able to attenuate the impairment of working memory
via the modification of cholinergic neurons, VGLUT1, and GAD in the hippocampus
of Aβ-induced rats" - See aged garlic at
Amazon.com.
-
Olive Oil Key Ingredient in
Alzheimer's Prevention? - Medscape, 6/27/17 - "mice
fed the EVOO-enriched diet performed significantly better at both 9 and 12
months on tests designed to assess working memory, spatial memory, and learning
abilities compared with mice fed regular chow ... The researchers also found a
statistically significant reduction in the amount of Aβ peptides deposited in
the brains of the EVOO-treated animals compared with controls ... There was also
a significant reduction in the phosphorylated forms of tau in mice fed the
EVOO-enriched chow compared to controls" - See
olive leaf extract at Amazon.com.
-
Can
omega-3 help prevent Alzheimer's disease? Brain SPECT imaging shows possible
link - Science Daily, 5/18/17 - "Overall, the study
showed positive relationships between omega-3 EPA+DHA status, brain perfusion,
and cognition ... This is very important research because it shows a correlation
between lower omega-3 fatty acid levels and reduced brain blood flow to regions
important for learning, memory, depression and dementia ... Although we have
considerable evidence that omega-3 levels are associated with better
cardiovascular health, the role of the 'fish oil' fatty acids in mental health
and brain physiology is just beginning to be explored. This study opens the door
to the possibility that relatively simple dietary changes could favorably impact
cognitive function" - See
fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Studies
link healthy brain aging to omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the blood -
Science Daily, 5/18/17 - "The team found correlations between blood levels of
three omega-3 fatty acids -- ALA, stearidonic acid and ecosatrienoic acid -- and
fluid intelligence in these adults. Further analyses revealed that the size of
the left frontoparietal cortex played a mediating role in this relationship.
People with higher blood levels of these three nutrients tended to have larger
left frontoparietal cortices, and the size of the frontoparietal cortex
predicted the subjects' performance on tests of fluid intelligence ... A lot of
research tells us that people need to be eating fish and fish oil to get
neuroprotective effects from these particular fats, but this new finding
suggests that even the fats that we get from nuts, seeds and oils can also make
a difference in the brain ... These findings have important implications for the
Western diet, which tends to be misbalanced with high amounts of omega-6 fatty
acids and low amounts of omega-3 fatty acids" - See
fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.
- Stearidonic
acid - Wikipedia - "Stearidonic acid (SDA) is an
ω-3 fatty acid, sometimes called moroctic acid. It is biosynthesized from
alpha-linolenic acid by the enzyme delta-6-desaturase. Natural sources of
this fatty acid are the seed oils of hemp, blackcurrant, corn gromwell[1]
and echium (although the plant is a source of stearidonic acid, it is toxic
for human consumption), and the cyanobacterium Spirulina"
-
Association of Serum
Manganese Levels with Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment:
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - Nutrients. 2017 Mar 3;9(3) -
"Manganese (Mn) is one of the most studied environmental
heavy metals linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD) ... health controls (HC).
Random-effects meta-analysis showed that patients with AD had significantly
reduced serum Mn levels compared with HC subjects ... Mn deficiency may be a
risk factor for AD" - See manganese at
Amazon.com.
-
Effects of pioglitazone
on the incidence of dementia in patients with diabetes - J Diabetes
Complications. 2017 Jan 20 - "The risk of dementia
decreased by 23% in the pioglitazone-treated cohort compared with that in the
comparison cohort after adjustment for age, sex, hypertension, and stroke
(adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.62-0.96). In
addition, the adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for dementia were 0.50 (0.34-0.75, P=.001)
in high-cumulative dose users, 0.53 (0.36-0.77, P<.001) in long-term users, and
0.66 (0.49-0.90, P=.009) in high-mean daily dose users"
-
White Ginseng Protects
Mouse Hippocampal Cells Against Amyloid-Beta Oligomer Toxicity - Phytother
Res. 2017 Jan 23 - "Amyloid-beta oligomer (AβO) is a
soluble oligomer form of the Aβ peptide and the most potent amyloid-beta form
that induces neuronal damage in Alzheimer's disease. We investigated the effect
of dried white ginseng extract (WGE) on neuronal cell damage and memory
impairment in intrahippocampal AβO (10 μM)-injected mice ... WGE improved memory
impairment by inhibiting hippocampal cell death caused by AβO. In addition,
AβO-injected mice treated with WGE showed restoration of reduced synaptophysin
and choline acetyltransferase intensity and lower levels of ionized
calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 in the hippocampus compared with those of
vehicle-treated controls. These results suggest that WGE reverses memory
impairment in Alzheimer's disease by attenuating neuronal damage and
neuroinflammation in the AβO-injected mouse hippocampus" - See
ginseng at Amazon.com.
-
B-Vitamin Intake and
Biomarker Status in Relation to Cognitive Decline in Healthy Older Adults in a
4-Year Follow-Up Study - Nutrients. 2017 Jan 10;9(1) -
"Participants (aged 60-88 years; n = 155) who had been
previously screened for cognitive function were reassessed four years after
initial investigation using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). At the
4-year follow-up assessment when participants were aged 73.4 ± 7.1 years, mean
cognitive MMSE scores had declined from 29.1 ± 1.3 at baseline to 27.5 ± 2.4 (p
< 0.001), but some 27% of participants showed a greater than expected rate of
cognitive decline (i.e., decrease in MMSE > 0.56 points per year). Lower vitamin
B6 status, as measured using pyridoxal-5-phosphate (PLP; <43 nmol/L) was
associated with a 3.5 times higher risk of accelerated cognitive decline, after
adjustment for age and baseline MMSE score (OR, 3.48; 95% CI, 1.58 to 7.63; p <
0.05). Correspondingly, lower dietary intake (0.9-1.4 mg/day) of vitamin B6 was
also associated with a greater rate of cognitive decline (OR, 4.22; 95% CI,
1.28-13.90; p < 0.05). No significant relationships of dietary intake or
biomarker status with cognitive decline were observed for the other B-vitamins"
- [Nutra
USA] - Note: B6 also helps with melatonin absorption. I take 25
mg of B6 with 1 mg of melatonin every night. See
Best Naturals Vitamin B-6 25 mg 250 Tablets at
Amazon.com. Related study:
-
Resveratrol regulates
neuro-inflammation and induces adaptive immunity in Alzheimer's disease - J
Neuroinflammation. 2017 Jan 3;14(1):1 - "Compared to the
placebo-treated group, at 52 weeks, resveratrol markedly reduced CSF MMP9 and
increased macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC), interleukin (IL)-4, and fibroblast
growth factor (FGF)-2. Compared to baseline, resveratrol increased plasma MMP10
and decreased IL-12P40, IL12P70, and RANTES. In this subset analysis,
resveratrol treatment attenuated declines in mini-mental status examination
(MMSE) scores, change in ADL (ADCS-ADL) scores, and CSF Aβ42 levels during the
52-week trial, but did not alter tau levels" - See Reserveage Nutrition - Resveratrol with Pterostilbene 500mg, Cellular Age-Defying Formula, 60 veg capsules
at Amazon.com
 .
-
Montmorency Tart cherries
(Prunus cerasus L.) modulate vascular function acutely, in the absence of
improvement in cognitive performance - Br J Nutr. 2016 Dec;116(11):1935-194
- "Participants received either a 60 ml dose of
Montmorency tart cherry concentrate (MC), which contained 68.0 (sd 0.26) mg
cyanidin-3-glucoside/l, 160.75 (sd 0.55) mean gallic acid equivalent/l and
0.59 (sd 0.02) mean Trolox equivalent/l, respectively, or a placebo ...
There were significant differences in concentrations of total Hb and
oxygenated Hb during the task period 1 h after MC consumption (P≤0.05).
Furthermore, MC consumption significantly lowered systolic blood pressure
(P≤0.05) over a period of 3 h, with peak reductions of 6±2 mmHg at 1 h after
MC consumption relative to the placebo" - [Nutra
USA] - See
cherry juice extract at Amazon.com.
-
Neuroprotective Effects
of Aged Garlic Extract on Cognitive Dysfunction and Neuroinflammation Induced by
β-Amyloid in Rats - Nutrients. 2017 Jan 3;9(1) - "Neuroinflammation
is pathological evidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) that likely starts as a
host defense response to the damaging effects of the β-amyloid (Aβ) deposits in
the brain ... Aged garlic extract (AGE) has been reported to have multiple
biological activities, including anti-inflammatory effects ... Adult male Wistar
rats were given AGE (125, 250, and 500 mg/kg BW, body weight), orally
administered, daily for 56 days. They were then injected with 1 μL of aggregated
Aβ (1-42) into the lateral ventricles; bilaterally. Seven days later, their
recognition memory was evaluated using a novel object recognition (NOR) test.
Then the rats were sacrificed to investigate the alteration of microglia cells,
IL-1β and TNFα in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. The results indicated
that AGE at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg BW significantly improved short-term
recognition memory in cognitively impaired rats. In addition, AGE significantly
minimized the inflammatory response by reducing the activation of microglia and
IL-1β to the levels found in the control, which is similar to the results found
in Celebrex-treated rats" - See Now
Foods Garlic 5000 Tablets, 90 Count at Amazon.com.
-
Frequent sauna bathing protects men against dementia - Science Daily,
12/16/16 - "the study participants were divided into
three groups: those taking a sauna once a week, those taking a sauna 2-3 times a
week, and those taking a sauna 4-7 times a week ... The more frequently saunas
were taken, the lower was the risk of dementia. Among those taking a sauna 4-7
times a week, the risk of any form of dementia was 66% lower and the risk of
Alzheimer's disease 65% lower than among those taking a sauna just once a week
... Previous results from the KIHD study have shown that frequent sauna bathing
also significantly reduces the risk of sudden cardiac death, the risk of death
due to coronary artery disease and other cardiac events, as well as overall
mortality" - See JNH Lifestyle saunas at
Amazon.com.
-
Probiotics improve cognition in Alzheimer's patients - Science Daily,
11/14/16 - "a daily dose of probiotic Lactobacillus and
Bifidobacterium bacteria taken over a period of just 12 weeks is enough to yield
a moderate but significant improvement in the score of elderly Alzheimer's
patients on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scale, a standard measure
of cognitive impairment ... scientists have long hypothesized that probiotics
might also boost cognition, as there is continuous two-way communication between
the intestinal microflora, the gastrointestinal tract, and the brain through the
nervous system, the immune system, and hormones (along the so-called
"microbiota-gut-brain axis"). In mice, probiotics have indeed been shown to
improve learning and memory, and reduce anxiety and depression- and OCD-like
symptoms ... Over the course of the study, the average score on the MMSE
questionnaire significantly increased (from 8.7 to 10.6, out of a maximum of 30)
in the group receiving probiotics, but not in the control group (from 8.5 to
8.0)" - See
Garden of Life Primal Defense ULTRA 180
Capsules at Amazon.com.
-
'Medical Food' May Slow
Brain Atrophy in Patients With Alzheimer's and Related Disorders - Medscape,
10/31/16 - "In a study of 67 participants, those
with both HHcy and ADRD who took the L-methylfolate, methylcobalamin, and
N-acetyl-cysteine product for 2 years had an adjusted hippocampal atrophy rate
more than 4 times slower than that in the participants with ADRD and no HHcy who
did not take the prescription medical food. The rate of cortical atrophy was
more than 11 times slower in the treatment group ... the reductions in rate of
brain tissue loss "were quite dramatic" and he especially didn't expect the
cortical finding ... The take-away message…is that elevated homocysteine is
common and should be regularly checked for in all persons over 50 years old, and
it should be treated when found ... HHcy has a worldwide prevalence of 5.1% to
29% in individuals who are older than 65 years. "Furthermore, the odds of brain
atrophy are up to 10 times higher in HHcy patients than in those with normal
homocysteine levels,"" - See L-methylfolate,
methylcobalamin, and
N-acetyl-cysteine at Amazon.com.
-
Additional benefit of omega-3 fatty acids for the clearance of metabolites from
the brain - Science Daily, 10/26/16 - "omega-3
polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are found in fish oil, could improve the
function of the glymphatic system, which facilitates the clearance of waste from
the brain, and promote the clearance of metabolites including amyloid-β
peptides, a primary culprit in Alzheimer's disease ... This study should not
turn attention away from the roles of these substances in maintaining vascular
health, but neither should they restrict our view. The brain is an extremely
vascularized organ, while we might also bear in mind that omega-3 fatty acids
may impact neurons, glia, and astrocytes themselves" - See
fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Vitamin C
Supplementation, APOE4 Genotype and Cognitive Functioning in a Rural-Dwelling
Cohort - J Nutr Health Aging. 2016;20(8):841-844 -
"Overall, Vitamin C supplementation was associated with significantly better
immediate memory (p=0.04), visuospatial skills (p=0.002), language (p=0.01), and
global cognitive functioning (p=0.006). Among APOE4 non-carriers, vitamin C
supplementation was positively associated with immediate memory (F[1,392] =6.7,
p=0.01), visuospatial skills (F[1,391]=10.6, p=0.001), language (F[1,392]=13.0,
p<0.001), attention (F[1,386]=7.9, p=0.005, and global cognition (F[1,382]=11.0,
p=0.001. However, there was no significant link between vitamin C
supplementation and cognition among APOE4 carriers" - See
American Health Products - Ester C W/Citrus Bioflavonoids, 1000 mg, 180 veg tablets at Amazon.com
 .
-
Use of Vitamin E and C
Supplements for the Prevention of Cognitive Decline - Ann Pharmacother. 2016
Oct 4 - "Data from the Canadian Study of Health and
Aging (1991-2002), a cohort study of dementia including 3 evaluation waves at
5-yearly intervals, were used ... Compared with those not taking vitamin
supplements, the age-, sex-, and education-adjusted hazard ratios of CIND, AD,
and all-cause dementia were, respectively, 0.77 (95% CI = 0.60-0.98), 0.60 (95%
CI = 0.42-0.86), and 0.62 (95% CI = 0.46-0.83) for those taking vitamin E and/or
C supplements ... This analysis suggests that the use of vitamin E and C
supplements is associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline" - See
Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes
Tocomin) at Amazon.com
and
American Health Products - Ester C W/Citrus Bioflavonoids, 1000 mg, 180 veg tablets at Amazon.com.
-
Western
diet increases Alzheimer's risk - Science Daily, 8/25/16 -
"Dietary supply of meat or animal products (minus milk)
5 years before Alzheimer's disease prevalence had the highest correlations with
Alzheimer's disease prevalence in this study ... Residents of the United States
seem to be at particular risk, with each person in the U.S. having about a 4%
chance of developing Alzheimer's disease, likely due in part to the Western
dietary pattern, which tends to include a large amount of meat consumption ...
Reducing meat consumption could significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer's
disease as well as of several cancers, diabetes mellitus type 2, stroke, and,
likely, chronic kidney disease ... Although the traditional Mediterranean diet
is associated with about half the risk for Alzheimer's disease of the Western
diet, the traditional diets of countries such as India, Japan, and Nigeria, with
very low meat consumption, are associated with an additional 50% reduction in
risk of Alzheimer's disease"
-
Higher Serum DHA Linked to
Less Amyloid, Better Memory - Medscape, 8/17/16 -
"DHA is "the most abundant polyunsaturated fatty acid in the brain, playing an
important structural role in synapses while also modulating a number of
signaling pathways ... serum DHA levels (percentage of total fatty acids) were
23% lower in those with cerebral amyloidosis relative to those without ... there
was a significant association between serum DHA levels and nonverbal memory"
- See
docosahexaenoic acid at Amazon.com.
-
Quercetin, not caffeine,
is a major neuroprotective component in coffee - Neurobiol Aging. 2016 Jul
5;46:113-123 - "Epidemiologic studies indicate that
coffee consumption reduces the risk of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's
disease ... quercetin reduced oxidative/nitrative damage to DNA, as well as to
the lipids and proteins of SH-SY5Y cells. There was a resultant increase in
[GSH]i in SH-SY5Y cells. The data indicate that quercetin is the major
neuroprotective component in coffee against Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's
disease" - See
quercetin at Amazon.com.
-
Resveratrol appears to restore blood-brain barrier integrity in Alzheimer's
disease - Science Daily, 7/27/16 - "Resveratrol,
given to Alzheimer's patients, appears to restore the integrity of the
blood-brain barrier, reducing the ability of harmful immune molecules secreted
by immune cells to infiltrate from the body into brain tissues ... The reduction
in neuronal inflammation slowed the cognitive decline of patients, compared to a
matching group of placebo-treated patients with the disorder" - See Reserveage Nutrition - Resveratrol with Pterostilbene 500mg, Cellular Age-Defying Formula, 60 veg capsules
at Amazon.com.
-
Vitamin
D levels predict risk of brain decline in Chinese elderly - Science Daily,
7/27/16 - "It is now believed to also play a significant
role in maintaining healthy brain function. An increased risk of cardiovascular
and neurodegenerative diseases has been observed in those with low vitamin D
levels, and studies from Europe and North America have linked low vitamin D
levels with future cognitive decline ... individuals with lower vitamin D levels
at the start of the study were approximately twice as likely to exhibit
significant cognitive decline over time. In addition, low vitamin D levels at
baseline also increased the risk of future cognitive impairment by 2-3 times"
- See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Antibiotics weaken Alzheimer's disease progression through changes in the gut
microbiome - Science Daily, 7/24/16 - "Two of the
key features of Alzheimer's disease are the development of amyloidosis,
accumulation of amyloid-ß (Aß) peptides in the brain, and inflammation of the
microglia, brain cells that perform immune system functions in the central
nervous system. Buildup of Aß into plaques plays a central role in the onset of
Alzheimer's, while the severity of neuro-inflammation is believed to influence
the rate of cognitive decline from the disease ... For this study, Sisodia and
his team administered high doses of broad-spectrum antibiotics to mice over five
to six months. At the end of this period, genetic analysis of gut bacteria from
the antibiotic-treated mice showed that while the total mass of microbes present
was roughly the same as in controls, the diversity of the community changed
dramatically. The antibiotic-treated mice also showed more than a two-fold
decrease in A�� plaques compared to controls, and a significant elevation in the
inflammatory state of microglia in the brain. Levels of important signaling
chemicals circulating in the blood were also elevated in the treated mice"
- Note: It would seem like changing the gut balance via probiotics would
be the way to go, not taking antibiotics. See
probiotic products at Amazon.com.
-
Regulation of structural
and functional synapse density by L-threonate through modulation of
intraneuronal magnesium concentration - Neuropharmacology. 2016
Sep;108:426-39 - "Oral administration of the combination
of L-threonate (threonate) and magnesium (Mg(2+)) in the form of L-Threonic acid
Magnesium salt (L-TAMS) can enhance learning and memory in young rats and
prevent memory decline in aging rats and in Alzheimer's disease model mice.
Recent results from a human clinical trial demonstrate the efficacy of L-TAMS in
restoring global cognitive abilities of older adults ... The current study
provides an explanation for why threonate is an essential component of L-TAMS
and supports the use of L-TAMS to promote cognitive abilities in human" -
[Nutra
USA] - See
Magtein at Amazon.com.
-
Metformin Linked to Lower
Neurodegenerative Disease Risk - Medscape, 6/11/16 -
"The mechanism is unclear, but metformin is known to cross the blood-brain
barrier ... The adjusted incidence of developing one or more neurodegenerative
diseases per 100 person-years was 2.08 for those who never used metformin, 2.47
for those using metformin less than 1 year, 1.61 for less than 2 years, 1.30 for
2 to 4 years, and 0.49 for 4 or more years ... Compared with no metformin, the
hazard ratios for 2 to 4 years of metformin therapy for all neurodegenerative
diseases combined was 0.623 and for 4 or more years 0.216 ... The findings were
also significant for dementia specifically (0.567 at 2–4 years and 0.252 for 4+
years) and for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases only beyond 4 years (0.038
and 0.229, respectively)" - See
metformin at The Antiaging Store.
-
Fountain of youth? Dietary supplement may prevent and reverse severe damage to
aging brain, research suggests - Science Daily, 6/2/16 -
"contains common
ingredients such as vitamins B, C and D, folic acid, green tea extract, cod
liver oil and other nutraceuticals ... The mice used in this study had
widespread loss of more than half of their brain cells, severely impacting
multiple regions of the brain by one year of age, the human equivalent of severe
Alzheimer's disease ... they also discovered that the mice on the supplements
experienced enhancement in vision and most remarkably in the sense of smell --
the loss of which is often associated with neurological disease -- improved
balance and motor activity" - See
Garden of Life Vitamin Code 50 & Wiser Men's Multi, 240 Capsules and
Garden of Life Vitamin Code 50 & Wiser Women's
Multi, 240 Capsules.
-
The flavonoid baicalein
rescues synaptic plasticity and memory deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer's
disease - Behav Brain Res. 2016 May 24 - "Baicalein
prevented Aβ-induced impairments in hippocampal LTP through activation of serine
threonine Kinase (Akt) phosphorylation. Long-term oral administration of
baicalein inhibited 12/15LO and GSK3β activity, reduced β-secretase enzyme
(BACE1), decreased the concentration of total Aβ, and prevented phosphorylation
of tau in APP/PS1 mice. Meanwhile, baicalein restored spine number, synaptic
plasticity, and memory deficits. Our results strengthen the potential of the
flavonoid baicalein as a novel and promising oral bioactive therapeutic agent
that prevents memory deficits in AD" - See
flavonoids at Amazon.com.
-
Efficacy and Safety of
MMFS-01, a Synapse Density Enhancer, for Treating Cognitive Impairment in Older
Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial - J Alzheimers
Dis. 2015 Oct 27;49(4):971-90 - "Since brain atrophy
during aging is strongly associated with both cognitive decline and sleep
disorder, we evaluated the efficacy of MMFS-01 in its ability to reverse
cognitive impairment and improve sleep ... We conducted a randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-designed trial in older adult
subjects (age 50-70) with cognitive impairment. Subjects were treated with
MMFS-01 (n = 23) or placebo (n = 21) for 12 weeks and cognitive ability, sleep
quality, and emotion were evaluated ... With MMFS-01 treatment, overall
cognitive ability improved significantly relative to placebo (p = 0.003; Cohen's
d = 0.91). Cognitive fluctuation was also reduced. The study population had more
severe executive function deficits than age-matched controls from normative data
and MMFS-01 treatment nearly restored their impaired executive function,
demonstrating that MMFS-01 may be clinically significant" - [Nutra
USA] - See
Magtein at Amazon.com.
-
Effect of
Korean Red Ginseng on Cognitive Function and Quantitative EEG in Patients with
Alzheimer's Disease: A Preliminary Study - J Altern Complement Med. 2016
Mar 14 - "Korean red ginseng (KRG) has a nootropic effect. This study assessed
the efficacy of KRG on cognitive function and quantitative
electroencephalography (EEG) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) ...
Fourteen patients with AD (mean age, 74.93 years; 11 women and 3 men) were
recruited and treated with KRG (4.5 g per day) for 12 weeks. Cognitive function
was assessed by the Korean Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE) and the
Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) ... The FAB score improved significantly after
12 weeks of treatment. In the relative power spectrum analysis performed
according to responsiveness, alpha power increased significantly in the right
temporal area of the responders. The increments of relative alpha power in the
right temporal, parietal, and occipital areas were significantly higher in the
responders than the nonresponders" - See
ginseng at Amazon.com.
-
Blueberries, the well-known 'super fruit,' could help fight Alzheimer's -
Science Daily, 3/14/16 - "One study involved 47 adults
aged 68 and older, who had mild cognitive impairment, a risk condition for
Alzheimer's disease. The researchers gave them either freeze-dried blueberry
powder, which is equivalent to a cup of berries, or a placebo powder once a day
for 16 weeks ... The blueberry group demonstrated improved memory and improved
access to words and concepts ... The team also conducted functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI), which showed increased brain activity in those who
ingested the blueberry powder" - See
blueberry extract at Amazon.com.
-
Curcumin
improves tau-induced neuronal dysfunction of nematodes - Neurobiol Aging.
2016 Mar;39:69-81 - "Tau is a key protein in the
pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative diseases, which are categorized as
tauopathies. Because the extent of tau pathologies is closely linked to that of
neuronal loss and the clinical symptoms in Alzheimer's disease, anti-tau
therapeutics, if any, could be beneficial to a broad spectrum of tauopathies ...
These data indicate that curcumin improves the tau-induced neuronal dysfunction
that is independent of insoluble aggregates of tau" - See
curcumin products at Amazon.com.
-
Hesperidin
ameliorates cognitive dysfunction, oxidative stress and apoptosis against
aluminium chloride induced rat model of Alzheimer's disease - Nutr
Neurosci. 2016 Feb 15 - "In our lab, we have previously
reported that hesperidin, a citrus bioflavonoid reversed memory loss caused by
aluminium intoxication through attenuating acetylcholine esterase activity and
the expression of Amyloid β biosynthesis related markers ... Results of the
present study demonstrated that hesperidin could be a potential therapeutic
agent in the treatment of oxidative stress and apoptosis associated
neurodegenerative diseases including AD" - See
hesperidin at Amazon.com.
-
Sulforaphane
exerts its anti-inflammatory effect against amyloid-β peptide via STAT-1
dephosphorylation and activation of Nrf2/HO-1 cascade in human THP-1 macrophages
- Neurobiol Aging. 2016 Feb;38:1-10 - "Alzheimer's
disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide, accounting
for most cases of dementia in elderly individuals, and effective therapies are
still lacking. This study was designed to investigate the anti-inflammatory
properties of sulforaphane against Aβ1-42 monomers in human THP-1 microglia-like
cells. The results showed that sulforaphane preferentially inhibited cathepsin
B- and caspase-1-dependent NLRP3 inflammasome activation induced by mostly
Aβ1-42 monomers, an effect that potently reduced excessive secretion of the
proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β) ... These findings suggest that
the phytochemical sulforaphane has a potential application in AD therapeutics"
- See
sulforaphane at Amazon.com.
-
Intakes of
fish and PUFAs and mild-to-severe cognitive impairment risks: a dose-response
meta-analysis of 21 cohort studies - Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 Dec 30 -
"As an important source of marine n-3 PUFAs, a 0.1-g/d
increment of dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake was associated with lower
risks of dementia (RR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.96; P < 0.001, I2 = 92.7%) and AD
(RR: 0.63" - See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Magnesium ions show promise in slowing progression of Alzheimer's disease in
mice - Science Daily, 12/1/15 - "in mouse models of
the disease oral administration of magnesium-L-threonate (MgT) alleviated
cognitive decline by suppressing the Aβ deposition in amyloid plaques in an
APH-1α/1β-dependent manner ... The good news about this work is that if it holds
up in humans, magnesium is a common element that is readily available" -
See
Jarrow Formulas, MagMind at Amazon.com.
2013 Study:
-
Magnesium levels vital to brain health as population ages - Science Daily,
11/4/13 - "the human brain begins shrinking after age
25. Structural changes and loss of brain synapses lead to rapid decline in
cognitive health ... magnesium deficiency in adults may play a more important
role in CI, and more seriously, Alzheimer's Disease (AD), than previously
thought ... elevation of brain magnesium through dietary intake of magnesium
threonate exerts substantial positive effects on brain synapes in a mouse model
of AD, actually restoring aging brains to their youthful conditions ... the
'gold standard' of science, demonstrates that dietary supplementation of
Magtein, patented magnesium threonate, can significantly enhance human cognitive
functions and decrease symptoms of cognitive impairments ... We know that as we
age our bodies naturally lose magnesium. For example, drinking coffee or
caffeinated products increases the loss"
-
Can
physical exercise enhance long-term memory? - Science Daily, 11/25/15 -
"mice that spent time running on wheels not only
developed twice the normal number of new neurons, but also showed an increased
ability to distinguish new objects from familiar objects ... studies have shown
that exercise can improve spatial navigation, contextual memory and the ability
to distinguish between highly similar objects or stimuli (pattern separation) in
rodents and humans ... Because exercise can increase the rate of new neurons
being produced, it makes it an attractive candidate for therapeutic purposes.
Studies have shown that exercise can have both structural and cognitive benefits
in rodent models of pathological conditions like Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorders (FASD) and Alzheimer's disease"
-
Improving fitness may counteract brain atrophy in older adults, study shows
- Science Daily, 11/19/15 - "the study participants who
showed the greatest improvements in fitness had the most growth in the cortical
layer, including both the group diagnosed with MCI and the healthy elders. While
both groups showed strong associations between increased fitness and increased
cortical thickness after the intervention, the MCI participants showed greater
improvements compared to healthy group in the left insula and superior temporal
gyrus, two brain regions that have been shown to exhibit accelerated
neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease"
-
Seniors who ate more foods tied to the eating plan, especially fish, had bigger
brains, study says - WebMD, 10/21/15 - "eating too
much meat might shrink your brain ... people over 65 who ate more fish,
vegetables, fruit, grains and olive oil had a larger brain volume than a similar
group who didn't follow a Mediterranean diet ... The difference was minor in
overall size -- equated to about five years of aging ... eating more fish and
less meat was associated with even less brain shrinkage ... a higher intake of
fish and vegetables and a lower intake of meat are beneficial for brain cell
growth"
-
A Nutritional Formulation
for Cognitive Performance in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Placebo-Controlled
Trial with an Open-Label Extension - J Alzheimers Dis. 2015 Sep 4 -
"Thirty-four individuals with mild cognitive impairment
were randomized for 6 months to a nutraceutical formulation (NF: folate,
alpha-tocopherol, B12, S-adenosyl methioinine, N-acetyl cysteine,
acetyl-L-carnitine) or indistinguishable placebo, followed by a 6-month
open-label extension in which all individuals received NF. The NF cohort
improved in the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS; effect size >0.7) and maintained
baseline performance in CLOX-1. The placebo cohort did not improve in DRS and
declined in CLOX-1, but during the open-label extension improved in DRS and
ceased declining in CLOX-1" - [Nutra
USA]
-
Unhealthy Diet May Shrink
the Brain - Medscape, 9/22/15 - "Consumption of an
unhealthy Western diet characterized by meat, hamburgers, chips, and soft
drinks, may reduce the volume of the left hippocampus, whereas a healthy diet of
fresh vegetables and fish may increase hippocampal volume ... Specifically, a
high-fat diet reduces brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels, which impairs
neuronal plasticity, learning, and behavior ... The difference in left
hippocampal volume between those with a healthy diet and those with an unhealthy
diet was 203 cubic millimeters, which accounted for 62% of the average decline
in left hippocampal volume during the 4-year study period ... unhealthy diets
are linked to mental, neurodegenerative, and neurodevelopmental disorders ... I
have a number of cases in my practice of people who just didn't plan their food,
who didn't think about how their nutrition is related to their psychiatric
condition, and have really changed their lives by enhancing their self-care more
nutrient-dense brain food"
-
Low Vitamin D Linked to
Cognitive Decline - Medscape, 9/14/15 - "The
magnitude of the effect of Vitamin D insufficiency on cognition was substantial
... Vitamin D supplementation remains an intriguing possibility to delay or even
prevent dementia" - [Science
Daily] - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
For Alzheimer's patients, resveratrol brings new hope - CNN, 9/11/15 -
"Even for the relatively small number of participants in
the study, the researchers did see indication that resveratrol could improve
cognition. Patients in this group had slight improvements in their ability to
carry out daily tasks, such as remembering to brush their teeth. And
anecdotally, patients who took resveratrol told the researchers that they felt
like they were maintaining their mental ability. (Neither the participants nor
the researchers knew who was taking resveratrol and who was taking placebo.) ...
If resveratrol does pan out in further research, it may add to the medications
that are currently available, such as Aricept and Exelon, which slow, but do not
halt, progression of the disease ... resveratrol on its own might not end up
working as well as a combination of resveratrol and other polyphenol compounds
found in red wine, grape juice and grape seed extract, which could help people
at risk of Alzheimer's and those who already have mild symptoms" - See
ReserveAge Resveratrol Vegetarian Capsules, 500 Mg, 60-Count
at Amazon.com
and
OPCs+95 at Amazon.com.
-
Using Antidiabetic
Therapies to Treat Alzheimer Disease - Medscape, 8/27/15 -
"There are other treatments, such as metformin and the
new generation of antidiabetic drugs known as incretins, that have been shown in
animal models to have a pro-cognitive effect ... Inflammatory molecules have a
negative effect on the brain and also contribute to insulin resistance" -
See
metformin at The Antiaging Store.
-
The impact of supplemental
macular carotenoids in Alzheimer's disease: a randomized clinical trial - J
Alzheimers Dis. 2015;44(4):1157-69 - "supplemented for
six months with either Macushield (10 mg meso-zeaxanthin [MZ]; 10 mg lutein [L];
2 mg zeaxanthin [Z]) or placebo (sunflower oil) ... supplementation with the
macular carotenoids (MZ, Z, and L) benefits patients with AD, in terms of
clinically meaningful improvements in visual function and in terms of MP
augmentation" - [Nutra
USA] - See Macushield at Amazon.com.
-
Plasma
Carotenoids Are Inversely Associated With Dementia Risk in an Elderly French
Cohort - J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2015 Aug 18 -
"Dementia and AD were diagnosed by a committee of
neurologists. The concentration of plasma carotenoids (beta-carotene,
alpha-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin) was
determined at baseline ... After adjustment for sociodemographic data, diet
quality, and clinical variables, including baseline cognitive performances, only
higher lutein concentration, considered as a function of plasma lipids, was
consistently significantly associated with a decreased risk of all-cause
dementia and AD (hazard ratio = 0.808, 95% confidence interval = 0.671-0.973, p
= .024 and hazard ratio = 0.759" - See
lutein at Amazon.com.
-
The Most Effective Way to Protect an Aging Brain - WebMD, 8/7/15 -
"Exercise lowered levels of toxic tau proteins and
increased blood flow in the brains of people with early memory changes that put
them at risk for dementia. Four months of intense exercise improved symptoms
like anxiety, irritability, and depression in people with Alzheimer’s, though it
didn’t help their memories. But 6 months of exercise did improve memory and
thinking in people diagnosed with vascular dementia ... the not-so-great news is
that studies are showing that it takes a pretty big commitment to get this
protection -- at least 3 hours, or 180 minutes, of vigorous physical activity
each week. That’s significantly more than the 150 minutes a week that government
guidelines recommend ... rigorous physical activity is any exercise that makes
you pant and sweat. And it requires people to get their heart pumping at 70% to
80% of their age-related maximum heart rate. For someone who’s 65 years old,
that’s somewhere between 109 and 124 beats per minute ... Experts say in order
to see the brain benefits, it’s really important to hit the right dose of
physical activity"
-
Vitamin D
deficiency is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and
dementia: evidence from meta-analysis - Nutr J. 2015 Aug 1;14(1):76 -
"Results of our meta-analysis showed that subjects with
deficient vitamin D status (25(OH)D level < 50 nmol/L) were at increased risk of
developing AD by 21 % compared with those possessing 25(OH)D level > 50 nmol/L.
Similar analysis also found a significantly increased dementia risk in vitamin D
deficient subjects" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Insulin
resistance increases risk for Alzheimer's disease, study finds - Science
Daily, 7/27/15 - "examined brain scans in 150 late
middle-aged adults, who were at risk for Alzheimer's disease, but showed no sign
of memory loss. The scans detected if people with higher levels of insulin
resistance used less blood sugar in areas of the brain most susceptible to
Alzheimer's. When that happens, the brain has less energy to relay information
and function ... If you don't have as much fuel, you're not going to be as adept
at remembering something or doing something ... this is important with
Alzheimer's disease, because over the course of the disease there is a
progressive decrease in the amount of blood sugar used in certain brain regions.
Those regions end up using less and less" - See
metformin at The Antiaging Store.
- Diabetes
medication reduces dementia risk: Analysis of health insurance data suggests
preventive effect - Science Daily, 6/23/15 -
"Treatment with pioglitazone showed a remarkable side benefit. It was able to
significantly decrease the risk of dementia ... The longer the treatment, the
lower the risk ... Risk reduction was most noticeable when the drug was
administered for at least two years ... Metformin -- another frequently
prescribed antidiabetic drug -- also lowered the risk of developing dementia.
However, the effect was lower than that of pioglitazone" - See
metformin at The Antiaging Store. Pioglitazone is harder to find. I've been
taking both in low dose for years for various anti-aging advantages.
-
Brain atrophy in
cognitively impaired elderly: the importance of long-chain ω-3 fatty acids and B
vitamin status in a randomized controlled trial - Am J Clin Nutr. 2015
Jul;102(1):215-21 - "included 168 elderly people (≥70 y)
with mild cognitive impairment, randomly assigned either to placebo (n = 83) or
to daily high-dose B vitamin supplementation (folic acid, 0.8 mg; vitamin B-6,
20 mg; vitamin B-12, 0.5 mg) (n = 85) ... There was a significant interaction (P
= 0.024) between B vitamin treatment and plasma combined ω-3 fatty acids
(eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) on brain atrophy rates. In
subjects with high baseline ω-3 fatty acids (>590 μmol/L), B vitamin treatment
slowed the mean atrophy rate by 40.0% compared with placebo (P = 0.023). B
vitamin treatment had no significant effect on the rate of atrophy among
subjects with low baseline ω-3 fatty acids (<390 μmol/L). High baseline ω-3
fatty acids were associated with a slower rate of brain atrophy in the B vitamin
group but not in the placebo group" - [Nutra
USA] - See
fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Omega-3
supplements, antioxidants may help with preclinical Alzheimer's disease
-Science Daily, 6/30/15 - "A new report published in the
July 2015 issue of The FASEB Journal describes the findings of a very small
study in which people with mild clinical impairment, such as those in the very
early stages of the disease, saw clearance of the hallmark amyloid-beta protein
and reduced inflammation in neurological tissues. Although the findings involved
just 12 patients over the course of 4 to 17 months, the findings suggest further
clinical study of this relatively inexpensive and plentiful supplement should be
conducted" - See
fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Diabetes
medication reduces dementia risk: Analysis of health insurance data suggests
preventive effect - Science Daily, 6/23/15 -
"Treatment with pioglitazone showed a remarkable side benefit. It was able to
significantly decrease the risk of dementia ... The longer the treatment, the
lower the risk ... Risk reduction was most noticeable when the drug was
administered for at least two years ... Metformin -- another frequently
prescribed antidiabetic drug -- also lowered the risk of developing dementia.
However, the effect was lower than that of pioglitazone" - See
metformin at The Antiaging Store. Pioglitazone is harder to find. I've been
taking both in low dose for years for various anti-aging advantages.
-
Quercetin
reduces eIF2α phosphorylation by GADD34 induction - Neurobiol Aging. 2015
May 15 - "After the long-term feeding of quercetin,
deterioration in memory assessed by freezing behavior was delayed in APP23 mice.
These results indicate that quercetin may reduce eIF2�� phosphorylation and ATF4
expression through GADD34 induction in the brain, leading to the improvement of
memory in aged mice and the delay of deterioration in memory at the early stage
of AD in AD model mice" - See
quercetin at Amazon.com.
-
Diet That Helps You Live Longer May Keep Your Mind Sound, Too - nbcnews.com,
5/11/15 - "Two groups were assigned to follow the
Mediterranean diet and told to add either five 5 tablespoons of extra virgin
olive oil a day or a handful of mixed nuts. The third group got the low-fat
advice ... The group who ate the extra nuts did better in terms of memory and
the group given extra virgin olive oil performed better on tests that required
quick thinking ... Just over 13 percent of those who got extra olive oil were
diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, which may or may not lead to
Alzheimer's disease. Just 7 percent of those who got nuts were diagnosed with
mild cognitive impairment, while around 13 percent of those who got neither
developed memory loss ... But many of the patients actually saw their memories
get better over the four years. On average, those in the low-fat-only group lost
some memory and thinking skills, but those who got extra nuts had their memory
skills improve on average, while those who got olive oil had improvements in
problem-solving and planning skills" - [Abstract]
-
Low Levels
of a Urinary Biomarker of Dietary Polyphenol Are Associated with Substantial
Cognitive Decline over a 3-Year Period in Older Adults: The Invecchiare in
Chianti Study - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2015 Apr 27 -
"total urinary polyphenols (TUPs) and total dietary polyphenols (TDPs) ... High
concentrations of polyphenols, a nutritional biomarker of polyphenol intake,
were associated with lower risk of substantial cognitive decline in an older
population studied over a 3-year period, suggesting a protective effect against
cognitive impairment" - See
Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.
