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Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending
11/14/07. You should consult your doctor if you are taking any
medications.
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.
Long-term Beta Carotene Supplementation May Help Prevent Cognitive Decline,
Study Suggests - Science Daily, 11/12/07 - "placebo
or 50 milligrams of beta carotene every other day ... In this generally healthy
population, the extent of protection conferred by long-term treatment appeared
modest; nonetheless, studies have established that very modest differences in
cognition, especially verbal memory, predict substantial differences in eventual
risk of dementia; thus, the public health impact
of long-term beta carotene use could be
large" - Note: The problem with beta-carotene is that it is just
one of over 600 carotenoids and some studies show that taking large doses of
just on carotenoid can cause a deficiency of the others.
Omega-3 Fish Oil Improves Lupus Symptoms, Shows Possible Cardiovascular Benefits
- Doctor's Guide, 11/12/07 - "They received 3 grams of
omega-3 fish oils, daily, for 24 weeks ...
Low dose dietary supplementation with omega-3 fish oils in
SLE not only has a therapeutic effect on disease
activity but also improves endothelial function and reduces oxidative stress and
may, therefore, confer cardiovascular benefits" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
Low Vitamin D Raises Pain and Functional Impairment in Osteoarthritis -
Doctor's Guide, 11/12/07 - "Low levels of
vitamin D are associated with more knee pain
and walking difficulty in persons with knee
osteoarthritis (OA)" - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
Antioxidants may stop fat cells formation, says study - Nutra USA, 11/12/07
- "These results suggest that o-coumaric acid and rutin
targeted for adipocyte functions could be effective in improving the symptoms of
metabolic syndrome" - [Abstract]
Atorvastatin Helps Protect Kidneys in SPARCL Patients - Doctor's Guide,
11/12/07 - "Treatment of
stroke patients with
atorvastatin can preserve kidney function in patients with or without
chronic kidney disease,
metabolic syndrome or type 2
diabetes"
Feeling
Stressed? How Your Skin, Hair And Nails Can Show It - Science Daily,
11/12/07 - "When a person becomes stressed, the level of
the body’s stress hormone (cortisol)
rises. This in turn causes an increase in oil production, which can lead to oily
skin, acne and other related skin problems ... stress has a negative effect on
the barrier function of the skin, resulting in water loss that inhibits the
skin’s ability to repair itself after an injury"
Obesity
And Overweight Linked To Higher Prostate Cancer Mortality - Science Daily,
11/12/07 - "Compared to men with normal BMI (BMI<25),
men with BMI between 25 and 30 were more than 1.5 times more likely to die from
their cancer"
Got omega-3? Not so much - USATODAY.com, 11/11/07 - "Most
mayonnaise is made with soybean oil, which is a source of ALA (alpha-linolenic
acid). But that kind of omega-3 fat, found most abundantly in flaxseed, has not
been proven to convey the same health benefits as DHA plus EPA ... if the label
just says omega-3 and makes no mention of DHA and EPA, there's a good chance
it's ALA"
Citrus flavonoids and tocotrienols help cut cholesterol - Nutra USA, 11/8/07
- "A combination of bioflavonoids from citrus fruit and
tocotrienols found in Sytrinol has had a
positive effect in lowering cholesterol levels ... a new ingredient
Cholesstrinol, which includes both tocotrienols bioflavonoids, will be launched
... The 12-week double-blind placebo controlled study showed total
cholesterol dropped by 30 per cent, LDL
cholesterol by 29 per cent, triglycerides
by 34 per cent compared to the placebo" - [Abstract]
- Cholesstrinol isn't available yet but Sytrinol is. See:
-
Orange, Tangerine Peels Could Be Better Than Drugs For Lowering Cholesterol
- Science Daily, 5/12/04 -
"A compound found in the peels of citrus fruit has
the potential to lower cholesterol more effectively than some prescription
drugs, and without side effects ... Marketed as a cholesterol-lowering agent
under the trade name SytrinolTM, the supplement recently became available in
the U.S"
- See
Sytrinol at Amazon.com.