-
Mediterranean Diet Linked
to Larger Brain Volume - Medscape, 4/28/15 -
"Participants who adhered more to a MeDI had larger brain volumes both in gray
matter and white matter, said Dr Gu. She also noted that each additional higher
MeDi adherence and total brain volume is equivalent to more than 1 year of aging
(β for age = 2.5; P < .001) ... Dr Gu noted that most of the association was
driven by higher intake of fish and lower intake of meat. Potential mechanisms,
she said, include anti-inflammatory and/or antioxidative effects, as well as
potential slowing of the accumulation of β-amyloid or tau"
-
Improving
effect of chronic resveratrol treatment on central monoamine synthesis and
cognition in aged rats - Age (Dordr). 2015 Jun;37(3):9777 -
"We analyzed the in vivo effects of chronic
administration of resveratrol (20 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks) in old male rats (Wistar,
20 months), on tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)
activities which mediate central monoaminergic neurotransmitters synthesis, and
besides, on hippocampal-dependent working memory test (radial maze). Our results
show an age-related decline in neurochemical parameters that were reversed by
resveratrol administration. The resveratrol treatment enhances serotonin (5-HT)
levels in pineal gland, in hippocampus, and in striatum, and those of
noradrenaline (NA) in hippocampus and also dopamine (DA) in striatum. These
changes were largely due to an increased activity of TPH-1 (463 % in pineal
gland), TPH-2 (70-51 % in hippocampus and striatum), and TH (150-36 % in
hippocampus and striatum). Additionally, the observed hippocampal effects
correlate with a resveratrol-induced restorative effect on working memory
(radial maze)" - See
ReserveAge Resveratrol Vegetarian Capsules, 500 Mg, 60-Count
at Amazon.com.
-
Brain
atrophy in cognitively impaired elderly: the importance of long-chain ω-3 fatty
acids and B vitamin status in a randomized controlled trial - Am J Clin Nutr.
2015 Apr 15 - "included 168 elderly people (≥70 y) with mild cognitive
impairment, randomly assigned either to placebo (n = 83) or to daily high-dose B
vitamin supplementation (folic acid, 0.8 mg; vitamin B-6, 20 mg; vitamin B-12,
0.5 mg) (n = 85). The subjects underwent cranial magnetic resonance imaging
scans at baseline and 2 y later ... In subjects with high baseline ω-3 fatty
acids (>590 μmol/L), B vitamin treatment slowed the mean atrophy rate by 40.0%
compared with placebo (P = 0.023). B vitamin treatment had no significant effect
on the rate of atrophy among subjects with low baseline ω-3 fatty acids (<390
μmol/L). High baseline ω-3 fatty acids were associated with a slower rate of
brain atrophy in the B vitamin group but not in the placebo group" -
Note: I take
a good multi and even that only has 4 mg of B6. See
B complex supplements at Amazon.com,
folic acid products at Amazon.com, vitamin
B6 at Amazon.com,
vitamin B12 at Amazon.com
and
fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Mechanism outlined by which inadequate vitamin E can cause brain damage -
Science Daily, 4/13/15 - "that zebrafish fed a diet deficient in vitamin E
throughout their life had about 30 percent lower levels of DHA-PC, which is a
part of the cellular membrane in every brain cell, or neuron. Other recent
studies have also concluded that low levels of DHA-PC in the blood plasma of
humans is a biomarker than can predict a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease ...
the deficient levels of vitamin E they were given, are equivalent to humans
eating a low vitamin E diet for a lifetime. In the United States, 96 percent of
adult women and 90 percent of men do not receive adequate levels of vitamin E in
their diet" - See
Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes
Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
-
The
Synergistic Beneficial Effects of Ginkgo Flavonoid and Coriolus versicolor
Polysaccharide for Memory Improvements in a Mouse Model of Dementia - Evid
Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015 - "This study reports the combination of
Ginkgo flavonoid (GF) and Coriolus versicolor polysaccharide (CVP) in the
prevention and treatment of a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). GF is a
traditional health product, and CVP is the main active ingredient of the
medicinal fungus Coriolus versicolor. The Morris water maze test, the Y maze,
and the step-through test showed that the combinational use of CVP and GF
synergistically improved memory in a mouse model of AD" - See
Ginkgo biloba at Amazon.com
and Coriolus versicolor at Amazon.com.
-
Green Tea Linked to Lower
Risk for Cognitive Decline - Medscape, 3/25/15 -
"starting with participants with normal cognitive function in 2007-2008 ... at
follow-up between 2011 and 2013, green tea consumption 1 to 6 days/wk or every
day was associated with a lower risk for MCI or dementia. There was no effect of
coffee consumed daily or 1 to 6 days/wk or of black tea consumption. She
calculated that the odds ratio of developing dementia or cognitive decline was
0.47 (P < .05) for elderly Japanese participants who drank green tea 1 to 6
days/ wk and 0.32 (P < .01) for those who drank it every day" - See
green tea extract at Amazon.com.
-
Milk
could be good for your brain - Science Daily, 3/24/15 -
"participants who had indicated they had drunk milk
recently had higher levels of glutathione in their brains. This is important,
the researchers said, because glutathione could help stave off oxidative stress
and the resulting damage caused by reactive chemical compounds produced during
the normal metabolic process in the brain. Oxidative stress is known to be
associated with a number of different diseases and conditions, including
Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and many other conditions" -
Note: Yeah but three servings of this and three serving of that and three
servings of the other thing will pack on the pounds as you get older and don't
even think about dessert. The best way I know of to increase glutathione is to
take n-acetyl-cysteine. See
n-acetyl cysteine at Amazon.com.
-
New
MIND diet may significantly protect against Alzheimer’s disease - Science
Daily, 3/23/15 - "With the MIND diet, a person who eats
at least three servings of whole grains, a salad and one other vegetable every
day -- along with a glass of wine -- snacks most days on nuts, has beans every
other day or so, eats poultry and berries at least twice a week and fish at
least once a week and benefits. However, he or she must limits intake of the
designated unhealthy foods, especially butter (less than 1 tablespoon a day),
cheese, and fried or fast food (less than a serving a week for any of the
three), to have a real shot at avoiding the devastating effects of AD ...
Blueberries are one of the more potent foods in terms of protecting the brain
... strawberries have also performed well in past studies of the effect of food
on cognitive function"
-
Silibinin
inhibits acetylcholinesterase activity and amyloid β peptide aggregation: a
dual-target drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease - Neurobiol Aging.
2015 Feb 11 - "these data suggest that silibinin could
act as a dual inhibitor of AChE and Aβ peptide aggregation, therefore suggesting
a therapeutic strategy for AD treatment" - See
silymarin at Amazon.com.
-
Promising 'natural' Alzheimer's treatment moves toward clinical trials -
Science Daily, 3/11/15 - "This particular research has
focused on Ashwagandha, an herbal remedy that's been used in Eastern medicines
for centuries ... While plants cannot be patented, compounds from it can. MSU
holds the patent for withanamides, and earlier research revealed that the
compound, found in the plants' seeds, proved to be a powerful anti-oxidant --
double the strength of what's on today's market. The potent compound has shown
that it can protect cells against damaging attacks by a rogue protein - the
earliest stage of Alzheimer's" - See
Ashwagandha at Amazon.com.
-
Experts
criticize 'inaccurate' view that B Vitamins have no role in Alzheimer's disease
prevention - Science Daily, 2/25/15 - "the analysis
of previous clinical trial data published last year cast no doubt whatsoever on
the potential of folic acid and vitamin B-12 to prevent dementia, and that the
lead author's comments were 'unjustified and misleading' ... taking B vitamins
lowers blood levels of a molecule (homocysteine), which in high concentrations
acts as a potent risk factor for dementia"
-
Compound
found in grapes, red wine may help prevent memory loss - Science Daily,
2/4/15 - "treatment with resveratrol had apparent
benefits in terms of learning, memory and mood function in aged rats ... for the
control rats who did not receive resveratrol, spatial learning ability was
largely maintained but ability to make new spatial memories significantly
declined between 22 and 25 months. By contrast, both spatial learning and memory
improved in the resveratrol-treated rats ... neurogenesis (the growth and
development of neurons) approximately doubled in the rats given resveratrol
compared to the control rats. The resveratrol-treated rats also had
significantly improved microvasculature, indicating improved blood flow, and had
a lower level of chronic inflammation in the hippocampus" - See
ReserveAge Resveratrol Vegetarian Capsules, 500 Mg, 60-Count
at Amazon.com.
-
New
study postulates the role of dietary advanced glycation end products in the risk
of Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily, 2/3/15 -
"meat made the highest contribution of AGEs, followed by vegetable oils, cheese,
and fish. Foods such as cereals/grains, eggs, fruit, legumes, milk, nuts,
starchy roots, and vegetables generally make low contributions to the total
amount of AGEs in a diet, either because they are generally prepared at low
temperatures or since they comprise smaller portions of diets ... This
epidemiological study supports our previous findings in animals and humans of an
important role for dietary AGEs in Alzheimer's disease. We found that mice kept
on a diet high in AGEs, similar to Western diet, had high levels of AGEs in
their brains together with deposits of amyloid-β, a component of the plaques
characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, while at the same time developed declines
in cognitive and motor abilities. The mice fed a low AGE diet remained free of
these conditions. In addition, clinical studies have shown that subjects with
higher blood AGE levels, in turn resulting from high AGE diets, are more likely
to develop cognitive decline on follow up"
-
Pycnogenol® improves
cognitive function, attention, mental performance and specific professional
skills in healthy professionals aged 35-55 - J Neurosurg Sci. 2014
Dec;58(4):239-48 - "Pycnogenol® (150 mg/day) ...
Cognitive function, attention, mental performance, sustained attention, memory,
executive functions, mood and oxidative stress values were comparable at
inclusion. At 12 weeks the improvement in Pycnogenol® subjects was more
significant than in controls. Plasma-free radicals (oxidative stress) were
significantly decreased (median -30.4%) at 12 weeks in Pycnogenol® subjects in
comparison with a non-significant variation observed in controls (+0.9%;
difference between groups). Considering the cognitive test battery (PASAT,
pattern recognition memory, spatial recognition memory, spatial working memory),
Pycnogenol® subjects showed a small but significant improvement with spatial
recognition memory unchanged. Mood parameters (alertness, anxiety,
contentedness) also improved in professionals using the supplement. In the
evaluation of 12 professional daily tasks all items were improved with
Pycnogenol® supplementation. The score relative to semi-professional minitasks
was improved more in Pycnogenol® subjects. Tolerability and compliance were
optimal with >94% of the doses of supplement correctly used" - [Nutra
USA] - See
Pycnogenol at Amazon.com.
-
Oxytocin May Help
Frontotemporal Dementia - Medscape, 1/20/15 - "frontotemporal
dementia is the second most common cause of presenile dementia. "It typically
starts in the 50s or 60s and appears to have a different pathology to
Alzheimer's, with loss of empathy being the hallmark symptom in the most common
subtype — known as behavioral variant." ... The patient usually has a striking
lack of insight into their condition. They tend to become very self-centered and
unappreciative of other family members ... Oxytocin is believed to be an
important mediator of social behavior, potentially enhancing empathy. When given
to healthy adults or patients with autism, oxytocin has improved emotional
expression, empathy, and cooperative behavior ... oxytocin produced changes in
subscales of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index,
and the Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration–modified Clinical Dementia Rating
(FBI) scale, consistent with improvements in levels of apathy and expressions of
empathy ... However, one third of patients receiving oxytocin had reported
increases in hypersexual behaviors" - See
Oxy Pro (Oxytocin) Nasal Spray at International Anti-aging Systems.
-
Curcumin's ability to fight Alzheimer's studied - Science Daily, 1/12/15 -
"Curcumin has demonstrated ability to enter the brain,
bind and destroy the beta-amyloid plaques present in Alzheimer’s with reduced
toxicity" - See
curcumin products at Amazon.com.
-
Association
between intake of B vitamins and cognitive function in elderly Koreans with
cognitive impairment - Nutr J. 2014 Dec 17 - "These
results suggested that total B vitamins intake is associated with cognitive
function in cognitively impaired AD and MCI elderly, and the association is
stronger in AD patients"
-
Hesperidin
ameliorates behavioural impairments and neuropathology of transgenic APP/PS1
mice - Behav Brain Res. 2014 Dec 12 - "Our findings
suggest that hesperidin might be a potential candidate for the treatment of AD
or even other neurodegenerative diseases" - See
hesperidin at Amazon.com.
-
Periodontal
disease associates with higher brain amyloid load in normal elderly -
Neurobiol Aging. 2014 Nov 5 - "The accumulation of
amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques is a central feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) ...
clinical attachment loss (≥3 mm), representing a history of periodontal
inflammatory/infectious burden, was associated with increased PIB uptake in Aβ
vulnerable brain regions (p = 0.002). We show for the first time in humans an
association between periodontal disease and brain Aβ load. These data are
consistent with the previous animal studies showing that peripheral
inflammation/infections are sufficient to produce brain Aβ accumulations"
- Note: Here's a cut and paste from my dental page with my solution to
periodontal disease in addition to dental cleaning and good hygiene:
-
Serum
coenzyme Q10 and risk of disabling dementia: The Circulatory Risk in Communities
Study (CIRCS) - Atherosclerosis. 2014 Sep 28 -
"community-based cohort of approximately 6000 Japanese aged 40-69 years at
baseline (1984-1994) ... Serum coenzyme Q10 was inversely associated with
dementia: the multivariate odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 0.68
(0.26-1.78), 0.92 (0.33-2.56), and 0.23 (0.06-0.86) for individuals with the
second, third, and highest quartiles of coenzyme Q10, respectively, as compared
with the lowest quartile (P for trend = 0.05)" - See
ubiquinol products at Amazon.com.
-
Higher
homocysteine associated with thinner cortical gray matter in 803 participants
from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative - Neurobiol Aging. 2014
Aug 30 - "A significant portion of our risk for dementia
in old age is associated with lifestyle factors (diet, exercise, and
cardiovascular health) that are modifiable, at least in principle. One such risk
factor, high-homocysteine levels in the blood, is known to increase risk for
Alzheimer's disease and vascular disorders ... These regional differences in
gray matter structure may be useful biomarkers to assess the effectiveness of
interventions, such as vitamin B supplements, that aim to prevent
homocysteine-related brain atrophy by normalizing homocysteine levels"
-
Oral Resveratrol Stabilizes
Amyloid in Alzheimer's - Medscape, 11/18/14 - "We
found that oral resveratrol and its major metabolites penetrate the blood–brain
barrier and seemed to have [central nervous system (CNS)] actions at nanomolar
concentrations ... In the phase 2, double-blind, multicenter, 12-month trial,
participants were randomly assigned to receive either oral RES 500 mg once daily
(N = 64), escalating to 1000 mg twice daily at 13-week intervals, or matching
placebo (n = 55) ... RES treatment
altered Aβ40 levels in CSF and plasma and was associated with a loss of brain
volume and an increase in ventricular volume, possibly explained by reduced
edema and inflammation ... Eleven RES patients lost weight compared with none in
the placebo group (P = .049). Most of the weight change occurred after week 26.
By week 52, the RES group had lost about 1.2 kg compared with baseline, and the
placebo group had gained about 1.5 kg" - See
ReserveAge Resveratrol Vegetarian Capsules, 500 Mg, 60-Count
at Amazon.com.
-
Fish Oil Slows Cognitive
Decline, With Caveats - Medscape, 10/9/14 - "fish
oil supplement use during the study was associated with a significantly lower
rate of cognitive decline as measured by the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment
Scale and the Mini-Mental State Examination, but only in participants free of
dementia at the time of enrollment. Moreover, in patients with normal cognition
at baseline, those who reported taking fish oil supplements demonstrated less
brain atrophy in one or more of the MRI regions of interest, compared with those
who did use the supplements" - See
fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Vitamin D
prevents cognitive decline and enhances hippocampal synaptic function in aging
rats - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Sep 29 -
"Vitamin D is an important calcium-regulating hormone with diverse functions in
numerous tissues, including the brain. Increasing evidence suggests that vitamin
D may play a role in maintaining cognitive function and that vitamin D
deficiency may accelerate age-related cognitive decline ... Our studies
demonstrate a causal relationship between vitamin D status and cognitive
function, and they suggest that vitamin D-mediated changes in hippocampal gene
expression may improve the likelihood of successful brain aging" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Turmeric
compound boosts regeneration of brain stem cells - Science Daily, 9/25/14 -
"A bioactive compound found in turmeric promotes stem
cell proliferation and differentiation in the brain ... The findings suggest
aromatic turmerone could be a future drug candidate for treating neurological
disorders, such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease" - See
curcumin products at Amazon.com.
-
A specific
multi-nutrient enriched diet enhances hippocampal cholinergic transmission in
aged rats - Neurobiol Aging. 2014 Jul 24 - "Fortasyn
Connect (FC) is a specific nutrient combination designed to target synaptic
dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease by providing neuronal membrane precursors and
other supportive nutrients ... the FC diet enhances hippocampal cholinergic
neurotransmission in aged rats and suggest that this effect is mediated by
enhanced synaptic membrane formation. These data provide further insight into
cellular and molecular mechanisms by which FC may support memory processes in
Alzheimer's disease"
- Souvenaid -
Wikipedia - "Souvenaid was developed by Advanced
Medical Nutrition division of Nutricia and contains a patented combination
of nutrients, referred to under the trademark Fortasyn Connect™.[4]
Souvenaid was designed to support synapse formation and function[1] in early
Alzheimer’s disease ... Composition ... Eicospentaenoic acid, 300 mg ...
Docosahexaenoic acid, 1200 mg ... Phospholipids 106 mg ... Choline, 400 mg
... Uridine monophosphate, 625 mg ... Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol
equivalents), 40 mg ... Selenium, 60 µg ... Vitamin B12, 3 µg ... Vitamin
B6, 1 mg ... Folic acid, 400 µg" - See
uridine at Amazon.com.
Most health conscious people are probably already taking the other
incredients.
-
Creating
pomegranate drug to stem Alzheimer's, Parkinson's - Science Daily, 8/22/14 -
"The onset of Alzheimer's disease can be slowed and some
of its symptoms curbed by a natural compound that is found in pomegranate. Also,
the painful inflammation that accompanies illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis
and Parkinson's disease could be reduced ... punicalagin, which is a polyphenol
-- a form of chemical compound -- found in pomegranate fruit, can inhibit
inflammation in specialised brain cells known as micrologia. This inflammation
leads to the destruction of more and more brain cells, making the condition of
Alzheimer's sufferers progressively worse ... we do know that regular intake and
regular consumption of pomegranate has a lot of health benefits -- including
prevention of neuro-inflammation related to dementia" - See
pomegranate extract at Amazon.com.
-
Vitamin D And Dementia: A
Very Close Tie - Medscape, 8/6/14 - "Researchers
obtained blood samples in 1992–1993 and in 2008; they measured serum
25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations. They classified these samples as
follows: less than 25 nmol/L (severely deficient), 25 nmol/L or greater to less
than 50 nmol/L (deficient), and 50 nmol/L or greater (sufficient) ... After also
adjustment for education, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking, alcohol
consumption, and depressive symptoms, the HRs for all-cause dementia were 1.53
in those who were vitamin D deficient and 2.25 for those who were severely
deficient ... Low vitamin D levels likely affect cognition through both
neurodegenerative and vascular mechanisms ... The findings suggest that the
optimal vitamin D level to prevent dementia is 50 nmol/L. Others in the field
argue that a higher level — 75 nmol/L — is better" - [Abstract]
- See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Regular Fish
Consumption and Age-Related Brain Gray Matter Loss - Am J Prev Med. 2014 Jul
29 - "Data were analyzed from 260 cognitively normal
individuals from the Cardiovascular Health Study with information on fish
consumption from the National Cancer Institute Food Frequency Questionnaire and
brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ... Weekly consumption of baked or
broiled fish was positively associated with gray matter volumes in the
hippocampus, precuneus, posterior cingulate, and orbital frontal cortex even
after adjusting for covariates" - See
fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Association of fish oil
supplement use with preservation of brain volume and cognitive function -
Alzheimers Dement. 2014 Jun 18 - "fish oil supplements
(FOSs) ... Older adults (229 cognitively normal individuals, 397 patients with
mild cognitive impairment, and 193 patients with Alzheimer's disease) were
assessed with neuropsychological tests and brain magnetic resonance imaging
every 6 months ... FOS use during follow-up was associated with significantly
lower mean cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale and
higher Mini-Mental State Examination scores among those with normal cognition
... FOS use during the study was also associated with less atrophy in one or
more brain regions of interest" - [Science
Daily] - See
fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Milk and
Dairy Consumption and Risk of Dementia in an Elderly Japanese Population: The
Hisayama Study - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2014 Jun 10 -
"vascular dementia (VaD) ... The age- and sex-adjusted incidence of all-cause
dementia, AD, and VaD significantly decreased as milk and dairy intake level
increased (P for trend = .03 for all-cause dementia, .04 for AD, .01 for VaD)"
-
Korean Red
Ginseng Extract Exhibits Neuroprotective Effects through Inhibition of Apoptotic
Cell Death - Biol Pharm Bull. 2014;37(6):938-46 -
"Taken together, these findings suggest that KRG extract may be beneficial for
the prevention and/or treatment of neurodegenerative disorders including
Alzheimer's disease" - See
ginseng at Amazon.com.
-
1α,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 Reduces Cerebral Amyloid-β Accumulation and Improves
Cognition in Mouse Models of Alzheimer's Disease - J Neurosci. 2014 May
21;34(21):7091-101 - "The composite data suggest that
the VDR is an important therapeutic target in the prevention and treatment of
Alzheimer's disease" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Mouse
study offers new clues to cognitive decline - Science Daily, 5/8/14 -
"The pathway begins with the B vitamin nicotinamide.
Cells take dietary nicotinamide and, with a helper protein called Nampt,
manufacture a molecule called NMN, which then is processed further to make NAD.
When Stein eliminated Nampt from neural stem cells, several significant changes
took place ... Levels of NAD dropped, and the neural stem cells stopped
dividing; they stopped renewing themselves; and they stopped being able to
create important cells that insulate axons, the "wires" that carry electrical
signals throughout the brain. With less insulation, these signals slow down,
impairing brain function"
-
What Is the Difference Between Niacin & Niacinamide? - LiveStrong.com -
"Your body can convert niacin into niacinamide ...
Niacin and niacinamide have identical function when used as vitamins ...
their pharmacologic properties differ. For example, high doses of niacin can
cause skin flushing. Niacinamide, however, does not have the same
vasodialating, or blood-vessel widening, effects, that niacin has, so it
does not lead to skin flushing" - Note: You'll find
contradictory information on the Internet but niacinamide will not raise HDL
and niacin will. See
niacin at Amazon.com.
-
A Nutrient
Combination that Can Affect Synapse Formation - Nutrients. 2014 Apr
23;6(4):1701-10 - "Brain neurons form synapses
throughout the life span. This process is initiated by neuronal depolarization,
however the numbers of synapses thus formed depend on brain levels of three key
nutrients-uridine, the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, and choline ... In Alzheimer's
disease (AD) the need for extra quantities of the three nutrients is enhanced,
both because their basal plasma levels may be subnormal (reflecting impaired
hepatic synthesis), and because especially high brain levels are needed for
correcting the disease-related deficiencies in synaptic membrane and synapses"
- See
uridine at Amazon.com,
docosahexaenoic acid at Amazon.com
and
citicholine at Amazon.com.
-
Rutin
protects against cognitive deficits and brain damage in rats with chronic
cerebral hypoperfusion - Br J Pharmacol. 2014 Apr 24 -
"Rutin, an active flavonoid compound, has been shown to
potently protect the brain against several insults via its anti-oxidant and
anti-inflammatory properties, but its effect on cognitive deficits and brain
damage caused by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion remains unknown so far ...
Studies were carried out in rats with permanent bilateral common carotid artery
occlusion (BCCAO), a well-established rat model of chronic cerebral
hypoperfusion ...BCCAO rats showed remarkable cognitive deficits, which were
significantly improved by rutin treatment. Moreover, BCCAO rats exhibited
central cholinergic dysfunction, oxidative damage, inflammatory responses, and
neuronal damage in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus as compared with
sham-operated rats, all of which were significantly alleviated by long-term
treatment of rutin" - See
rutin at Amazon.com.
-
Taurine
attenuates amyloid β 1-42-induced mitochondrial dysfunction by activating of
SIRT1 in SK-N-SH cells - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2014 Apr 12 -
"Amyloid
β (Aβ) plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD) ...
Taurine, a naturally occurring β-amino acid in the brain, has been demonstrated
to have neuroprotective properties ... Our results suggest that taurine prevents
Aβ1-42-induced mitochondrial dysfunction by activation of SIRT1. This study
implies that taurine is a prospective additive for AD patients" - See
taurine at Amazon.com.
-
Caffeine
against Alzheimer's disease? Positive effect on tau deposits demonstrated -
Science Daily, 4/7/14 - "Tau deposits, along with beta-amyloid
plaques, are among the characteristic features of Alzheimer's disease. These
protein deposits disrupt the communication of the nerve cells in the brain and
contribute to their degeneration ... Caffeine, an adenosine receptor antagonist,
blocks various receptors in the brain which are activated by adenosine"
-
Clinical
Investigation of the Protective Effects of Palm Vitamin E Tocotrienols on Brain
White Matter - Stroke. 2014 Apr 3 - "Previous
cell-based and animal studies showed mixed tocotrienols are neuroprotective, but
the effect is yet to be proven in humans. Thus, the present study aimed to
evaluate the protective activity of mixed tocotrienols in humans with white
matter lesions (WMLs). WMLs are regarded as manifestations of cerebral small
vessel disease, reflecting varying degrees of neurodegeneration and tissue
damage with potential as a surrogate end point in clinical trials ... total of
121 volunteers aged ≥35 years with cardiovascular risk factors and MRI-confirmed
WMLs were randomized to receive 200 mg mixed tocotrienols or placebo twice a day
for 2 years ... the mean WML volume of the placebo group increased after 2
years, whereas that of the tocotrienol-supplemented group remained essentially
unchanged" - My favorite:
Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes
Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
-
What Is Fisetin? And Does
It Slow Dementia? - Medscape, 4/3/14 - "The compound is known to have both
antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects on brain cells. They have now
investigated the memory-protecting effects of fisetin in a strain of
double-transgenic Alzheimer's disease (AD) mice. Three-month-old mice had
fisetin added to their food. By 9 months of age, mice that had not received
fisetin began performing more poorly in water mazes, a standard test of animal
learning and memory. Mice fed fisetin daily performed as well as control mice
without the Alzheimer's transgene at both 9 months and 1 year old. The
researchers next found that in AD mice with memory impairment, pathways involved
in cellular inflammation were activated. In fisetin-fed AD mice, those pathways
were dampened, and anti-inflammatory molecules were activated" - See fisetin at Amazon.com.
-
Healthy
midlife diet may prevent dementia later - Science Daily, 3/10/14 -
"those who ate the healthiest diet at the average age of
50 had an almost 90 per cent lower risk of dementia in a 14-year follow-up study
than those whose diet was the least healthy ... Vegetables, berries and fruits,
fish and unsaturated fats from milk products and spreads were some of the
healthy components, whereas sausages, eggs, sweets, sugary drinks, salty fish
and saturated fats from milk products and spreads were indicated as unhealthy
... Even those who are genetically susceptible can at least delay the onset of
the disease by favouring vegetable oils, oil-based spreads and fatty fish in
their diet"
-
Nicotinamide
and neurocognitive function - Nutr Neurosci. 2014 Feb 21 -
"A literature
review was conducted on the effects of nicotinamide and its derivatives as a
preventive and therapeutic agent for disorders of neurocognitive function.
Specific conditions examined include age-related cognitive decline, Alzheimer's
disease, Parkinson's disease, and ischaemic and traumatic brain injury ...
nicotinamide may be beneficial in preserving and enhancing neurocognitive
function ... Nicotinamide is non-toxic, inexpensive and widely available, and
interventional studies in humans, using supplemental doses of nicotinamide, are
now warranted" - See nicotinamide at Amazon.com.
It’s just one more nutrient to add to the arsenal that may have a synergistic
effect to delay or help prevent Alzheimer’s or dementia.
-
What Is the Difference Between Niacin & Niacinamide? - LiveStrong.com -
"Your body can convert niacin into niacinamide ...
Niacin and niacinamide have identical function when used as vitamins ...
their pharmacologic properties differ. For example, high doses of niacin can
cause skin flushing. Niacinamide, however, does not have the same
vasodialating, or blood-vessel widening, effects, that niacin has, so it
does not lead to skin flushing" - Note: You'll find
contradictory information on the Internet but niacinamide will not raise HDL
and niacin will. See
niacin at Amazon.com.
-
Chemicals in 'Western' Diet Show Alzheimer's-Like Effects in Mice - WebMD,
2/24/14 - "when they added the compounds -- called
advanced glycation end products (AGEs) -- to the lifelong diets of laboratory
mice, the animals developed greater amounts of beta-amyloid in the brain. Beta-amyloid
is the protein that makes up the brain "plaques" seen in people with Alzheimer's
disease ... mice fed these compounds developed more problems with movement and
memory as they aged compared to mice that spent their lives dining on chow that
produced low levels of these chemicals ... AGEs are naturally present in small
amounts in the human body ... But you also ingest the compounds through food --
particularly animal products prepared at a high heat ... That includes fried,
grilled or broiled meats, and dairy products that are pasteurized or sterilized"
-
Rutin
improves spatial memory in Alzheimer's disease transgenic mice by reducing Aβ
oligomer level and attenuating oxidative stress and neuroinflammation -
Behav Brain Res. 2014 Feb 7 - "orally administered rutin
significantly attenuated memory deficits in AD transgenic mice, decreased
oligomeric Aβ level, increased super oxide dismutase activity and glutathione
(GSH)/glutathione disulfide (GSSG) ratio, reduced GSSG and malondialdehyde (MDA)
levels, downregulated microgliosis and astrocytosis, and decreased interleukin
(IL)-1β and IL-6 levels in the brain. These results indicated that rutin is a
promising agent for AD treatment because of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory,
and reducing Aβ oligomer activities" - See
rutin at Amazon.com.
- Rutin - Wikipedia -
"Rutin is a citrus flavonoid glycoside found in many
plants including buckwheat,[6] the leaves and petioles of Rheum species, and
asparagus"
-
Natural
plant compound prevents Alzheimer's disease in mice - Science Daily, 1/27/14
- "A chemical that's found in fruits and vegetables from strawberries to
cucumbers appears to stop memory loss that accompanies Alzheimer's disease in
mice ... In experiments on mice that normally develop Alzheimer's symptoms less
than a year after birth, a daily dose of the compound -- -a flavonol called
fisetin -- -prevented the progressive memory and learning impairments" - See fisetin at Amazon.com.
-
Dietary
treatment shows potential in mouse model of Alzheimer's disease - Science
Daily, 1/24/14 - "The study used transgenic female mice
carrying APP and PS1 mutations linked with familial Alzheimer's disease, and
wild-type mice ... some of the APP/PS1 mice were fed three experimental chows
enriched with fish oil and having a similar fat content as the control chow:
fish oil supplement only, plant sterol supplement or Fortasyn supplement, which
contains uridine-monophosphate, phospholipids, B- vitamins, and antioxidants ...
Among transgenic mice on the experimental diets, the mice on the Fortasyn diet
performed equally well as the wild-type mice, whereas other dietary treatments
showed no improvement. However, all test diets reversed the memory deficit of
the APP/PS1 mice in the odour recognition task. The levels of accumulated
amyloid-β protein in the brain were examined at the end of the study. A
significant reduction in the amyloid-β levels was observed in the plant sterol
group while other experimental diets showed no effect. However, why was a
substantial reduction in brain amyloid-β levels not accompanied by a positive
memory effect in the spatial task in the plant sterol group? One explanation is
that the plant sterol diet increased formation of reactive oxygen species in the
hippocampus, whereas the Fortasyn diet, which yielded the best results in the
spatial memory task, tended to have an opposite effect" - See
uridine at Amazon.com.
-
Fish Oil Might Guard Against Loss of Brain Cells - WebMD, 1/22/14 -
"The more you consume the omega-3 fatty acids found in
fish oils, the less likely you are to lose as many precious brain cells as you
age ... the researchers tested levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the red blood
cells of more than 1,000 older women. Eight years later, the women had MRI scans
that measured their brain volumes. At the time of the scans, the women were an
average of 78 years old ... Participants whose omega-3 levels were twice as high
had a 0.7 percent higher brain volume ... The results suggest that the effect on
brain volume is the equivalent of delaying the normal loss of brain cells that
comes with aging by one to two years" - [Medscape]
- See
fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Higher RBC EPA + DHA corresponds with larger total brain and hippocampal volumes
- Neurology, 2014 Jan 22 - "RBC eicosapentaenoic acid
(EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and MRI brain volumes were assessed in 1,111
postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study ... A
higher omega-3 index was correlated with larger total normal brain volume and
hippocampal volume in postmenopausal women measured 8 years later. While normal
aging results in overall brain atrophy, lower omega-3 index may signal increased
risk of hippocampal atrophy" - See
fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Several
forms of vitamin E protect against memory disorders, study says - Science
Daily, 1/7/14 - "Studies investigating the link between
vitamin E and memory disorders have usually focused on a single form of vitamin
E, namely α-tocopherol, which is also used in vitamin E supplements. However,
vitamin E exists in eight different natural forms, tocopherols and tocotrienols,
all of which have antioxidant properties ... This recently published study
comprises a sample of 140 over 65-year-old Finnish persons with no memory
impairment at the onset of the study. During the eight-year follow-up, it was
discovered that higher total serum levels of vitamin E, and higher levels of
γ-tocopherol, ���-tocotrienol and total tocotrienols in particular, seemed to
protect against memory disorders. According to the researchers, the results show
that the entire vitamin E family plays a role in memory processes" - See
mixed tocopherols at Amazon.com.
My favorite is
Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes
Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
-
Vitamin E Improves Function
in Mild Alzheimer's Disease - Medscape, 12/31//13 -
"The study, conducted at 14 Veterans Affairs medical centers, assessed the
effect of vitamin E alone or with memantine on functional decline in 613
patients (97% men) with mild to moderate AD ... By random assignment, 152
patients received 2000 IU of α-tocopherol per day, 155 received 20 mg of
memantine per day, 154 received the combination of vitamin E and memantine, and
152 received placebo. They were followed for a mean of 2.3 years ... The annual
rate of decline in ADLs was reduced by 19% (P = .03) with vitamin E compared
with placebo" - [Science
Daily] [Abstract]
- Note: I'm still sticking with the mixed form of
vitamin E. See
Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes
Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
-
Cholesterol levels linked to early signs of Alzheimer's in brain -
nbcnews.com, 12/30/13 - "Reed and his team studied brain
scans of 74 patients in stroke clinics and senior centers using Pittsburgh
Compound B, or PIB, a tracer dye that highlights amyloid in the brain. The
patients were, for the most part, normal and free of any symptoms of dementia
... But when the scientists measured the cholesterol in their blood, and teased
out the two types, they found that patients with high levels of low-density
lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol and low levels of high-density lipoprotein or HDL
cholesterol showed higher PIB levels ... That means that the good and bad
effects of the two kinds of cholesterol may occur long before people develop
Alzheimer’s symptoms, perhaps offering a new chance for early intervention ...
The American Heart Association has long said that keeping levels of HDL “good”
cholesterol up — above 60 milligrams per deciliter of blood — and levels of LDL
“bad” cholesterol — below 100 mg/dL — can prevent heart disease. But this new
study underscores the benefit for the brain" - See
niacin at Amazon.com
(to raise HDL. See my niacin page).
-
Serum levels of vitamin E
forms and risk of cognitive impairment in a Finnish cohort of older adults
- Exp Gerontol. 2013 Dec;48(12):1428-35 - "A sample of
140 non-cognitively impaired elderly subjects derived from the Cardiovascular
Risk Factors, Aging, and Dementia (CAIDE) study was followed-up for 8years to
detect cognitive impairment, defined as development of mild cognitive impairment
(MCI) or Alzheimer's dementia. The association between baseline serum vitamin E
and cognitive impairment was analyzed with multiple logistic regression after
adjusting for several confounders ... Elevated levels of tocopherol and
tocotrienol forms are associated with reduced risk of cognitive impairment in
older adults. The association is modulated by concurrent cholesterol
concentration. Various vitamin E forms might play a role in cognitive
impairment, and their evaluation can provide a more accurate measure of vitamin
E status in humans" - [Nutra
USA] - See
Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes
Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
-
Omega-3
Dietary Supplements Pass Blood-Brain Barrier - Science Daily, 12/4/13 -
"omega-3 fatty acids in dietary supplements can cross
the blood brain barrier in people with Alzheimer's disease ... The findings are
presented in the Journal of Internal Medicine, and strengthen the evidence that
omega-3 may benefit certain forms of this seriously debilitating disease ...
Thirty-three patients participated in the study, 18 of whom received a daily
omega-3 supplement and 15 a placebo for six months. The results show that the
first group had higher levels of both DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA,
another omega-3 fatty acid) in their cerebrospinal fluid (which surrounds the
CNS) and blood. No such change was seen in the placebo group ... Moreover, they
also found that levels of DHA correlated directly with the degree of change in
Alzheimer's disease and inflammatory markers in the cerebrospinal fluid"
-
See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Aerobic
Exercise Improves Memory, Brain Function, Physical Fitness - Science Daily,
11/12/13 - "sedentary adults ages 57-75 were randomized
into a physical training or a wait-list control group. The physical training
group participated in supervised aerobic exercise on a stationary bike or
treadmill for one hour, three times a week for 12 weeks ... By measuring brain
blood flow non-invasively using arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI, we can now
begin to detect brain changes much earlier than before ... One key region where
we saw increase in brain blood flow was the anterior cingulate, indicating
higher neuronal activity and metabolic rate. The anterior cingulate has been
linked to superior cognition in late life ... Exercisers who improved their
memory performance also showed greater increase in brain blood flow to the
hippocampus, the key brain region affected by Alzheimer's disease"
-
Magnesium levels vital to brain health as population ages - Science Daily,
11/4/13 - "the human brain begins shrinking after age
25. Structural changes and loss of brain synapses lead to rapid decline in
cognitive health ... magnesium deficiency in adults may play a more important
role in CI, and more seriously, Alzheimer's Disease (AD), than previously
thought ... elevation of brain magnesium through dietary intake of magnesium
threonate exerts substantial positive effects on brain synapes in a mouse model
of AD, actually restoring aging brains to their youthful conditions ... the
'gold standard' of science, demonstrates that dietary supplementation of
Magtein, patented magnesium threonate, can significantly enhance human cognitive
functions and decrease symptoms of cognitive impairments ... We know that as we
age our bodies naturally lose magnesium. For example, drinking coffee or
caffeinated products increases the loss" - See
Magtein at Amazon.com.
-
High Glucose Linked to
Poorer Memory, Even Without Diabetes - Medscape, 10/23/13 -
"lowering blood glucose levels, possibly even to
relatively low levels, might help preserve cognition ... Strategies that help
lower blood glucose levels include a healthy Mediterranean-type diet and regular
physical activity ... cross-sectional study included 141 healthy persons (mean
age, 63.1 years) ... lower performance on 3 memory tasks (delayed recall,
learning ability, and consolidation) was associated with higher levels of both
the long-term marker of glucose control (HbA1c) and the short-term glucose
marker ... For insulin, there was a "general trend going in the same direction"
but correlations were less clear, and without the same direct relationship ...
How low is it safe to go in terms of blood glucose levels? ... If you're used to
low blood sugar levels, you can go quite low ... The idea is that the lower the
A1c the better your brain function" - [Science
Daily]
-
Major
Alzheimer's risk factor linked to red wine target - Science Daily, 10/21/13
- "researchers at the Buck Institute found a link
between ApoE4 and SirT1, an "anti-aging protein" that is targeted by
resveratrol, present in red wine ... ApoE4 causes a dramatic reduction in SirT1,
which is one of seven human Sirtuins ... the abnormalities associated with ApoE4
and AD, such as the creation of phospho-tau and amyloid-beta, could be prevented
by increasing SirT1" - See
resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
-
High
serum fatty acid protects against brain abnormalities - Science Daily,
10/17/13 - "3,660 people aged 65 and older underwent
brain scans to detect so called silent brain infarcts, or small lesions in the
brain that can cause loss of thinking skills, dementia and stroke. Scans were
performed again five years later on 2,313 of the participants ... silent brain
infarcts, which are only detected by brain scans, are found in about 20% of
otherwise healthy elderly people ... those who had high long-chain omega-3
polyunsaturated fatty acid content in blood had about 40% lower risk of having
small brain infarcts compared to those with low content of these fatty acids in
blood ... people who had high long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid
content in blood also had fewer changes in the white matter in their brains"
-
See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Statins and
Cognition: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Short- and Long-term
Cognitive Effects - Mayo Clin Proc. 2013 Sep 27 - "A
systematic search was performed of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central
Register from their inception to April 25, 2013 ... Long-term cognition studies
included 23,443 patients with a mean exposure duration of 3 to 24.9 years. Three
studies found no association between statin use and incident dementia, and 5
found a favorable effect. Pooled results revealed a 29% reduction in incident
dementia in statin-treated patients"
-
Statin
May Prevent Dementia, Memory Loss With Longer Use, Don't Pose Short-Term
Cognition Problems - Science Daily, 10/1/13 -
"statins do not affect short-term memory or cognition. In contrast, they say
that when the drugs are taken for more than one year, the risk of dementia is
reduced by 29 percent ... We looked at high-quality, randomized controlled
trials and prospective studies that included more than 23,000 men and women with
no prior history of cognitive problems. The participants in those studies were
followed for up to 25 years ... Vascular dementia is caused by blockages in
small blood vessels in the brain that prevent blood flow to certain areas.
Medications such as statins that reduce plaque and inflammation in coronary
arteries may also be having the same effect on blood vessels in the brain"
-
New brain
magnesium research and its role in reversing effects of Alzheimer’s - Nutra
USA free download, 9/24/13 - "Magtein is the only
magnesium compound that has been shown to effectively raise the brain’s
magnesium levels, which leads to enhanced learning abilities, working memory,
and short- and long-term memory in both young and aged animals. In four
published preclinical studies, Magtein was found to improve memory, alleviate
anxiety and help prevent the decline and reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer’s ...
Here, we show that increasing brain magnesium using a newly developed magnesium
compound (magnesium-L-threonate, Magtein) leads to the enhancement of learning
abilities, working memory, and short- and long-term memory in rats" - See
Magtein at Amazon.com.
-
Elevation of brain magnesium prevents and reverses cognitive deficits and
synaptic loss in Alzheimer's disease mouse model - J Neurosci. 2013 May
8;33(19):8423-41 - "Here, we investigated whether
elevation of brain magnesium by the use of a recently developed compound,
magnesium-l-threonate (MgT), can ameliorate the AD-like pathologies and
cognitive deficits in the APPswe/PS1dE9 mice, a transgenic (Tg) mouse model
of AD. MgT treatment reduced Aβ plaque and prevented synapse loss and memory
decline in the Tg mice. Strikingly, MgT treatment was effective even when
given to the mice at the end stage of their AD-like pathological progression
... Our results suggest that elevation of brain magnesium exerts substantial
synaptoprotective effects in a mouse model of AD and may have therapeutic
potential for treating AD in humans"
-
Fish oil
could help protect alcohol abusers from dementia - Science Daily, 9/8/13 -
"pooled the results of 143 studies, found that moderate
social drinking may reduce the risk of dementia and cognitive impairment.
(Moderate drinking is defined as a maximum of two drinks per day for men and 1
drink per day for women.) ... exposed cultures of adult rat brain cells to
amounts of alcohol equivalent to more than four times the legal limit for
driving. These cell cultures were compared with cultures of brain cells exposed
to the same high levels of alcohol, plus a compound found in fish oil called
omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Researchers found there was about 90 percent
less neuroinflammation and neuronal death in the brain cells exposed to DHA and
alcohol than in the cells exposed to alcohol alone" - See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Therapeutic
Potential of Turmeric in Alzheimer's Disease: Curcumin or Curcuminoids? -
Phytother Res. 2013 Jul 19 - "Alzheimer's disease (AD)
is the most common form of dementia. There is limited choice in modern
therapeutics, and drugs available have limited success with multiple side
effects in addition to high cost. Hence, newer and alternate treatment options
are being explored for effective and safer therapeutic targets to address AD.
Turmeric possesses multiple medicinal uses including treatment for AD.
Curcuminoids, a mixture of curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and
bisdemethoxycurcumin, are vital constituents of turmeric. It is generally
believed that curcumin is the most important constituent of the curcuminoid
mixture that contributes to the pharmacological profile of parent curcuminoid
mixture or turmeric. A careful literature study reveals that the other two
constituents of the curcuminoid mixture also contribute significantly to the
effectiveness of curcuminoids in AD. Therefore, it is emphasized in this review
that each component of the curcuminoid mixture plays a distinct role in making
curcuminoid mixture useful in AD, and hence, the curcuminoid mixture represents
turmeric in its medicinal value better than curcumin alone" - See
curcumin products at Amazon.com.
-
Preventing
Alzheimer's disease-related gray matter atrophy by B-vitamin treatment -
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 May 20 - "Is it possible
to prevent atrophy of key brain regions related to cognitive decline and
Alzheimer's disease (AD)? One approach is to modify nongenetic risk factors, for
instance by lowering elevated plasma homocysteine using B vitamins. In an
initial, randomized controlled study on elderly subjects with increased dementia
risk (mild cognitive impairment according to 2004 Petersen criteria), we showed
that high-dose B-vitamin treatment (folic acid 0.8 mg, vitamin B6 20 mg, vitamin
B12 0.5 mg) slowed shrinkage of the whole brain volume over 2 y. Here, we go
further by demonstrating that B-vitamin treatment reduces, by as much as seven
fold, the cerebral atrophy in those gray matter (GM) regions specifically
vulnerable to the AD process, including the medial temporal lobe ... B vitamins
lower homocysteine, which directly leads to a decrease in GM atrophy, thereby
slowing cognitive decline" - See
folic acid products at Amazon.com
and
vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.
-
Low vitamin
and carotenoid levels are related to cerebral white matter lesions - J Nutr
Health Aging. 2013;17(5):456-60 - "To determine the
effects of vitamins and carotenoids on brain white matter lesions (WMLs), we
examined the associations between WMLs with vitamin and carotenoid levels in
Japanese middle-aged and elderly subjects ... Deep white matter lesions (DWLs)
... Lower gamma-tocopherol levels were significantly associated with DWLs in all
subjects. While lower gamma-tocopherol and vitamin C levels were significantly
associated with DWLs in males, lower delta-tocopherol levels were associated
with DWLs in females. The associations between DWLs and lower gamma- and
delta-tocopherol and vitamin C levels were independent of age, hypertension, or
smoking. However, the associations between DWLs and lower alfa-tocopherol were
not significant following adjustments for smoking" - Note: Most
supplements only contain alfa-tocopherol which had no affect. See
Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes
Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
-
More
Evidence Berries Have Health-Promoting Properties - Science Daily, 4/21/13 -
"researchers from the Human Nutrition Research Center on
Aging at Tufts University and University of Maryland Baltimore County recently
fed rats a berry diet for 2 months and then looked at their brains after
irradiation, a model for accelerated aging ... Berries seem to promote
autophagy, the brain's natural housekeeping mechanism, thereby reducing the
toxic accumulation" - See
Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.
-
Dietary
patterns and risk of dementia in an elderly Japanese population: the Hisayama
Study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Apr 3 - "dietary
pattern 1 was correlated with high intakes of soybeans and soybean products,
vegetables, algae, and milk and dairy products and a low intake of rice ...
vascular dementia (VaD) ... AD, and VaD were reduced by 0.66 (95% CI: 0.46,
0.95), 0.65 (95% CI: 0.40, 1.06), and 0.45 (95% CI: 0.22, 0.91), respectively,
in subjects in the highest quartile of score for dietary pattern 1 compared with
subjects in the lowest quartile"
-
Explaining how extra virgin olive oil protects against Alzheimer's disease -
Science Daily, 3/20/13 - "Newer research suggested that
the actual protective agent might be a substance called oleocanthal, which has
effects that protect nerve cells from the kind of damage that occurs in AD ...
oleocanthal showed a consistent pattern in which it boosted production of two
proteins and key enzymes believed to be critical in removing Aβ from the brain"
- See
olive leaf extract at Amazon.com.
-
Pomegranate
Polyphenols and Extract Inhibit Nuclear Factor of Activated T-Cell Activity and
Microglial Activation In Vitro and in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Alzheimer
Disease - J Nutr. 2013 Mar 6 - "Alzheimer disease
(AD) brain is characterized by extracellular plaques of amyloid β (Aβ) peptide
with reactive microglia ... Three months of pomegranate feeding decreased the
path length to escape of mice compared with their initial 12-mo values (P <
0.05) and their control-fed counterparts (P < 0.05). Brains of the 3-mo study
pomegranate-fed mice had lower tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) concentrations (P
< 0.05) and lower nuclear factor of activated T-cell (NFAT) transcriptional
activity (P < 0.05) compared with controls. Brains of the 3-mo pomegranate or
control mice were also compared with an additional control group of 12-mo-old
mice for histologic analysis. Immunocytochemistry showed that pomegranate- but
not control-fed mice had attenuated microgliosis (P < 0.05) and Aβ plaque
deposition (P < 0.05) compared with 12-mo-old mice ... These data indicate that
dietary pomegranate produces brain antiinflammatory effects that may attenuate
AD progression" - See
pomegranate at Amazon.com.
-
Citicoline May Improve
Memory, Decrease Cognitive Decline - Medscape, 3/5/13 -
"The study examined 349 patients older than 64 years
from 6 regions in Italy who had memory complaints and evidence of vascular
lesions — but who did not have probable Alzheimer's disease ... the participants
who received citicoline had significantly better memory scores, as shown on the
Mini–Mental State Examination (MMSE), up to 9 months after treatment compared
with their counterparts who did not receive the treatment ... Of the 349 study
participants, 265 received 500 mg of oral citicoline twice daily" - See
citicholine at Amazon.com.
-
Green
tea extract interferes with the formation of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's
disease - Science Daily, 3/5/13 - "The aggregation
of these proteins, called metal-associated amyloids, is associated with
Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions ... Lim and an
interdisciplinary team of researchers used green tea extract to control the
generation of metal-associated amyloid-β aggregates associated with Alzheimer's
disease in the lab ... The specific molecule in green tea, ( --
)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, also known as EGCG, prevented aggregate formation
and broke down existing aggregate structures in the proteins that contained
metals -- specifically copper, iron and zinc" - See
green tea extract at Amazon.com.
-
Copper
can protect against Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily, 2/17/13 -
"under conditions which are approximately similar to
those found in the brain, copper can only protect against beta amyloid forming
beta sheets and as such it is highly unlikely that copper is directly involved
in the formation of senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease ... The research,
published by Nature's online journal Scientific Reports, may also imply that
lower levels of copper in the brain may promote the mechanisms whereby beta
amyloid is deposited as senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease" - See
Jarrow Zinc Balance at Amazon.com.
-
Green
tea and red wine extracts interrupt Alzheimer's disease pathway in cells -
Science Daily, 2/5/13 - "They were able to interrupt
this pathway using the purified extracts of EGCG from green tea and resveratrol
from red wine ... Alzheimer's disease is characterised by a distinct build-up of
amyloid protein in the brain, which clumps together to form toxic, sticky balls
of varying shapes. These amyloid balls latch on to the surface of nerve cells in
the brain by attaching to proteins on the cell surface called prions, causing
the nerve cells to malfunction and eventually die ... The team formed amyloid
balls in a test tube and added them to human and animal brain cells ... When we
added the extracts from red wine and green tea, which recent research has shown
to re-shape amyloid proteins, the amyloid balls no longer harmed the nerve
cells" - See
green tea extract at Amazon.com and
resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
-
Vitamin
D, omega-3 may help clear amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer's - Science
Daily, 2/5/13 - "Our new study sheds further light on a
possible role for nutritional substances such as vitamin D3 and omega-3 in
boosting immunity to help fight Alzheimer's ... The team incubated the immune
cells overnight with amyloid-beta. They added either an active form of vitamin
D3 called 1alpha,25–dihydroxyvitamin D3 or an active form of the omega-3 fatty
acid DHA called resolvin D1 to some of the cells to gauge the effect they had on
inflammation and amyloid-beta absorption ... Both 1alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3
and resolvin D1 improved the ability of the Alzheimer's disease patients'
macrophages to gobble-up amyloid-beta, and they inhibited the cell death that is
induced by amyloid-beta. Researchers observed that each nutrition molecule
utilized different receptors and common signaling pathways to do this"
-
Mild
vitamin B12 deficiency associated with accelerated cognitive decline -
Science Daily, 12/5/12 - "examined data from 549 men and
women enrolled in a cohort of the Framingham Heart Study, focusing on scores on
the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a short list of questions and tasks
commonly used to screen for dementia. The subjects were divided into five
groups, based on their vitamin B-12 blood levels ... Being in the two lowest
groups was associated with significantly accelerated cognitive decline ... Rapid
neuropsychiatric decline is a well-known consequence of severe vitamin B-12
deficiency, but our findings suggest that adverse cognitive effects of low
vitamin B-12 status may affect a much larger proportion of seniors than
previously thought" - See
vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.
-
Vitamin
D tied to women's cognitive performance - Science Daily, 11/30/12 -
"Higher vitamin D dietary intake is associated with a
lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease ... low vitamin D levels among
older women are associated with higher odds of global cognitive impairment and a
higher risk of global cognitive decline ... Slinin's group based its analysis on
6,257 community-dwelling older women who had vitamin D levels measured during
the Study of Osteopathic Fractures" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
This is your brain on exercise - nbcnews.com, 11/26/12 -
"Seniors who fit in the most daily physical activity –
from raking leaves to dancing – can have more gray matter in important brain
regions ... The scientists have images that show people who were the most active
had 5 percent more gray matter than people who were the least active. Having
more little gray brain cells translates into a lower risk of Alzheimer��s
disease, other studies have shown ... the MRIs showed the differences were in
areas of the brain like the hippocampus, which is heavily damaged in Alzheimer’s
disease ... No pharmaceutical drug on the market has been shown to have these
effects on the brain -- not a single drug ... And exercise is available to
anyone ... And it doesn’t cost anything"
-
Effects of
supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on cognitive performance
and cardiometabolic risk markers in healthy 51 to 72 years old subjects: a
randomized controlled cross-over study - Nutr J. 2012 Nov 22;11(1):99 -
"Fish oil n-3 PUFA (3g daily) were consumed during
5weeks separated by a 5 week washout period in a cross-over placebo controlled
study, including 40 healthy middle aged to elderly subjects ... Supplementation
with n-3 PUFA resulted in better performance in the WM-test compared with
placebo (p < 0.05). In contrast to placebo, n-3 PUFA lowered plasma
triacylglycerides (P < 0.05) and systolic blood pressure (p < 0.0001). Systolic
blood pressure (p < 0.05), f-glucose (p = 0.05), and s-TNF-alpha (p = 0.05),
were inversely related to the performance in cognitive tests ... Intake of n-3
PUFA improved cognitive performance in healthy subjects after five weeks
compared with placebo. In addition, inverse relations were obtained between
cardiometabolic risk factors and cognitive performance, indicating a potential
of dietary prevention strategies to delay onset of metabolic disorders and
associated cognitive decline" - See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Vitamin
D could hold vital key to arresting development of Alzheimer’s disease -
Science Daily, 11/8/12 - "Alzheimer's patients who were
not using medication had very poor stores of vitamin D2 -- the type originating
from food such as oily fish, rather than that obtained from exposure to the sun.
"The vitamin was either non-existent or in such low quantities that it could
barely be measured," he explained. "In comparison, people in the study who were
either being treated with drugs to control their Alzheimer's or who didn't have
the condition at all showed far higher levels."" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Aspirin
may slow the decline in mental capacity among elderly patients, Swedish study
suggests - Science Daily, 10/22/12 - "Of the 681
women, 129 received a low daily dose of acetylsalicylic acid, equivalent to a
fourth of an aspirin, to prevent heart disease. The Gothenburg study shows that
acetylsalicylic acid also slowed decline in brain capacity among the elderly
women ... At the end of the five year examination period mental capacity had
declined among all the women and the portion that suffered from dementia was
equally large in the entire group. However, the decline in brain capacity was
significantly less and occurred at a slower pace among the women who received
acetylsalicylic acid"
-
Exercise Protects Aging Brains Better - WebMD, 10/22/12 -
"The new research included about 700 people living in
the United Kingdom who all had brain scans when they reached the age of 73 ...
Three years earlier, at age 70, the study participants were questioned about the
leisure and physical activities they engaged in ... People in the study who
reported being the most physically active tended to have larger brain volumes of
gray and normal white matter, and physical activity was linked to less brain
atrophy ... Regular exercise also appeared to protect against the formation of
white matter lesions, which are linked to thinking and memory decline"
-
Conversion
from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Dementia: Influence of Folic Acid and Vitamin
B12 Use in the VITA Cohort - J Nutr Health Aging. 2012;16(8):687-94 -
"Increased serum homocysteine and low folate levels are
associated with a higher rate of conversion to dementia ... The self-reported
combined use of folic acid and vitamin B12 for more than one year was associated
with a lower conversion rate to dementia. Serum levels of homocysteine and
vitamin B12 as measured at baseline or at five years were not associated with
conversion. Higher folate levels at baseline in females predicted a lower
conversion rate to dementia. The assessment of brain morphological parameters by
magnetic resonance imaging revealed higher serum folate at baseline, predicting
lower medial temporal lobe atrophy and higher levels of homocysteine at
baseline, predicting moderate/severe global brain atrophy at five years. Users
of vitamin B12 or folate, independent of time and pattern of use, had lower
grades of periventricular hyperintensities and lower grades of deep white matter
lesions as compared to non-users" - See
folic acid products at Amazon.com
and
vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.
-
Eating
lots of carbs, sugar may raise risk of cognitive impairment - Science Daily,
10/16/12 - "People 70 and older who eat food high in
carbohydrates have nearly four times the risk of developing mild cognitive
impairment, and the danger also rises with a diet heavy in sugar, Mayo Clinic
researchers have found. Those who consume a lot of protein and fat relative to
carbohydrates are less likely to become cognitively impaired ... Researchers
tracked 1,230 people ages 70 to 89 who provided information on what they ate
during the previous year ... A high carbohydrate intake could be bad for you
because carbohydrates impact your glucose and insulin metabolism"
-
Caffeine
may block inflammation linked to mild cognitive impairment - Science Daily,
10/8/12 - "Freund's team examined the effects of
caffeine on memory formation in two groups of mice -- one group given caffeine,
the other receiving none. The two groups were then exposed to hypoxia,
simulating what happens in the brain during an interruption of breathing or
blood flow, and then allowed to recover ... The caffeine-treated mice recovered
their ability to form a new memory 33 percent faster than the
non-caffeine-treated mice. In fact, caffeine had the same anti-inflammatory
effect as blocking IL-1 signaling. IL-1 is a critical player in the inflammation
associated with many neurodegenerative diseases ... caffeine blocks all the
activity of adenosine and inhibits caspase-1 and the inflammation that comes
with it, limiting damage to the brain and protecting it from further injury"
-
Vitamin D,
cognition, and dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis - Neurology.
2012 Sep 25;79(13):1397-405 - "Thirty-seven studies were
included; 8 contained data allowing mean Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)
scores to be compared between participants with vitamin D <50 nmol/L to those
with values ≥50 nmol/L. There was significant heterogeneity among the studies
that compared the WMD for MMSE but an overall positive effect for the higher
vitamin D group (1.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.5 to 1.9; I(2) = 0.65; p =
0.002). The small positive effect persisted despite several sensitivity
analyses. Six studies presented data comparing Alzheimer disease (AD) to
controls but 2 utilized a method withdrawn from commercial use. For the
remaining 4 studies the AD group had a lower vitamin D concentration compared to
the control group (WMD = -6.2 nmol/L, 95% CI -10.6 to -1.8) with no
heterogeneity (I(2) < 0.01; p = 0.53) ... These results suggest that lower
vitamin D concentrations are associated with poorer cognitive function and a
higher risk of AD" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Melatonin and exercise work against Alzheimer's in mice - Science Daily,
9/26/12 - "The mice were divided into one control group
and three other groups which would undergo different treatments: exercise
-unrestricted use of a running wheel-, melatonin -a dose equivalent to 10 mg per
kg of body weight-, and a combination of melatonin and voluntary physical
exercise ... After six months, the state of the mice undergoing treatment was
closer to that of the mice with no mutations than to their own initial
pathological state. From this we can say that the disease has significantly
regressed ... The results, which were published in the journal Neurobiology of
Aging, show a general improvement in behaviour, learning, and memory with the
three treatments ... These procedures also protected the brain tissue from
oxidative stress and provided good levels of protection from excesses of amyloid
beta peptide and hyperphosphorylated TAU protein caused by the mutations"
- Note: That's a huge amount of melatonin though but then on the other hand it
was a short six month period but on the third hand, mice have a much shorter
life span so it might interpolate to a much longer time span for humans. See
Source Naturals, Melatonin,
2.5 mg, Peppermint Flavored Sublingual, 60 Tablets which is what I take.
-
Higher Free
Thyroxine Levels Predict Increased Incidence of Dementia in Older Men: The
Health In Men Study - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Sep 13 -
"Men who developed dementia had higher baseline FT(4)
(16.5 +/- 2.2 vs. 15.9 +/- 2.2 pmol/liter, P = 0.004) but similar TSH (2.2 +/-
1.4 vs. 2.3 +/- 1.6 mU/liter, P = 0.23) compared with men who did not receive
this diagnosis. After adjusting for covariates, higher FT(4) predicted new-onset
dementia (11% increased risk per 1 pmol/liter increase in FT(4), P = 0.005;
quartiles Q2-4 vs. Q1: adjusted hazard ratio = 1.76, 95% confidence interval =
1.03-3.00, P = 0.04). There was no association between TSH quartiles and
incident dementia. When the analysis was restricted to euthyroid men (excluding
those with subclinical hyper- or hypothyroidism), higher FT(4) remained
associated with incident dementia (11% increase per unit increment, P = 0.03;
Q2-4 vs. Q1: adjusted hazard ratio = 2.02, 95% confidence interval = 1.10-3.71,
P = 0.024)" - Note: There is also an association with a low T3/T4 ration
and insulin resistance. I alternate between taking T4 on day and T3 the next.
Doctor's seem to refuse to prescribe both. See
T3 at International Anti-aging Systems.
-
Vitamin
C and beta-carotene might protect against dementia - Science Daily, 9/11/12
- "A total of 74 AD-patients and 158 healthy controls
were examined for the study that has been published in the Journal of
Alzheimer's Disease (JAD) ... The concentration of vitamin C and beta-carotene
in the serum of AD-patients was significantly lower than in the blood of control
subjects. Whereas no such difference between the groups could be found for the
other antioxidants (vitamin E, lycopene, coenzyme Q10)" - See
Jarrow Formulas, CarotenALL at Amazon.com
and vitamin C at Amazon.com.
-
Tocopherols and
tocotrienols plasma levels are associated with cognitive impairment -
Neurobiol Aging. 2012 Oct;33(10):2282-90 - "Vitamin E
includes 8 natural compounds (4 tocopherols, 4 tocotrienols) with potential
neuroprotective activity. α-Tocopherol has mainly been investigated in relation
to cognitive impairment ... Low plasma tocopherols and tocotrienols levels are
associated with increased odds of MCI and AD" - [Nutra
USA] - See
Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes
Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
-
Brush your
teeth! Dental health linked to dementia risk - MSNBC, 8/21/12 -
"Inflammation stoked by gum disease-related bacteria is
implicated in a host of conditions including heart disease, stroke and diabetes
... It's thought that gum disease bacteria might get into the brain, causing
inflammation and brain damage ... followed 5,468 residents of a Californian
retirement community from 1992 to 2010. Most people in the study were white,
well-educated and relatively affluent. When the study began, participants ranged
in age from 52 to 105, with an average age of 81 ... All were free of dementia
at the outset, when they answered questions about their dental health habits,
the condition of their teeth and whether they wore dentures ... followed up 18
years later ... Of 78 women who said they brushed their teeth less than once a
day in 1992, 21 had dementia by 2010, or about one case per 3.7 women ... In
comparison, among those who brushed at least once a day, closer to one in every
4.5 women developed dementia which translates to a 65-percent greater chance of
dementia among those who brushed less than daily"
-
Plasma
long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and atrophy of the medial temporal lobe -
Neurology. 2012 Aug 1 - "A total of 281 community
dwellers from the Three-City Study, aged 65 years or older, had plasma fatty
acid measurements at baseline and underwent MRI examinations at baseline and at
4 years. We studied the association between plasma EPA and DHA and MTL gray
matter volume change at 4 years ... Higher plasma EPA, but not DHA, was
associated with lower gray matter atrophy of the right
hippocampal/parahippocampal area and of the right amygdala (p < 0.05, familywise
error corrected). Based on a mean right amygdala volume loss of 6.0 mm(3)/y
(0.6%), a 1 SD higher plasma EPA (+0.64% of total plasma fatty acids) at
baseline was related to a 1.3 mm(3) smaller gray matter loss per year in the
right amygdala. Higher atrophy of the right amygdala was associated with greater
4-year decline in semantic memory performances and more depressive symptoms ...
The amygdala, which develops neuropathology in the early stage of AD and is
involved in the pathogenesis of depression, may be an important brain structure
involved in the association between EPA and cognitive decline and depressive
symptoms" -
See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
-
Supplement May Aid
Vascular Dementia Memory Problems - Medscape, 8/1/12 -
"at 9 months, there was a significant difference in
Mini–Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores in citicoline users vs nonusers ...
A psychostimulant, citicoline has been shown to inhibit brain cell death
associated with cerebral ischemia. It has also been shown to inhibit
neurodegeneration and is able to increase neuroplasticity and noradrenaline and
dopamine levels in the central nervous system ... Those in the active treatment
group received oral citicoline at a dose of 500 mg twice a day" - See
citicholine at Amazon.com.
-
Medical Food Linked
to Memory Improvement in Mild Alzheimer's - Medscape, 7/23/12 -
"Administration of a medical food designed to improve
synaptic dysfunction is associated with continuous memory improvement in
patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) ... The once-a-day drink contains a
patented nutrient combination with the following ingredients: Eicospentaenoic
acid, 300 mg ... Docosahexaenoic acid, 1200 mg ... Phospholipids 106 mg ...
Choline, 400 mg ... Uridine monophosphate, 625 mg ... Vitamin E
(alpha-tocopherol equivalents), 40 mg ... Selenium, 60 µg ... Vitamin B12, 3 µg
... Vitamin B6, 1 µg ... Folic acid, 400 µg"
-
Gingko
biloba extract EGb 761®: clinical data in dementia - Int Psychogeriatr. 2012
Aug;24 Suppl 1:S35-40 - "Research into Gingko biloba
extract EGb 761® has been ongoing for many years. Early studies showed that the
extract was superior to placebo in improving symptoms of dementia, and this has
been confirmed by more recent research. The GINDEM-NP, GOTADAY and GOT-IT!
studies showed that 240 mg/day EGb 761® improved cognitive function,
neuropsychiatric symptoms, activities of daily living, and quality of life in
patients with mild to moderate dementia compared with placebo, with results
reproducible in independent trials. The strength of the effect in terms of
improvements in neurosensory symptoms associated with old age and dementia was
strong enough to be detected by caregivers and independent clinicians. A
combination of 240 mg/day EGb 761® and 10 mg/day (initially 5 mg/day) donepezil
was also more effective than either drug alone. Regarding the improvement of
neuropsychiatric symptoms, a cross-comparison of studies with different
antidementia agents suggests that EGb 761® is at least as effective as
memantine, galantamine, and donepezil. Safety data revealed no important safety
concerns with EGb 761®" - See
Ginkgo biloba at Amazon.com.
-
Metformin May Help
Renew Neurons - Medscape, 7/10/12 - "Animal studies
showed that metformin activates a key pathway (aPKC-CBP) that promotes
neurogenesis and enhanced hippocampus-dependent spatial memory formation in
study animals. Results also showed that the drug has similar activity on human
neural precursors, increasing the likelihood that it might enhance neurogenesis
in the human brain as well ... compared with mice given a control substance,
those treated with metformin had about a third more new neurons in the
hippocampus, and almost double the number of new neurons produced by stem cells
... in a spatial learning maze test, mice given metformin (200 mg/kg) were
significantly better able to learn the location of a submerged platform compared
with those given a sterile saline solution" - See
metformin at The Antiaging Store.
-
Nutrient
mixture improves memory in patients with early Alzheimer's - Science Daily,
7/10/12 - "Wurtman came up with a mixture of three
naturally occurring dietary compounds: choline, uridine and the omega-3 fatty
acid DHA ... These nutrients are precursors to the lipid molecules that, along
with specific proteins, make up brain-cell membranes, which form synapses. To be
effective, all three precursors must be administered together ... In animal
studies, he showed that his dietary cocktail boosted the number of dendritic
spines, or small outcroppings of neural membranes, found in brain cells. These
spines are necessary to form new synapses between neurons ... 40 percent of
patients who consumed the drink improved in a test of verbal memory, while 24
percent of patients who received the control drink improved their performance
... Patients, whether taking Souvenaid or a placebo, improved their
verbal-memory performance for the first three months, but the placebo patients
deteriorated during the following three months, while the Souvenaid patients
continued to improve ... as the trial went on, the brains of patients receiving
the supplements started to shift from patterns typical of dementia to more
normal patterns. Because EEG patterns reflect synaptic activity, this suggests
that synaptic function increased following treatment, the researchers say"
- Avoid the patent mark-up. See
citicholine at Amazon.com,
uridine at Amazon.com and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Diabetes drug may someday repair Alzheimer's damage - MSNBC, 7/6/12 -
"The diabetes medication was intended to target a
specific pathway in liver cells. In the new study, researchers found that the
drug activated that same pathway in brain cells, prompting new cell growth ...
The new cells that are produced could help to repair the effects of
neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease ... new brain cells
grew in both living mice and in human brain cell cultures growing in lab dishes.
They are now working to set up clinical trials ... A 2008 study found that
patients with both diabetes and Alzheimer’s who began taking metformin
experienced improvements in their Alzheimer's symptoms after starting on the
drug" - See
metformin at The Antiaging Store.
-
High
blood caffeine levels in older adults linked to avoidance of Alzheimer’s disease
- Science Daily, 6/4/12 - "The collaborative study
involved 124 people, ages 65 to 88, in Tampa and Miami ... These intriguing
results suggest that older adults with mild memory impairment who drink moderate
levels of coffee -- about 3 cups a day -- will not convert to Alzheimer's
disease -- or at least will experience a substantial delay before converting to
Alzheimer's ... The results from this study, along with our earlier studies in
Alzheimer's mice, are very consistent in indicating that moderate daily
caffeine/coffee intake throughout adulthood should appreciably protect against
Alzheimer's disease later in life ... We found that 100 percent of the MCI
patients with plasma caffeine levels above the critical level experienced no
conversion to Alzheimer's disease during the two-to-four year follow-up period
... In addition to Alzheimer's disease, moderate caffeine/coffee intake appears
to reduce the risk of several other diseases of aging, including Parkinson's
disease, stroke, Type II diabetes, and breast cancer"
-
Greater
purpose in life may protect against harmful changes in the brain associated with
Alzheimer’s disease - Science Daily, 5/7/12 - "These
findings suggest that purpose in life protects against the harmful effects of
plaques and tangles on memory and other thinking abilities. This is encouraging
and suggests that engaging in meaningful and purposeful activities promotes
cognitive health in old age ... The Rush Memory and Aging Project, which began
in 1997, is a longitudinal clinical-pathological study of common chronic
conditions of aging. Participants are older persons recruited from about 40
continuous care retirement communities and senior subsidized housing facilities
in and around the Chicago Metropolitan area"
-
Biosynthetic grape-derived compound prevents progression of Alzheimer’s disease
in animal model - Science Daily, 5/1/12 -
"Polyphenols, which occur naturally in grapes, fruits, and vegetables, have been
shown to prevent the cognitive decline associated with AD in a mouse model, but
the molecules are very complex and are extensively metabolized in the body. This
is the first study to determine which specific subfraction of these molecules
penetrates the animal brain, and demonstrate that a drug compound similar to
polyphenols can exert similar bioactivities ... Dr. Pasinetti's team analyzed
the structure of this polyphenol by nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and
recreated it biosynthetically in the laboratory. Dr. Pasinetti and his
collaborators discovered that the synthetic polyphenol generated in the
laboratory also promoted plasticity and benefits in learning and memory
functions in the brains of the mice" - Note: Sounds like a way to get
rich off a patent when the original natural version is probably better in the
first place. - See
grape seed extract at Amazon.com.
-
Eating
fish, chicken, nuts may lower risk of Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily,
5/2/12 - "A new study suggests that eating foods that
contain omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish, chicken, salad dressing and nuts, may
be associated with lower blood levels of a protein related to Alzheimer's
disease and memory problems ... 1,219 people older than age 65, free of
dementia, provided information about their diet for an average of 1.2 years
before their blood was tested for the beta-amyloid. Researchers looked
specifically at 10 nutrients, including saturated fatty acids, omega-3 and
omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, mono-unsaturated fatty acid, vitamin E,
vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin B12, folate and vitamin D ... the more omega-3
fatty acids a person took in, the lower their blood beta-amyloid levels.
Consuming one gram of omega-3 per day (equal to approximately half a fillet of
salmon per week) more than the average omega-3 consumed by people in the study
is associated with 20 to 30 percent lower blood beta-amyloid levels ... Other
nutrients were not associated with plasma beta-amyloid levels" - See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Higher Vitamin D Dietary
Intake Is Associated With Lower Risk of Alzheimer's Disease: A 7-Year Follow-up
- J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2012 Apr 13 - "Women
who developed AD (n = 70) had lower baseline vitamin D intakes (mean, 50.3 +/-
19.3 μg/wk) than nondemented (n = 361; mean intake = 59.0 +/- 29.9 μg/wk, p =
.027) or those who developed other dementias (n = 67; mean intake = 63.6 +/-
38.1 μg/wk, p = .010). There was no difference between other dementias and no
dementia (p = .247). Baseline vitamin D dietary intakes were associated with the
onset of AD (adjusted odds ratio = 0.99 [95% confidence interval = 0.98-0.99], p
= .041) but not with other dementias (p = .071). Being in the highest quintile
of vitamin D dietary intakes was associated with a lower risk of AD compared
with the lower 4 quintiles combined (adjusted odds ratio = 0.23 [95% confidence
interval = 0.08-0.67], p = .007) ... Higher vitamin D dietary intake was
associated with a lower risk of developing AD among older women" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Does Lithium
Prevent Alzheimer's Disease? - Drugs Aging. 2012 Apr 14 -
"Lithium salts have a well-established role in the
treatment of major affective disorders. More recently, experimental and clinical
studies have provided evidence that lithium may also exert neuroprotective
effects. In animal and cell culture models, lithium has been shown to increase
neuronal viability through a combination of mechanisms that includes the
inhibition of apoptosis, regulation of autophagy, increased mitochondrial
function, and synthesis of neurotrophic factors. In humans, lithium treatment
has been associated with humoral and structural evidence of neuroprotection,
such as increased expression of anti-apoptotic genes, inhibition of cellular
oxidative stress, synthesis of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF),
cortical thickening, increased grey matter density, and hippocampal enlargement
... A recent placebo-controlled clinical trial in patients with amnestic mild
cognitive impairment (MCI) showed that long-term lithium treatment may actually
slow the progression of cognitive and functional deficits, and also attenuate
Tau hyperphosphorylation in the MCI-AD continuum"
- See
lithium supplement at Amazon.com.
-
Japanese
traditional therapy, honokiol, blocks key protein in inflammatory brain damage,
study suggests - Science Daily, 3/19/12 - "honokiol
(HNK) is able to down-regulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and
inflammatory enzymes in activated microglia via Klf4, a protein known to
regulate DNA ... HNK can easily move across the blood brain barrier and we found
that HNK reduced levels of pNF-kb and Klf4 as well as the number of activated
microglia in the brains of LPS treated mice" - Note: Relora (honokiol)
is also purported to lower cortisol. See
Relora at Amazon.com.
-
Scientists pinpoint how vitamin D may help clear amyloid plaques found in
Alzheimer's - Science Daily, 3/6/12 - "vitamin D3
may activate key genes and cellular signaling networks to help stimulate the
immune system to clear the amyloid-beta protein ... in both Type I and Type II
macrophages, the added 1a,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 played a key role in opening a
specific chloride channel called "chloride channel 3 (CLC3)," which is important
in supporting the uptake of amyloid beta through the process known as
phagocytosis. Curcuminoids activated this chloride channel only in Type I
macrophages ... The scientists also found that 1a,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3
strongly helped trigger the genetic transcription of the chloride channel and
the receptor for 1a,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in Type II macrophages" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Omega-3 Fatty Acids Help Brain Age Better - WebMD, 2/27/12 -
"the results suggest diets lacking in omega-3 fatty
acids may cause the brain to age faster ... people whose DHA levels were in the
bottom 25% of the group had lower brain volumes compared with people with higher
DHA levels ... In addition, people with both low DHA and all the other omega-3
fatty acid levels scored lower on tests of visual memory, processing, and
abstract thinking ... Researchers say the results suggest that low DHA and other
omega-3 fatty acid levels are associated with a pattern of memory and brain
function problems even in people free of dementia" - See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Mediterranean Diet May Protect Brain - WebMD, 2/13/12 -
"white matter hyperintensity volume (WMHV) ... WMHV is
an indicator of small blood vessel damage in the brain and is detected by
magnetic resonance screening (MRI) ... researchers compared the brain scans and
diets of 966 adults with an average age of 72 ... those who most closely
followed a Mediterranean diet had a lower measure of WMHV than those who did
not. Each increase in the Mediterranean diet score was associated with a
corresponding decrease in white matter hyperintensity volume score ... the
aspect of the Mediterranean diet that seemed to matter most was the ratio of
monounsaturated fat to saturated fat"
-
More vitamin E linked to better mental function: Study - Nutra USA, 1/11/12
- "Alzheimer patients were 85% less likely to have the
highest levels of vitamin E, compared with people with normal cognitive function
... There are eight forms of vitamin E: four tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma,
delta) and four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta) ... the new study is
said to be the first to evaluate all the forms of vitamin E in relation to
Alzheimer’s disease ... Consumers should be taking a full spectrum vitamin E
especially for improving/ preserving cognitive health and performance" -
[Abstract] - See
Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes
Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
-
Alzheimer's: Diet patterns may keep brain from shrinking - Science Daily,
12/29/11 - "People with diets high in several vitamins
or in omega 3 fatty acids are less likely to have the brain shrinkage associated
with Alzheimer's disease than people whose diets are not high in those nutrients
... Those with diets high in omega 3 fatty acids and in vitamins C, D, E and the
B vitamins also had higher scores on mental thinking tests than people with
diets low in those nutrients ... people with diets high in trans fats were more
likely to have brain shrinkage and lower scores on the thinking and memory tests
than people with diets low in trans fats" - See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Antioxidant has potential in the Alzheimer's fight - Science Daily, 12/14/11
- "When you cut an apple and leave it out, it turns
brown. Squeeze the apple with lemon juice, an antioxidant, and the process slows
down ... Simply put, that same "browning" process-known as oxidative
stress-happens in the brain as Alzheimer's disease sets in ... an antioxidant
can delay the onset of all the indicators of Alzheimer's disease, including
cognitive decline. The researchers administered an antioxidant compound called
MitoQ to mice genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer's. The results of
their study were published in the Nov. 2 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience
... Oxidative stress is believed to cause neurons in the brain to die, resulting
in Alzheimer's ... The brain consumes 20 percent of the oxygen in the body even
though it only makes up 5 percent of the volume, so it's particularly
susceptible to oxidative stress ... MitoQ selectively accumulates in the
mitochondria" - Note: I couldn't find the ingredients but it sounds like
a form of co-enzyme Q10. Here's the form I take:
ubiquinol products at Amazon.com
-
Eating
fish reduces risk of Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily, 11/30/11 -
"This is the first study to establish a direct
relationship between fish consumption, brain structure and Alzheimer's risk ...
people who consumed baked or broiled fish at least one time per week had better
preservation of gray matter volume on MRI in brain areas at risk for Alzheimer's
disease ... Each patient underwent 3-D volumetric MRI of the brain. Voxel-based
morphometry, a brain mapping technique that measures gray matter volume, was
used to model the relationship between weekly fish consumption at baseline and
brain structure 10 years later ... consumption of baked or broiled fish on a
weekly basis was positively associated with gray matter volumes in several areas
of the brain. Greater hippocampal, posterior cingulate and orbital frontal
cortex volumes in relation to fish consumption reduced the risk for five-year
decline to MCI or Alzheimer's by almost five-fold ... Consuming baked or broiled
fish promotes stronger neurons in the brain's gray matter by making them larger
and health"
-
B vitamins may slow cognitive decline: Oxford University study - Nutra USA,
10/25/11 - "A daily combination of folic acid, and
vitamins B6 and B12 was associated with a 30% reduction in levels of the amino
acid homocysteine, and improvements in a range of mental tests, including global
cognition and episodic memory ... One interpretation [of the data] is that
lowering homocysteine concentrations by administering B vitamins slows brain
atrophy, which in turn slows both cognitive and clinical decline ... The Vitacog
study involved 266 people over the age of 70 with diagnosed mild cognitive
impairment. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or a B
vitamin supplement providing 0.8 mg per day of folic acid, 0.5 mg of vitamin B12
and 20��mg of vitamin B6" - [Abstract]
-
Vitamin B12,
cognition, and brain MRI measures: A cross-sectional examination -
Neurology. 2011 Sep 27;77(13):1276-82 - "Concentrations
of all vitamin B12-related markers, but not serum vitamin B12 itself, were
associated with global cognitive function and with total brain volume.
Methylmalonate levels were associated with poorer episodic memory and perceptual
speed, and cystathionine and 2-methylcitrate with poorer episodic and semantic
memory. Homocysteine concentrations were associated with decreased total brain
volume. The homocysteine-global cognition effect was modified and no longer
statistically significant with adjustment for white matter volume or cerebral
infarcts. The methylmalonate-global cognition effect was modified and no longer
significant with adjustment for total brain volume ... Methylmalonate, a
specific marker of B12 deficiency, may affect cognition by reducing total brain
volume whereas the effect of homocysteine (nonspecific to vitamin B12
deficiency) on cognitive performance may be mediated through increased white
matter hyperintensity and cerebral infarcts. Vitamin B12 status may affect the
brain through multiple mechanisms" - See
vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.