-
Source Naturals(R) First National Brand To Offer Sytrinol(TM) - NPI
Center, 1/19/04 -
"Sytrinol, a patented proprietary formula derived
from citrus and palm fruit extracts, is composed of polymethoxylated
flavones and tocotrienols. Multiple clinical trials have demonstrated
Sytrinol acts synergistically to significantly reduce total cholesterol, LDL
cholesterol and triglycerides by 23%, 21% and 26% respectively. Unlike other
cholesterol supplements, Sytrinol is not diet specific and has no known side
effects"
Vitamin D 'may help slow ageing' - BBC News, 11/8/07 -
"those with higher vitamin
D levels showed fewer ageing-related changes in their DNA ...women with
higher levels of vitamin D were more likely to have longer
telomeres in these cells, and vice versa"
- [Nutra
USA] - See
vitamin D at Amazon.com.
Candesartan Improves Outcomes in Diabetes, Kidney Patients - Doctor's Guide,
11/8/07 - "new onset diabetes occurred in just 1.1% of
the 1,024 patents on candesartan compared with 2.9% of the patients treated with
other blood pressure lowering medications that did not include
angiotensin receptor blockers ...
"We observed that treatment with candesartan reduced that risk by 63% (P
=.027)," he said during a press briefing. He also noted that patients on
candesartan had fewer adverse events than the 1,025 patients who received
standard therapy" - I would have liked to see telmisartan (also an
ARB) in this study. See:
-
Telmisartan and irbesartan therapy in type 2 diabetic patients treated with
rosiglitazone: effects on insulin-resistance, leptin and tumor necrosis
factor-alpha - Hypertens Res. 2006 Nov;29(11):849-56 -
"The decrease in HbA1c and FPG at 12 months was
statistically significant only in the telmisartan group"
-
Metabolic effects of telmisartan and irbesartan in type 2 diabetic patients
with metabolic syndrome treated with rosiglitazone - J Clin Pharm Ther.
2007 Jun;32(3):261-8 - "Telmisartan seemed to
improve glycaemic and lipid control and metabolic parameters of the
metabolic syndrome better than irbesartan. These differences could be
relevant in the choice of therapy for this condition and diabetes"
-
Effects of telmisartan on fat distribution in individuals with the metabolic
syndrome - J Hypertens. 2007 Apr;25(4):841-8 -
"Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were
decreased in both groups to a comparable level. However, insulin and glucose
levels during an oral 75 g glucose loading were decreased only in the
telmisartan group. The visceral fat area, determined by abdominal computed
tomography scan, was reduced in the telmisartan group after 24 weeks'
treatment, but the subcutaneous fat area did not change in either group"
-
Angiotensin II receptor blockers downsize adipocytes in spontaneously type 2
diabetic rats with visceral fat obesity - Am J Hypertens. 2007
Apr;20(4):431-6 - "adipocyte
downsizing was significantly greater with telmisartan compared to valsartan.
The likely mechanism for this difference was thought to be the
PPAR-gamma-mediated action of telmisartan"
-
Preliminary Studies Suggest Potential Metabolic Effects of Micardis
(Telmisartan) - Doctor's Guide, 9/9/05 -
"The Micardis molecule is structurally similar to the
PPAR-gamma activator, pioglitazone,3 which has been approved for the treatment
of type 2 diabetes.7 Micardis partially activates PPAR-gamma resulting in
metabolic effects that differentiate it from other ARBs, according to
preclinical data.1-4 These data demonstrate that Micardis has a beneficial
effect on insulin resistance and blood lipids, independent of its effect on the
renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system"
-
New treatment strategies for patients with hypertension and insulin resistance
- Am J Med. 2006 May;119(5 Suppl 1):S24-30 - "the
ability of telmisartan both to activate PPAR-gamma and to block the angiotensin
receptor may provide added value not only in the treatment of the metabolic
syndrome and prevention of type 2 diabetes but also in prevention and treatment
of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease"
-
The effects of telmisartan and amlodipine on metabolic parameters and blood
pressure in type 2 diabetic, hypertensive patients - J Renin Angiotensin
Aldosterone Syst. 2006 Dec;7(4):243-6 -
"Group A: rosiglitazone (RSG) 4 mg + Telm 80 mg; Group
B: RSG 4 mg + Aml 10 mg ... Lower values of glucose, HbA1C, HOMA index and
higher adiponectin levels were observed in Group A compared to Group B ...