-
Low
vitamin B12 levels may lead to brain shrinkage, cognitive problems - Science
Daily, 9/26/11 - "Older people with low blood levels of
vitamin B12 markers may be more likely to have lower brain volumes and have
problems with their thinking skills ... An average of four-and-a-half years
later, MRI scans of the participants' brains were taken to measure total brain
volume and look for other signs of brain damage ... Having high levels of four
of five markers for vitamin B12 deficiency was associated with having lower
scores on the cognitive tests and smaller total brain volume ... On the
cognitive tests, the scores ranged from -2.18 to 1.42, with an average of 0.23.
For each increase of one micromole per liter of homocysteine -- one of the
markers of B12 deficiency -- the cognitive scores decreasedby 0.03 standardized
units or points" - See
vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.
-
Omega-3 may ease depression symptoms, slash dementia risk: RCT - Nutra USA,
9/23/11 - "recruited 50 people over the age of 65 to
participate in their six-month double-blind, randomized controlled trial ...
Participants received daily supplements of EPA- or DHA-rich fish oil, or the
omega-6 linoleic acid (LA, 2.2 grams per day). The EPA-rich supplement provided
1.67 grams of EPA and 0.16 grams of DHA, while the DHA-rich supplement provided
1.55 grams of DHA and 0.40 grams of EPA ... compared with the group receiving
the LA supplements, the EPA-rich supplement group displayed higher scores on the
Geriatric Depression Scale ... On the other hand, the DHA group displayed
improvements in verbal fluency ... These results indicate that DHA-rich and
EPA-rich fish oils may be effective for depressive symptoms and health
parameters, exerting variable effects on cognitive and physical outcomes"
- [Abstract] - See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Aerobic
exercise may reduce the risk of dementia, researchers say - Science Daily,
9/7/11 - "Researchers examined the role of aerobic
exercise in preserving cognitive abilities and concluded that it should not be
overlooked as an important therapy against dementia ... Examples include
walking, gym workouts and activities at home such as shoveling snow or raking
leaves ... We culled through all the scientific literature we could find on the
subject of exercise and cognition, including animal studies and observational
studies, reviewing over 1,600 papers, with 130 bearing directly on this issue
... brain imaging studies have consistently revealed objective evidence of
favorable effects of exercise on human brain integrity"
-
Natural
Alzheimer's-fighting compound created inexpensively in lab - Science Daily,
8/25/11 - "Until now, researchers have only been able to
derive small amounts of the compound directly from the Huperzia serrata plant,
or had to resort to lengthy and cumbersome methods to synthesize it in the lab
... Now researchers at Yale have developed a practical and cost-effective method
to synthesize huperzine A in the lab. The process requires just eight steps and
produces a yield of 40 percent. Previously, the best synthetic techniques had
required twice as many steps and achieved yields of only two percent ... In
addition, the Herzon lab and the firm are working with the U.S. Army, which is
interested in huperzine A's potential in blocking the effects of chemical
warfare agents ... Other Alzheimer's treatments based on enzyme inhibitors are
currently prescribed in the U.S., but huperzine A binds better, is more easily
absorbed by the body and last longer in the body than other treatments ... We
believe huperzine A has the potential to treat a range of neurologic disorders
more effectively than the current options available" - See
huperzine at Amazon.com.
-
Treatment with vitamin C dissolves toxic protein aggregates in Alzheimer's
disease - Science Daily, 8/18/11 - "The brains of
people with Alzheimer's disease contain lumps of so-called amyloid plaques which
consist of misfolded protein aggregates. They cause nerve cell death in the
brain and the first nerves to be attacked are the ones in the brain's memory
centre ... When we treated brain tissue from mice suffering from Alzheimer's
disease with vitamin C, we could see that the toxic protein aggregates were
dissolved ... The notion that vitamin C can have a positive effect on
Alzheimer's disease is controversial, but our results open up new opportunities
for research into Alzheimer's and the possibilities offered by vitamin C"
- See
vitamin C products at Amazon.com.
-
Fish
oil's impact on cognition and brain structure identified in new study -
Science Daily, 8/17/11 - "Researchers at Rhode Island
Hospital's Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center have found positive
associations between fish oil supplements and cognitive functioning as well as
differences in brain structure between users and non-users of fish oil
supplements ... compared to non-users, use of fish oil supplements was
associated with better cognitive functioning during the study. However, this
association was significant only in those individuals who had a normal baseline
cognitive function and in individuals who tested negative for a genetic risk
factor for Alzheimer's Disease known as APOE4. This is consistent with previous
research ... The unique finding, however, is that there was a clear association
between fish oil supplements and brain volume ... In other words, fish oil use
was associated with less brain shrinkage in patients taking these supplements
during the ADNI study compared to those who didn't report using them" -
See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Natural
chemical found in grapes may protect against Alzheimer's disease - Science
Daily, 7/16/11 - "grape seed polyphenols -- a natural
antioxidant -- may help prevent the development or delay the progression of
Alzheimer's disease ... This is the first study to evaluate the ability of
grape-derived polyphenols to prevent the generation of a specific form of
β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide, a substance in the brain long known to cause the
neurotoxicity associated with Alzheimer disease ... administered grape seed
polyphenolic extracts to mice genetically determined to develop memory deficits
and Aβ neurotoxins similar to those found in Alzheimer's disease. They found
that the brain content of the Aβ*56, a specific form of Aβ previously implicated
in the promotion of Alzheimer's disease memory loss, was substantially reduced
after treatment" - See
grape seed extract at Amazon.com.
-
The Body Odd - Coffee buzz protects brain from Alzheimer's - MSNBC, 6/29/11
- "the equivalent of four to five cups of caffeinated
coffee every few days led to much improved memories in the Alzheimer���s mice ...
Earlier research by Arendash and his colleagues showed that caffeine could at
least partially block the production of beta amyloid, the sticky protein that
clogs the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. They also found that a substance
called granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, or GCSF, sparked the production of
new axons, the communication cables that link nerve cells together, as well as
new nerve cells themselves"
-
Lithium
profoundly prevents brain damage associated with Parkinson's disease, mouse
study suggests - Science Daily, 6/24/11 - "lithium
has recently been suggested to be neuroprotective in relation to several
neurodegenerative conditions including Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease
and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and has been touted for its anti-aging
properties in simple animals" - See lithium supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Nutritional Supplement Boosts Cognition in Healthy Women - Medscape, 6/21/11
- "Citicoline, a naturally occurring substance found in
the brain and liver and marketed as a nutritional supplement, enhanced aspects
of cognition in healthy women and may have a role in mitigating the cognitive
decline associated with normal aging ... It may also improve the attention
deficits associated with psychiatric disorders ... The women were divided into 3
groups of 20 and randomly assigned to receive a daily oral citicoline dose of
250 mg (low dose) or 500 mg (high dose) or placebo for 28 days ... participants
who received low- or high-dose citicoline showed improved attention,
demonstrating fewer commission and omission errors on the CPT-II compared with
the placebo group" - See
citicholine at Amazon.com.
-
Mystery
ingredient in coffee boosts protection against Alzheimer's disease - Science
Daily, 6/21/11 - "A yet unidentified component of coffee
interacts with the beverage's caffeine, which could be a surprising reason why
daily coffee intake protects against Alzheimer's disease. A new Alzheimer's
mouse study by researchers at the University of South Florida found that this
interaction boosts blood levels of a critical growth factor that seems to fight
off the Alzheimer's disease process ... The new study does not diminish the
importance of caffeine to protect against Alzheimer's. Rather it shows that
caffeinated coffee induces an increase in blood levels of a growth factor called
GCSF (granulocyte colony stimulating factor). GCSF is a substance greatly
decreased in patients with Alzheimer's disease and demonstrated to improve
memory in Alzheimer's mice ... The boost in GCSF levels is important, because
the researchers also reported that long-term treatment with coffee (but not
decaffeinated coffee) enhances memory in Alzheimer's mice. Higher blood GCSF
levels due to coffee intake were associated with better memory ... First, GCSF
recruits stem cells from bone marrow to enter the brain and remove the harmful
beta-amyloid protein that initiates the disease. GCSF also creates new
connections between brain cells and increases the birth of new neurons in the
brain ... An increasing body of scientific literature indicates that moderate
consumption of coffee decreases the risk of several diseases of aging, including
Parkinson's disease, Type II diabetes and stroke"
-
Fatty Acids and Cognitive Decline in Women - Medscape, 6/13/11 -
"In this cohort of older women, greater MUFA intake was
associated with less cognitive decline over a 3-year period. Previous studies
generally but not invariably support this association. One previous prospective
study found greater dietary MUFA intake to be associated with less cognitive
decline,[10] a second found a trend in the same direction,[9] a third found a
trend in the same direction in restricted analyses,[6] and three others were
null.[7,8,11] None of the null studies had multiple measures of diet; one
assessed diet using a measure of fatty acid composition of erythrocyte
membranes,[7] but that study assessed cognitive decline exclusively using the
Mini-Mental State Examination, which is probably not as sensitive as the
neuropsychological test battery used in this study ... MUFA is thought to be one
of the major protective components of the traditional Mediterranean diet, in
which it is derived primarily from olive oil (median 46 g/d).[10] Two recent
prospective studies of the Mediterranean diet have found greater adherence to be
associated with less cognitive decline and lower incidence of Alzheimer's
disease (AD).[31,32] One of these studies found an effect of the Mediterranean
diet on an individual cognitive domain, namely memory.[31] This finding is
consistent with the observed protective effect of MUFA on memory in the WHI CCW.
In addition, the current study found an association between MUFA and less
decline in visual–spatial abilities (copying and matching), a finding not
previously made to the knowledge of the authors of the current study. Decline in
visuospatial function has been associated with driving errors in older
adults[33] and has also been suggested as a potential predictor (along with
amnestic impairment) of transition from mild cognitive impairment to AD ...
Several pathways may explain the apparent relationship between MUFA intake and
cognitive function. MUFA and MUFA derivatives have antiinflammatory effects in
vivo,[35,36] which may be important because chronic inflammation appears to be a
precursor of symptomatic AD.[37–39] Oxidative stress has also been demonstrated
in patients with mild cognitive impairment and AD,[40] and derivatives from
MUFA, including low-molecular-weight phenols, have been found to have
antioxidant effects.[41] MUFA may also exert their potentially beneficial
effects on cognition indirectly by decreasing cardiovascular risk by reducing
macrophage uptake of plasma oxidized low-density lipoprotein, apolipoprotein B,
and f triglycerides" - Click here for my olive
oil mayonnaise recipe.
-
Naturally occurring plant alkaloids could slow down Alzheimer's disease, study
suggests - Science Daily, 5/26/11 - "Beta-carboline
alkaloids could potentially be used in therapeutic drugs to stop, or at least
slow down, the progressively debilitating effects of Alzheimer's ...
Beta-carboline alkaloids are found in a number of medicinal plants. They have
antioxidant properties, and have been shown to protect brain cells from
excessive stimulation of neurotransmitters. "(They) are natural occurring
compounds in some plant species that affect multiple central nervous system
targets,""
-
Moderate
exercise dramatically improves brain blood flow in elderly women - Science
Daily, 4/12/11 - "it's never too late for women to reap
the benefits of moderate aerobic exercise. In a 3-month study of 16 women age 60
and older, brisk walking for 30-50 minutes three or four times per week improved
blood flow through to the brain as much as 15% ... At study's end, the team
measured blood flow in the women's carotid arteries again and found that
cerebral blood flow increased an average of 15% and 11% in the women's left and
right internal carotid arteries, respectively. The women's VO2 max increased
roughly 13%, their blood pressure dropped an average of 4%, and their heart
rates decreased approximately 5% ... A steady, healthy flow of blood to the
brain achieves two things. First, the blood brings oxygen, glucose and other
nutrients to the brain, which are vital for the brain's health. Second, the
blood washes away brain metabolic wastes such as amyloid-beta protein released
into the brain's blood vessels. Amyloid-beta protein has been implicated in the
development of Alzheimer's disease"
-
Docosahexaenoic Acid reduces amyloid {beta} production via multiple, pleiotropic
mechanism - J Biol Chem. 2011 Feb 15 - "Alzheimer's
disease (AD) is characterized by accumulation of the amyloidogenic peptide Aβ
generated by β- and γ-secretase processing of the amyloid precursor protein
(APP). The intake of the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) docosahexaenoic acid
(DHA) has been associated with decreased amyloid deposition and a reduced risk
in AD in several epidemiological trials; however the exact underlying molecular
mechanism remains to be elucidated ... DHA reduces amyloidogenic processing by
decreasing β- and γ-secretase activity, whereas the expression and protein
levels of BACE1 and Presenilin1 remain unchanged. In addition, DHA increases
protein stability of α-secretase resulting in increased non-amyloidogenic
processing. Beside the known effect of DHA to decrease cholesterol de novo
synthesis, we found cholesterol distribution in plasma membrane to be altered.
In presence of DHA, cholesterol shifts from raft to non-raft domains, which is
accompanied by a shift in γ-secretase activity and Presenilin1 protein level.
Taken together, DHA directs amyloidogenic processing of APP towards
non-amyloidogenic processing, effectively reducing Aβ release. DHA has a typical
pleiotropic effect; DHA-mediated Aβ reduction is not the consequence of a single
major mechanism, but the result of combined multiple effects" - See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Good
diets fight bad Alzheimer's genes: Diets high in fish oil have a beneficial
effect in patients at risk, researcher says - Science Daily, 2/15/11 -
"APOE comes in two forms, a "good" APOE gene and a "bad"
APOE gene, called APOE4. He has developed animal models to investigate the
effects of diet and environment on carriers of APOE4, the presence of which is a
known risk factor for Alzheimer's. It appears in 50% of all Alzheimer's
patients, and in 15% of the general population which due to APOE4 is the
population which is at risk of getting the disease ... The good news? In
preliminary results, the researchers are exhilarated to find that a diet high in
Omega 3 oils and low in cholesterol appears to significantly reduce the negative
effects of the APOE4 gene in mouse models" - See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Protective properties of green tea uncovered - Science Daily, 1/5/11 -
"Regularly drinking green tea could protect the brain
against developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia"
- See
green tea extract at Amazon.com.
-
Higher
HDL-C Levels May Curb Alzheimer's Disease Risk - Medscape, 12/16/10 -
"There was a definite threshold effect, the researchers
say, with a clear reduction in AD risk for people in the highest HDL-C level
quartile (>56 mg/dL) ... these analyses were limited by the small number of
cases of vascular dementia (n = 16) ... the current study linking higher HDL-C
to a lower risk for incident dementia contrast with a prior study by the same
researchers. This earlier study involved 1168 participants recruited from the
same community in 1992 – 1994 and showed no association between HDL-C and AD ...
Compared with the 1992 – 1994 cohort, the 1999 – 2001 cohort had a higher
proportion of subjects receiving lipid-lowering treatment (23.4% vs 14.5%),
higher mean HDL-C levels (48.3 vs 47.2 mg/dL), and fewer individuals who smoked
(9.4% vs 10.6%) and had heart disease (18.8% vs 34.1%)"
-
High
levels of 'good' cholesterol may be associated with lower risk of Alzheimer's
disease - Science Daily, 12/13/10 - "The researchers
defined higher levels of HDL cholesterol as 55 milligrams per deciliter or more
... higher levels of HDL cholesterol were associated with a decreased risk of
both probable and possible Alzheimer's disease"
-
Blueberries and other purple fruits to ward off Alzheimer's, Multiple
Sclerosis and Parkinson's - Science Daily, 12/7/10 -
"Eating purple fruits such as blueberries and drinking green tea can help
ward off diseases including Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's
... the majority of debilitating illnesses are in part caused by
poorly-bound iron which causes the production of dangerous toxins that can
react with the components of living systems ... These toxins, called
hydroxyl radicals, cause degenerative diseases of many kinds in different
parts of the body ... In order to protect the body from these dangerous
varieties of poorly-bound iron, it is vital to take on nutrients, known as
iron chelators, which can bind the iron tightly" - See
blueberry extract at Amazon.com
and
green tea extract at Amazon.com.
-
Chronic high cholesterol diet produces brain damage - Science Daily,
11/24/10 - "chronic high fat cholesterol diet in
rats exhibited pathologies similar to Alzheimer's disease ... A third
hypothesis suggests that chronic long-lasting mild cerebrovascular damage,
including inflammatory processes and oxidative stress, may cause Alzheimer's
disease ... chronic hypercholesterolemia [in rats] caused memory impairment,
cholinergic dysfunction, inflammation, enhanced cortical beta-amyloid and
tau and induced microbleedings, all indications, which resemble an
Alzheimer's disease-like pathology"
-
Homocysteine and holotranscobalamin and the risk of Alzheimer disease: A
longitudinal study - Neurology. 2010 Oct 19;75(16):1408-14 -
"homocysteine (tHcy) and holotranscobalamin
(holoTC), the active fraction of vitamin B12 ... The odds ratios (ORs) (95%
confidence interval [CI]) for AD were 1.16 (1.04-1.31) per increase of 1
μmol/L of tHcy at baseline and 0.980 (0.965-0.995) for each increase of 1
pmol/L baseline holoTC ... This study suggests that both tHcy and holoTC may
be involved in the development of AD. The tHcy-AD link may be partly
explained by serum holoTC. The role of holoTC in AD should be further
investigated"
-
Vitamin B12 May Curb Risk for Alzheimer's Disease - Medscape, 10/18/10 -
"holotranscobalamin (holoTC), the biologically
active fraction of vitamin B12 ... for each 1-µmol/L increase in the
baseline concentration of tHcy, the risk for AD increased by 16% (odds ratio
[OR], 1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04 – 1.31). On the other hand,
for each 1-pmol/L increase in baseline holoTC, the risk for AD was reduced
by 2% (OR, 0.980; 95% CI, 0.965 �� 0.995)" - [Science
Daily] - See
vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.
-
Subclinical
Zinc Deficiency in Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease - Am J
Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2010 Sep 14 - "Results
showed a significantly lower blood zinc in patients with Alzheimer's and
patients with Parkinson's than in controls. Urine zinc excretion, normalized to
urine creatinine excretion, was not significantly different in either patient
group compared to controls. These patients are probably zinc deficient because
of nutritional inadequacy" - Note: Zinc interferes with copper and too
much zinc can cause a deficiency of copper. See
Jarrow Zinc Balance at Amazon.com.
-
B
vitamins slow brain atrophy in people with memory problems - Science
Daily, 9/12/10 - "on average the brains of those
taking the folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12 treatment shrank at a rate of
0.76% a year, while those in the placebo group had a mean brain shrinkage
rate of 1.08%. People with the highest levels of homocysteine benefited
most, showing atrophy rates on treatment that were half of those on placebo"
-
Vitamin B is revolutionary new weapon against Alzheimer's Disease
telegraph.co.uk, 9/9/10 - "Mild Cognitive Impairment
(MCI) – a kind of memory loss and forgetfulness – and Alzheimer's ... On
average, taking B vitamins slowed the rate of brain atrophy by 30 per cent,
and in many cases reductions was as high as 53 per cent were seen"
-
Vitamin B may help prevent Alzheimer’s - Nutra USA, 9/9/10 -
"The authors concluded that an accelerated rate of brain
atrophy in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment could be slowed via
dietary supplementation with homocysteine-lowering B vitamins"
-
Vitamin D
status and measures of cognitive function in healthy older European adults -
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010 Aug 11 - "Serum 25(OH)D was
significantly and inversely correlated with four assessments within the spatial
working memory (SWM) test parameter (SWM between errors (r=-0.166; P=0.003); SWM
between errors 8 boxes (r=-0.134; P=0.038); SWM strategy (r=-0.246; P<0.0001);
and SWM total errors (r=-0.174; P<0.003)). When subjects were stratified on the
basis of tertiles (T) of serum 25(OH)D (<47.6 (T(1)); 47.6-85.8 (T(2)); and
>85.8 (T(3)) nmol/l), fewer errors in SWM test scores occurred in subjects in
the third T when compared with the first T (P<0.05-0.084). Stratification by sex
showed that these differences between tertiles strengthened (P<0.001-0.043) in
the females, but the differences were not significant (P>0.6) in
males.Conclusions:Vitamin D insufficiency, but not deficiency, is widespread in
the older population of several European countries. Low vitamin D status was
associated with a reduced capacity for SWM, particularly in women" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Natural substance NT-020 aids aging brains in rats, study finds -
Science Daily, 7/20/10 - "Aging has been linked to
oxidative stress, and we have previously shown that natural compounds made
from blueberries, green tea, and amino acids, such as carnosine, are high in
antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activity .... The
combination of these nutrients, called NT-020, creates a synergistic effect
that promotes the proliferation of stem cells in the aged animals ... NT-020
may have not only a positive effect on the stem cell niche ... NT-020 may
have far-reaching effects on organ function beyond the replacement of
injured cells, as demonstrated by cognitive improvement in the NT-020 group"
-
Low
vitamin D levels associated with cognitive decline - Science Daily,
7/12/10 - "An estimated 40 percent to 100 percent of
older adults in the United States and Europe are deficient in vitamin D ...
Participants who were severely deficient in vitamin D (having blood levels
of 25-hydroxyvitamin D of less than 25 nanomoles per liter) were 60 percent
more likely to have substantial cognitive decline in general over the
six-year period and 31 percent more likely to experience declines on the
test measuring executive function than those with sufficient vitamin D
levels" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Sirtuin1 may boost memory and learning ability; Discovery could lead to new
drugs to fight Alzheimer's, other neurological diseases - Science Daily,
7/11/10 - "Resveratrol, found in wine, has been
touted as a life-span enhancer because it activates a group of enzymes known
as sirtuins, which have gained fame in recent years for their ability to
slow the aging process. Now MIT researchers report that Sirtuin1 -- a
protein that in humans is encoded by the SIRT1 gene -- also promotes memory
and brain flexibility ... We have now found that SIRT1 activity also
promotes plasticity and memory" - See
resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
-
High
blood levels of vitamin E reduces risk of Alzheimer's, Swedish study finds
- Science Daily, 7/7/10 - "High levels of several
vitamin E components in the blood are associated with a decreased risk for
Alzheimer's disease (AD) in advanced age, suggesting that vitamin E may help
prevent cognitive deterioration in elderly people. This is the conclusion
reached in a Swedish study ... Vitamin E is a family of eight natural
components, but most studies related to Alzheimer's disease investigate only
one of these components, +/--tocopherol ... We hypothesized that all the
vitamin E family members could be important in protecting against AD ...
subjects with higher blood levels of all the vitamin E family forms had a
reduced risk of developing AD, compared to subjects with lower levels. After
adjusting for various confounders, the risk was reduced by 45-54%, depending
on the vitamin E component" - See
Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes
Tocomin) at Amazon.com
-
Compound
found in red wine neutralizes toxicity of proteins related to Alzheimer's
- Science Daily, 6/22/10 - "An organic compound
found in red wine -- resveratrol -- has the ability to neutralize the toxic
effects of proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease ... this molecule can
target some of these packing arrangements that are toxic and rearrange them
into packing arrangements that are not toxic. For those forms that are
non-toxic, it doesn't change them" - See
resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
-
Alcohol consumption may protect against risk of Alzheimer's disease,
particularly in female nonsmokers, study finds 0 Science Daily, 5/24/10
-
Caffeine may slow Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, restore cognitive
function, according to new evidence - Science Daily, 5/17/10 -
"Key findings ... Multiple beneficial effects of
caffeine to normalize brain function and prevent its degeneration ...
Caffeine's neuroprotective profile and its ability to reduce amyloid-beta
production ... Caffeine as a candidate disease-modifying agent for
Alzheimer's disease ... Positive impact of caffeine on cognition and memory
performance ... Identification of adenosine A2A receptors as the main target
for neuroprotection afforded by caffeine consumption ... Confirmation of
data through valuable meta-analyses presented ... Epidemiological studies
corroborated by meta-analysis suggesting that caffeine may be protective
against Parkinson's disease"
-
Low Vitamin D Level Tied to Cognitive Decline - WebMD, 4/16/10 -
"Two new studies add to evidence that older people with
low levels of vitamin D may be more likely to suffer from cognitive
impairment. ... Results showed that the lower their score on the test, the
lower their vitamin D levels" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Exercise
Plays a Preventive Role Against Alzheimer's Disease - J Alzheimers Dis.
2010 Feb 24 - "Regular physical activity increases
the endurance of cells and tissues to oxidative stress, vascularization,
energy metabolism, and neurotrophin synthesis, all important in
neurogenesis, memory improvement, and brain plasticity. Although extensive
studies are required to understand the mechanism, it is clear that physical
exercise is beneficial in the prevention of AD and other age-associated
neurodegenerative disorders"
-
Caffeine
Intake is Associated with a Lower Risk of Cognitive Decline: A Cohort Study
from Portugal - J Alzheimers Dis. 2010 Feb 24 -
"Caffeine intake (> 62 mg/day [3rd third] vs. < 22 mg/day [1st third]) was
associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline in women (RR=0.49, 95%CI
0.24-0.97), but not significantly in men (RR=0.65, 95%CI 0.27-1.54)"
- Note: I don't know how they determine that 0.65 isn't significant.
-
Caffeine
as a Protective Factor in Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease - J
Alzheimers Dis. 2010 Feb 24 - "In the CAIDE study,
coffee drinking of 3-5 cups per day at midlife was associated with a
decreased risk of dementia/AD by about 65% at late-life. In conclusion,
coffee drinking may be associated with a decreased risk of dementia/AD. This
may be mediated by caffeine and/or other mechanisms like antioxidant
capacity and increased insulin sensitivity. This finding might open
possibilities for prevention or postponing the onset of dementia/AD"
-
DHA May
Prevent Age-Related Dementia - J Nutr. 2010 Feb 24 -
"DHA is pleiotropic, acting at multiple steps to reduce the production of the
beta-amyloid peptide, widely believed to initiate AD. DHA moderates some of the
kinases that hyperphosphorylate the tau-protein, a component of the
neurofibrillary tangle. DHA may help suppress insulin/neurotrophic factor
signaling deficits, neuroinflammation, and oxidative damage that contribute to
synaptic loss and neuronal dysfunction in dementia. Finally, DHA increases brain
levels of neuroprotective brain-derived neurotrophic factor and reduces the
(n-6) fatty acid arachidonate and its prostaglandin metabolites that have been
implicated in promoting AD. Clinical trials suggest that DHA or fish oil alone
can slow early stages of progression, but these effects may be apolipoprotein E
genotype specific, and larger trials with very early stages are required to
prove efficacy. We advocate early intervention in a prodromal period with
nutrigenomically defined subjects with an appropriately designed nutritional
supplement, including DHA and antioxidants" - See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Docosahexaenoic Acid Deficiency and Prefrontal Cortex Neuropathology in
Recurrent Affective Disorders - J Nutr. 2010 Feb 10 -
"Increasing evidence suggests that docosahexaenoic
acid [DHA, 22:6(n-3)], the principal (n-3) fatty acid in brain gray matter, has
neurotrophic and neuroprotective properties. Preliminary clinical evidence also
suggests that the perinatal accrual, and the subsequent dietary maintenance of,
cortical DHA is positively associated with cortical gray matter volumes. The
pathophysiology of recurrent affective disorders, including unipolar and bipolar
depression, is associated with (n-3) fatty acid deficiency, DHA deficits,
impaired astrocyte mediated vascular coupling, neuronal shrinkage, and
reductions in gray matter volume in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Preclinical
studies have also observed neuronal shrinkage and indices of astrocyte pathology
in the DHA-deficient rat brain. Together, this body of evidence supports the
proposition that DHA deficiency increases vulnerability to neuronal atrophy in
the PFC of patients with affective disorders" - See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Omega-3 may reduce risk of Alzheimer’s: Rat study - Nutra USA, 2/1/10 -
"This study, for the first time, reported […] a
clear correlation between the decrease in acetylcholine release and memory
deficit, [and] E-EPA improves memory by attenuating the reduction of
acetylcholine release and nerve growth factor expression ... In this study,
our findings add further evidence that E-EPA may improve memory by the
modulation of acetylcholineand neurotrophin functions" - See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
-
Reductions of acetylcholine release and nerve growth factor expression are
correlated with memory impairment induced by interleukin-1beta administrations:
effects of omega-3 fatty acid EPA treatment - J Neurochem. 2009 Dec 3 -
"E-EPA treatment significantly improved the memory, which was correlated with
normalizing ACh release, and expressions of NGF and IL-1beta" - See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
-
Flavonoid intake and disability-adjusted life years due to Alzheimer's and
related dementias: a population-based study involving twenty-three developed
countries - Public Health Nutr. 2010 Jan 11:1-7 -
"Flavonols and combined flavonoids (all five
combined) intakes were the only two parameters with significant (P < 0.05)
negative dementia correlations. Multiple linear regression models confirmed
this relationship, and excluded confounding from some other dietary and
non-dietary factors. Similar analyses with non-dementia,
neurological/psychiatric diseases did not yield significant correlations.
CONCLUSIONS: At a global level, and in the context of different genetic
backgrounds, our results suggest that higher consumption of dietary
flavonoids, especially flavonols, is associated with lower population rates
of dementia in these countries"
-
Green tea chemical combined with another may hold promise for treatment of
brain disorders - Science Daily, 12/3/09 -
"Scientists at Boston Biomedical Research Institute (BBRI) and the
University of Pennsylvania have found that combining two chemicals, one of
which is the green tea component EGCG, can prevent and destroy a variety of
protein structures known as amyloids. Amyloids are the primary culprits in
fatal brain disorders such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's
diseases" - See
green tea extract at Amazon.com.
-
25-Hydroxyvitamin D, dementia, and cerebrovascular pathology in elders
receiving home services - Neurology. 2009 Nov 25 -
"Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency was
associated with all-cause dementia, Alzheimer disease, stroke (with and
without dementia symptoms), and MRI indicators of cerebrovascular disease.
These findings suggest a potential vasculoprotective role of vitamin D"
- See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids boost the birth of new neurons,
study finds - Science Daily, 11/24/09 - "a diet
rich in polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids, patented as an LMN
diet, helps boost the production of the brain's stem cells -neurogenesis-
and strengthens their differentiation in different types of neuron cells ...
mice fed an LMN diet, when compared to those fed a control diet, have more
cell proliferation in the two areas of the brain where neurogenesis is
produced, the olfactory bulb and the hippocampus, both of which are greatly
damaged in patients with Alzheimer's disease ... Polyphenols can be found in
tea, beer, grapes, wine, olive oil, cocoa, nuts and other fruits and
vegetables. Polyunsaturated fatty acids can be found in blue fish and
vegetables such as corn, soya beans, sunflowers and pumpkins"
-
NSAIDs Prevent Early Sign Of Alzheimer Disease In Mice Science Daily,
11/12/09 - "If taking nonsteroidal antiinflammatory
drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or naproxen is to protect you from
developing Alzheimer disease then you will have to start taking them at a
very early age according to research in a mouse model of the disease"
-
Olive oil component could avert Alzheimer’s - Nutra USA, 10/20/09 -
"ADDLs bind within the neural synapses of the brains
of Alzheimer's patients and are believed to directly disrupt nerve cell
function, eventually leading to memory loss, cell death and global
disruption of brain function ... incubation with oleocanthal changed the
structure of ADDLs by increasing the protein's size" - [Abstract]
- See
olive leaf extract at Amazon.com.
-
Alzheimer's-associated
Abeta oligomers show altered structure, immunoreactivity and synaptotoxicity
with low doses of oleocanthal - Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2009 Oct
15;240(2):189-97 - "results indicate oleocanthal is
capable of altering the oligomerization state of ADDLs while protecting
neurons from the synaptopathological effects of ADDLs and suggest OC as a
lead compound for development in AD therapeutics" - See
olive leaf extract at Amazon.com.
-
Nuts, Vegetables, Fish Cut Alzheimer's Risk - WebMD, 10/14/09 -
"we discovered an Alzheimer's-disease-protective
dietary pattern that was characterized by a high consumption of nuts, fish,
salad dressing, poultry, tomatoes, cruciferous, dark, and green leafy
vegetables and fruits, and low in high-fat dairy, red meat, organ meat, and
butter"
-
Protective Role For Copper In Alzheimer’s Disease - Science Daily,
10/8/09 - "Two articles in a forthcoming issue of
the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease -- by Dr Chris Exley, Reader in
Bioinorganic Chemistry in the Research Institute for the Environment,
Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics at Keele University, UK, and Dr
Zhao-Feng Jiang, of Beijing Union University, Beijing, China -- have
confirmed a potentially protective role for copper in Alzheimer��s disease"
- See
Jarrow Zinc Balance at Amazon.com. Note: High quantities of zinc can lower
copper.
-
Natural Compound In Extra-virgin Olive Oil -- Oleocanthal -- May Help
Prevent, Treat Alzheimer's - Science Daily, 9/29/09 -
"Measuring ADDL binding with and without
oleocanthal, they discovered that small amounts of oleocanthal effectively
reduced binding of ADDLs to hippocampal synapses. Additional studies
revealed that oleocanthal can protect synapses from structural damage caused
by ADDLs ... An unexpected finding was that oleocanthal makes ADDLs into
stronger targets for antibodies. This action establishes an opportunity for
creating more effective immunotherapy treatments, which use antibodies to
bind to and attack ADDLs" - See
olive leaf extract at Amazon.com.
-
Sleep Loss Linked To Increase In Alzheimer's Plaques - Science Daily,
9/24/09 - "Chronic sleep deprivation in a mouse
model of Alzheimer's disease makes Alzheimer's brain plaques appear earlier
and more often"
-
How
To Boost Value Of Alzheimer's-fighting Compounds - Science Daily, 9/7/09
- "Connie Weaver, Purdue's head of foods and
nutrition; and Elsa Janle, a Purdue associate professor of foods and
nutrition, found that the amount of polyphenols from grapeseed extract that
can reach a rat's brain is as much as 200 percent higher on the 10th
consecutive day of feeding as compared to the first. Many previous
experiments, in which absorption was measured after single or sporadic
doses, often found very little, if any, of the bioactive polyphenols
reaching brain tissues. However, more chronic exposure appears to improve
absorption ... This shows that reasonable and chronic consumption of these
products may be the way to go, rather than single, high doses" - See
grape seed extract at Amazon.com.
-
More
Obesity Blues: Obese People Are At Greater Risk For Developing Alzheimer's,
Study Finds - Science Daily, 8/25/09 - "They found
that obese people had 8 percent less brain tissue than people with normal
weight, while overweight people had 4 percent less tissue. According to
Thompson, who is also a member of UCLA's Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, this is
the first time anyone has established a link between being overweight and having
what he describes as "severe brain degeneration.""
-
Green Tea
(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate Inhibits {beta}-Amyloid-Induced Cognitive
Dysfunction through Modification of Secretase Activity via Inhibition of ERK and
NF-{kappa}B Pathways in Mice - J Nutr. 2009 Aug 5 -
"Compared with untreated mutant PS2 AD mice, treatment with EGCG enhanced memory
function and brain alpha-secretase activity but reduced brain beta- and
gamma-secretase activities as well as Abeta levels. Moreover, EGCG inhibited the
fibrillization of Abeta in vitro with a half maximal inhibitory concentration of
7.5 mg/L. These studies suggest that EGCG may be a beneficial agent in the
prevention of development or progression of AD" - See
green tea extract at Amazon.com.
-
'Brain
Exercises' May Delay Memory Decline In Dementia - Science Daily, 8/4/09 -
"People who engage in activities that exercise the
brain, such as reading, writing, and playing card games, may delay the rapid
memory decline that occurs if they later develop dementia"
-
Vit D-curcumin combo offers brain health potential - Nutra USA, 7/27/09 -
"The curcuminoids were found to enhance binding of
beta-amyloid to macrophages, and that vitamin D could strongly stimulate the
uptake and absorption of beta-amyloid in macrophages in most of the patients ...
Since vitamin D and curcumin work differently with the immune system, we may
find that a combination of the two or each used alone may be more effective —
depending on the individual patient" - [Abstract]
- See
vitamin D at Amazon.comand
curcumin products at Amazon.com.
-
1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D_{3} Interacts with Curcuminoids to Stimulate Amyloid-β
Clearance by Macrophages of Alzheimer's Disease Patient - J Alzheimers Dis.
2009 May 11 -
"1,25D3 strongly stimulated Abeta phagocytosis and
clearance while protecting against apoptosis. Certain synthetic curcuminoids in
combination with 1,25D3 had additive effects on phagocytosis in Type I but not
Type II macrophages. In addition, we investigated the mechanisms of 1,25D3 and
curcuminoids in macrophages. The 1,25D3 genomic antagonist analog MK inhibited
1,25D3 but not curcuminoid effects, suggesting that 1,25D3 acts through the
genomic pathway. In silico, 1,25D3 showed preferential binding to the genomic
pocket of the vitamin D receptor, whereas bisdemethoxycurcumin showed preference
for the non-genomic pocket. 1,25D3 is a promising hormone for AD
immunoprophylaxis because in Type I macrophages combined treatment with 1,25D3
and curcuminoids has additive effects, and in Type II macrophages 1,25D3
treatment is effective alone. Human macrophages are a new paradigm for testing
immune therapies for AD" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.comand
curcumin products at Amazon.com.
-
Antioxidant
effect of lutein towards phospholipid hydroperoxidation in human erythrocytes
- Br J Nutr. 2009 Jul 22:1-5 - "These results suggest
that lutein has the potential to act as an important antioxidant molecule in
erythrocytes, and it thereby may contribute to the prevention of dementia"
- See
lutein at Amazon.com.
-
Chemicals Found In Fruit And Vegetables Offer Dementia Hope - Science Daily,
7/19/09 - "a new concept is emerging that suggests
flavonoids do not act simply as antioxidants but exert their biological effects
through other mechanisms. A small number of recent studies carried out in models
of Alzheimer’s disease have found that oral administration of green tea
flavonoids or grape flavonoids reduces brain pathology and, in some cases,
improves cognition. Dr Williams and colleagues have focused their own cellular
studies on a flavonoid called epicatechin, which is abundant in a number of
foodstuffs, including cocoa ... epicatechin protects brain cells from damage but
through a mechanism unrelated to its antioxidant activity and shown in
laboratory tests that it can also reduce some aspects of Alzheimer���s disease
pathology" - See Jarrow Formulas, OPCs + 95 at Amazon.com.
-
Vitamin
D, Curcumin May Help Clear Amyloid Plaques Found In Alzheimer's Disease -
Science Daily, 7/15/09 - "The team discovered that
curcuminoids enhanced the surface binding of amyloid beta to macrophages and
that vitamin D strongly stimulated the uptake and absorption of amyloid beta in
macrophages in a majority of patients ... Since vitamin D and curcumin work
differently with the immune system, we may find that a combination of the two or
each used alone may be more effective — depending on the individual patient"
- See
curcumin products at Amazon.com
and
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Oily fish may reduce dementia risk: Transcontinental study - Nutra USA,
7/8/09 - "Almost 15,000 people aged 65 or over were
surveyed. After adjusting for various confounders and pooling the data from all
the sites, the researchers report that they observed a dose-dependent inverse
association between dementia and fish consumption" - [Abstract]
- See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Dietary fish and meat intake and dementia in Latin America, China, and India: a
10/66 Dementia Research Group population-based study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2009
Jun 24 - "We found a dose-dependent inverse association
between fish consumption and dementia (PR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.72, 0.91) that was
consistent across all sites except India and a less-consistent, dose-dependent,
direct association between meat consumption and prevalence of dementia (PR:
1.19; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.31)" - See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Caffeine
Reverses Memory Impairment In Mice With Alzheimer's Symptoms - Science
Daily, 7/6/09 - "Coffee drinkers may have another reason
to pour that extra cup. When aged mice bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's
disease were given caffeine – the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day –
their memory impairment was reversed"
-
Silibinin
prevents amyloid beta peptide-induced memory impairment and oxidative stress in
mice - Br J Pharmacol. 2009 Jun 22 - "Silibinin
(silybin), a flavonoid derived from the herb milk thistle (Silybum marianum),
has been shown to have antioxidative properties; however, it remains unclear
whether silibinin improves Abeta-induced neurotoxicity ... Silibinin prevented
the memory impairment induced by Abeta(25-35) in the Y-maze and novel object
recognition tests. Repeated treatment with silibinin attenuated the
Abeta(25-35)-induced accumulation of malondialdehyde and depletion of
glutathione in the hippocampus ... Silibinin prevents memory impairment and
oxidative damage induced by Abeta(25-35) and may be a potential therapeutic
agent for Alzheimer's disease" - See
silymarin at Amazon.com.
-
Alcohol
consumption as a risk factor for dementia and cognitive decline: meta-analysis
of prospective studies - Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2009 Jul;17(7):542-55 -
"Alzheimer disease (AD) ... vascular
dementia (VaD) ... The pooled relative risks (RRs) of AD, VaD, and Any
dementia for light to moderate drinkers compared with nondrinkers were 0.72 (95%
CI = 0.61-0.86), 0.75 (95% CI = 0.57-0.98), and 0.74 (95% CI = 0.61-0.91),
respectively. When the more generally classified "drinkers," were compared with
"nondrinkers," they had a reduced risk of AD (RR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.47-0.94) and
Any dementia (RR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.53-0.82) but not cognitive decline. There
were not enough data to examine VaD risk among "drinkers." Those classified as
heavy drinkers did not have an increased risk of Any dementia compared with
nondrinkers, but this may reflect sampling bias. Our results suggest that
alcohol drinkers in late life have reduced risk of dementia. It is unclear
whether this reflects selection effects in cohort studies commencing in late
life, a protective effect of alcohol consumption throughout adulthood, or a
specific benefit of alcohol in late life"
-
Statins Can Protect Against Alzheimer’s Disease, According To New Study
- Science Daily, 6/22/09 - "They clearly
demonstrated that treatment with a statin called Lovastatin could prevent
the death of nerve cells under these conditions. The statins not only
prevented cells from dying but also prevented the loss of memory capacity
that normally occurs after such cell death. In a previous study Dolga had
showed that these statins stimulate the protective capacity of tumor
necrosis factor, which is a key player in the brain’s immune response"
- [Abstract] -
Note: Lovastatin
is in red yeast rice. See
red yeast rice at Amazon.com.
-
Pretreatment with Lovastatin Prevents N-Methyl-D-Aspartate-Induced
Neurodegeneration in the Magnocellular Nucleus Basalis and Behavioral
Dysfunction - J Alzheimers Dis. 2009 Mar 6 -
"From these studies we conclude that treatment with lovastatin may provide
protection against neuronal injury in excitotoxic conditions associated with
neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease" - Note:
Lovastatin (that's the
generic name and therefore shouldn't be capitalized) is in
red yeast rice. See
red yeast rice at Amazon.com.
-
Is
Vitamin D Deficiency Linked To Alzheimer's Disease And Vascular Dementia?
- Science Daily, 5/26/09 - "Several studies have
correlated tooth loss with development of cognitive impairment and
Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia. There are two primary ways that
people lose teeth: dental caries and periodontal disease. Both conditions
are linked to low vitamin D levels, with induction of human cathelicidin by
1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D being the mechanism ... There is also laboratory
evidence for the role of vitamin D in neuroprotection and reducing
inflammation, and ample biological evidence to suggest an important role for
vitamin D in brain development and function ... those over the age of 60
years should consider having their serum 25(OH)D tested, looking for a level
of at least 30 ng/mL but preferably over 40 ng/mL, and supplementing with
1000-2000 IU/day of vitamin D3 or increased time in the sun spring, summer,
and fall if below those values" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
High-Dose Vitamin E Slows Functional Decline in Alzheimer's Disease -
Medscape, 5/4/09 - "The clinical-effectiveness study
enrolled 540 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (324 women) who had
a mean age of nearly 74 years. All were receiving 1 of the following
cholinesterase inhibitors: donepezil, rivastigmine, or galantamine (800 to
1000 U twice daily). In addition, 208 patients received vitamin E (800 to
2000 IU/day) ... Vitamin E treatment showed small to medium effect sizes in
slowing functional decline, the abstract reports. For vitamin E, the ADL
Cohen's d significantly increased, from 0.20 in year 1 (P = .02) to 0.42 by
year 5 (P < .001)"
-
Cholinesterase Inhibition Combined With Antioxidants May Help Alzheimer's
Disease Outcomes - Doctor's Guide, 3/17/09 -
"Addition of a defined antioxidants formulation (Formula F) to donepezil
treatment of patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) substantially
reduces oxidative stress and provides significant benefits over treatment
with donepezil alone"
-
Folate Deficiency May Triple Dementia Risk in the Elderly - Medscape,
3/3/09 - "individuals who were folate deficient at
study outset were 3.5 times more likely to develop dementia" - See
folic acid products at Amazon.com.
-
Role of
Huperzine A in the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease - Ann Pharmacother.
2009 Feb 24 - "AD is a progressive neurodegenerative
brain disorder for which there is no cure; available therapies only decrease
cognitive decline. Huperzine A, an alkaloid derived from Chinese club moss
(H. serrata), acts as a selective inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase and may
also display neuroprotective properties. Preliminary data suggest that
huperzine A may improve cognition; studies ranging from 8 to 12 weeks have
found improvements in the Mini-Mental State Examination score of 1-5 points
... Although use of huperzine A has shown promising results in patients with
AD, data supporting its use are limited by weak study design" - See
huperzine at Amazon.com.
-
Mediterranean Diet May Preserve Memory - WebMD, 2/9/09 -
"The Mediterranean diet consists of larger doses of
fish, vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals, and unsaturated fatty acids; low
amounts of dairy products, meat, and saturated fats; and a moderate amount
of alcohol ... average 4.5 year follow-up period. Those in the top one-third
of Mediterranean diet scores had a 28% lower risk (compared to those in the
bottom third) of developing a cognitive impairment"
-
Coffee
lovers face lower dementia risk - MSNBC, 2/3/09 -
"among 1,400 Finnish adults followed for 20 years,
those who drank three to five cups of coffee per day in middle-age were
two-thirds less likely than non-drinkers to develop dementia, including
Alzheimer's disease"
-
Apple Juice Can Delay Onset Of Alzheimer's Disease, Study Suggests -
Science Daily, 1/22/09 - "drinking apple juice
helped mice perform better than normal in maze trials, and prevented the
decline in performance that was otherwise observed as these mice aged ...
mice receiving the human equivalent of 2 glasses of apple juice per day for
1 month produced less of a small protein fragment, called "beta-amyloid"
that is responsible for forming the "senile plaques" that are commonly found
in brains of individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease"
-
Low
Levels Of Vitamin D Link To Cognitive Problems In Older People - Science
Daily, 1/22/09 - "Researchers from the Peninsula
Medical School, the University of Cambridge and the University of Michigan,
have for the first time identified a relationship between Vitamin D, the
"sunshine vitamin", and cognitive impairment in a large-scale study of older
people ... as levels of Vitamin D went down, levels of cognitive impairment
went up. Compared to those with optimum levels of Vitamin D, those with the
lowest levels were more than twice as likely to be cognitively impaired"
- See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
-
Midlife Coffee And Tea Drinking May Protect Against Late-life Dementia -
Science Daily, 1/14/09 - "coffee drinkers at midlife
had lower risk for dementia and AD later in life compared to those drinking
no or only little coffee. The lowest risk (65% decreased) was found among
moderate coffee drinkers (drinking 3-5 cups of coffee/day). Adjustments for
various confounders did not change the results. Tea drinking was relatively
uncommon and was not associated with dementia/AD"
-
Neuroprotective Effects of (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate on Aging Mice
Induced by D-Galactose - Biol Pharm Bull. 2009 Jan;32(1):55-60 -
"aim of the present study was to investigate the
protective effects of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the main
polyphenolic constituent of green tea ... Oral administration of EGCG (2
mg/kg or 6 mg/kg) for 4 weeks significantly improved the cognitive deficits
in mice and elevated T-SOD and GSH-Px activities, decreased MDA contents in
the hippocampus, and reduced the cell apoptosis index and expression of
cleaved caspase-3 in the mouse hippocampus. The results suggest that EGCG
has potent neuroprotective effects on aging mice induced by D-gal through
antioxidative and antiapoptotic mechanisms, indicating that EGCG is worthy
of further study in aging" - See
green tea extract at Amazon.com.
-
Blood Sugar Linked To Normal Cognitive Aging - Science Daily, 12/30/08 -
"Beyond the obvious conclusion that preventing
late-life disease would benefit the aging hippocampus, our findings suggest
that maintaining blood sugar levels, even in the absence of diabetes, could
help maintain aspects of cognitive health. More specifically, our findings
predict that any intervention that causes a decrease in blood glucose should
increase dentate gyrus function and would therefore be cognitively
beneficial" - [WebMD]
-
Moderate Drinking Can Reduce Risks Of Alzheimer's Dementia And Cognitive
Decline - Science Daily, 12/29/08 - "Alcohol is
a two-edged sword ... Too much is bad. But a little might actually be
helpful"
-
Berry Compound Reduces Aging Effect - Science Daily, 12/28/08 -
"in aging rats, pterostilbene was effective in
reversing cognitive decline and that improved working memory was linked to
pterostilbene levels in the hippocampus region of the brain"
-
Berry extracts may ease age-related mental decline: Study - Nutra USA,
12/12/08 - "The results indicated that in aging
rats, pterostilbene was effective in reversing the decline in cognitive
function that occurs with naturally with age, and that precedes diseases
such as Alzheimer's" - [Abstract]
-
Efficacy
of a Vitamin/Nutriceutical Formulation for Early-stage Alzheimer's Disease:
A 1-Year, Open-Label Pilot Study With an 16-Month Caregiver Extension -
Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2008 Dec 1 - "We
examined the efficacy of a vitamin/nutriceutical formulation (folate,
vitamin B6, alpha-tocopherol, S-adenosyl methionine, N-acetyl cysteine, and
acetyl-L-carnitine) in a 12-month, open-label trial with 14
community-dwelling individuals with early-stage Alzheimer's disease.
Participants improved in the Dementia Rating Scale and Clock-drawing tests
(Clox 1 and 2). Family caregivers reported improvement in multiple domains
of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and maintenance of performance in
the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living (ADL).
Sustained performance was reported by caregivers for those participants who
continued in an 16-month extension. Performance on the NPI was equivalent to
published findings at 3 to 6 months for donepezil and exceeded that of
galantamine and their historical placebos. Participants demonstrated
superior performance for more than 12 months in NPI and ADL versus those
receiving naproxen and rofecoxib or their placebo group. This formulation
holds promise for treatment of early-stage Alzheimer's disease prior to
and/or as a supplement for pharmacological approaches"
-
Exercise Increases Brain Growth Factor And Receptors, Prevents Stem Cell
Drop In Middle Age - Science Daily, 11/27/08 -
"exercise significantly slows down the loss of new nerve cells in the
middle-aged mice. They found that production of neural stem cells improved
by approximately 200% compared to the middle-aged mice that did not
exercise. In addition, the survival of new nerve cells increased by 170% and
growth by 190% compared to the sedentary middle-aged mice. Exercise also
significantly enhanced stem cell production and maturation in the young
mice. In fact, exercise produced a stronger effect in younger mice compared
to the older mice"
-
How
Red Wine Compounds Fight Alzheimer's Disease - Science Daily, 11/23/08 -
"Teplow's lab has been studying how amyloid beta
(Aß) is involved in causing Alzheimer's. In this work, researchers monitored
how Aß40 and Aß42 proteins folded up and stuck to each other to produce
aggregates that killed nerve cells in mice. They then treated the proteins
with a polyphenol compound extracted from grape seeds. They discovered that
polyphenols carried a one-two punch: They blocked the formation of the toxic
aggregates of Aß and also decreased toxicity when they were combined with Aß
before it was added to brain cells" - See
grape seed extract at Amazon.com.
-
Docosahexaenoic Acid and the Aging Brain - J Nutr. 2008
Dec;138(12):2510-2514 - "Deficits in DHA or its
peroxidation appear to contribute to inflammatory signaling, apoptosis, and
neuronal dysfunction in Alzheimer disease (AD), a common and progressive
age-related neurological disorder unique to structures and processes of the
human brain" - See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Ginkgo biloba has no benefits against dementia: Study - Nutra USA,
11/19/08 - "The GEM Study involved 3,069 community
volunteers with an average age of 79.1 ... Commenting on the study, Dr
Fabricant said the study had two major limitations: ��������One, it looks
exclusively at people almost 80 years old who are far more likely to have
Alzheimer’s, while ignoring those in middle ages, where the risk for
developing the disease rises quickly and prevention could best be analyzed,”
... Two, it excludes completely any consideration of the strong and
established role that family history plays with Alzheimer’s. You can’t do a
study on the weather without looking at wind and rain.”"
-
Most ginkgo products fail quality testing - Nutra USA, 11/18/08 -
"Some companies put less of it in their products
than they claim or use ingredient that has been adulterated with inexpensive
material that can fool non-specific tests ... companies continued to make
products with little to no ginkgo in them, leading Consumerlab to suggest
���ginkgo is among the most adulterated herbs.”" - That's why I stay
with the top brand names. They have more to loose with bad press. I also
think that's why some studies show benefits with certain supplement while
other studies don't. I've been taking Nature's Way, Ginkgold. I get the
paid version of Consumerlab and I thought it was strange that they didn't
test that brand. - Ben
-
Ginkgo Biloba Does Not Reduce Dementia Risk, Study Shows - Science
Daily, 11/18/08 - "The researchers found no
statistical difference in dementia or Alzheimer's disease rates between the
groups. Among those taking G. biloba, 277 developed dementia. Among those in
the placebo group, 246 developed dementia. Mortality rates also were
similar" - I read this after the above article and comments but like
I said.
-
Form of Vitamin B3 May Help Alzheimer's - WebMD, 11/4/08 -
"Researchers from the University of California,
Irvine dissolved nicotinamide in drinking water and fed it to mice with
Alzheimer's. The researchers found that nicotinamide prevented mental
deficits in mice with Alzheimer's. It also seemed to improve short-term
memory of mice without Alzheimer's" - [Science Daily} - See
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide at Amazon.com.
-
High-fat Diet Could Promote Development Of Alzheimer's Disease - Science
Daily, 10/28/08 - "the main neurological markers for
Alzheimer's disease are exacerbated in the brains of mice fed a diet rich in
animal fat and poor in omega-3s"
-
Effects of grape seed-derived polyphenols on amyloid beta -protein
self-assembly and cytotoxicity - J Biol Chem. 2008 Sep 24 -
"Alzheimer's disease (AD) ... studies showed that a
commercially-available grape seed polyphenolic extract, MegaNatural-AZ (MN),
significantly attenuated AD-type cognitive deterioration and reduced
cerebral amyloid deposition" - See
grape seed extract at Amazon.com.
-
Low plasma eicosapentaenoic acid and depressive symptomatology are
independent predictors of dementia risk - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008
Sep;88(3):714-21 -
"A high plasma EPA concentration may decrease the
risk of dementia, whereas high ratios of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids and of AA to
DHA may increase the risk of dementia, especially in depressed older
persons. The role of EPA in dementia warrants further research"
- See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Walking Boosts Brainpower - WebMD, 9/2/08 -
"Those in the exercise group scored higher on cognitive tests and had better
delayed recall. For example, they could more accurately remember a list of
words after a certain amount of time had passed than those in the other
group ... Unlike medication, which was found to have no significant effect
on mild cognitive impairment at 36 months, physical activity has the
advantage of health benefits that are not confined to cognitive function
alone, as suggested by findings on depression, quality of life, falls,
cardiovascular function, and disability"
-
Eating Fish May Reduce the Risk for Subclinical Brain Abnormalities -
Medscape, 8/7/08 - "Dietary intake of tuna and other
fish appear to lower the prevalence of subclinical infarcts and white-matter
abnormalities ... We also found that broiled and baked fish appeared to be
beneficial, while fried fish was not ... The findings add to prior evidence
suggesting fish with higher eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid
content appear to have clinically important health benefits" - See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
-
Exercise May Prevent Brain Shrinkage In Early Alzheimer's Disease -
Science Daily, 7/14/08 - "People with early
Alzheimer's disease who were less physically fit had four times more brain
shrinkage when compared to normal older adults than those who were more
physically fit"
-
Nutrient cocktail may boost memory and learning: study - Nutra USA,
7/10/08 - "It may be possible to use this
[combination] to partially restore brain function in people with diseases
that decrease the number of brain neurons, including, for example,
Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, strokes and brain injuries. Of course,
such speculations have to be tested in double-blind, placebo-controlled
clinical trials ... supplemented the diets of gerbils with uridine (in its
monophosphate form, 0.5 per cent) and choline (0.1 per cent), and
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 300 mg/kg/day) for four weeks ... At the end of
the study, significant increases in phospholipid levels in the brain were
observed when the compounds were given together, while administration of
only DHA or UMP or UMP plus choline produced smaller increases" - [Abstract]
- See
citicholine at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Dietary uridine enhances the improvement in learning and memory produced by
administering DHA to gerbils - FASEB J. 2008 Jul 7 -
"These findings demonstrate that a treatment that
increases synaptic membrane content can enhance cognitive functions in
normal animals" - See
citicholine at Amazon.com
and
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Panax Ginseng Enhances Cognitive Performance in Alzheimer Disease -
Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2008 Jun 17 - "ginseng
group was treated with Panax ginseng powder (4.5 g/d) for 12 weeks ... After
ginseng treatment, the cognitive subscale of ADAS and the MMSE score began
to show improvements and continued up to 12 weeks (P=0.029 and P=0.009 vs.
baseline, respectively). After discontinuing ginseng, the improved ADAS and
MMSE scores declined to the levels of the control group. These results
suggest that Panax ginseng is clinically effective in the cognitive
performance of AD patients" - See
ginseng at Amazon.com.
-
Grape Seed Extract May Reduce Cognitive Decline Associated With Alzheimer's
Disease - Science Daily, 6/17/08 - "Chemical
analysis showed that the major polyphenol components in the study's grape
seed extract product are catechin and epicatechin, which are also abundant
in tea and cocoa. These components differ from resveratrol, a polyphenol
that has been reported to reduce amyloid beta secretion in cells and
generally increase lifespan by mimicking calorie restriction. Resveratrol
appears to be effective only at extremely high doses, which may limit its
use in people. In contrast, the catechins in the extract product studied
appear to be effective at much lower doses" - My favorite is the
Jarrow OPC + 95 at Amazon.com.
-
Exercise May Cut Risk of Dementia - WebMD, 6/3/08 -
"In a study of more than 1,400 adults, those who
were physically active in their free time during middle age were 52% less
likely to develop dementia 21 years later than their sedentary counterparts.
Their chance of developing Alzheimer's disease was slashed even more, by
62%"
-
DHA and Dementia: Preserving Cognition in the Aging Patient (Slides With
Audio)
- Medscape, 5/22/08 - Good slide show on DHA omega-3 for prevention of
dementia and Alzheimer's. It's 58 minutes though an a bit difficult to get
quotes from it.
-
Plant Flavonoid In Celery And Green Peppers Found To Reduce Inflammatory
Response In The Brain - Science Daily, 5/20/08 -
"The new study looked at luteolin (LOO-tee-OH-lin), a plant flavonoid known
to impede the inflammatory response in several types of cells outside the
central nervous system ... Those cells that were also exposed to luteolin
showed a significantly diminished inflammatory response. Jang showed that
luteolin was shutting down production of a key cytokine in the inflammatory
pathway, interleukin-6 (IL-6). The effects of luteolin exposure were
dramatic, resulting in as much as a 90 percent drop in IL-6 production in
the LPS-treated cells ... Inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 are
very well known to inhibit certain types of learning and memory that are
under the control of the hippocampus, and the hippocampus is also very
vulnerable to the insults of aging ... If you had the potential to decrease
the production of inflammatory cytokines in the brain you could potentially
limit the cognitive deficits that result" - See
luteolin at Amazon.com.
-
Plants' Flavonoids Have Beneficial Effect On Alzheimer's Disease, Study In
Mice Suggests - Science Daily, 5/7/08 -
"Researchers administered molecules called flavonoids, which are found in
certain fruits and vegetables, to a mouse model genetically programmed to
develop Alzheimer's disease. Using two of these molecules, luteolin and
diosmin, they were able to reduce the levels of a protein called
amyloid-beta, which forms the sticky deposits that build up in the brains of
patients with Alzheimer's" - See
bioflavonoids at Amazon.com.
-
Ibuprofen May Cut Alzheimer's Risk - WebMD, 5/5/08 -
"Use of ibuprofen pain relievers like Advil and
Motrin for more than five years reduced Alzheimer's risk by 44% in a study
reported in the May issue of Neurology"
-
Green tea's Alzheimer protection gets more support - Nutra USA, 4/25/08
- "Polyphenon E (PE) ... The animals receiving the
green tea extract should significantly decreased beta-amyloid-induced
changes to the reference and working memory, while levels of reactive oxygen
species (ROS) were 42 per cent less than the controls animals infused with
the protein ... a person (with a body weight of 50 kg) would have to drink
about three litres of PE per day to get similar effects ... However, humans
consume antioxidants (including vitamins A, B, C and E as well as
polyphenols, etc.) from various food sources everyday. Therefore, a lower
amount (less than three litres) of 0.5 per cent PE-mixed water volume intake
may be effective in humans to ensure the similar effects" - [Abstract]
- See
green tea extract at Amazon.com.
-
Green tea catechins prevent cognitive deficits caused by Abeta(1-40) in rats
- J Nutr Biochem. 2008 Feb 14 - "Polyphenon E (PE)
.. PE administration for 26 weeks significantly decreased the Abeta-induced
increase in the number of reference and working memory errors, with a
concomitant reduction of hippocampal lipid peroxide (LPO; 40%) and
cortico-hippocampal reactive oxygen species (ROS; 42% and 50%,
respectively). Significantly reduced levels of LPO in the plasma (24%) and
hippocampus (25%) as well as those of ROS in the hippocampus (23%) and
cortex (41%) were found in the PE+Vehicle group as compared with the Vehicle
group ... long-term administration of green tea catechins provides effective
prophylactic benefits against Abeta-induced cognitive impairment" - [Nutra
USA] - See
green tea extract at Amazon.com.
-
Chinese Club Moss Extract (Huperzine A) May Improve Cognition In Alzheimer's
Disease - Science Daily, 4/17/08 - "Existing
evidence suggests that patients with Alzheimer's disease who have taken
Huperzine A have improved general cognitive function, global clinical
status, functional performance and reduced behavioural disturbance compared
to patients taking placebos" - See
huperzine at Amazon.com.
-
Vitamin E May Help Alzheimer's Patients Live Longer, Study Suggests -
Science Daily, 4/15/08 - "people who took vitamin E,
with or without a cholinesterase inhibitor, were 26 percent less likely to
die than people who didn't take vitamin E"
-
Wine
May Protect Against Dementia, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 4/10/08 -
"among those women who reported that they drank wine
a considerably lower proportion suffered from dementia, whereas this
correlation was not found among those who had reported that they regularly
drank beer or liquor"
-
Cup
Of Coffee A Day Could Help Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease, Study
Suggests - Science Daily, 4/2/08 - "Caffeine
appears to block several of the disruptive effects of cholesterol that make
the blood-brain barrier leaky ... High levels of cholesterol are a risk
factor for Alzheimer's disease, perhaps by compromising the protective
nature of the blood-brain barrier. For the first time we have shown that
chronic ingestion of caffeine protects the BBB from cholesterol-induced
leakage"
-
Vitamin C can keep you healthy, looking younger - CNN.com, 2/27/08 -
"Pairing vitamins C and E is smart for another
reason: It may lessen your Alzheimer's risks by as much as 64 percent ..."
- See vitamin C products at Amazon.com
and and
Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes
Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
-
Folate Deficiency Associated With Tripling Of Dementia Risk, Study Shows
- Science Daily, 2/5/08 - "Folate deficiency is
associated with a tripling in the risk of developing dementia among elderly
people" - See
folic acid at Amazon.com.
-
Late-onset Alzheimer's slowed by DHA omega-3 - Nutra USA, 1/25/08 -
"In this study, we report that DHA significantly
increases LR11 in multiple systems ... DHA may be most useful for early
intervention and prevention of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) ...
Because reduced LR11 is known to increase beta-amyloid production and may be
a significant genetic cause of LOAD, our results indicate that DHA increases
in [LR11] levels may play an important role in preventing LOAD" - [Abstract]
- See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid increases SorLA/LR11, a sorting
protein with reduced expression in sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD):
relevance to AD prevention - J Neurosci. 2007 Dec 26;27(52):14299-307 -
"late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) ... DHA
significantly increases LR11 in multiple systems ... Because reduced LR11 is
known to increase Abeta production and may be a significant genetic cause of
LOAD, our results indicate that DHA increases in SorLA/LR11 levels may play
an important role in preventing LOAD" - See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Citrus flavanones show neuroprotection potential - Nutra USA, 1/21/08 -
"These results first demonstrate that the citrus
flavanones hesperidin, hesperetin, and neohesperidin, even at physiological
concentrations, have neuroprotective effects against H2O2-induced
cytotoxicity in PC12 cells ... These dietary antioxidants are potential
candidates for use in the intervention for neurodegenerative diseases ...
One such disease that is mentioned Alzheimer's disease" - [Abstract]
- See
hesperidin at Amazon.com.
-
Anti-Alzheimer's Mechanism In Omega-3 Fatty Acids Found - Science Daily,
1/2/08 - "the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA) found in fish oil increases the production of LR11, a protein
that is found at reduced levels in Alzheimer's patients and which is known
to destroy the protein that forms the "plaques" associated with the disease"
- See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Fish Oil Prevents Alzheimer's Plaques - WebMD, 12/26/07 -
"the fish-oil compound DHA causes brain cells to
make lots more LR11 ... Because reduced LR11 is known to increase beta
amyloid production and may be a significant genetic cause of late-onset
Alzheimer's disease, our results indicate that DHA increases in LR11 levels
may play an important role in preventing late-onset Alzheimer's disease"
- See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Moderate Exercise May Cut Dementia Risk - WebMD,12/19/07-
"Moderate physical activity (such as walking and
climbing stairs) may help prevent dementia in people aged 65 and older"
-
Moderate beer intake may cut Alzheimer's risk: study - Nutra USA,
12/17/07 - "After three months the researchers
report that animals receiving the supplementary silicon, whether from beer
or the silicic acid, had significantly lower
blood aluminium levels, and higher faecal excretion of aluminium ... The
lower blood levels resulted in slower accumulation of aluminium in the
tissue, including the brain, which could have benefits for the prevention of
Alzheimer's" - See
Jarrow BioSil at Amazon.com. I've been taking
about 9 drops of this per day for years. I stir it with my orange juice
every morning.
-
Sugar and Alzheimer's: Are They Linked? - WebMD, 12/7/07 -
"The brains of the sugar-fed mice had about twice as
many plaque deposits as the mice fed regular water" - [Science
Daily]
-
Increased B12 levels could ward off dementia - Nutra USA, 11/16/07 -
"The longitudinal cohort study followed 1648
participants for 10 years, and found a doubling in holotranscobalamin
(holoTC) concentrations was associated with a 30 per cent slower rate of
cognitive decline ... increased levels of the amino acid homocysteine
doubled the risk of dementia or cognitive impairment" - [Abstract]
- See
vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.
-
Low vitamin B-12 status and risk of cognitive decline in older adults -
Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov;86(5):1384-91 -
"concentrations of holoTC (a marker of reduced vitamin B-12 status), tHcy,
and MMA predicted cognitive decline, but folate did not. A doubling in
holoTC concentrations (from 50 to 100 pmol/L) was associated with a 30%
slower rate of cognitive decline (-0.137 to -0.083), whereas a doubling in
tHcy (from 10 to 20 mumol/L) or MMA (from 0.25 to 0.50 mumol/L) was
associated with >50% more rapid cognitive decline (-0.090 to -0.169) and
(-0.104 to -0.169), respectively" - See
vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.
-
Fish for brain health supported by trio of studies - Nutra USA, 11/14/07
- "These recent reports are novel in that they
address the association of n-3 fatty acid intake and cognitive function in
non-demented individuals and, thus, present a shift in the attention to
earlier stages of cognitive decline with the hope of preventing progression
to states of dementia and disability before they become irreversible"
- See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
-
Eating Fish, Omega-3 Oils, Fruits And Veggies Lowers Risk Of Memory Problems
- Science Daily, 11/13/07 - "people who regularly
consumed omega-3 rich oils, such as canola oil, flaxseed oil and walnut oil,
reduced their risk of dementia by 60 percent compared to people who did not
regularly consume such oils. People who ate fruits and vegetables daily also
reduced their risk of dementia by 30 percent compared to those who didn't
regularly eat fruits and vegetables ... people who ate fish at least once a
week had a 35-percent lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and 40-percent lower
risk of dementia, but only if they did not carry the gene that increases the
risk of Alzheimer's, called apolipoprotein E4, or ApoE4 ... Given that most
people do not carry the ApoE4 gene, these results could have considerable
implications in terms of public health" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
-
Low vitamin B-12 status and risk of cognitive decline in older adults -
Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov;86(5):1384-91 - "Low
vitamin B-12 status was associated with more rapid cognitive decline"
- See
vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.
-
Cognitive performance among the elderly and dietary fish intake: the
Hordaland Health Study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov;86(5):1470-8 -
"In the elderly, a diet high in fish and fish
products is associated with better cognitive performance in a dose-dependent
manner" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
-
n 3 Fatty acid proportions in plasma and cognitive performance in older
adults - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov;86(5):1479-85 -
"In this population, plasma n-3 PUFA proportions
were associated with less decline in the speed-related cognitive domains
over 3 y" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
-
Staving Off Alzheimer's Disease With The Right Diet, Prescriptions -
Science Daily, 11/7/07 - "Fish oil elevated the
level of a protein that prevents the formation of amyloid, the tell-tale
protein found in Alzheimer's. Caffeine reversed memory impairment in animal
models of the disease. In addition, environmental copper reduced the
clearance of amyloid, from the brain to blood ... scientists have identified
ways that essential omega-3 fatty acid -- docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or fish
oil -- can help prevent Alzheimer's ... DHA also reduced pro-inflammatory
arachidonic acid in brains of Alzheimer's model mice, consistent with the
anti-inflammatory effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
that are associated with reduced Alzheimer's in people" - See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Intake of sucrose-sweetened water induces insulin resistance and exacerbates
memory deficits and amyloidosis in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's
disease - J Biol Chem. 2007 Oct 17 -
"controlling the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages may be an
effective way to curtail the risk of developing AD"
-
Mediterranean Diet May Help Alzheimer's Patients Live Longer - Science
Daily, 9/10/07 - "Alzheimer's patients who adhered
to the diet to a moderate degree lived an average 1.3 years longer than
those people who least adhered to the diet. And those Alzheimer's patients
who followed the diet very religiously lived an average four years longer"
-
Curry Spice May Counter Alzheimer's - WebMD, 7/16/07 -
"In preliminary lab tests, the chemical helped rid
the blood of a key ingredient in Alzheimer's brain plaque"
-
Omega-3 Supplements Can Help With Alzheimer's Symptoms, Study Suggests -
Science Daily, 6/21/07 - "There was no observable
difference in therapeutic effect between the patients receiving the omega-3
and the placebo group. However, when the researchers took into account which
of the patients carried the susceptibility gene APOE4 and which did not, an
appreciable difference appeared. Carriers of the gene who had received
active treatment responded positively to the omega-3 as regards agitation
symptoms, while non-bearers of the gene showed an improvement in depressive
symptoms" - See Twinlab Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com
or Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Omega-3 Fatty Acid Slows Alzheimer’s - WebMD, 4/18/07 -
"One received supplemental
DHA only, and the other two groups received DHA plus
additional omega-6 fatty acids ... After three months, all of the mice on
the DHA diets had lower levels of beta-amyloid and tau proteins than those
in the control group. But at nine months, only those on the DHA-only diet
had lower levels of both proteins" - See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Omega-3 Fatty Acid May Help Prevent Alzheimer's Brain Lesions - Science
Daily, 4/17/07 - "One of these groups received
supplemental DHA only, and two groups received DHA
plus additional omega-6 fatty acids. After three months, mice in all of the
test groups had lower levels of beta amyloid and tau than mice in the
control group, but at nine months, only mice on the DHA diet had lower
levels of both proteins" - See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
High Folate Intake May Lower AD Risk - Clinical Psychiatry News, 2/07 -
"The risk of AD decreased with increasing intake of
folate but not of vitamins B6 or B12"
-
Little Proof That Brain Exercises Slow Mental Decline - Intelihealth,
1/9/07 - "there is little evidence that the brain
training programs are worth the time and price"
-
Higher Folate Levels Linked To Reduced Risk For Alzheimer's Disease -
Science Daily, 1/9/07 - "Folate, vitamin B12 and
vitamin B6, are important in the body's processing of
homocysteine--therefore, deficiencies in these nutrients increase
homocysteine levels and may contribute to cardiovascular disease, stroke and
dementia ... When the individuals were divided into four groups based on the
total level of folate they took in through food and supplements and the
analysis was adjusted for patient characteristics, comorbid diseases and B12
and B6 intake, the risk of Alzheimer's disease was lower in the groups with
higher intake" - See
folic acid at Amazon.com.
-
Can
Fish Intake Predict Chances Of Developing Dementia? - Science Daily,
1/3/07 - "the participants who reported consuming an
average of about three servings of oily fish a week--equivalent to blood
levels of DHA at 180 milligrams daily--were associated with a significantly
reduced risk of developing dementia of all types, including Alzheimer's
disease. No other fatty acid blood level was independently linked to the
risk of dementia" - See
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
There's Hope in the Drug Pipeline [for Alzheimer's] - US News, 12/11/06
- "A compound called huperzine A seems to combine
some memory-saving effects of drugs like Aricept and Namenda with an ability
to protect neurons from beta amyloid. It's currently being tested for safety
and effectiveness in people" - See
huperzine A at Amazon.com.
-
Higher Level Of Certain Fatty Acid Associated With Lower Dementia Risk -
Science Daily, 11/28/06 - "men and women in the
quartile with the highest DHA levels had a 47 percent lower risk of
developing dementia and 39 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's
disease than the other three quartiles with lower DHA levels ... those in
the top quartile of blood DHA levels reported that they ate an average of
.18 grams of DHA a day and an average of three fish servings a week.
Participants in the other quartiles ate substantially less fish"
- See
DHA at Amazon.com. My favorite is
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
B-vitamins reduce plasma levels of beta amyloid - Neurobiol Aging. 2006
Nov 17 - "Elevated plasma homocysteine (tHcy) is a
risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and thus B vitamins may have a
role in the prevention of AD. The objective of this study was to determine
if tHcy lowering vitamins decrease the circulating levels of A-beta protein
1-40 (Abeta40). We randomized 299 older men to treatment with 2mg of folate,
plus 25mg of B6 and 400mug of B12, or placebo. After 2 years of treatment
the mean (S.E.) increase of Abeta40 was 7.0pg/ml (8.4) in the vitamin group
(4.9%), and 26.8pg/ml (7.7) (18.5%) in the placebo group. We conclude that B
vitamins may decrease the plasma level of Abeta40 and have a role in the
prevention of AD"
-
Fat in Fish May
Help Prevent Dementia - WebMD, 11/13/06 -
"participants with the highest DHA levels at the
beginning of the study were 47% less likely to get dementia and 39% less
likely to get Alzheimer's disease during the study than the rest of the
group" - See
DHA at Amazon.com. My favorite is
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Plasma Phosphatidylcholine Docosahexaenoic Acid Content and Risk of Dementia
and Alzheimer Disease: The Framingham Heart Study - Arch Neurol 2006;63
1545-1550 - "Subjects in the upper quartile of
plasma PC DHA levels had a mean DHA intake of 0.18 g/d and a mean fish
intake of 3.0 servings per week ... The top quartile of plasma PC DHA level
was associated with a significant 47% reduction in the risk of developing
all-cause dementia"
-
Can caffeine protect against Alzheimer's? - USA Today, 11/5/06 -
"Lesko and others are betting on research suggesting
that caffeine will offer protection not just against Alzheimer's, but also
against Parkinson's ... Alzheimer-stricken mice that had guzzled caffeine
could easily find their way through a maze. Mice that got just water had
more signs of brain disease and got confused in the maze"
-
{omega}-3 Fatty Acid Treatment in 174 Patients With Mild to Moderate
Alzheimer Disease: OmegAD Study: A Randomized Double-blind Trial - Arch
Neurol. 2006 Oct;63(10):1402-8 - "Administration of
omega-3 fatty acid in patients with mild to moderate AD did not delay the
rate of cognitive decline according to the MMSE or the cognitive portion of
the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale. However, positive effects were
observed in a small group of patients with very mild AD (MMSE >27 points)"
-
Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Slow Cognitive Decline In Some Patients With Very
Mild Alzheimer's Disease - Science Daily, 10/11/06 -
"For six months, 89 patients (51 women and 38 men)
took 1.7 grams of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and .6 grams of
eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), while 85 patients (39 women and 46 men) took
placebo ... among a subgroup of 32 patients with very mild cognitive
impairment at the beginning of the study, those who took the fatty acids
experienced less decline in six months compared with those who took placebo"
- See Twinlab Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
-
Diet May Influence
Alzheimer's Risk - WebMD, 10/9/06 -
"Long suspected of lowering the risk of heart
disease and diabetes, the Mediterranean diet consists of large amounts of
fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, and nuts. Red meats are eaten only rarely
and poultry, eggs, and dairy products are eaten in moderation. Olive oil and
fatty fish are the main sources of fat in the diet ... People who most
closely adhered to the diet had an Alzheimer's risk that was 40% to 65%
lower than people who were least likely to follow the diet"
-
Chemical Found In Curry May Help Immune System Clear Amyloid Plaques Found
In Alzheimer's Disease - Science Daily, 10/3/06 -
"curcumin -- a chemical found in
curry and turmeric -- may help the immune system clear the brain of
amyloid beta, which form the plaques found in Alzheimer's disease" -
See
curcumin supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Red Wine May Prevent Alzheimer's - WebMD, 9/20/06 -
"After seven months of sipping their designated drinks,
the mice individually were placed in a maze and challenged to find their way
out ... Those in the red wine group performed best. The mice in the ethanol
group weren't better at mastering the maze than the teetotalers ... The mice
in the red wine group were quicker to adapt to that change"
-
Drinking Juice May
Stall Alzheimer's - WebMD, 8/31/06 -
"people who drank fruit and vegetable juices more
than three times a week were 76% less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease
than those who drank juices less than once a week"
-
Calorie Restriction May Prevent Alzheimer's Through Promotion Of Longevity
Program In The Brain - Science Daily, 6/14/06 -
"a high caloric intake based on saturated fat
promotes AD type beta-amyloidosis, while caloric restriction based on
reduced carbohydrate intake is able to prevent it"
-
Novel Strategy to Restore Brain Cell Function
- Life Extension Magazine, 5/06 - "Alzheimer’s
patients taking 300 mg of
phosphatidylserine daily performed significantly better on standardized
memory tests at the end of the 12-week trial period than did the study
participants who received placebo. Importantly, those patients who were the
least afflicted by dementia demonstrated the greatest benefit from
phosphatidylserine therapy. These results suggest that beginning supplementation
very early on, or perhaps even before the appearance of symptoms, can help
prevent age-related loss of memory and other cognitive impairments"
-
Mediterranean Diet
May Cut Alzheimer's - WebMD, 4/18/06 -
"Scores ranged from 0-9, with higher scores showing
greater adherence to a
Mediterranean diet ... those with middle scores were 15% less likely to
have been found to have developed Alzheimer's disease, and those with the
highest scores were 40% less likely to have been found to have Alzheimer's
disease"
-
Can Exercise Protect Against Alzheimer’s? - Physician's Weekly, 4/17/06
- "the rate of dementia development was
significantly lower for those who exercised at least three days a week"
- Staying active helps keep
the mind sharp - MSNBC, 1/16/06 -
"healthy people who reported exercising regularly
had a 30 to 40 percent lower risk of dementia"
-
Does Green Tea Ingredient Protect Against Alzheimer’s? - Physician's
Weekly, 11/28/05 - "The results suggest that an EGCG
dietary supplement may help in preventing the disease in the future"
-
High-Fat, Low-Carb Diet May Help Alzheimer's - WebMD, 10/18/05
-
Low Vitamin E Serum Levels Correlate With Dementia Risk - Clinical
Psychiatry News, 10/05 - "those individuals in the
bottom tertile of vitamin E plasma levels were at significantly higher risk
not only of being demented (OR 2.6, 95% CI) but also of having impaired
cognitive function (OR 2.2, 95% CI), compared with the highest vitamin E
tertile"
-
Fish Fights Aging in the Brain - WebMD, 10/10/05 -
"eating fish at least once a week slowed the rate of
mental or cognitive decline in elderly people by 10%-13% per year ...
Researchers attribute the protective effects of fish on the brain to omega-3
fatty acids" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
-
Obesity at Midlife Raises Dementia Risk Later - WebMD, 10/10/05 -
"people who were obese at midlife were nearly 2.5
times more likely to develop dementia more than 20 years later than those
who were normal weight ... high blood pressure and total cholesterol levels
at midlife also doubled the risk of dementia in later life ... when a person
had all three of these risk factors at midlife, the risk of dementia or
Alzheimer's disease was six times higher"
-
Preserving and Restoring Brain Function
- Life Extension Magazine, 10/05 - "Clinical trials
using small groups of patients with cognitive decline demonstrated
significant improvements with phosphatidylserine supplementation, especially
among patients in the early stages"
-
Antioxidant in Green Tea May Fight Alzheimer's - WebMD, 9/20/05 -
"high doses of the
green tea ingredient -- known as
epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) -- significantly reduced the formation of
beta-amyloid proteins in the brains of mice that were altered to develop
Alzheimer's disease" - See
green tea extract at Amazon.com.
-
Fatty Acids: Good For The Brain, Good For Alzheimer Disease - Science
Daily, 9/11/05 - "DHA can decrease levels of the
pathogenic Abeta peptides that are associated with Alzheimer disease
pathology in human brain cells"
-
Scientists Discover How Fish Oil Protects the Brain - Intelihealth,
9/9/05 - "docosahexaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty
acid found in coldwater fish such as mackerel, sardines and salmon, reduces
levels of a protein known to cause damaging plaques in the brains of
Alzheimer's patients"
-
Fish Fat May Help Fight Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD, 9/8/05 -
"DHA helped brain cells in two ways: ... Curbing
production of beta-amyloid proteins, which are seen in Alzheimer's brain
plaque ... Boosting production of another protein called NPD1 that helps
brain cells stay alive" - See
DHA at Amazon.com. My favorite is
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Folates More Effective In Limiting Alzheimer's Disease Risk Than
Antioxidants, Other Nutrients - Science Daily, 8/17/05 -
"folates appear to have more impact on reducing
Alzheimer's risk than vitamin E, a noted antioxidant, and other nutrients
considered for their effect as a brain-aging deterrent"
- See
folic acid at Amazon.com.