insulin sensitivity may confer make Telm particularly suitable in the treatment
of the metabolic syndrome"
-
The effects of irbesartan and telmisartan on metabolic parameters and blood
pressure in obese, insulin resistant, hypertensive patients - J
Endocrinol Invest. 2006 Dec;29(11):957-61 -
"The greater impact on the improvement of the
metabolic profile showed by telmisartan and the inverse correlation between
adiponectin levels and blood pressure may be partly due to the action as
partial PPARgamma agonist displayed by telmisartan"
Carotid Artery Thickening Slowed With Rosuvastatin Therapy - Doctor's Guide,
11/8/07 - "228 patients on
rosuvastatin with less
than two risk factors for heart disease and thinner carotid intima showed a
progression of thickness growth at the rate of.0007 mm/year, while the average
growth in thickness among the 76 placebo patients was.0123 mm/year, a difference
that was statistically significant"
Cardiovascular Benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy May Depend on Timing
- Doctor's Guide, 11/8/07 - "Naturally menopausal women
initiating hormone therapy (HT) prior to age 45
were better protected against coronary artery disease (CAD) compared with those
starting it later and non users"
Eat
Fish, Get Smarter? - WebMD, 11/8/07 - "Most
participants ate fish, and the more fish they ate, the better their test scores
were -- up to a point ... Test scores leveled off for people who ate more than
about 2.5 to 2.8 daily ounces of fish" - Note: The article includes
a total of three studies. - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
Green
Tea Proves A Powerful Medicine Against Severe Sepsis In the Lab - Science
Daily, 11/8/07 - "Survival jumped from 53 percent in
those who didn't receive the green tea
substance to 82 percent in those who did. "Clinically, even if we could save
five percent of patients, that would be huge," ... In this study, we saved 25
percent more animals with the green tea" - See
green tea extract 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.
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"
Cervical Cancer Risk Decreases After Stopping the Pill - Doctor's Guide,
11/7/07 - "Cervical
cancer risk for women up to the age of 50 in developed countries such as the
UK who have never used the pill is 3.8 in
1,000. This increases to 4.0 per 1000 in women who use the pill for 5 years, and
to 4.5 per 1000 for those who take the pill for 10 years"
Cholesterol-lowering Drug Linked To Sleep Disruptions - Science Daily,
11/7/07 - "The results showed that
simvastatin use was
associated with significantly worse sleep quality. A significantly greater
number of individuals taking simvastatin reported sleep problems than those
taking either pravastain or the placebo"
Fish Oil Supplements May Ease Lupus - WebMD, 11/7/07 -
"Fish oil supplements
may help improve the symptoms of lupus ... the
supplements also improve blood flow and blood vessel function in people with
lupus who are known to be at increased risk for heart disease" - See Mega
Twinlab Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
Beta-Blockers for Hypertension, Heart Failure Prevention May Raise Stroke Risk
- Doctor's Guide, 11/7/07 - "The apparent
anti-hypertensive efficacy of
beta-blockers was comparable to other agents, and resulted in no incremental
benefit for reduction in heart failure risk for the overall cohort ... However,
the increased stroke risk may be related to the pseudoantihypertensive effect of
traditional beta-blockers -- failure to lower central aortic pressure when
compared to other antihypertensives"
Low Omega-3s in Diet Linked to Higher Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Heart
Failure Patients - Doctor's Guide, 11/7/07 - "Heart
Failure patients who were prone to depressive
symptoms ate 15% fewer omega-3 fatty acids
and those with anxiety consumed 14% fewer omega-3 fatty acids than heart failure
patients without symptoms"
Drug
Slows Prostate Tumor Growth By Keeping Vitamin A Active - Science Daily,
11/7/07 - "A novel compound that blocks the breakdown of
retinoic acid, derived from vitamin A, is a
surprisingly effective and "promiscuous" agent in treating animal models of
human prostate cancer ... Daily injections of
the agent VN/14-1 resulted in up to a 50 percent decrease in tumor volume in
mice implanted with human prostate cancer cells ... Vitamin A, when converted by
the body into retinoic acid, is known to be involved in maintaining the normal
growth of cells, and other research has shown that prostate cancer cells contain
five to eight times less retinoic acid than normal prostate cells"
Abstracts from this week's
Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics
plus abstracts from my RSS feeds (Click here
for the journals, the Medline ones at the top):
Preferential increase in high-molecular weight adiponectin after niacin -
Atherosclerosis. 2007 Nov 7 - "treatment with niacin
raises
adiponectin between 52% and 95% in patients with the metabolic syndrome"
-
Adiponectin definition - medterms.com - "High
blood levels of adiponectin are associated with a reduced risk of heart
attack. Low levels of adiponectin are found in people who are obese (and who
are at increased risk of a heart attack)."