-
Folate May Reduce Risk of Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD, 8/15/05 -
"older adults whose total folate intake (diet and
supplement) equaled or exceeded the 400 microgram RDA reduced their chances
of developing Alzheimer's disease by 55%" - See
folic acid at Amazon.com.
-
Complementary and
Integrative Approaches to Dementia - Medscape, 7/5/05 -
"Ginkgo biloba, an
herbal product long used in traditional Chinese medicine, has been studied
extensively and found to be well tolerated with mild benefit, approximating
that of the 2nd generation cholinesterase inhibitors ...
Huperzine A is a potent plant-based alkaloid
with reversible acetylcholinesterase-inhibitory ... There have been several
controlled clinical trials suggesting that
ALc
slows the progression of AD" - See acetyl l-carnitine at Amazon.com,
ginkgo biloba at Amazon.com
and
huperzine A at Amazon.com.
-
Alzheimer's Risk May Be Cut - washingtonpost.com, 6/20/05 -
"Middle-aged sons and daughters of people with
Alzheimer's disease may be able to reduce their risk of getting the disorder
through lifestyle measures such as exercise, avoiding gum disease, moderate
alcohol consumption and drinking fruit and vegetable juice"
-
Fish
Oil Holds Promise In Alzheimer's Fight - Science Daily, 5/29/05 -
"one group of the mice DHA-fortified chow ... After
three to five months--the equivalent of several years in human biology--the
high-DHA group had 70-percent less buildup of amyloid protein in the brain"
- See
DHA at Amazon.com. My favorite is
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Preventing Age-Related Cognitive Decline
- Life Extension Magazine, 4/05 - "Free radicals are
a significant culprit, interfering with energy metabolism, blood flow, and
nerve structure and function. Mitochondrial energy boosters, vitamins,
hormones, and other antioxidants are effective weapons in the war against
oxidative stress, safely enhancing energy production and blood flow,
suppressing inflammation, maintaining the structural integrity of nerve cell
components, and facilitating neuronal activity"
- Vitamin E From Food
Sources May Reduce Risk of AD
- Medscape, 2/11/05 - "High intake of vitamin E from
food (tocopherol), but not from supplements (which usually contain
α-tocopherol), is inversely associated with Alzheimer disease ... various
tocopherol forms rather than α-tocopherol alone may be important in the
vitamin E protective association with Alzheimer disease"
- Do Carbs, Calories
Affect Alzheimer's Risk? - WebMD, 1/13/05 -
"mice eating fewer calories and carbohydrates than those allowed to eat all
they wanted showed no signs of Alzheimer's-like disease, even though they
had been bred to have the condition"
-
Curry Spice May Fight Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD, 1/5/04 -
"the curry pigment curcumin slows the formation of,
and even destroys, accumulated plaque deposits in mouse brains"
-
DHA Protects Against Alzheimer’s Disease? - Physician's Weekly, 1/3/05 -
"DHA
intake should be considered as a potential neuroprotective strategy for AD"
- See
DHA at Amazon.com. My favorite is
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Fewer Calories Could Slow Alzheimer’s - Science Daily, 12/24/04 -
"Restricting the diets of mice reduces the build-up of plaques in the brain
that are linked to Alzheimer’s disease"
- Low-Fat Diet May
Protect Against Alzheimer's - WebMD, 12/7/04 -
"mice fed a low-fat diet rich in the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and
soy, produced more of a protein that helps eliminate the amyloid peptides
that cause plaque in the brain"
- Food for thought: Can diet
protect memory? - MSNBC, 12/6/04 - "research
increasingly suggests that diet may be important in preventing Alzheimer's
... older dogs fed a diet rich in antioxidants over several years were able
to perform tasks — and learn new tricks — far better than fellow canines fed
a normal diet ... scientists believe that curcumin, a spice used in India
and known for its anti-inflammatory effects, may prevent memory loss"
- Good for the heart, good for
the brain - MSNBC, 12/6/04 - "While diets high
in cholesterol are bad for the brain, getting plenty of omega 3 fatty acids,
found primarily in fish, is vital for a healthy noggin ... In particular, a
component of omega 3 fatty acids known as DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, is
key"
-
Can Curcumin Prevent Alzheimer's Disease? - Life Extension Magazine,
12/04
- Apples May
Ward Off Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD, 11/18/04 -
"The results suggest that
quercetin "contributes significantly" to the protection of brain cells
from free radicals in conditions like Alzheimer's disease" - See
quercetin at Amazon.com.
- Mental
Exercises Slow Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD, 10/27/04
- Black, Green
Tea May Slow Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD, 10/27/04
- A Pill to Prevent
Alzheimer's? - Dr. Weil, 9/30/04
- Testosterone
Loss May Raise Alzheimer's Risk - WebMD, 9/24/04 [Science
Daily] - "testosterone levels were significantly
lower in the men with Alzheimer's disease compared with the men who did not
have the disease ... the findings are significant because only testosterone
levels appeared related to Alzheimer's risk ... It protects neurons from
injury, and it reduces levels of beta-amyloid, the protein widely implicated
as a causal factor in the disease"
-
Physical Activity, Including Walking, Associated With Better Mental
Functioning in Older Women - Doctor's Guide, 9/22/04 -
"higher levels of physical activity, including walking, are associated with
better cognitive function and less cognitive decline"
-
Walking May Protect Elderly Men From Dementia, New Study By U. Va.
Researcher Shows - Science Daily, 9/22/04 -
"Elderly men who are sedentary or walk less than a quarter of a mile per day
are nearly twice as likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's disease
compared to men who walk more than two miles per day"
-
Long-Term Use of Beta Carotene Beneficial - Clinical Psychiatry News,
9/04 - "there was a highly significant improvement
in cognitive scores—particularly in verbal memory—among the 2,029 men with
long-term exposure to the supplements, compared with the 2,020 who had been
taking placebo for nearly two decades"
-
Lifestyle Changes Could Cut Alzheimer's Cases - HealthDay, 9/9/04 - "he
put 10 people on a lifestyle program that includes mental exercise, physical
exercise, stress reduction, and a "healthy brain" diet, including such foods
as fish that are rich in healthy fats ... In just two weeks, 75 percent of
those on the program had a 20 to 30 percent improvement in memory scores"
- Why Fish Seems
to Prevent Alzheimer's Damage - WebMD, 9/1/04 -
"DHA
may prevent or slow Alzheimer's progression by protecting against damage to
the area where brain cells communicate" - See
DHA at Amazon.com. My favorite is
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
- Diet, Activity
May Help Prevent Alzheimer's - WebMD, 7/19/04 -
"eating vegetables (especially broccoli or spinach), staying active mentally
and socially, and keeping a trim waistline can all help prevent or delay
Alzheimer's disease"
- Curry May
Protect Aging Brain - WebMD, 4/19/04 -
"Small doses of curry
could help protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease -- at least that's
the effect in rats"
- See
curcumin at Amazon.com.
-
Memory enhancer named best new ingredient - Functional Foods and
Nutraceuticals, 4/04 - "Citicoline is a form of
choline that helps replenish the brain with phosphatidylserine ... In a
double-blind trial of 84 elderly patients with mild to moderate memory loss,
subjects who took 1000mg of citicoline daily for six weeks showed
improvement in the acquisition of new information and its recall and
improvement in global memory efficiency"
-
Health Benefits of Folic Acid - PowerPak.com (CME), exp. 11/15/05 -
"there is growing evidence to suggest that folic acid supplementation may be
beneficial in patients with depression, as well as those with dementia and
Alzheimer's disease"
-
High DHA Intake Linked to Less Alzheimer's, Other Dementia - Clinical
Psychiatry News, 3/04 - "People who ate an average
of 180 mg or more a day of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a fatty acid found in
fish oil, had about 40% less Alzheimer's disease and other dementia,
compared with people who consumed less DHA" - See
DHA at Amazon.com. My favorite is
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Reduced Risk of Alzheimer Disease in Users of Antioxidant Vitamin
Supplements - Arch Neurol. 2004;61:82-88 -
"Conclusions Use of vitamin E and vitamin C supplements in combination is
associated with reduced prevalence and incidence of AD. Antioxidant
supplements merit further study as agents for the primary prevention of AD"
- Chelation
Therapy May Ease Alzheimer's - WebMD, 12/15/03
- Eat
Your B's - Wellness Insider, 11/25/03 -
"In the elderly population, B12 deficiencies are not
uncommon and can result in an impaired cognitive state that closely mimics
Alzheimer's disease"
- See
vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.
-
Fish And N-3 Fatty Acids Reduce Risk Of Alzheimer’s Disease - Life
Extension Foundation, 11/03 - "A new study, from the
Rush-Presbyterian, St. Lukes Medical Center, in Chicago, shows that people
who consumed at least one serving of fish a week dramatically reduced their
risk of Alzheimer’s disease, compared to those who rarely or never ate fish.
Dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids had a similar risk-lowering effect"
- See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
- Leisure
Activity May Prevent Alzheimer's - WebMD, 10/2/02
-
Antioxidants May Protect Women From Alzheimer's - Clinical Psychiatry
News, 10/03 - "Compared with women in the lowest
quartile of overall antioxidant consumption, those in the highest quartile
had an OR of 0.39 for Alzheimer's disease ... When their diets were analyzed
for specific antioxidants, women who consumed the most vitamin C and
lycopene also had a significantly lower risk of cognitive decline"
- Prevent
Alzheimer's With Healthy Living - WebMD, 9/12/03 -
"The same risk factors linked to heart disease and stroke --
high blood pressure,
high cholesterol, sedentary lifestyle,
smoking, and diabetes -- also increase the
risk of Alzheimer's disease ... statins, and in particular, Lipitor, help
destroy the other telltale sign of Alzheimer's disease -- increased levels
of amyloid, a sticky substance not unlike cholesterol that forms plaques in
the brain ... Deal with depression, now ... Try to limit "free radical"
damage" - Note: Red yeast rice is a
non-prescription statin. See
red yeast rice at Amazon.com.
- Herb Sage
Improves Memory - WebMD, 8/28/03 -
"44 healthy, young adults took either
sage oil capsules or a placebo. The participants then took a series of
word recall tests ... The people who had taken the sage oil consistently had
better word recall -- a sign that sage may help improve memory ... sage's
antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties could be valuable in
Alzheimer's treatment"
- See
sage at Amazon.com.
-
Study Supports Potential of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs to Protect
Against Alzheimer's - Doctor's Guide, 7/22/03 -
"The pooled combined data from the cohort and case-control studies showed a
relative risk of Alzheimer's disease was 0.72 among
NSAID users ... The analysis specific to aspirin users included eight
studies that showed a pooled relative risk of 0.87 for developing
Alzheimer's disease"
- Fish Once a
Week Cuts Alzheimer's Risk - WebMD, 7/21/03 -
"Weekly
fish eaters had a 60% lower risk of Alzheimer's than people who rarely
or never ate fish ... The beneficial effects of [fatty acids] from fish may
be counterbalanced by toxins ... A high antioxidant/low saturated fat diet
pattern with a greater amount of fish, chicken, fruits, and vegetables and
less red meat and dairy products is likely to lower the risk of AD, as well
as that for heart disease and stroke ... Furthermore, B vitamin supplements,
containing vitamins B12 and B6 and folic acid, lower plasma total
homocysteine levels, possibly decreasing the risk of stroke, heart disease
and perhaps Alzheimer's disease" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
-
Disappointing Data Confound Claims For DHEA Effectiveness [against
Alzheimer's] - Psychiatric News, 6/6/03 -
"Twenty-eight patients were blindly chosen to receive 50 mg of
DHEA twice a day for six months ... The dose of DHEA, Wolkowtiz said,
was targeted to achieve blood levels of the hormone at or slightly above the
top of the normal range of DHEA levels found in healthy young adults ...
numerically, DHEA did have a benefit on cognitive ratings, but overall, on
the CIBIC-Plus, there was no significant benefit shown ... at three months,
the DHEA group, compared with placebo, showed a trend toward improvement on
the ADAS-Cog, but the improvement only narrowly missed being statistically
significant ... DHEA has been reported to reduce
cortisol, the so-called "stress hormone," which in response to stress is
released in large quantities that have been linked to neuronal stress and
damage" - Does anyone detect bias in that title? I don't know if
DHEA helps Alzheimer's or not but I feel the title should have been
something like "Alzheimer's Shows Trend Toward Improvement with DHEA at 3
Months". Their attitude seems to be that nothing works except what we write
prescriptions for. The way I understand it, Alzheimer's usually gets worse,
not better and cholinesterase inhibitors
slow the disease, they don't reverse it and three months is a short time to
determine if it is working. For example, see the following in the same
issue of Clinical Psychiatry News. See
DHEA at Amazon.com. - Ben
-
NSAIDs May Protect Against Alzheimer's - Clinical Psychiatry News, 6/03
- "Long-term use of NSAIDs—24
months or longer—was associated with a significant protective effect"
- NSAIDs No Help
as Alzheimer's Treatment - WebMD, 6/3/03 -
"Aisen's team tested the two drugs in 351 patients with mild-to-moderate
Alzheimer's disease. They looked for signs that the drugs might slow mental
decline or improve quality of life ... There was "no consistent benefit of
either treatment,""
-
Novelty Seeking Tied to Lower Alzheimer's Risk - Clinical Psychiatry
News, 6/03
-
Hyperhomocysteinemia and Vitamin Score: Correlations with Silent Brain
Ischemic Lesions and Brain Atrophy - Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive
Disorders 2003;16:39-45 -
"In subjects with minor brain ischemic lesions (n =
21), tHcy was higher by 5.6 µM, whereas vitamin score and cognitive function
were lower than in controls"
- NSAIDs
and Amyloid Plaques Have Close Relationship
- Psychiatric News, 5/2/03
-
Plasma vitamin C, cholesterol and homocysteine are associated with grey
matter volume determined by MRI in non-demented old people - Neurosci
Lett 2003 May 8;341(3):173-6 - "We found that lower
grey matter volume was associated with lower plasma
vitamin C and higher homocysteine,
cholesterol and LDL. Lower blood cell
folate was also associated with lower grey matter volume ... These data
are consistent with the putative benefits of dietary vitamin C and folate
intake and the role of cholesterol in age related neurodegeneration"
-
Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Appear To Protect Against Alzheimer's
- Doctor's Guide, 4/1/03 - "compared with non-users,
people who took any type of NSAID
were 28% less likely to develop Alzheimer's,
which was statistically significant. But, among
aspirin-only users, the risk of Alzheimer's was cut by 13%, which was
not significant" - See ibuprofen at Amazon.com
and
aspirin at Amazon.com.
- NSAIDS May Help
in Alzheimer's Prevention - WebMD, 4/1/03 - "For
those using
aspirin, the reduction in risk was 13%, a finding that was not
considered significant ... Those on an NSAID for
one to 23 months had a risk reduction of 17%, and those termed long-term
users, beyond 23 months, reduced the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease
by 73%" - See ibuprofen at Amazon.com
and
aspirin at Amazon.com.
-
High-dose antioxidant supplements and cognitive function in
community-dwelling elderly women - Am. J. of Clin. Nutr., 4/03 -
"Long-term, current users of
vitamin E with vitamin C had significantly
better mean performance, as judged by a global score that combined
individual test scores, than did women who had never used vitamin E or C (P
= 0.03); there was a trend for increasingly higher mean scores with
increasing durations of use (P = 0.04). These associations were strongest
among women with low dietary intakes of alpha-tocopherol. Benefits were less
consistent for women taking vitamin E alone, with no evidence of higher
scores with longer durations of use. Use of specific vitamin C supplements
alone had little relation to performance on our cognitive tests"
-
Cognitive decline and fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membranes -
Am. J. of Clinical Nutr., 4/03 - "studied the
relation between erythrocyte membrane fatty acid composition and cognitive
decline in free-living volunteers ... Higher proportions of both stearic
acid (saturated, 18:0) and total
n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids were associated with greater risk of
cognitive decline ... Conversely, a higher proportion of total
n-3 fatty acids was associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline"
- Alzheimer's
Disease and Dementia: Vitamins Can Help Prevent
- WebMD, 2/28/03 - "High levels of a substance in
the blood called
homocysteine tops the list of potentially
new risk factors for heart disease,
stroke, and now dementia. A new study suggests that high homocysteine
levels are linked with mental declines associated with Alzheimer's disease
in elderly people ... High homocysteine levels can be treated very easily
with vitamins, including folate, niacin, and
B-12"
-
Dietary Fats and the Risk of Incident Alzheimer Disease - Archives of
Neurology, 2/03 - "Intakes of saturated fat and
trans-unsaturated fat were positively
associated with risk of Alzheimer disease, whereas intakes of
-6 polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat were inversely
associated. Persons in the upper fifth of saturated-fat intake had 2.2 times
the risk of incident Alzheimer disease compared with persons in the lowest
fifth" - See the tables on my fatty acids page.
For example, palm oil is 51% saturated fat while canola oil is 8% saturated.
-
NSAID Use Linked to Lower Incidence of Alzheimer's - Clinical Psychiatry
News, 1/03 - "The largest reduction in risk was
among former users of
NSAIDs or aspirin who had taken the
medications for 2 years or more. The incidence of Alzheimer's disease in
that group was 29% of the rate seen in nonusers"
- Eating Fish May
Prevent Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease
- New Hope Natural Media, 12/12/02 - "People who
consumed fish or seafood at least once a week reduced their risk of
developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease by 34% and 31%, respectively,
compared with those who never ate fish ... Nutritional supplements that may
help slow the progression of dementia or AD include
acetyl-L-carnitine, vitamin E,
thiamine (vitamin B1), melatonin,
Ginkgo biloba and Huperzine A"
-
Ginkgo for Alzheimer's Disease - Clinical Psychiatry News, 12/02 -
"A 4-point gain on the ADAS-Cog is roughly
equivalent to a 6-month delay in disease progression. “It is noteworthy that
29% of the patients with Alzheimer's disease treated with
EGb for at least
26 weeks improved by 4 or more points, compared with 13% treated with the
placebo,” ... In a German multicenter study, 156 patients with Alzheimer's
or multi-infarct dementia were randomized to 240 mg/day of EGb 761 or
placebo; efficacy was assessed by three validated scales. By the end of the
24-week study, 28% of patients in the ginkgo group were classified as
responders, compared with 10% in the placebo group, a significant
difference" - I've got that, see
ginkgo biloba at Amazon.com.
-
Iron Deficiency Harms Brain - WebMD, 11/8/02 -
"Too little iron may be the cause of at least some
cases of Alzheimer's disease ... As people age, their red blood cells have
less of the stuff that makes them red. It's called heme, a cellular form of
iron ... It's fairly common for people to get too little iron or vitamin B6
in their diets. Exposure to aluminum or other toxic metals is also quite
common. All these things block heme in brain cells" - See
iron supplements at Amazon.com.
-
Eating Fish Cuts Risk of Dementia - WebMD, 10/24/02 -
"Those who ate fish or seafood at least once a week
had a significantly lower risk of being diagnosed with dementia during the
seven-year study period ... The fatty acids in
fish oils
provide protection for arteries, which could improve blood flow to the
brain. In addition, the fatty acids may reduce inflammation in the brain.
They may also have a specific role in brain development and regeneration of
nerve cells, the authors suggest" - See
Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
-
Antioxidants May Reduce Alzheimer's Disease Risk - Clinical Psychiatry
News, 10/02 - "Use of
vitamins E and C together—which is what
most subjects did��was associated with an eightfold reduction in prevalence
and a fivefold lower incidence of Alzheimer's disease"
-
More Antioxidants, Less Fat May Reduce Alzheimer's Risk - Clinical
Psychiatry News, 10/02 - "Data are now strong enough
to recommend a dietary strategy for reducing Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk
that includes low fat intake and high consumption of
fish and
antioxidants, along with vitamin E,
folic acid, and
vitamins B6 and B12 supplements"
- MEDLINE Abstracts:
Antioxidants and the Aging Brain
- Medscape, 9/27/02 - "Combinations of
antioxidants might be of even greater potential benefit for AD,
especially if the agents worked in different cellular compartments or had
complementary activity (e.g.
vitamins E, C and ubiquinone).
Naturally-occurring compounds with antioxidant capacity are available and
widely marketed (e.g.
vitamin C, ubiquinone,
lipoic acid, beta-carotene,
creatine, melatonin,
curcumin) and synthetic compounds are under development by industry"
- Again, a broad spectrum of anti-oxidants, not just one or two.
- Exercise, Eating to Enhance
Memory? - Dr. Weil, 9/26/02 - "We know that the
incidence of Alzheimer’s is higher than normal among people whose diets are
high in saturated fat, which causes free radical damage leading to
inflammation of the brain. On the other hand,
omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon, sardines and
flax seeds appear to be protective. Blueberries are another food that
seems to help ... Dr. Khalsa explains that in addition to age, chronic
stress
can harm the hippocampus via the release of high levels of the hormone
cortisol from the adrenal gland"
-
Pain Relievers May Prevent Alzheimer's - WebMD, 9/23/02 -
"The study found people who took
aspirin or other NSAIDs for more than two
years before the study began were 45% less likely to develop Alzheimer's
than those who didn't. And the longer the participants had taken the drugs,
the more protected they were against the disease ... previous studies have
suggested that aspirin and other NSAIDs might protect against Alzheimer's
disease by reducing
inflammation in the brain ... their findings
show that the beneficial effects of NSAIDs in preventing Alzheimer's take a
long time to accumulate and don't become apparent until years later"
-
Phosphatidylserine (PS) The Essential Brain Nutrient - Life Extension
Magazine, 9/02 - "In Alzheimer's disease,
phosphatidylserine has been said to influence changes in the brain that
can help alleviate the symptoms of senile dementia related to this disease"
-
Eat Your Way to a Healthy Brain - WebMD, 7/25/02 -
"carrots, broccoli, and fish really are good for
your brain, especially if you want to protect it from Alzheimer's disease
... High fat and high salt are two components of a brain-unhealthy diet, but
the main problem is "eating too much meat," ... Trying to eliminate all fat
from the diet is a mistake, says Petot, because both mind and body need a
diet that gets 25-30% of its calories from fat ... people who have the
Alzheimer's gene and eat a high-fat diet during their 40s are seven times
more likely to develop Alzheimer's than people who don't have the gene. When
these same genetically predisposed people ate a low-fat diet in midlife,
their risk of developing Alzheimer's dropped to four and a half times that
of people without the ApoE gene" - Something for the Atkin's diet
people to think about. - Ben
-
High Dose Vitamin E Appears to Reduce Alzheimer's Risk
- Doctor's Guide, 7/24/02 - "An analysis of data
from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging suggests that
vitamin E intake is associated with a statistically significant
reduction in the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) ... People with the
highest quartile of vitamin E intake, 46.5 mg, had a 26 percent reduction in
risk for developing AD."
- An Indian Spice for
Alzheimer’s? - Dr. Weil, 6/12/02 - "Curcumin
blocked the accumulation of beta-amaloid plaque and also appeared to reduce
inflammation related to Alzheimer’s disease in neurologic tissue. The rats
fed curcumin also performed better on
memory tests than rats on normal diets ... Researchers at the University
of Illinois have also found that it helps prevent plaque formation. And
preliminary studies at Vanderbilt University suggest that curcumin may block
the progression of multiple sclerosis ... only low
dose curcumin reduced plaque in the Alzheimer’s disease studies ... Turmeric
appears to have significant anti-inflammatory
and cancer-protective effects as well"
-
Low Vitamin B Status Prevalent In Alzheimer Patients
- Doctor's Guide, 6/4/02 - "low
vitamin B6
status is prevalent in patients with AD"
-
High Oxidative Stress, Low Antioxidant Status In Alzheimer Disease
- Doctor's Guide, 6/3/02 - "Lymphocyte DNA 8-OHdG
content in people AD may thus reflect a condition of increased oxidative
stress related to a poor
antioxidant status ... researchers also noted a significant inverse
relationship between lymphocyte DNA 8-OHdG content [a marker of oxidative
damage to DNA] and plasma levels of
lycopene, lutein, a-carotene and b-carotene,
respectively"
-
Vitamins Fight Alzheimer's - WebMD, 5/28/02 -
"There's new evidence that a substance found in blood can cause the type of
brain and blood vessel deterioration that leads to dementia. But those same
studies also show that taking certain vitamins can lower levels of this
substance -- homocysteine -- and ward off
the damage, possibly preventing Alzheimer's disease ... This is exciting
information, because homocysteine levels can be reduced by taking the
vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid"
-
Active Life Keeps Brain Healthy - WebMD, 5/21/02 -
"An active lifestyle -- even if begun only in middle
age -- spurs
brain-cell growth and lowers risk of Alzheimer's disease ... In another
study published in the same issue of the Annals of Neurology, researchers
find that a particular chemical in the blood may be linked to Alzheimer's
and other dementing diseases ... The chemical is called hs-CRP. It is a sign
of inflammation -- the body's protective
response to injury or infection" - See my
inflammation page for natural ways to reduce it.
-
Lymphocyte Oxidative DNA Damage and Plasma Antioxidants in Alzheimer Disease
- Archives of Neurology, 5/02 - "Markers of
oxidative damage are increased in AD and correlate with decreased levels of
plasma antioxidants. These findings
suggest that lymphocyte DNA 8-OHdG content in patients with AD reflects a
condition of increased oxidative stress related to a poor antioxidant
status"
-
Serum Folate And Estradiol Levels Interact In Alzheimer's Disease
- Doctor's Guide, 5/13/02 - "a high ratio of
estradiol to total estrogens is linked with AD. At the same time, in
women with a high ratio, the severity of dementia is lower in those with
high serum folate levels ... If this association is causal, then
supplementation with folic acid may have a
role in future studies of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) in Alzheimer's
disease (AD)"
-
Nutrition Affects Thinking in Elderly - WebMD, 4/25/02 -
"In this study of healthy elderly people, higher
concentrations of
folic acid and vitamin B-12 were associated with increased
memory and thinking ability"
-
In
Praise of Folic Acid - Time Magazine, 2/25/02 -
"folic acid plays a crucial role in the
development of just about every cell in the body ... subjects who had high
levels of a particular amino acid called
homocysteine in their blood were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's
as those who didn't. The finding is important because one of the easiest
ways to lower homocysteine levels is to get plenty of folic acid ... There
is no risk of overdose, although high levels of folic acid can mask the
signs of pernicious anemia in people who have developed the disorder"
- The way I understand it, taking vitamin B12 with the folic acid will avoid
that problem. - Ben
-
Participation in Cognitively Stimulating Activities and Risk of Incident
Alzheimer Disease - JAMA, 2/13/02 - "These
results suggest that frequent participation in cognitively stimulating
activities is associated with reduced risk of AD"
-
New Alzheimer's Risk Factor Identified - WebMD, 2/13/02 -
"High blood levels of a substance called
homocysteine have been linked to an increased risk for both heart attack and
stroke. Now, new research finds it to be a major risk factor for Alzheimer's
disease and other age-related dementias ... It is known that B-vitamins like
folic acid, B-6, and B-12 lower homocysteine levels"
-
Alcohol Helps Guard Against Dementia - WebMD, 1/24/02 -
"One to three drinks a day decreased the chance of
developing Alzheimer's disease by more than 30%"
- Leisure Activity Decreases
Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease - Doctor's Guide, 12/27/01 -
"Even when controlling for factors like ethnic group, education and
occupation, subjects with high leisure activity had 38 percent less risk of
developing dementia ... the study also showed that participation in leisure
activities may have a cumulative effect, with an additional 8 percent risk
reduction associated with each leisure activity engaged ... intellectual
activities were associated with highest risk reduction"
-
Antioxidant Boosts Cognitive Function In Alzheimer's Patients
- Intelihealth, 11/15/01 - "the antioxidant
N-acetylcysteine
(NAC) may improve certain cognitive skills in people with Alzheimer's disease
... Although participants in the NAC group did not outperform placebo
patients in day-to-day activities, they did fare significantly better than
the placebo group on certain cognitive tests"
-
Everbody's Getting Alzheimer's, Decline Can Happen Fast in Those Over 65
- WebMD, 11/12/01 - "We know that dementia is
extremely common, especially as we age ... He recommends 800IU twice a day
for people who are already have dementia; for older people at risk, 400IU
twice a day. Younger people and people at low risk are advised to take 400
IU once a day"
-
Alcohol's effect on the brain a 'mixed' bag - USA Today, 9/6/01 -
"Moderate drinking may reduce the risk of certain types of stroke and
scarring in the core of elderly people's brains, a study found. But alcohol
may also promote shrinkage of the brain — a condition seen in Alzheimer's
patients"
- Alzheimer's Disease May Be
Linked to Deficiencies in Vitamin B12 or Folate - Doctor's Guide, 5/8/01
- "Study authors theorized that vitamin B12 or
folate deficiencies affect Alzheimer's disease by influencing
neurotransmitters or the levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the body.
Either vitamin B12 or folate deficiency can increase homocysteine levels.
Homocysteine has a neurotoxic effect that could lead to cell death or
neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease"
-
Exercise Shown to Help Keep Elderly Minds More Alert - WebMD, 4/10/01 -
"after taking into consideration factors such as
age, sex, and level of education, people who engaged in all levels of
physical activity from low to high had lower risks for thinking impairment,
and were also less likely to have Alzheimer's disease or other forms of
dementia"
-
Sustain the Brain - Nutrition Science News, 2/01 -
"In a double-blind Italian study, 236 elderly
patients with mild senility were treated with either 1,500 mg ALC or
placebo. The ALC group showed significant improvements in memory and
cognition compared with controls"
-
Can L-carnitine help reverse Alzheimer's disease? - Nutrition Science
News, 8/00 - "The use of acetyl-L-carnitine at 1 g
three times a day provided statistically significant benefit in slowing the
cognitive decline in those patients with early onset of the disease--61
years of age or younger"
-
Alzheimer's: Take Two Ibuprofen and Call Me in the Morning? - WebMD,
8/10/00 - "Taking a few tablets of ibuprofen every
day may help prevent Alzheimer's disease"
- Ginkgo Extract
Efficacious for Alzheimer's/Dementia - Medscape, 8/3/00 -
"New analysis of the breakthrough study published in
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that a patented
Ginkgo biloba extract, EGb 761, effectively
improves the mental function of patients with Alzheimer's disease and
multi-infarct dementia within the first 26 weeks of treatment"
-
Integrated medicine and the prevention and reversal of memory loss -
Altern Ther Health Med 1998 Nov;4(6):38-43 - "The
program includes a diet consisting of 15% fat and supplementation with
brain-specific nutrients such as vitamin B complex, vitamin E, ubiquinone,
ginkgo biloba, and phosphatidylserine. In addition, stress-relieving
meditation, mind-body and cognitive exercise, antiaging drugs like
L-deprenyl citrate, as well as hormones such as dehydroepiandrosterone and
pregnenolone complete the program"
Other News:
-
New PPI Data Again Link
Medication Use to Alzheimer's - Medscape, 4/1/22 -
"The odds of developing Alzheimer's disease were significantly higher in current
(odds ratio [OR], 1.36; P < .001) and past (OR, 1.11; P < .001) PPI groups than
in the control group ... Participants with PPI prescriptions for fewer than 30
days (OR, 1.13; P < .001), 30 to 90 days (OR, 1.18; P < .001), or more than 90
days (OR, 1.26; P < .001) all had higher odds of developing Alzheimer's disease
than those in control group. An increased association between the cumulative
duration of PPI exposure and the development of Alzheimer's disease was also
observed. The odds of developing Alzheimer's disease were higher for users with
more than 30 days of exposure than for those with fewer than 30 days"
-
Mechanism linking type 2 diabetes to Alzheimer’s disease - Science Daily,
3/15/22 - "amyloid-β (Aβ) detected in blood is secreted
from peripheral tissues (pancreas, adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, liver, etc.)
that are sensitive to glucose and insulin ...First, as AD is caused by the
accumulation of Aβ in the brain, it is thought that Aβ levels in the blood
reflect the pathology in the brain and are currently used as a diagnostic
marker. However, Aβ is generated from the amyloid precursor protein (APP)
through the function of two enzymes, β- and γ-secretases, and this mechanism is
expressed in many of the body's peripheral tissues, not only in the brain,
causing the origin of blood Aβ to remain unknown. Second, epidemiological
studies have shown type 2 diabetes to be a strong risk factor for the
development of AD, yet the mechanism linking these two diseases has eluded
researchers as well"
-
Potential new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease would be relatively cheap -
11/30/21 - "the researchers fed the model mice with
diazoxide -- a drug that activates the KATP channel -- and tested their memory.
They found that while the untreated Alzheimer's disease model mice exhibited
their characteristically poor memory, the treated model mice performed just as
well as normal mice. A look at the brains of the treated mice showed that they
lacked the hallmark Aβ plaques ... Our findings point directly to a potential
way of preventing and treating Alzheimer's disease ... On top of that, compared
with Aβ-targeting immunotherapy, such as the drug aducanumab, which was recently
approved by the FDA, synthetic agonists for the KATP channel are less expensive
and would be more acceptable to aging societies around the world" - Note:
Aduhelm (aducanumab) is the one that costs $56,000 per year and is the reason Medicare
premiums went up. It reduces the amyloid β peptide but doesn't seem to
reduce Alzheimer's. Diazoxide sounds like it's got side-effects that
seniors don't want to mess with.
- A
new Alzheimer's drug brings hope, controversy - CBS
Sunday Morning, 11/28/21
-
Aduhelm, priced at $56,000 a year, is a key factor driving
up Medicare premiums - CNN, 11/16/21
-
Diazoxide - Wiki - "Common side
effects include high blood sugar, fluid retention, low blood
platelets, a fast heart rate, increased hair growth, and
nausea.[2] Other severe side effects include pulmonary
hypertension and heart failure.[2] It is chemically similar
to thiazide diuretics.[2] It works by decreasing insulin
release from the pancreas and increasing glucose release by
the liver."
-
Gum Disease Bacteria a New
Treatment Target for Alzheimer's? - Medscape, 11/23/21 -
"Results from the phase 2/3 GAIN trial of atuzaginstat (Cortexyme
Inc), which targets the gum bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), suggest the
pathogen is a "potential driver of AD.""
-
C-reactive protein and risk
of Alzheimer's disease - Neurobiol Aging 2021 Aug 21 -
"This study indicates that genetically predicted
elevated CRP levels may be a causal risk factor for AD"
-
Cholesterol drives Alzheimer’s plaque formation - Science Daily, 9/14/21 -
"While cholesterol is often associated with clogged
arteries and heart disease, it plays important roles in the healthy body. The
body makes cholesterol naturally so it can produce hormones and carry out other
important functions. The new discovery from Ferris and her collaborators adds a
new entry to cholesterol's list of responsibilities ... Normally, cholesterol is
kept quite low in neurons, limiting the buildup of amyloid beta. But in
Alzheimer's, the neurons lose their ability to regulate amyloid beta, resulting
in plaque formation ... If we can find strategies to prevent astrocytes from
over-producing cholesterol, we might make a real impact on the development of
Alzheimer's disease ... Once people start having memory problems from
Alzheimer's disease, countless neurons have already died. We hope that targeting
cholesterol can prevent that death from ever occurring in the first place"
-
Diabetes Drugs Tied to
Less Amyloid, Slowed Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer's - Medscape, 8/11/21 -
"Compared to the group not taking a DPP-4 inhibitor,
those taking these agents had significantly lower global SUVRs (1.33 vs 1.41; P
= .001). These patients also had significantly lower regional Aβ SUVRs
(frontal:1.33 vs 1.41; lateral parietal: 1.34 vs 1.42; lateral temporal: 1.33 vs
1.41; and anterior cingulate/posterior cingulate cortices: 1.43 vs 1.53 ... In
addition, those taking DPP-4 inhibitors had lower Aβ burden globally and in two
regional cortices ― the lateral parietal and lateral temporal ― compared to the
nondiabetes group"
-
Two FDA Panel Members
Resign Over Alzheimer's Drug Approval - Medscape, 6/9/21 -
"The FDA approved aducanumab for the treatment of
Alzheimer's earlier this week. But last November, the Peripheral and Central
Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee voted 8-1 against approving the drug
because, based on clinical trial results, evidence of efficacy was not strong
enough. Two other members said they were uncertain on the issue of efficacy."
-
Imbalance in gum bacteria linked to Alzheimer's disease biomarker - Science
Daily, 4/12/21 - "Older adults with more harmful than
healthy bacteria in their gums are more likely to have evidence for amyloid beta
-- a key biomarker for Alzheimer's disease -- in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
... adds to the growing evidence of a connection between periodontal disease
(gum disease) and Alzheimer's. Periodontal disease -- which affects 70 percent
of adults 65 and older, according to CDC estimates -- is characterized by
chronic and systemic inflammation, with pockets between the teeth and gums
enlarging and harboring bacteria ... Alzheimer's disease is characterized by two
hallmark proteins in the brain: amyloid beta, which clumps together to form
plaques and is believed to be the first protein deposited in the brain as
Alzheimer's develops, and tau, which builds up in nerve cells and forms tangles"
-
Cholesterol may be key to new therapies for Alzheimer's disease, diabetes -
Science Daily, 3/25/21 - "Type 2 diabetes occurs when
insulin becomes less efficient at removing glucose from the bloodstream,
resulting in high blood sugar that can cause abnormal cholesterol levels. A
similar situation occurs in Alzheimer's disease, but rather than affecting the
body as a whole, the effects are localized in the brain ... Alzheimer's and
diabetes share many common causes"
-
Increased risk of dementia
in hypothyroidism. A Danish nationwide register-based study - Clin
Endocrinol (Oxf) 2021 Jan 22 - "Hypothyroidism is
associated with increased risk of dementia. The association is influenced by
co-morbidity and age. Every 6 months of elevated TSH increased the risk of
dementia by 12%, suggesting that also the length of hypothyroidism influences
the risk of dementia"
-
Common
class of drugs linked to increased risk of Alzheimer's disease - Science
Daily, 9/4/20 - "Anticholinergic drugs are widely used
for dozens of conditions, minor and major. Some of these medications require a
prescription, while others can be purchased over the counter. They work by
blocking acetylcholine -- a type of neurotransmitter or chemical messenger known
to be critical for memory function -- from binding to receptors on certain nerve
cells. The effect is to inhibit parasympathetic nerve impulses, which are
involved in a variety of involuntary muscle movements, such as those in the
gastrointestinal tract and lungs, and bodily functions like salivation,
digestion and urination ... Researchers reported that cognitively normal study
participants who were taking at least one anticholinergic drug at baseline were
47 percent more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI), often a
precursor to dementia such as AD, while being tracked over a period of up to a
decade compared to participants who did not take such drugs"
-
Gum Disease Tied to Alzheimer’s Disease Risk - NYT, 7/29/20 -
"Researchers looked at 8,275 men and women whose average
age was 63 at the start of the study. Over an average follow-up of more than 18
years, 19 percent of them developed Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of
dementia ... After controlling for various characteristics, including age, sex,
education, cholesterol, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, smoking and
body mass index, they found that compared with people with healthy gums, those
who had severe gingivitis with tooth loss had a 22 percent increased relative
risk for dementia. Being toothless was associated with a 26 percent increased
risk"
-
Alzheimer's disease: Inflammation triggers fatal cycle - Science Daily,
3/18/20 - "An immune reaction in the brain seems to play
a major role in the development of Alzheimer's disease. In a way, it "adds fuel
to the fire" and apparently causes an inflammation that, in a sense, keeps
kindling itself ... the accumulation of Aß probably begins decades before the
first symptoms of disease appear. Early intervention may be able to slow down
this fateful process. "This might make it possible to treat Alzheimer's disease
preventively in the future, so that there is no impairment of mental performance
in the first place,""
-
Human
exposure to aluminum linked to familial Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily,
1/21/20 - "Researchers found significant amounts of
aluminum content in brain tissue from donors with familial AD. The study also
found a high degree of co-location with the amyloid-beta protein, which leads to
early onset of the disease ... The results were striking. The aluminum content
of the brain tissue from donors with the genetic mutation was universally high,
with 42% of tissues having a level considered pathologically significant, and
the levels were significantly higher than those in the control set ... Either
way, the new research confirms my resolve that within the normal lifespan of
humans, there would not be any AD if there were no aluminum in the brain tissue.
No aluminum, no AD"
-
Rapamycin prevents age-related brain vascular deterioration in rats -
Science Daily, 11/6/19 - "In the study, published Nov. 6
in the journal Aging Cell, researchers began rats on a diet including low-dose
rapamycin at 19 months old (past middle age in rat years). Rapamycin treatment
in daily food continued until the mice were of advanced age -- 34 months old --
almost double the age they were when they started treatment. "Essentially this
is as old as these rats can get. These animals were very old but still, blood
circulation in the brain was exactly the same as when they started treatment,"
said study senior author Veronica Galvan, Ph.D., professor of cellular and
integrative physiology at UT Health San Antonio" - But it's expensive.