High {omega}-6 and Low {omega}-3 Fatty Acids are Associated With Depressive
Symptoms and Neuroticism - Psychosom Med. 2007 Nov 8 -
"Lower EPA, and
higher AA, AA:EPA ratio and AA:DHA ratio were associated with greater NEO-PI-R
Neuroticism" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
Effects of flavonoids and phenolic acids on the inhibition of adipogenesis in
3T3-L1 adipocytes - J Agric Food Chem. 2007 Oct 17;55(21):8404-10 -
"These results suggest that o-coumaric acid and rutin
targeted for adipocyte functions could be effective in improving the symptoms of
metabolic syndrome"
Onion and garlic intake and the odds of benign prostatic hyperplasia -
Urology. 2007 Oct;70(4):672-6 - "Compared with nonusers,
the multivariate ORs for the highest category of onion and
garlic intake were 0.41 ... This uniquely large
data set from European populations showed an inverse association between allium
vegetable consumption and BPH"
Relationship between serum testosterone and measures of benign prostatic
hyperplasia in aging men - Urology. 2007 Oct;70(4):677-80 -
"the serum testosterone
levels in aging men did not correlate with the measures of
BPH, including prostate volume and IPSS,
regardless of whether total, free, or bioavailable testosterone was used. Age
correlated with the measures of BPH, especially prostate volume"
Prostate Cancer Risk with Positive Family History, Normal Prostate Examination
Findings, and PSA Less Than 4.0 ng/mL - Urology. 2007 Oct;70(4):748-52 -
"The PSA values were significantly greater statistically
in the men with prostate cancer (median 2.1 ng/mL) than in the men without
prostate cancer (median 1.2 ng/mL"
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.
Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte
telomere length in women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov;86(5):1420-1425 -
"Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) ... higher vitamin D
concentrations, which are easily modifiable through nutritional supplementation,
are associated with longer LTL, which underscores the potentially beneficial
effects of this hormone on aging and age-related diseases" - See
vitamin D 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.
Prospective study of dietary pattern and risk of Parkinson disease - Am J
Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov;86(5):1486-94 - "Dietary patterns
with a high intake of fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, fish, and
poultry and a low intake of saturated fat and a moderate intake of alcohol may
protect against PD"
Dietary glycemic load, added sugars, and carbohydrates as risk factors for
pancreatic cancer: the Multiethnic Cohort Study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007
Nov;86(5):1495-501 - "Glycemic
load and added sugars were not significantly associated with
pancreatic cancer risk. The risk
increased with higher intakes of total sugars,
fructose, and sucrose, and the association with fructose was significant
when the highest and lowest quartiles were compared (relative risk: 1.35; 95%
CI: 1.02, 1.80; P for trend = 0.046). A significant association was found with
fruit and juices intake (1.37; 1.02, 1.84; P for trend = 0.04) but not with soda
intake. Statistical evidence of a significant interaction with body mass index
was present only for sucrose intake (P = 0.04). A comparison of the highest and
lowest quartiles of sucrose intake in overweight or obese participants gave a
relative risk of 1.46 (0.95-2.25; P for trend = 0.04), but the comparison was
not significant in normal-weight participants"
Carbohydrate nutrition, glycemic index, and the 10-y incidence of cataract -
Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov;86(5):1502-8 - "poorer dietary
carbohydrate quality, reflected by high GI,
predicted incident cortical cataract"
Chronic green tea extract supplementation reduces hemodialysis-enhanced
production of hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorous acid, atherosclerotic factors,
and proinflammatory cytokines - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov;86(5):1539-47 -
"Catechins reduce
hemodialysis-induced production of
hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorous acid, atherosclerotic disease risk factors,
and proinflammation" - See
green tea extract at Amazon.com.
Homocysteine, vitamins, and vascular disease prevention - Am J Clin Nutr.
2007 Nov;86(5):1563S-8S - "Dietary deficiency of vitamin
B-6 and folic acid and absorptive deficiency of vitamin B-12, which result from
traditional food processing or abnormal absorption of
B vitamins, are important factors in causing
elevations in blood homocysteine. Numerous
clinical and epidemiologic studies have established elevated blood homocysteine
as a potent independent risk factor for vascular disease in the general
population. Dietary improvement, providing abundant vitamin B-6, folic acid, and
cobalamin, may prevent vascular disease by lowering blood homocysteine. The
dramatic decline in cardiovascular mortality in the United States since 1950 may
possibly be attributable in part to voluntary fortification of the food supply
with vitamin B-6 and folic acid. Fortification of the US food supply with folic
acid in 1998, as mandated by the US Food and Drug Administration, was associated
with a further decline in mortality from vascular disease, presumably because of
increased blood folate and decreased blood homocysteine in the population"
Serum phospholipid n 3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and physical and
mental health in a population-based survey of New Zealand adolescents and adults
- Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov;86(5):1278-85 - "The results
from this population-based survey of New Zealanders suggest a strong and
consistent association between eicosapentaenoic
acid in serum phospholipids and self-reported physical well-being; the
association with mental well-being is less compelling" - See Mega Twin
EPA at
iHerb.