Here's
one site I've found.
-
More
aggressive blood pressure control benefits brains of older adults - Science
Daily, 10/15/19 - "after three years, the accrual of white matter lesions in the
brain were reduced by up to 40% in the those patients receiving the intensive
blood pressure therapy compared to those who were on standard therapy ...
Further, study participants on the intensive therapy had a lower rate of
cardiovascular events including heart attack, stroke and hospitalization from
heart failure than those on standard therapy ... The INFINITY trial's results
show that maintaining a systolic blood pressure of less than 130 mmHg is safe,
and a reasonable and potentially more beneficial treatment goal for older adults
with hypertension ... Intensive treatment of hypertension reduces the
progression of small blood vessel disease in the brain and significantly lowers
patients' risk of nonfatal cardiovascular events"
-
High and Low Hemoglobin
Tied to Long-Term Dementia Risk - Medscape, 8/6/19 -
"individuals with anemia were 41% more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease
(AD) and 34% more likely to develop any dementia type compared with individuals
without anemia. The investigators also found that those with high hemoglobin
were also at greater risk of developing dementia"
-
Pfizer had clues its blockbuster drug could prevent Alzheimer’s. Why didn’t it
tell the world? - Washington Post, 6/4/19 - "The
company’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis therapy Enbrel, a powerful
anti-inflammatory drug, appeared to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 64
percent ... Verifying that the drug would actually have that effect in people
would require a costly clinical trial — and after several years of internal
discussion, Pfizer opted against further investigation and chose not to make the
data public, the company confirmed ... Some outside scientists disagree with
Pfizer’s assessment that studying Enbrel’s potential in Alzheimer’s prevention
is a scientific dead end. Rather, they say, it could hold important clues to
combating the disease and slowing cognitive decline in its earliest stages ...
Meanwhile, Enbrel has reached the end of its patent life. Profits are dwindling
as generic competition emerges, diminishing financial incentives for further
research into Enbrel and other drugs in its class ... He said Pfizer and other
companies do not want to invest heavily in further research only to have their
markets undermined by generic competition ... Another former executive, who also
spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Pfizer operations, said Pfizer
offered virtually no explanation internally for opting against further
investigation in early 2018, when the internal debate ended ... There were more
people, 302, treated with Enbrel in the group without Alzheimer’s diagnosis. In
the group with Alzheimer’s, 110 had been treated with Enbrel ... The numbers may
seem small, but they were mirrored in the same proportion when the researchers
checked insurance claims information from another database" - Note:
It's like with
Cialis
reversing heart disease, by the time they finish the studies it will be
generic so there's not money in paying for the studies.
-
U.S. Dementia-Linked Death Rate More Than Doubles - WebMD, 3/14/19 -
"Overall, age-adjusted death rates for dementia
increased from 30.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2000 to 66.7 in 2017 ... the new
analysis of death certificate data shows that dementia was noted as the primary
cause for nearly 262,000 deaths in 2017, with 46 percent of those deaths due to
Alzheimer's disease"
-
HbA1c Levels in Diabetes
Linked to Cognitive Decline - Medscape, 1/30/18 -
"HbA1c has gained ground in the diagnosis and management of diabetes, showing
greater reliability in predicting diabetes and indicating average circulating
glucose levels over the prior 2 to 3 months ... each 1 mmol/mol increment in
HbA1c was associated with an increased rate of decline in global cognitive z
scores (–0.0009 SD/year), memory z scores (–0.0005 SD/year), and executive
function z scores (–0.0008 SD/year). ... In terms of possible underlying
mechanisms of the link between diabetes and cognitive decline, some evidence
points to glycemic fluctuation as having a stronger effect on cognitive decline
compared with sustained hyperglycemia, possibly through effects on endothelial
function and induction of oxidative stress ... In addition, diabetes has been
linked to subsequent cognitive impairment through direct mechanisms, such as
inducing amyloid accumulation, and indirect mechanisms, including increasing
microvascular disease of the central nervous system, thereby potentially playing
a key role in vascular dementia, the authors note"
-
Inflammation in Midlife Tied to Brain Shrinkage Later in Life - NYT, 11/1/17
- "the greater the number of elevated inflammatory
markers earlier in life, the smaller the volume of several parts of the brain,
including those associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Higher levels of
inflammation were also associated with poorer performance on the memory test ...
It’s important early in life that we prevent diseases like diabetes, heart
disease or hypertension that cause systemic inflammation"
-
The Association Between
the Use of Zolpidem and the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease Among Older People -
J Am Geriatr Soc. 2017 Sep 7 - "Zolpidem [Ambien] users
with a high cumulative dose (>180 cDDD) in the first year after initiation had a
significantly greater risk of Alzheimer's disease than non-zolpidem users (HR =
2.97, 95% CI = 1.61-5.49) and low cumulative dose (<28 cDDD) users (HR = 4.18"
-
More
amyloid in the brain, more cognitive decline - Science Daily, 6/14/17 -
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170614211221.htm
-
Sugar's
'tipping point' link to Alzheimer's disease revealed - Science Daily,
2/23/17 - "Excess sugar is well known to be bad for us
when it comes to diabetes and obesity, but this potential link with Alzheimer's
disease is yet another reason that we should be controlling our sugar intake in
our diets"
-
Cholesterol-fighting drugs lower risk of Alzheimer's disease - Science
Daily, 12/13/16 - "The greatest drop in incidence of
Alzheimer's disease -- 29 percent -- was among Hispanic men. Among white men,
high users of statins had an 11-percent lower risk of incidence of the disease.
A similar reduction in risk -- 12-percent -- was found among Hispanic women ...
The risk of Alzheimer's disease was also lower for white women who were high
users (15 percent lower than women who took statins less frequently)"
-
New
link found between diabetes, Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily, 6/21/16 -
"Alzheimer's Disease and type 2 diabetes are so closely
related that drugs currently used to control glucose levels in diabetes may also
alleviate the symptoms and progression of Alzheimer's disease ... around 80% of
people with Alzheimer's disease also have some form of diabetes or disturbed
glucose metabolism. This is hugely relevant as Alzheimer's is in the vast
majority of cases not inherited, and lifestyle factors and comorbidities must
therefore be to blame"
-
Link
between gum disease and cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s - 3/10/16 -
"The presence of gum disease at baseline was associated
with a six-fold increase in the rate of cognitive decline in participants over
the six-month follow-up period of the study ... growing evidence from a number
of studies links the body's inflammatory response to increased rates of
cognitive decline, suggesting that it would be worth exploring whether the
treatment of gum disease might also benefit the treatment of dementia and
Alzheimer's Disease" - Here's a cut and paste with my solution in
addition to dental cleaning:
-
Common Prostate Cancer Treatment May Double Risk for Alzheimer's -NBC News,
12/7/15 - "The study of more than 16,000 men being
treated for prostate cancer showed that those who got any kind of androgen
deprivation therapy had nearly twice the risk of developing Alzheimer's over the
next 2 ½ years as men getting other treatments"
-
Blood Pressure Meds May Cut Alzheimer’s Risk - WebMD, 9/14/15 -
"People with early thinking and memory issues who took
an ACE inhibitor or an ARB medication for their high blood pressure were less
likely to get Alzheimer���s disease than those on other BP drugs ... A 2009 study
also found that people taking ACE inhibitors that were crossing the brain
barrier had a 65% lower risk of getting the disease compared to people taking
other kinds of BP drugs"
-
High
blood pressure linked to reduced Alzheimer's risk, meds may be reason: Study
authors say its likely protective effect comes from antihypertensive drugs -
Science Daily, 6/26/15 - "It may be that high blood
pressure is protective, or it may be that something that people with high blood
pressure are exposed to more often, such as antihypertensive medication, is
protecting them from Alzheimer's disease ... This is to date the most
authoritative paper looking at causal relationships between Alzheimer's disease
and these potentially modifiable factors"
-
New link
between diabetes, Alzheimer's found - Science Daily, 5/4/15 -
"elevated glucose in the blood can rapidly increase
levels of amyloid beta, a key component of brain plaques in Alzheimer's
patients. The buildup of plaques is thought to be an early driver of the complex
set of changes that Alzheimer's causes in the brain" - See my
Insulin and Aging page.
-
Anxiety Medications May Be Tied to Alzheimer's Risk - WebMD, 9/9/14 -
"The drugs in question are benzodiazepines, a widely
prescribed group of sedatives that include lorazepam (Ativan), diazepam (Valium)
and alprazolam (Xanax) ... They found that people who'd been prescribed
benzodiazepines for more than three months were 51 percent more likely to
develop Alzheimer's ... The risk was almost doubled if they'd taken the
medications for more than six months ... people in the early stages of
Alzheimer's can have symptoms like sleep problems and anxiety. That raises the
possibility that benzodiazepine use is the result of Alzheimer's, and not the
cause of the disease ... her study was designed to counter this possibility.
They only considered prescriptions that were started at least five years before
a person's Alzheimer's diagnosis"
-
Diabetes Drug Linked to
Lower Dementia Risk - Medscape, 7/24/14 - "they
studied the association of pioglitazone and dementia incidence in a prospective
cohort study of 145,717 adults age 60 years and older who were free of dementia
at baseline in 2004 and followed until 2010. The information on prescriptions of
pioglitazone on a quarterly basis was expressed as a linear variable covering
the time-dependent number of quarters of prescriptions, which ranged between 0
and 28 quarters ... With each additional quarter of pioglitazone prescription,
the relative risk for dementia fell by 6%" - Note: Pioglitazone is
another one I've been taking in low doses for years for anti-aging.
-
Diabetes
duration, severity associated with brain atrophy - Science Daily, 4/29/14 -
"used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate the association between
severity and duration of type 2 diabetes mellitus and brain structure in 614
patients (mean age 62 years) at four participating centers ... longer duration
of diabetes was associated with brain volume loss, particularly in the gray
matter ... Diabetes duration correlated primarily with brain atrophy ... for
every 10 years of diabetes duration, the brain of a patient with diabetes looks
approximately two years older than that of a non-diabetic person, in terms of
gray matter volume" - See my Insulin and
Aging page.
-
Insulin-like
growth factor-1 and risk of Alzheimer dementia and brain atrophy -
Neurology. 2014 Apr 4 - "Mean IGF-1 levels were 144 ± 60
μg/L in generation 1 and 114 ± 37 μg/L in generation 2. We observed 279 cases of
incident dementia (230 AD dementia) over a mean follow-up of 7.4 ± 3.1 years.
Persons with IGF-1 in the lowest quartile had a 51% greater risk of AD dementia
(hazard ratio = 1.51, 95% confidence interval: 1.14-2.00; p = 0.004). Among
persons without dementia, higher IGF-1 levels were associated with greater total
brain volumes (β/SD increment in IGF-1 was 0.55 ± 0.24, p = 0.025; and 0.26 ±
0.06, p < 0.001, for generations 1 and 2, respectively)"
-
Angiotension
receptor blockers reduce the risk of dementia - J Hypertens. 2014 Jan 8 -
"a population-based cohort study with data from the
Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 24 531 matching
pairs (1 : 1) of ARB-exposed and non-ARB-exposed patients were included. Each
patient was individually tracked from 1997 to 2009 to identify incident cases of
dementia (onset in 1999 or later) ... The multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios
for dementia, Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia were 0.54 (95% CI
0.51-0.59), 0.53 (95% CI 0.43-0.64) and 0.63 (95% CI 0.54-0.73) for patients
with ARB treatments, respectively. In terms of cumulative dosage, patients with
more than 1460 defined daily dose of ARBs had less risk than those patients with
less than 1460 defined daily dose (hazard ratio 0.37 vs. 0.61; P < 0.05) ...
These results suggest that ARB may be associated with a reduced risk of dementia
in high vascular-risk individuals. Patients exposed to ARBs for higher
cumulative doses experienced more protection from dementia and the subtypes"
- See my telmisartan (an
ARB) as a first line treatment page.
-
Increased
risk of dementia in patients with osteoporosis: a population-based retrospective
cohort analysis - Age (Dordr). 2013 Dec 18 - "Using
data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database ... After
adjustment for potential risk factors, the osteoporosis patients exhibited
1.46-fold and 1.39-fold higher risk of dementia (95 % CI = 1.37-1.56) and
Alzheimer's disease (95 % CI = 0.95-2.02), respectively, compared with the
matched nonosteoporosis patients"
-
High
Blood Sugar Makes Alzheimer’s Plaque More Toxic to the Brain - Science
Daily, 10/29/13 - "While neuronal involvement is a major
factor in Alzheimer's development, recent evidence indicates damaged cerebral
blood vessels compromised by high blood sugar play a role. Even though the links
among Type 2 diabetes, brain blood vessels and Alzheimer's progression are
unclear, hyperglycemia appears to play a role ... Researchers studied cell
cultures taken from the lining of cerebral blood vessels, one from normal rats
and another from mice with uncontrolled chronic diabetes. They exposed the cells
to beta amyloid and different levels of glucose and later measured their
viability. Cells exposed to high glucose or beta amyloid alone showed no changes
in viability. However, when exposed to hyperglycemic conditions and beta
amyloid, viability decreased by 40 percent"
-
Blood
pressure drugs decrease risk of Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily,
10/16/13 - "people over the age of 75 with normal
cognition who used diuretics, angiotensin-1 receptor blockers (ARBs) and
angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors showed a reduced risk of AD
dementia by at least 50 percent ... Beta blockers and calcium channel blockers
did not show a link to reduced risk"
-
Long-term
use of statins reduces the risk of hospitalization for dementia -
Atherosclerosis. 2013 Oct;230(2):171-6 - "A
population-based, nested case-control study was carried out by including the
cohort of 152,729 patients from Lombardy (Italy) aged 40 years or older who were
newly treated with statins between 2003 and 2004. Cases were the 1380 patients
who experienced hospitalization for dementia disease from initial prescription
until 2010 ... Compared with patients who had very short statins coverage (less
than 6 months), those on 7-24, 25-48, and >48 months of coverage respectively
had risk reductions of 15% (OR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.74 to 0.98), 28% (OR: 0.72; 95%
CI: 0.61 to 0.85), and 25% (OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.61 to 0.94). Simvastatin and
atorvastatin were both associated with a reduced risk of dementia, while no
similar evidence was observed for fluvastatin and pravastatin"
-
High Blood Sugar and
Dementia: No Diabetes Needed - Medscape, 9/19/13 -
"The group who did not have diabetes had an average blood sugar of about 100
mg/dL as opposed to the diabetics whose levels were in the 170s. There was a
J-shaped relationship between blood sugar and dementia in the diabetics. People
who had a blood sugar of 140 mg/dL on average had more dementia, but the rates
of dementia then went down to essentially zero and then went up again as the
blood sugar rose higher. The nondiabetics had more of a straight-line
correlation from the lowest level to the highest level"
-
Statins and
Cognitive Decline in Older Adults with Normal Cognition or Mild Cognitive
Impairment - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013 Sep 3 -
"Research volunteers with normal cognition at baseline evaluated an average 4.1
times over 3.4 years (1,244 statin users, 2,363 nonusers) and with mild
cognitive impairment (MCI) at baseline evaluated an average 3.9 times over 2.8
years (763 users, 917 nonusers) ... Cognitive performance was assessed according
to 10 neuropsychological indices and the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes
(CDR-SOB) ... Of participants with normal cognition at baseline, statin users
performed significantly better across all visits in attention (Trails A) and had
significantly slower annual worsening in CDR-SOB scores (P = .006) and slower
worsening in Mini-Mental State Examination scores than nonusers (which was not
significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons, P = .05). For participants
with MCI, statin users performed significantly better across all visits on
attention measures (Trail-Making Test Part A), verbal skills (Category Fluency),
and executive functioning (Trail-Making Test Part B, Digit Symbol, and Digits
Backward), but there were no differences in cognitive decline between users and
nonusers"
-
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Alzheimer's Disease Progression in
Older Adults: Results from the Réseau sur la Maladie d'Alzheimer Français Cohort
- J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013 Sep 3 - "Memory clinics from 16
university hospitals in France ... Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) ...
Continuous ACE-Is users had a 4-year decline in MMSE of 6.4 +/- 1.6 points (P <
.001), intermittent ACE-Is users of 7.9 +/- 1.1 points (P < .001), continuous or
intermittent users of other antihypertensive drugs of 8.8 +/- 0.7 points (P <
.001), and never-users of 10.2 +/- 0.6 points (P < .001). MMSE decline between
the four groups was significantly different (adjusted P = .02) ... The use of
ACE-Is in older adults with AD is associated with a slower rate of cognitive
decline independent of hypertension"
-
High
dose statins prevents dementia, study suggests - Science Daily, 8/31/13 -
"the current study examined whether statin use was
associated with new diagnoses of dementia. The researchers used a random sample
of 1 million patients covered by Taiwan's National Health Insurance ... The
adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for dementia were significantly inversely
associated with increased daily or total equivalent statin dosage. The HRs for
the three tertiles of mean equivalent daily dosage (lowest to highest) were
0.622, 0.697 and 0.419 vs control ... Patients who received the highest total
equivalent doses of statins had a 3-fold decrease in the risk of developing
dementia ... Almost all the statins (except lovastatin) decreased the risk for
new onset dementia when taken at higher daily doses. A high mean daily dosage of
lovastatin was positively associated with the development of dementia, possibly
because lovastatin is a lipophilic statin while the anti-inflammatory
cholesterol lowering effect of lovastatin is not comparable to that of
atorvastatin and simvastatin" - Note: The brand names are Mevacor
(lovastatin), Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium), Zocor (simvastatin), etc.
-
Plasma
cortisol in Alzheimer's disease with or without depressive symptoms - Med
Sci Monit. 2013 Aug 19;19:681-9 - "Cortisol is presumed
to be a risk factor for stress- and age-related disorders, such as depressive
disorder and Alzheimer's disease (AD) ... Plasma cortisol concentration was
measured in 80 AD patients (35 of them with depressive symptoms), 27 elderly
depressive patients without AD, and 37 elderly controls ... Compared to
controls, a significant increase of mean plasma cortisol was found in AD
patients but not in depressive patients. Plasma cortisol was positively
correlated with cognitive impairment in AD patients. We confirmed a U-shaped
association between plasma cortisol and major depression and a linear
association between plasma cortisol and AD without depressive symptoms.
Significantly increased relative risk of disease in people with high plasma
cortisol was found for AD with depressive symptoms and for AD with mild
dementia"
-
Dementia
risk tied to blood sugar level, even with no diabetes - Science Daily,
8/7/13 - "more than 2,000 Group Health patients age 65
and older in the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study ... in people without
diabetes, risk for dementia was 18 percent higher for people with an average
glucose level of 115 milligrams per deciliter compared to those with an average
glucose level of 100 mg/dl. And in people with diabetes, whose blood sugar
levels are generally higher, dementia risk was 40 percent higher for people with
an average glucose level of 190 mg/dl compared to those with an average glucose
level of 160 mg/dl ... The most interesting finding was that every incrementally
higher glucose level was associated with a higher risk of dementia in people who
did not have diabetes" - [Abstract]
-
Antihypertensive drugs decrease risk of Alzheimer disease: Ginkgo Evaluation of
Memory Study - Neurology. 2013 Aug 2 - "Secondary
longitudinal data analysis of the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study in older
adults at least 75 years of age with normal cognition (n = 1,928) or MCI (n =
320) over a median 6.1-year period ... Hazard ratio for incident AD dementia
among participants with normal cognition was 0.51 in diuretic (95% confidence
interval [CI] 0.31-0.82), 0.31 in ARB (95% CI 0.14-0.68), 0.50 in ACE-I (95% CI
0.29-0.83), 0.62 in CCB (95% CI 0.35-1.09), and 0.58 in BB (95% CI 0.36-0.93)
users and was not significantly altered when mean systolic blood pressure was
above 140 mm Hg" - Note: Sounds like the ARB's left the others in the
dust. See my
telmisartan as a first line treatment page.
-
Insulin
Resistance, Brain Atrophy, and Cognitive Performance in Late Middle-Aged Adults
- Diabetes Care. 2012 Oct 15 - "Insulin resistance
dysregulates glucose uptake and other functions in brain areas affected by
Alzheimer disease. Insulin resistance may play a role in Alzheimer disease
etiopathogenesis. This longitudinal study examined whether insulin resistance
among late middle-aged, cognitively healthy individuals was associated with 1)
less gray matter in Alzheimer disease-sensitive brain regions and 2) worse
cognitive performance ... higher insulin resistance was related to medial
temporal lobe atrophy. Atrophy itself corresponded to cognitive deficits in the
RAVLT. Temporal lobe atrophy that was predicted by higher insulin resistance
significantly mediated worse RAVLT encoding performance ... These results
suggest that insulin resistance in an asymptomatic, late middle-aged cohort is
associated with progressive atrophy in regions affected by early Alzheimer
disease. Insulin resistance may also affect the ability to encode episodic
information by negatively influencing gray matter volume in medial temporal
lobe"
-
ARBs May Curb
Amyloid Deposition in the Brain - Medscape, 9/13/12 -
"In 2011, a large British study confirmed this result,
finding a 53% lower risk for AD in older adults prescribed an ARB compared with
those prescribed other antihypertensive agents ... until now, the mechanism for
the apparent protective effect of ARBs on the brain was unclear ... Compared
with use of other antihypertensive medications, use of ARBs was associated with
a 32% to 35% lower likelihood of AD diagnosis, depending on the criteria used.
This was also true when the researchers compared patients treated with ARBs vs
untreated patients ... Patients treated with ARBs, with or without a diagnosis
of AD, also had significantly less amyloid deposition than untreated patients
and those treated with non-ARB antihypertensive medications" - See
telmisartan at
OffshoreRx1.com.
-
Even in normal range, high blood sugar linked to brain shrinkage - Science
Daily, 9/3/12 - "The study involved 249 people age 60 to
64 who had blood sugar in the normal range as defined by the World Health
Organization. The participants had brain scans at the start of the study and
again an average of four years later ... Those with higher fasting blood sugar
levels within the normal range and below 6.1 mmol/l (or 110 mg/dL) were more
likely to have a loss of brain volume in the areas of the hippocampus and the
amygdala, areas that are involved in memory and cognitive skills, than those
with lower blood sugar levels. A fasting blood sugar level of 10.0 mmol/l (180
mg/dL) or higher was defined as diabetes and a level of 6.1 mmol/l (110 mg/dL)
was considered impaired, or prediabetes ... blood sugar on the high end of
normal accounted for six to 10 percent of the brain shrinkage"
-
Link
between metabolic disorders and Alzheimer's disease examined - Science
Daily, 6/14/12 - "individuals with T2D have a nearly
twofold higher risk of AD than nondiabetic individuals"
-
Brain
insulin resistance contributes to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease -
Science Daily, 3/23/12 - "This is the first study to
directly demonstrate that insulin resistance occurs in the brains of people with
Alzheimer's disease ... Our research clearly shows that the brain's ability to
respond to insulin, which is important for normal brain function, is going
offline at some point ... We believe that brain insulin resistance may be an
important contributor to the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's
disease ... The risk of developing Alzheimer's disease is increased by 50
percent in people with diabetes ... insulin resistance of the brain occurs in
Alzheimer's disease independent of whether someone has diabetes ... The
investigators used samples of postmortem brain tissue from non-diabetics who had
died with Alzheimer's disease, stimulated the tissue with insulin, and measured
how much the insulin activated various proteins in the insulin-signaling
pathways ... three insulin-sensitizing medicines are already approved by the FDA
for treatment of diabetes. These drugs readily cross the blood-brain barrier and
may have therapeutic potential to correct insulin resistance in Alzheimer's
disease and MCI" - Note: I suspected this for a long time. It doesn't
say what those three drugs are but I'm guessing
metformin and
Actos are two of them. I
don't have diabetes but I take low doses of both. My doc says I'm crazy. See
metformin and pioglitazone (Actos) at
OffshoreRx1.com.
-
More Evidence That ARBs
Have Cognitive Benefits - Medscape, 3/23/12 - "After
stopping their antihypertensive medications, the patients were randomly assigned
to the ARB candesartan (n = 20), the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor
(ACEI) lisinopril (n = 18), or the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (n = 15) ...
After adjustment for age and baseline score on the Mini-Mental State
Examination, patients taking candesartan showed the greatest improvements on
tests assessing executive function ... Our findings further support
observational data showing that ARB use is associated with lower risk of
dementia and Alzheimer disease compared with the use of ACEIs or other
antihypertensives ... As reported previously by Medscape Medical News, Dr. Kehoe
and colleagues recently published a study showing a 53% lower risk for
Alzheimer's disease in older adults prescribed an ARB compared with those
prescribed other antihypertensive agents"
-
Flu may boost Alzheimer's risk, research suggests - MSNBC, 2/16/12 -
"Viruses such as influenza and herpes may leave brain
cells vulnerable to degeneration later in life, and increase the risk of
developing diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, research suggests.
That's because these the viruses can enter the brain and trigger an immune
response — inflammation — which can damage brain cells"
-
Diabetes
linked to cognitive impairment in older adults, study suggests - Science
Daily, 11/8/11 - "in older patients with diabetes, two
adhesion molecules -- sVCAM and sICAM -- cause inflammation in the brain,
triggering a series of events that affect blood vessels and, eventually, cause
brain tissue to atrophy. Importantly, they found that the gray matter in the
brain's frontal and temporal regions -- responsible for such critical functions
as decision-making, language, verbal memory and complex tasks -- is the area
most affected by these events ... at the age of 65, the average person's brain
shrinks about one percent a year, but in a diabetic patient, brain volume can be
lowered by as much as 15 percent ... Diabetes develops when glucose builds up in
the blood instead of entering the body's cells to be used as energy. Known as
hyperglycemia, this condition often goes hand-in-hand with inflammation ... Once
chronic inflammation sets in, blood vessels constrict, blood flow is reduced,
and brain tissue is damaged"
-
Diabetes
may significantly increase the risk of dementia - Science Daily, 9/19/11 -
"people with diabetes were twice as likely to develop
dementia as people with normal blood sugar levels ... the risk of developing
dementia significantly increased when blood sugar was still high two hours after
a meal"
-
Link
between high cholesterol and Alzheimer's disease revealed in new study -
Science Daily, 9/12/11 - "high cholesterol levels were
significantly related to brain plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease ...
the cholesterol levels were tested for 2,587 people age 40 to 79 who had no
signs of Alzheimer's disease. Then they examined 147 autopsied people who died
after a long observation period (10 to 15 years) ... People with high
cholesterol levels, defined by a reading of more than 5.8 mmol/L, had
significantly more brain plaques when compared to those with normal or lower
cholesterol levels. A total of 86 percent of people with high cholesterol had
brain plaques, compared with only 62 percent of people with low cholesterol
levels ... insulin resistance, a sign of diabetes, may be another risk factor
for brain plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease"
-
Humans Alone See Brains Shrink With Age, Researchers Find - WSJ, 7/26/11 -
"they found the human brains lost significant volume
over time, while the chimpanzees didn't ... Stress can affect brain size. So can
depression, research shows. Diet can be a factor, too. More broadly, though,
humanity's unusual shrinking brain just may be the price our species pays for
living so much longer than other primates ... During those extra decades of
life, natural cell-repair mechanisms may wear out and neural circuits wither,
the researchers said. As the brain normally ages, it acquires the neural
equivalent of sore knees and stiff fingers. Natural grooves in the brain widen.
Healthy swellings subside. And tangles of damaged neurons become dense thickets
of dysfunctional synapses"
-
Hemoglobin
level in older persons and incident Alzheimer disease: Prospective cohort
analysis - Neurology. 2011 Jul 13 - "When compared
to participants with clinically normal hemoglobin (n = 717), participants with
anemia (n = 154) had a 60% increased hazard for developing AD (95% CI
1.02-2.52), as did participants with clinically high hemoglobin (n = 10, HR
3.39, 95% CI 1.25-9.20). Linear mixed-effects models showed that lower and
higher hemoglobin levels were associated with a greater rate of global cognitive
decline (parameter estimate for quadratic of hemoglobin = -0.008, SE -0.002, p <
0.001). Compared to participants with clinically normal hemoglobin, participants
with anemia had a -0.061 z score unit annual decline in global cognitive
function (SE 0.012, p < 0.001), as did participants with clinically high
hemoglobin (-0.090 unit/year, SE 0.038, p = 0.018) ... In older persons without
dementia, both lower and higher hemoglobin levels are associated with an
increased hazard for developing AD and more rapid cognitive decline"
-
Stress
may increase risk for Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily, 5/26/11 -
"Fewer than ten percent of Alzheimer cases have a
genetic basis. The factors that contribute to the rest of the cases are largely
unknown ... life events (stress) may be one trigger ... stress, and the hormones
released during stress, can accelerate the development of Alzheimer disease-like
biochemical and behavioural pathology"
-
Plasma
homocysteine and cognitive decline in older hypertensive subjects - Int
Psychogeriatr. 2011 May 6:1-9 - "Higher homocysteine
showed an independent association with greater cognitive decline in three
domains: speed of cognition (β = -27.33, p = 0.001), episodic memory (β = -1.25,
p = 0.02) and executive function (β = -0.05, p = 0.04). The association with
executive function was no longer significant after inclusion of folate in the
regression model (β = -0.032, p = 0.22). Change in working memory and attention
were not associated with plasma homocysteine, folate or B12. High homocysteine
was associated with greater decline with a Cohen's d effect size of
approximately 0.7 compared to low homocysteine. Conclusions: In a population of
older hypertensive patients, higher plasma homocysteine was associated with
cognitive decline"
-
Midlife and
Late-Life Blood Pressure and Dementia in Japanese Elderly: The Hisayama Study
- Hypertension. 2011 May 9 - "We followed up a total of
668 community-dwelling Japanese individuals without dementia, aged 65 to 79
years, for 17 years and examined the associations of late-life and midlife
hypertension with the risk of vascular dementia and Alzheimer disease using the
Cox proportional hazards model ... The age- and sex-adjusted incidence of
vascular dementia significantly increased with elevated late-life blood pressure
levels (normal: 2.3, prehypertension: 8.4, stage 1 hypertension: 12.6, and stage
2 hypertension: 18.9 per 1000 person-years; P(trend)<0.001), whereas no such
association was observed for Alzheimer disease (P(trend)=0.88). After adjusting
for potential confounding factors, subjects with prehypertension and stage 1 or
stage 2 hypertension had 3.0-fold, 4.5-fold, and 5.6-fold greater risk of
vascular dementia, respectively, compared with subjects with normal blood
pressure. Likewise, there was a positive association of midlife blood pressure
levels with the risk of vascular dementia but not with the risk of Alzheimer
disease. Compared with those without hypertension in both midlife and late life,
subjects with midlife hypertension had an ≈5-fold greater risk of vascular
dementia, regardless of late-life blood pressure levels. Our findings suggest
that midlife hypertension and late-life hypertension are significant risk
factors for the late-life onset of vascular dementia but not for that of
Alzheimer disease in a general Japanese population. Midlife hypertension is
especially strongly associated with a greater risk of vascular dementia,
regardless of late-life blood pressure levels"
-
Packing
on the pounds in middle age linked to dementia - Science Daily, 5/2/11 -
"people who were overweight or obese at midlife had an
80 percent higher risk of developing dementia, Alzheimer's disease or vascular
dementia in late life compared to people with normal BMI"
-
Treating
high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes may lower risk of Alzheimer's disease
- Science Daily, 4/13/11 - "After five years, 298 people
developed Alzheimer's disease. The others still had mild cognitive impairment.
People with risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cerebrovascular
disease and high cholesterol were two times more likely to develop Alzheimer's
disease than those without vascular risk factors. A total of 52 percent of those
with risk factors developed Alzheimer's disease, compared to 36 percent of those
with no risk factors ... Of those with vascular risk factors, people who were
receiving full treatment were 39 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's
disease than those receiving no treatment. Those receiving some treatments were
26 percent less likely to develop the disease compared to people who did not
receive any treatment ... Although this was not a controlled trial, patients who
were treated for their high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease and
diabetes had less progression of their memory or thinking impairment and were
less likely to develop dementia"
-
Study
links inflammation in brain to some memory decline - Science Daily, 4/13/11
- "adults with measureable levels of C reactive protein
recalled fewer words and had smaller medial temporal lobes ... Scientists don't
know if the inflammation indicated by the C reactive protein is the cause of the
memory loss, if it reflects a response to some other disease process or if the
two factors are unrelated. But if inflammation causes the cognitive decline,
relatively simple treatments could help"
-
Indications of Alzheimer's disease may be evident decades before first signs of
cognitive impairment - Science Daily, 3/28/11
-
Hearing
loss associated with development of dementia - Science Daily, 2/14/11 -
"follow-up of 11.9 years ... for every 10 decibels of
hearing loss, the extra risk increased by 20 percent ... "A number of mechanisms
may be theoretically implicated in the observed association between hearing loss
and incident dementia," the authors write. Dementia may be overdiagnosed in
individuals with hearing loss, or those with cognitive impairment may be
overdiagnosed with hearing loss. The two conditions may share an underlying
neuropathologic process. "Finally, hearing loss may be causually related to
dementia, possibly through exhaustion of cognitive reserve, social isolation,
environmental deafferentation [elimination of sensory nerve fibers] or a
combination of these pathways.""
-
Insulin
metabolism and the risk of Alzheimer disease: The Rotterdam Study -
Neurology. 2010 Nov 30;75(22):1982-7 - "Diabetes
mellitus has been associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer disease (AD),
but how it exerts its effect remains controversial ... Levels of insulin and
insulin resistance were associated with a higher risk of AD within 3 years of
baseline. After 3 years, the risk was no longer increased. Glucose was not
associated with a higher risk of AD"
-
Bilingualism delays onset of Alzheimer's symptoms - Science Daily, 11/8/10
-
New
findings pull back curtain on relationship between iron and Alzheimer's disease
- Science Daily, 10/6/10 - "there is a very close link
between elevated levels of iron in the brain and the enhanced production of the
amyloid precursor protein, which in Alzheimer's disease breaks down into a
peptide that makes up the destructive plaques ... it had been known that an
abundance of iron in brain cells somehow results in an abundance of amyloid
precursor protein, or APP, and its destructive peptide offspring"
-
Low
testosterone linked to Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily, 10/5/10 -
"Low levels of the male sex hormone, testosterone, in
older men is associated with the onset of Alzheimer's disease"
-
Mild
memory loss is not a part of normal aging, new research finds - Science
Daily, 9/15/10 - "Simply getting older is not the cause
of mild memory lapses often called senior moments ... even the very early mild
changes in memory that are much more common in old age than dementia are caused
by the same brain lesions associated with Alzheimer's disease and other
dementias ... The very early mild cognitive changes once thought to be normal
aging are really the first signs of progressive dementia"
-
Insulin
resistance, type 2 diabetes linked to plaques associated with Alzheimer's
disease - Science Daily, 8/25/10 - "People with
insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes appear to be at an increased risk of
developing plaques in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's disease ...
people who had abnormal results on three tests of blood sugar control had an
increased risk of developing plaques. Plaques were found in 72 percent of people
with insulin resistance and 62 percent of people with no indication of insulin
resistance" - [Abstract]
-
Gum
inflammation linked to Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily, 8/3/10 -
"cognitively normal subjects with periodontal
inflammation are at an increased risk of lower cognitive function compared to
cognitively normal subjects with little or no periodontal inflammation ...
subjects with Alzheimer's disease had a significantly higher level of antibodies
and inflammatory molecules associated with periodontal disease in their plasma
compared to healthy people ... the Digit Symbol Test, or DST, a part of the
standard measurement of adult IQ ... periodontal inflammation at age 70 was
strongly associated with lower DST scores at age 70. Subjects with periodontal
inflammation were nine times more likely to test in the lower range of the DST
compared to subjects with little or no periodontal inflammation" - Note:
See my
dental page. Gum disease has been linked to several other heath conditions
including diabetes and heart disease. Over the years I've tried several methods
for gum disease including floss,
Periostat
and Arestin and here is the only method
that worked:
-
Abdominal fat at middle age associated with greater risk of dementia: Obesity
linked to lower total brain volume - Science Daily, 5/20/10 -
"excess abdominal fat places otherwise healthy,
middle-aged people at risk for dementia later in life ... 24.3 million people
have some form of dementia, with 4.6 million new cases annually"
-
Lowering Systolic BP in Midlife Reduces the Risk of Late-Life Dementia -
Medscape, 5/17/10 - "17.7% of cases could be attributed
to prehypertension (systolic BP 120 to <140 mm Hg), regardless of treatment
status, or 11 excess cases per 1000"
-
Homocysteine
is associated with hippocampal and white matter atrophy in older subjects with
mild hypertension - Int Psychogeriatr. 2010 Apr 7:1-8 -
"In older hypertensives, plasma homocysteine levels are
associated with increased rates of progressive white matter and hippocampal
atrophy"
-
Severe Hypoglycemia Raises Dementia Risk in Type 2 Elderly - Clinical
Psychiatry News, 3/10 - "compared with patients who had
no severe hypoglycemic episodes were 1.7 for those with at least one episode,
2.2 for two or more, and 2.6 for three or more episodes. Further adjustment for
diabetes-related comorbidity, HbA1c level, diabetes treatment, and years of
insulin use modestly attenuated the effect but it remained “statistically
significant and clinically relevant” with hazard ratios of 1.3, 1.8, and 1.9,
respectively"
-
Diabetes Accelerates Conversion of Mild Cognitive Impairment to Dementia -
Medscape, 1/11/10 - "Our study demonstrates that
individuals with mild cognitive impairment and diabetes are at increased risk of
developing dementia"
-
Hypertension Drugs May Cut Alzheimer's Risk - WebMD, 1/12/10 -
"The patients taking an angiotensin receptor blocker had
a 19% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those taking lisinopril and
a 24% lower risk compared to use of other blood pressure/heart medications.
People taking both an ACE inhibitor and an angiotensin receptor blocker, which
both target the angiotensin system, had a 46% lower risk of dementia compared
with those taking other medications"
-
Dementia
linked to high blood pressure years earlier - Science Daily, 1/12/10 -
"Women who, at the start of the study, were
hypertensive, meaning a blood pressure of 140/90 or higher, had significantly
more white matter lesions on their MRI scans eight years later than participants
with normal blood pressure. Lesions were more common in the frontal lobe, the
brain's emotional control center and home to personality, than in the occipital,
parietal or temporal lobes"
-
Hypertension Linked to White-Matter Disease Progression: Study - Medscape,
1/7/10 - "Long-standing hypertension is strongly
associated with progression of white-matter hyperintensity (WMH), which is known
to be associated with new or worsening cognitive impairment and dementia"
-
Delaying
the aging process protects against Alzheimer's disease - Science Daily,
12/10/09 - "Aging is the single greatest risk factor for
Alzheimer's disease. In their latest study, researchers at the Salk Institute
for Biological Studies found that simply slowing the aging process in mice prone
to develop Alzheimer's disease prevented their brains from turning into a
neuronal wasteland ... he slowed the aging process in a mouse model for
Alzheimer's by lowering the activity of the IGF-1 signaling pathway ... mice
with reduced IGF-1 signaling live up to 35 percent longer than normal mice ...
Although long-lived mice didn't show any of the cognitive or behavioral
impairments typical of Alzheimer's disease till very late in life, their brains
were riddled with highly compacted plaques"
-
Alzheimer's: Destructive amyloid-beta protein may also be essential for normal
brain function - Science Daily, 11/23/09 -
"Alzheimer's disease is thought to be caused by the build-up of a brain peptide
called amyloid-beta. That's why eliminating the protein has been the focus of
almost all drug research pursuing a cure for the devastating neurodegenerative
condition ... amyloid-beta is also necessary to maintain proper brain
functioning"
-
NSAIDs
Prevent Early Sign Of Alzheimer Disease In Mice - Science Daily, 11/9/09
-
Statins
Show Dramatic Drug And Cell Dependent Effects In The Brain - Science Daily,
10/28/09 - "Besides their tremendous value in treating
high cholesterol and lowering the risk of heart disease, statins have also been
reported to potentially lower the risks of other diseases, such as dementia ...
statin drugs can have profoundly different effects on brain cells -both
beneficial and detrimental ... simvastatin reduced the expression of the
cholesterol transporter ABCA1 by approximately 80% in astrocytes, while
pravastatin lowered expression by only around 50%. Another interesting
difference was that while both statins decreased expression of the Tau protein
-associated with Alzheimer's disease -- in astrocytes, they increased Tau
expression in neurons; pravastatin also increased the expression of another
Alzheimer's hallmark, amyloid precursor protein (APP)"
-
Antihypertensive Therapy Slows Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer Disease -
Medscape, 9/29/09 - "patients using antihypertensive
treatments had significantly higher MMSE scores at 1, 2, and 3 years, compared
with patients not taking antihypertensive treatments"
-
High Cholesterol Linked to Alzheimer's - WebMD, 8/4/09 -
"Adults with even moderately elevated cholesterol in
their early to mid-40s appear to have an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease
and related dementias decades later ... Total cholesterol in the high range at
study entry was associated with a 66% increase in Alzheimer's risk, while having
borderline high cholesterol raised the risk for vascular dementia by 52% ...
total cholesterol of 240 or higher is considered high, and a cholesterol of 200
to 239 is considered borderline high"
-
Cognitive
Deficit in Amyloid-{beta}-Injected Mice Was Improved by Pretreatment With a Low
Dose of Telmisartan Partly Because of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated
Receptor-{gamma} Activation - Hypertension. 2009 Jul 27 -
"Taken together, our findings suggest that even a low
dose of telmisartan had a preventive effect on cognitive decline in an Alzheimer
disease mouse model, partly because of PPAR-gamma activation"
-
Statin Drugs May Cut Dementia Risk - WebMD, 7/14/09 -
"people who took statin drugs were 58% less likely to
develop dementia than those who did not ... So what is going on? A risk factor
for dementia is high insulin; one theory is that statins may lower the high
insulin levels in the brain. Statins have also been shown to reduce levels of
C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation that has been linked to the
pathology that can lead to dementia"
-
Inflammation May Trigger Alzheimer's Disease - Science Daily, 7/8/09 -
"Inflammation, which is part of the body's natural
immune response, occurs when the body activates white blood cells and produces
chemicals to fight infection and invading foreign substances ... We induced
inflammation in mice and found that it turned off the LRP pump that lets amyloid
beta protein exit the brain into the bloodstream. It also revved up an entrance
pump that transports amyloid beta into the brain. Both of these actions would
increase the amount of amyloid beta protein in the brain"
-
Very Low Blood Sugar Linked to Dementia - WebMD, 4/17/09 -
"Compared to patients with no history of low blood sugar
requiring treatment, patients with a single episode of hospital-treated
hypoglycemia were found to have a 26% increase in dementia risk ... Patients
treated three or more times for hypoglycemia had nearly double the dementia risk
of patients who had never been treated"
-
Diabetes
Linked To Cognitive Deterioration - Science Daily, 3/5/09 -
"people with diabetes were 1.5 more likely to experience
cognitive decline, and 1.6 more likely to suffer from dementia than people
without diabetes ... suggests that higher-than-average levels of blood glucose
(blood sugar) may have a role in this relationship ... in people with type 2
diabetes, higher levels of haemoglobin A1C (a measure
of average blood glucose) are significantly associated with poorer performance
on three cognitive tasks which require memory, speed and ability to manage
multiple tasks at the same time. A higher A1C level was also associated with a
lower score on a test of global cognitive function ... lowering A1C levels could
slow the accelerated rate of cognitive decline experienced by people with
diabetes"
-
Drug
Found That Could Reduce Risk Of Alzheimer's - Science Daily, 2/2/09 -
"daily injections of hydroxyfasudil ... Both dosed
groups performed significantly better than control-group rats given saline
solution. On this same test, the high-dose group showed the best learning
(fewest total errors) and best working memory (measured two different ways)"
-
Getting
Diabetes Before 65 More Than Doubles Risk For Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD,
1/28/09 - "getting diabetes before the age of 65
corresponds to a 125 percent increased risk for Alzheimer's disease"
-
Antipsychotic Drugs Double Risk Of Death Among Alzheimer's Patients -
Science Daily, 1/8/09 - "New research into the effects
of antipsychotic drugs commonly prescribed to Alzheimer’s patients concludes
that the medication nearly doubles risk of death over three years"
-
Old
Gastrointestinal Drug Slows Aging, Researchers Say - Science Daily, 1/6/08 -
"Recent animal studies have shown that clioquinol – an
80-year old drug once used to treat diarrhea and other gastrointestinal
disorders – can reverse the progression of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and
Huntington's diseases ... clioquinol acts directly on a protein called CLK-1,
often informally called "clock-1," and might slow down the aging process ...
Because clock-1 affects longevity in invertebrates and mice, and because we're
talking about three age-dependent neurodegenerative diseases, we hypothesize
that clioquinol affects them by slowing down the rate of aging ... clioquinol
was withdrawn from the market after being blamed for a devastating outbreak of
subacute myelo-optic neuropathy (SMON) in Japan in the 1960s. However, because
no rigorous scientific study was conducted at the time, and because clioquinol
was used safely by millions before and after the Japanese outbreak, some
researchers think its connection to SMON has yet to be proven" - I
Googled clioquinol and I don't think it's available anywhere.
-
Rosiglitazone reverses memory decline and hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor
down-regulation in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model - Biochem Biophys Res
Commun. 2008 Dec 22 - "An early down-regulation of GR,
not related to elevated plasma corticosterone levels, was found in different
hippocampal subfields of the transgenic mice and this decrease was prevented by
rosiglitazone. In parallel with behavioural studies, rosiglitazone also
normalized GR levels in older animals. This effect may contribute to explain the
attenuation of memory decline by PPARgamma activation in an AD mouse model"
- Note: That's another reason I take rosiglitazone's competitor,
pioglitazone which has less
chance of causing heart problems.
-
Drug
Reduces Aggression, Wandering And Paranoia In Alzheimer's Patients - Science
Daily, 12/9/08
-
Epilepsy
Drug Shows Potential For Alzheimer’s Treatment - Science Daily, 12/8/08 -
"Sodium valproate - which is marketed as the
anti-seizure drug Epilim - has been shown by scientists at the University of
Leeds to reactivate the body’s own defences against a small protein called
amyloid beta peptide, which is the main component of the brain plaques
characteristic in Alzheimer’s"
-
Does
Growth Hormone Drug Slow Alzheimer's Disease? - Science Daily, 11/17/08 -
"A new study shows that a drug that increases the
release of growth hormone failed to slow the rate of progression of Alzheimer's
disease in humans"
-
Statins Reduce Dementia & Cognitive Impairment Risk - Physician's Weekly
Article, 10/13/08 - "Patients who had used statins were
about half as likely as those who did not use the drugs to develop dementia or
CIND"
-
Possibilities -- But No Proof -- To Prevent Alzheimer’s - Science Daily,
10/8/08 - "Physical activity and healthy living ... Diet
... Alzheimer’s vaccine ... Cardiovascular therapies ... Nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) ... Estrogen ... Mental fitness"
-
Statins May Prevent Dementia in Older Adults - Doctor's Guide, 7/29/08 -
"People at high risk for dementia who took statins were
half as likely to develop dementia as those who do not take statins"
-
Angiotensin Receptor Blockers Are Lower Incidence, Progression Of Alzheimer's
Disease - Science Daily, 7/27/08 - "Researchers at
Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have, for the first time, found that
angiotensin receptor blockers
(ARBs)—a particular class of anti-hypertensive medicines—are associated with a
striking decrease in the occurrence and progression of dementia" - Note:
Telmisartan, which I've been saying should be a
first line treatment, is an ARB. See telmisartan at
OffshoreRx1.com.
-
New Drug
Reverses Alzheimer's Disease Within Days In Mouse Models - Science Daily,
7/9/08
-
To Avoid Dementia, Watch Your Weight - WebMD, 5/8/08 -
"obese people have an 80% increased risk for Alzheimer's
disease compared to those with normal weight"
-
Using
Anti-cholinergic Drugs May Increase Cognitive Decline In Older People -
Science Daily, 4/17/08 - "Anticholinergic drugs, such as
medicines for stomach cramps, ulcers, motion sickness, and urinary incontinence,
may cause older people to experience greater decline in their thinking skills
than people not taking the drugs"
-
High
Cholesterol In Your 40s Increases Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease - Science
Daily, 4/16/08 - "people with total
cholesterol levels between 249 and 500
milligrams were one-and-a-half times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease
than those people with cholesterol levels of less than 198 milligrams. People
with total cholesterol levels of 221 to 248 milligrams were more than
one-and-a-quarter times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease"
-
Alzheimer's Starts Earlier For Heavy Drinkers, Smokers - Science Daily,
4/16/08 - "the combination of heavy drinking and heavy
smoking reduced the age of onset of Alzheimer's disease by six to seven years,
making these two factors among the most important preventable risk factors for
Alzheimer's disease"
-
Insulin Trouble Tied to Alzheimer's - WebMD, 4/9/08 -
"the men took fasting glucose tests to show how well
their body used insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar ... Men who had a
weaker insulin response to that test were 31% more likely to be diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease later in life" - See my
Insulin and Aging page.
-
Big Bellies Linked to Alzheimer's Disease - washingtonpost.com, 3/26/08 -
"People who have big bellies in their 40s are much more
likely to get Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia in their 70s"
- [Science
Daily]
-
More
Brain Research Suggests 'Use It Or Lose It' - Science Daily, 2/7/08 -
"It appears that if a cell is not appropriately
stimulated by other cells, it self-destructs ... This self-destruct process is
also known to be an important factor in stroke, Alzheimer's and motor neuron
diseases, leading to the loss of essential nerve cells from the adult brain"
-
Telomere length in white blood cells, buccal cells and brain tissue and its
variation with ageing and Alzheimer's disease - Mech Ageing Dev. 2008 Jan 31
- "We observed a significantly lower telomere length in
white blood cells (P<0.0001) and buccal cells (P<0.01) in Alzheimer's patients
relative to healthy age-matched controls (31.4% and 32.3%, respectively)"
-
Rosiglitazone increases dendritic spine density and rescues spine loss caused by
apolipoprotein E4 in primary cortical neurons - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.
2008 Jan 22 - "rosiglitazone significantly increased
dendritic spine density in a dose-dependent manner in cultured primary cortical
rat neurons. This effect was abolished by the PPAR-gamma-specific antagonist,
GW9662, suggesting that rosiglitazone exerts this effect by activating the
PPAR-gamma pathway. Furthermore, the C-terminal-truncated fragment of apoE4
significantly decreased dendritic spine density. Rosiglitazone rescued this
detrimental effect. Thus, rosiglitazone might improve cognition in AD patients
by increasing dendritic spine density"
-
High
Blood Pressure Associated With Risk For Mild Cognitive Impairment - Science
Daily, 12/12/07 - "Hypertension (high blood pressure)
was associated with an increased risk of all types of mild cognitive impairment
that was mostly driven by an increased risk of non-amnestic mild cognitive
impairment ... Preventing and treating hypertension may have an important impact
in lowering the risk of cognitive impairment"
-
High
Blood Pressure May Heighten Effects Of Alzheimer's Disease - Science Daily,
11/28/07 - "Having hypertension, or high blood pressure,
reduces blood flow in the brains of adults with Alzheimer's disease"
-
Copper
Damages Protein That Defends Against Alzheimer's - Science Daily, 11/7/07 -
"Copper can damage a molecule that escorts out of the
brain a substance called amyloid beta that builds up in toxic quantities in the
brains of people with Alzheimer's disease ... having appropriate levels of
copper in our body is crucial for our health. Copper helps keep our bones our
strong and our skin toned, and it helps our nerves fire crisply and our cells to
generate the energy we need to live. It helps keep our blood healthy so we can
get the oxygen we need to all our organs. And it plays a role in keeping our
immune system strong"
-
Maternal Link to Alzheimer's Disease Found - Doctor's Guide, 11/6/07 -
"People who have a mother with Alzheimer's disease
appear to be at higher risk for getting the disease than those individuals whose
fathers are afflicted ... People with an affected parent have a 4- to 10-fold
higher risk compared to individuals with no family history. It isn't known why
people with a family history are more susceptible to the disease"
-
High
Blood Pressure Or Irregular Heartbeat Linked To Alzheimer's Disease Progression
- Science Daily, 11/5/07 - "10 with high blood pressure
(systolic pressure over 160) at the time of AD diagnosis showed a rate of memory
loss roughly 100 percent faster than those with normal blood pressure ... 10
with atrial fibrillation at the time of the diagnosis showed a rate of memory
decline that was 75 percent faster than those with normal heartbeats"
-
Pet Scan Helps Distinguish Alzheimer's from Other Dementia - Doctor's Guide,
11/2/07
-
Drugs
For Hypertension May Help Prevent And Treat Alzheimer's Disease - Science
Daily, 10/26/07 - "mice genetically determined to
develop Alzheimer's disease beta-amyloid production and subsequent cognitive
deterioration, significantly benefit from the treatment with the
anti-hypertensive agent Valsartan, found to pharmacologically prevent
beta-amyloid production in the brain even when delivered to Alzheimer's disease
mice at doses 3-4 fold lower than the minimal equivalent dose prescribed for the
treatment of hypertension in humans. Other anti-hypertension drugs with
beneficial results included Propranolol HCI, Carvedilol, Losartan, Nicardipine
HCI, Amiloride HCI and Hydralazine HCI" - Note: I'm big on Micardis
(telmisartan). Valsartan and losartan (generic names so they shouldn't have
been capitalized) are also ARBs. I'm wondering if telmisartan was in the study.
-
Statins May Help Alzheimer's Patients - washingtonpost.com, 9/11/07 -
"Those patients who had taken statins before they died
showed significantly lower levels of tangles in their brains ... Our data says
these drugs appear to be doing something in the human brain ... Whether this
will translate into behavioral changes, we can't say ... subjects had taken
statins for only five years or less. It may be that longer use of statins would
offer more protection"
-
New Alzheimer's findings: High stress and genetic risk factor lead to increased
memory decline - Doctor's Guide, 8/27/07 - "High
stress levels may contribute to memory loss among people at risk for developing
Alzheimer's disease"
-
Statins May Cut Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD, 8/27/07 -
"participants who had taken statins were 80% less likely
to have brain changes typical of Alzheimer's disease than those who hadn't taken
statins"
-
Zocor vs. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's - WebMD, 7/18/07 -
"In patients over age 64, those who took Zocor were 54%
less likely to get Alzheimer's disease and 49% less likely to get Parkinson's
disease than were matched patients not taking statin drugs ... Those who took
Lipitor were 9% less likely to get Alzheimer's disease"
-
Blood Inflammation Plays Role in
Alzheimer's Disease - Doctor's Guide, 5/29/07 -
"The participants' blood was tested for levels of
cytokines, which are protein messengers that trigger inflammation. Those
with the highest amount of cytokines in their blood were more than twice as
likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as those with the lowest amount of
cytokines"
-
Some
Hypertension Drugs May Help Reduce Dementia Risk - Science Daily, 5/5/07 -
"Centrally acting drugs include captropril (Capoten®),
fosinopril (Monopril®), lisinopril (Prinivil® or Zestri®), perindopril (Aceon®),
ramipril (Altace®) and trandolapril (Mavik®) ... The study found a link between
taking centrally active ACE inhibitors and lower rates of mental decline as
measured by the Modified Mini-Mental State Exam, a test that evaluates memory,
language, abstract reasoning and other cognitive functions"
-
Estrogen
Use Before 65 Linked To Reduced Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease - Science Daily,
5/2/07 - "women who used any form of estrogen hormone
therapy before the age of 65 were nearly 50 percent less likely to develop
Alzheimer's disease or dementia"
-
Testosterone May Slow Alzheimer's - WebMD, 12/19/06 -
"The mice that couldn't make testosterone developed more
brain plaque, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Those mice also had more
trouble in a maze test"
-
High Cholesterol Linked to
Increased AD Risk - Medscape, 11/6/06 -
"With a 3- to 4-fold increase in the number of memory
errors, normal mice on the high-fat diet had significantly poorer memory
performance than controls ... This finding indicates it may not be increased
cholesterol levels per se that adversely affect memory but the associated
inflammation"
-
Antidiabetic Agents Show
Some Promise in Treating Alzheimer's Disease - Medscape, 7/27/06 -
"The findings in these studies clearly support the growing paradigm shift
regarding the pathogenesis of AD, ie, that AD is caused by insulin resistance
and insulin deficiency in the brain"
-
Prediabetes May Raise Risk for Alzheimer's - Intelihealth, 7/17/06 -
"people who had prediabetes at the beginning of the
study had a 70% increased risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's ...
doctors tend to ignore the slightly high sugar levels until the levels reach the
stage of full-blown diabetes"
-
Diabetes Drug Shows Promise in Treating Alzheimer's - Doctor's Guide,
7/17/06 - "Treatment of high blood sugar may have a
scientific connection to memory loss that could, one day, benefit millions of
people with Alzheimer's Disease ... The drug, called
pioglitazone HCl"
-
Antihypertensive Agents May Be Linked to Decreased Risk for Alzheimer Disease
- Medscape, 5/9/06 - "The use of any antihypertensive
medications significantly reduced the risk of developing AD (adjusted HR, 0.64).
This result did not vary by sex, APOE status, subjects' blood pressure values,
or the duration of antihypertensive use ... potassium-sparing diuretics had the
most significant affect on the risk of AD ... this effect was almost entirely
due to the effects of potassium-sparing agents"
-
Alzheimer's patients put diabetes
pill [Avandia] to the test - MSNBC, 5/1/06 -
"The new theory: The metabolism of neurons’ internal
power factors, called mitochondria, go awry so that those cells don’t use enough
sugar. That eventually leads to impaired brain cell function, including the
buildup of that gunky beta-amyloid. It also means that neurons in youth and
middle age don’t sprout enough communication connections, providing less
“cognitive reserve” once their neurons start dying off" - See my
Avandia page.
-
Sustained Blood Pressure Treatment Lowers Dementia Risk In Elderly - Science
Daily, 4/10/06 - "each year of treatment reduced the
risk of developing dementia during the follow-up period by about 3 percent.
Compared with men who were never treated for hypertension, the risk of
developing dementia during the follow-up period was: ... 60 percent lower in
those treated more than 12 years -- similar to the risk in a control group of
446 men with normal blood pressure"
-
Insulin Sensitizers Cut Cognitive Decline in AD - Clinical Psychiatry News,
4/06 - "There is a critical relationship between insulin
resistance and key aspects of brain function ... patients taking
rosiglitazone performed
significantly better than those taking placebo on a delayed memory task (the
Buschke Selective Reminding Test)" - See
OffshoreRx1.com.
-
Use of Potassium-Sparing Diuretics Cuts AD Risks - Clinical Psychiatry News,
4/06 - "The risk of developing AD was significantly
smaller in those who took antihypertensive medications than in those who did not
(adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.64). When the results were broken down by drug
class,
diuretics showed the greatest protective effect against AD"
-
Hypertension Drugs May Cut Alzheimer's - WebMD, 3/13/06 -
"People taking drugs for high blood pressure --
especially certain diuretics -- were less likely to have developed Alzheimer's"
-
Alzheimer's Found To Be Mostly Genetic: Largest Twin Study Ever Undertaken
Confirms Highest Estimates Of Genetic Risk - Science Daily, 2/7/06 -
"Alzheimer disease has a genetic cause in up to 80
percent of cases"
-
Alzheimer Patients Treated With Testosterone In UCLA-led Study Show Improved
Quality Of Life - Science Daily, 1/10/06 -
"Alzheimer patients treated with testosterone showed
significant improvement on a quality-of-life instrument that encompasses memory,
interpersonal relationships, physical health, energy, living situation and
overall well-being compared with patients who received a placebo"
-
Testosterone May Ease Alzheimer's - WebMD, 12/12/05 -
"testosterone replacement therapy improved the mood,
overall well-being, and personal relationships of men with Alzheimer's disease"
-
Effects of Testosterone on Cognition and Mood in Male Patients With Mild
Alzheimer Disease and Healthy Elderly Men - Arch Neurol. 2006;63 -
"For the patients with AD, the testosterone-treated
group had significantly greater improvements in the scores on the caregiver
version of the quality-of-life scale"
-
Cholesterol Drugs May Slow Alzheimer's - WebMD, 11/17/05 -
"Those taking cholesterol drugs had the smallest drop in
test scores ... No one was assigned to take any drug. The researchers just
tracked the patients' medications and test scores"
-
Hypertension Control May Lower Risk of Dementia - Clinical Psychiatry News,
10/05 - "effective antihypertensive therapy may reduce
cognitive decline in these patients"
-
High Cholesterol May
Raise Alzheimer's Risk - WebMD, 10/10/05 -
"If further studies confirm these results, researchers
say cholesterol management may be incorporated in to treatments for Alzheimer's
disease"
-
Homocysteine and folate as risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer disease
- Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Sep;82(3):636-43 - "Elevated
plasma tHcy concentrations and low serum folate concentrations are independent
predictors of the development of dementia and AD"
-
Blood Flow to Brain Linked to Dementia - WebMD, 8/30/05 -
"The average blood flow into the brain among the
dementia group was 443 milliliters per minute, which was 108 milliliters per
minute lower than older adults of the same age with good brain function. In
comparison, average blood flow in the brain was 742 milliliters per minute
among the healthy, young adults"
-
Obesity Today, Alzheimer's Disease Tomorrow? - WebMD, 8/8/05 -
"people with high insulin levels -- long before they
get diabetes -- already are on the road to Alzheimer's disease"
-
Elevated Insulin Levels Appear to Increase Levels of Inflammatory Markers
and Beta-Amyloid, Which May Contribute to Alzheimer's Disease - Doctor's
Guide, 8/8/05 - "Moderately elevated levels of
insulin increase the levels of inflammatory markers and beta-amyloid in
plasma and in cerebrospinal fluid, and these markers may contribute to
Alzheimer's disease"
-
Signs found 10 years in advance of Alzheimer's - USATODAY.com, 7/31/05 -
"The first hints of impending Alzheimer's include
not just forgetfulness but lags in attention and other subtle problems that
can show up 10 years before an official diagnosis"
-
Are Animals Who Exercise Slower to Develop AD? - Physician's Weekly,
7/25/05 - "short-term and long-term physical
activity appear to reduce the processing of plaque-forming ß-amyloid
protein"
-
Next Alzheimer's Disease Drug: Lipitor? - WebMD, 5/9/05 -
"How could Lipitor help Alzheimer's patients? Excess
cholesterol in the brain seems to play a role in Alzheimer's disease
progression"
-
New
Study Shows That Most Older People With Mild Cognitive Impairment Have
Alzheimer’s Disease Or Cerebral Vascular Disease - Science Daily,
3/17/05 - "Mild cognitive impairment in older people
is not a normal part of growing old but rather appears to be an indicator of
Alzheimer's disease or cerebral vascular disease"
-
Drugs Used To Treat Alzheimer's In Nursing Homes Are Worsening Sufferers'
Illness - Science Daily, 3/8/05 -
"Quetiapine, a drug commonly used in nursing homes
to treat agitation and related symptoms in people with Alzheimers' disease
actually worsens patients' illness, speeding up their rate of decline
significantly"
-
Diabetes Drug Appears to Slow Cognitive Decline - Clinical Psychiatry
News, 2/05 - "subjects who received rosiglitazone
remembered significantly more words than did the placebo subjects at 4
months (5.7 vs. 5.4) and 6 months"
- Cholesterol Drugs
May Lower Alzheimer's Risk - WebMD, 1/10/05 -
"long-term use of the cholesterol-lowering drugs may help reduce risk of
memory-robbing deposits and Alzheimer's disease"
-
Cholesterol-lowering Drug May Slow Alzheimer's Progression
- Science Daily, 11/17/04 - "The
cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin slowed down mental decline and
improved depressive symptoms in people with Alzheimer’s disease"
- Blood Pressure
Drug May Slow Alzheimer's - WebMD, 10/11/04 -
"patients who took blood pressure pills known as ACE inhibitors showed a
slower deterioration in thinking and memory than patients who took other
types of high blood pressure drugs ... particularly Aceon and Capoten"
- Drinking and
Dementia: Is There a Link? - WebMD, 9/3/04 -
"Drinking alcohol in middle age may increase the risk of late-life dementia
in people who are genetically predisposed to develop Alzheimer's disease"
-
No Clear-Cut Answers on Statins as Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease
- Doctor's Guide, 7/19/04 - "Alzheimer mice treated
with
simvastatin regain their ability to navigate mazes"
-
Estrogen and Estrogen-Related Drugs May Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease
- Doctor's Guide, 6/21/04 - "the researchers believe
the results support the use of estrogen, or SERMs, for the prevention and
treatment of Alzheimer's Disease"
-
Depression Liked to Alzheimer's Risk - Physician's Weekly, 7/28/03 -
"People who have experienced depression
are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than their relatives who have
never shown signs of depression ... People who have experienced depression
are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than their relatives who have
never shown signs of depression"
- Common Drugs
May Raise Alzheimer's Risk - Doctor's Guide, 7/25/03 -
"The drugs -- called anticholinergic agents -- slow electrical impulses in
nerve cells. They're used to help Parkinson's disease patients control
unwanted movement such as tremors. These drugs also help with bladder
control and dizziness. But other common drugs have anticholinergic
activities, too. These include older allergy drugs and tricyclic
antidepressants ... examined the brains of deceased Parkinson's patients for
the plaques and tangles seen in the brains of Alzheimer's patients ... Those
who took anticholinergic drugs for more than two years had significantly
more plaque and tangles than those who never took the drugs"
-
Simvastatin May Retard Progression of Severe White Matter Changes
- Doctor's Guide, 5/26/03 - "Simvastatin
may slow down the progression of severe white matter changes in the brain,
and may therefore retard cognitive decline ... The most common type of
vascular dementia is due to the
hardening of the arteries deep inside the brain which causes white
matter changes... and its been shown that this can lead to executive
dysfunction" - Note: Red yeast rice
is a non-prescription statin.
-
Antipsychotics Effective for Elderly Patients With Dementia
- Psychiatric News, 4/18/03 - "atypical
antipsychotics
have been used to alleviate deteriorating behavioral symptoms in dementia
patients, such as agitation and aggression. New research that she cited
shows some atypical antipsychotics can actually improve cognition through
activating the release of acetylcholine in the cortex.
Clozapine, olanzapine, and
risperidone, she reported, robustly increased acetylcholine release in
the cortex, while ziprasidone
only moderately increased levels, compared with
haloperidol and thioridazine,
which did not elevate acetylcholine levels at all ... atypical
antipsychotics increase cortical dopamine and
cholinesterase inhibitors at the very least increase cortical
acetylcholine action, leading to an improvement in memory and thinking, as
well as improvement in psychosis and behavior"
-
Diabetes Linked to Development of Alzheimer's Disease
- Doctor's Guide, 4/8/03 - "people with
diabetes had a 73% greater chance of developing Alzheimer s disease
compared to controls ... people with diabetes had a 51% greater rate of
decline in perceptual speed" - See my
diabetes page for preventative measures.
-
Cholesterol Metabolism May Provide Alzheimer’s Clue
- Psychiatric Times, 3/21/03 - "The
CYP46 enzyme regulates levels of brain cholesterol ... a change of just
one base in the CYP46 gene from cytosine (C) to thymine (T)—leads to a
decrease in functioning of CYP46, causing
cholesterol levels in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid to reach
higher-than-normal levels ... other research has shown that depletion of
brain cholesterol leads to a reduction in Aß ... The results, he wrote,
"suggest the possibility that LOAD [late onset Alzheimer's disease], the
most common degenerative disease of the brain, is a general end point for
abnormalities that increase the amount of cholesterol in the central nervous
system. If so, inhibiting cholesterol metabolism in the brain might
represent a viable treatment for LOAD.""
-
Higher Pulse Pressure Tied To Dementia Risks - Doctor's Guide, 3/17/03 -
"Higher
pulse pressure in older adults is linked with increased risk for
Alzheimer disease (AD) and dementia, which is probably caused by artery
stiffness and severe atherosclerosis" - Note: Pulse pressure is the
difference between the systolic (high number) and diastolic (low number).
-
HDL Cholesterol Level Linked To Longevity, Cognitive Function - Clinical
Psychiatry News, 2/03 - "A group of centenarians
maintained significantly higher than normal
HDL cholesterol levels, and within the group the parameter was strongly
correlated with cognitive function ... The
centenarians' offspring were also significantly healthier than their
spouses: They were half as likely to have diabetes or heart attacks and had
significantly lower blood pressure. No strokes occurred among the offspring
... The presence of HDL might explain the health and longevity in these
families. The serum concentration of HDL typically declines with age by a
mean of 5 mg/dL every 8 years ... Had the decline followed the normal
pattern, the centenarians' HDL would have been about 20 mg/dL. But the
actual mean value in the group was 55 mg/dL"
- See my HDL page for ways to raise it.
-
Targeting 5HT Receptors Might Control Alzheimer's Dementia
- Doctor's Guide, 2/19/03 - "Compromised
serotonergic
function might contribute significantly to cognitive decline in senile
dementia and in ageing ... acute tryptophan depletion impaired tasks of
working memory in both groups"
-
Studies have mixed message for diet and Alzheimer's risks
- USA Today, 2/17/03 - "The study of antioxidants
involved 980 Medicare patients in New York, averaging age 75, who were asked
about their food intake during the first year of the four-year study ...
Thies said the results don't rule out the possibility of an
Alzheimer's-related benefit from antioxidants ... it is not what you're
doing in your late 70s that's going to affect your risk of dementia, it's
what you're doing in your 50s and 60s"
-
Low Blood Pressure and Risk of Dementia in the Kungsholmen Project: A 6-Year
Follow-up Study - Archives of Neurology, 2/03 -
"Subjects with very high systolic pressure
(>180 vs 141-180 mm Hg) had an adjusted relative risk of 1.5 (95% confidence
interval [CI], 1.0-2.3; P = .07) for Alzheimer disease, and 1.6 (95% CI,
1.1-2.2) for
dementia ... high diastolic pressure (>90 mm Hg)
was not associated with dementia incidence, whereas extremely low diastolic
pressure (65 vs 66-90 mm Hg) produced an adjusted relative risk of 1.7 (95%
CI, 1.1-2.4) for Alzheimer disease and 1.5 (95% CI, 1.0-2.1; P = .03) for
dementia"
-
Biological Marker [p-tau(231)] Could Differentiate Alzheimer's, Geriatric
Depression - Doctor's Guide, 2/12/03
- Alzheimer's,
Dementia Not Inevitable With Age - WebMD, 2/11/03 -
"In their study, fully one-half of the 111 nonagenarians -- people 90-99
years old -- had no signs of clinically measurable
memory loss, while another 12% had only mild cognitive impairment. Only
about one in three had dementia ... One of the things that struck me is that
most of the people we studied who lived into their 90s -- whether or not
they had dementia -- had at least one parent who lived into their 80s or 90s
... And while some were obese, the vast majority of the study participants
and those who had no signs of memory loss were thin"
-
Statin Therapy Does Not Slow Cognitive Decline - Clinical Psychiatry
News, 1/03 - "pravastatin showed no effect at all on
cognition in PROSPER. Similarly, simvastatin exerted no impact upon
cognitive decline in the earlier 20,536-patient randomized double-blind
Heart Protection Study ... It might be better to look at the use of
antihypertensives
in the elderly to prevent cognitive decline” based upon accumulating
extremely promising clinical trials data on that score ... Prior statin
trials in middle-aged patients have shown stroke prevention but not until
after 5-6 years of treatment"
-
Serum insulin-like growth factor I regulates brain amyloid-beta levels
- Nat Med 2002 Dec;8(12):1390-7 - "Because
IGF-I treatment of mice overexpressing
mutant amyloid markedly reduces their brain Abeta burden, we consider that
circulating IGF-I is a physiological regulator of regulator of brain amyloid
levels with therapeutic potential"
-
More Evidence That Statins Cut Alzheimer's Risk
- Clinical Psychiatry News, 11/02
-
Hormone Replacement Therapy and Incidence of Alzheimer Disease in Older
Women: The Cache County Study - JAMA, 11/6/02 -
"Prior HRT use is associated with reduced risk
of AD, but there is no apparent benefit with current HRT use unless such use
has exceeded 10 years"
-
Implanted Device May Improve Alzheimer's Effects: "Low-Flow" Shunt
Constantly Removes Fluid Buildup, Linked To Dementia
- Intelihealth, 10/23/02
-
Brain Shunts Slow Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD, 10/22/02
-
Cholesterol, Blood Pressure Problems Outweigh Genetics for Alzheimer's Risk
- Clinical Psychiatry News, 10/02 -
"having a
cholesterol level of 250 mg/dL or greater increased the risk for
Alzheimer's disease by threefold, compared with cholesterol levels below
that ... Systolic blood pressure (SBP)
greater than 160 mm Hg increased the risk by 2.4, compared with SBP less
than 140 mm Hg"
-
Smoking Significantly Increases Risk of Alzheimer's Disease Among Those Who
Have No Genetic Predisposition - Doctor's Guide, 7/25/02 -
"a history of cigarette
smoking doubled the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease among
individuals who were not apolipoprotein E (ApoE) carriers but did not
influence risk among ApoE genotype individuals"
-
Osteoporosis Drug May Protect Brain - WebMD, 7/24/02 -
"when elderly women were given
Evista at twice the approved
osteoporosis dose, their risk for
developing a pre-Alzheimer's condition was cut by 33% compared with women
taking a placebo"
-
Systolic Hypertension, Hypercholesterolemia Identified as Risk Factors for
Alzheimer's Disease - Doctor's Guide, 7/23/02 -
"persons who have apolipoprotein E (ApoE) e4 allele as well as
hypertension and
hypercholesterolemia have an eight-fold increase in risk for developing
Alzheimer's disease"
-
Hormone Replacement Linked to Lower Plasma Concentrations of Beta-Amyloid
- Doctor's Guide, 7/23/02 - "Hormone replacement
therapy (HRT) is associated with lower plasma
concentrations of beta-amyloid 1-40 in postmenopausal women with Alzheimer's
disease (AD) ... When treatment with estradiol was discontinued, plasma
concentrations of beta-amyloid 1-40 returned towards baseline in previously
HRT-naïve women"
-
Cholesterol drugs may work on brain - USA Today, 7/9/02 -
"too much
cholesterol in the blood can clog arteries in a process that can lead to
a heart attack. But many researchers now think that high blood cholesterol
also affects the brain ... Excess cholesterol may be instrumental in the
formation of senile plaque ... That plaque, the hallmark of Alzheimer's, is
an abnormal cluster of dead or dying brain cells and toxic proteins that
short-circuit memory and other crucial brain functions ... People taking
statins reduced their risk of developing Alzheimer's by nearly 80%"
- Note: Red yeast rice is a non-prescription
statin.
-
Urine Test Predicts Alzheimer's Disease - Doctor's Guide, 6/13/02 -
"One hypothesis is that, in AD, healthy brain tissue is damaged by the local
formation of large amounts of free radicals," said Praticò. "Isoprostanes
are the byproducts of fats in the human body that were warped by free
radical attack. They then accumulate in CSF, blood, and urine as the body
works to get rid of them."
-
Lipoprotein (a) May Be Tied To Alzheimer's Disease
- Doctor's Guide, 6/13/02 - "Researchers found a
significant non-linear association between Lp(a) serum concentrations and
increased risk for AD"
-
Lower Engrogen Estradiol In Aged Tied To Cognitive And Behavioural Ills
- Doctor's Guide, 3/22/02 - "Lower endogenous
estradiol levels are linked in older people with poor cognitive function as
well as with upsets in behaviours and activities of daily living"
-
Statins May Preserve Brain Power - WebMD, 3/18/02 -
"The study also found that statin use was associated
with a lower risk of memory problems or dementia, regardless of total
cholesterol level. The authors say more research is needed to understand
exactly how statins seem to protect the brain, but they suspect that the
drugs may work by improving muscle function and reducing inflammation"
-
Testosterone May Help Fight Alzheimer's - Intelihealth, 1/25/02 -
"There is increasing evidence that stress plays a role in the development of
Alzheimer's ... Hormones such as testosterone have been shown to regulate
the brain's stress response ... stress leads to a biochemical change in a
brain protein, which is a primary culprit in Alzheimer's disease ... his
findings suggest that giving testosterone to aging men or to postmenopausal
women may help to delay, prevent and possibly treat Alzheimer's disease. The
research was supported by the Alzheimer's Association"
-
Hormone Replacement Therapy May Delay Cognitive Decline In Older Women
- Doctor's Guide, 12/27/01 - "Lifetime exposure to
hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be associated with better maintenance
of cognitive function in older women free of dementia ... those who also
stand to lose the most cognitively -- women over age 85 -- appear to gain
the most from HRT exposure"
-
Putting Alzheimer's Study Into Perspective - WebMD, 11/8/01 -
"The researchers also found that only certain
anti-inflammatory drugs appear to have what it takes in preventing
Alzheimer's disease -- ibuprofen, indomethacin, and sulindac. But aspirin,
also an anti-inflammatory drug, did not do the trick ... But what you may
have missed from the story is the fact that the doses of ibuprofen given
were at levels that could likely lead to problems down the road if taken for
a long time"
-
Estrogen Patch Found to Improve Memory - WebMD, 8/27/01 -
"after two months of wearing an estrogen patch,
postmenopausal women with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease showed some
improvement in both memory and thinking ability"
- Brain Trauma May Increase
Risk of Alzheimer's Disease - Doctor's Guide, 8/22/01
-
Keeping Life Normal With Alzheimer's - WebMD, 8/13/01 -
"What it shows is that patients treated with
[Aricept] are much less likely to experience a significant loss of function
over a period of at least a year"
-
Metal Remover Clears Alzheimer's Plaques in Mice - WebMD, 6/21/01 -
"A drug [clioquinol] once accused of causing
blindness and brain damage may be able to dissolve the plaques clogging the
brains of people with Alzheimer's disease"
-
High Blood Pressure, Cholesterol Linked to Alzheimer's - WebMD, 6/14/01
- "The message is to treat hypertension and
hypercholesterolemia early."
-
Galantamine Approved for Alzheimer's Dementia - Clinical Psychiatry
News, 5/01 - "treated with galantamine had
significant improvements in their cognitive performance, compared with those
on placebo ... Treatment also was associated with improved behavior and the
ability to function in the real world"
-
Alzheimer's Drug: Benefits Seen for Two Years, Advantages of Reminyl Are
Modest, Though - WebMD, 5/16/01 - "At the end of
two years, those who took the drug throughout the study had on average
slightly less than half the degree of decline in mental function and
physical abilities of those who initially received the placebo pill"
- Donepezil Better Tolerated
Than Rivastigmine, Efficacy Comparable - Doctor's Guide, 5/11/01 -
"both drugs to provide effective cognitive improvement in patients with
Alzheimer’s dementia, but donepezil to have fewer cholinergic side effects"
-
New Alzheimer Guidelines Issued - Intelihealth, 5/8/01 -
"People diagnosed with persistent short-term memory
loss have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and should be
aggressively monitored by their physicians"
-
Cholesterol drug may prevent Alzheimer's - CNN, 5/1/01 -
"What we found was that patients taking statins have a 60 to 70 percent
reduction in the risk of Alzheimer's disease"
- Decreased Memory After Age
60 Linked To High Homocysteine Levels - Doctor's Guide, 4/26/01 -
"High circulating levels of homocysteine,
especially with increasing age, have been associated with cognitive
impairment. In recent studies, Alzheimer disease and dementia after multiple
strokes have been linked to extremely high serum homocysteine concentrations
... The folate status of the participants was
an important consideration because folate has been shown to significantly
modify homocysteine levels"
-
Brain Cells May Die In Alzheimer's From Failed Try At Replication, Study
Says - Intelihealth, 4/26/01 - "Cells normally
duplicate their chromosomes before they divide, so that each daughter cell
ends up with the right number. But in the case of Alzheimer's, it appears
the cells never reach the dividing step. Instead, researchers propose, they
die from the double load of chromosomes"
-
Alzheimer's Vaccine Works in Mice, Vaccinated Mice Learn Better, Have
Healthier Brains
- WebMD, 4/25/01
- Donepezil Provides
Cognitive Benefit in Alzheimer's Disease - Doctor's Guide, 4/24/01 -
"significant cognitive improvements were shown by mean increases in MMSE
scores from baseline at week 4 (+1.31) and week 12 (+1.79)"
-
Dementia deadlier than first thought - CNN, 4/12/01 -
"Most people don't think of dementia as a deadly
condition, but "as time goes on they (patients) have difficulty swallowing,
they may have difficulties walking," wrote Kawas, "and they become more
susceptible to malnutrition and to infections."
-
Researchers Find Link For Estrogen's Power To Protect The Brain -
Intelihealth, 4/12/01 - "Dubal used female rats
whose ovaries were surgically removed - thereby eliminating estradiol
production - and induced strokes in the animals by blocking an artery
carrying blood to the brain. The rats given supplemental estrogen had far
less brain damage than those from whom the hormone supplement was withheld"
-
Is Alzheimer's Disease More Deadly Than Thought? - WebMD, 4/11/01 -
"Each year nearly one in 10 Americans over the age
of 65 get the devastating news that they have Alzheimer's disease"
-
Can skin cells repair brains? - USA Today, 4/11/01
- Alzheimer's Drug Aricept
(Donepezil) May Delay Need For Nursing Home Placements - Doctor's Guide,
4/4/01 - "may have delayed dementia-related nursing
home placement for Alzheimer's patients for close to two years (21 months)"
-
Don't Chalk Forgetfulness Up to Normal Aging, Memory Loss May Really Be a
Sign of Early Alzheimer's - WebMD, 3/14/01 -
"older people who have repeated memory lapses may actually have an early
form of Alzheimer's disease, even if they do not have the dementia
characteristic of the disease"
-
Cavemen Don't Get Alzheimer's, We May Be Too Lazy for Our Own Good -
WebMD, 3/5/01 - "people who are inactive in their
20s to their 60s may increase their risk of getting Alzheimer's by a
whopping 250%"
|
|
.
These are wide and will only word for the back four slots but that's where
most of the problem lies.