Night Shift Work and the Risk of Endometrial Cancer - Cancer Res. 2007 Nov
1;67(21):10618-10622 - "Women who worked 20+ years of
rotating night shifts had a significantly increased risk of
endometrial cancer [MVRR, 1.47 ...
obese women working rotating night shifts doubled their baseline risk of
endometrial cancer (MVRR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.24-3.52) compared with obese women who
did no night work ... Women working rotating night shifts for a long duration
have a significantly increased risk of endometrial cancer, particularly if they
are obese. We speculate that this increased risk is attributable to the effects
of melatonin on hormonal and metabolic
factors" - See
melatonin at Amazon.com.
Effect of citrus flavonoids and tocotrienols on serum cholesterol levels in
hypercholesterolemic subjects - Altern Ther Health Med. 2007
Nov-Dec;13(6):44-8 - "either 270 mg citrus flavonoids
plus 30 mg tocotrienols (S) or placebo (P) daily ... Significant reductions were
shown in total cholesterol (20%-30%), LDL (19%-27%), apolipoprotein B (21%), and
triglycerides (24%-34%)" - [Nutra
USA article]
Health Focus (Alzheimer's
Disease):
Alternative Alzheimer's News:
-
Alzheimer's Disease - Life Extension Magazine
-
Age-Associated Mental Impairment - Life Extension Magazine
-
Alzheimer’s Disease
- Vitacost
-
Age-related cognitive decline
- vitacost
-
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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
folic acid products.
-
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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
huperzine A products.
-
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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
DHA products. 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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
DHA products. 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 Mega Twin EPA at
Vitacost
or
iHerb.
-
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
iHerbor
Vitacost
curcumin products.
-
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"
-
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"
-
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
Vitacost
or
iHerb.
-
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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
green tea products.
-
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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
DHA products. 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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
folic acid products.
-
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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
folic acid products.
-
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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
DHA products. 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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
DHA products. 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"
- 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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
quercetin products.
- 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"
-
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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
DHA products. 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
iHerbor
Vitacost
curry products.
-
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" - See
Vitacost
citicoline products.
-
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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
DHA products. My favorite is
Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
-
Vitamin Supplement Use May Reduce Effects Of Alzheimer's Disease
- Doctor's Guide, 1/20/04
- Vitamins C and
E May Lower Alzheimer's Risk - WebMD, 1/20/04
-
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"
- 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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
Vitamin B12 products.
-
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
Vitacost
or
iHerb.
-
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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
red yeast rice products.
- 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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
sage products.
-
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
Vitacost
or
iHerb.
-
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
iHerb
or
Vitacost
DHEA products. - 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,""
-
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"
-
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
iHerb
and
Vitacost
iron products.
-
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 Twinlab Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com or
Vitacost.
-
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.
-
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."
-
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
-
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%"
-
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"
-
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"
-
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 Alzheimer's News:
-
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" - See atorvastatin at
OffshoreRx1.com.
-
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" - See simvastatin
at OffshoreRx1.com.
-
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"
-
Antipsychotic Drugs for Alzheimer's? - WebMD, 10/11/06
-
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"
-
Benefits of Cholinesterase Inhibitors Extend for Almost 3 Years - Doctor's
Guide, 7/23/06
-
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"
- Quetiapine and
Rivastigmine Not Often Helpful for Agitation in Alzheimer's Disease -
Medscape, 2/22/05
- 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. See
iHerb and
Vitacost
red yeast products.
-
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.
-
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"
-
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"
- 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"
-
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"
-
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.
-
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"
-
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"
-
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"
-
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"
- 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"
- 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%"
-
Treatment For Alzheimer's May Hinge On Antibodies - Intelihealth, 3/2/01
- "The elegant difference here is that (the
scientists) showed you can see a specific plaque, add the antibody, and
watch that very specific plaque disappear''
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