New Hope for Alzheimer’s Patients?
Jul 21 at 6:06pm by Aileen
USPS Alzheimer’s Stamp
Rapid Alzheimer’s Improvement After New Immune-based Treatment
The open access journal BMC Neurology published research this week detailing some amazing results from the use of the anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-alpha] drug to treat symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease from a novel immune system approach. Researchers documented improvement in language function within minutes of administering the drug, tending to confirm preliminary evidence that disrupted neural communication in Alzheimer’s patients may be reversible.
This is a very hopeful development, as are results from clinical drug trials in recent years slowing the progression of the disease in elderly patients as well as ongoing research into substances that may help clear the beta amyloid placques in the brain tissue, characteristic of the disease. As the Baby Boomer generation ages, it is estimated that up to 10 million of them will get this awful disease.
Some doctors are expressing concern about unduly raising hopes in patients and their families on these very early findings. Dr. Sam Gandy, chairman of the Alzheimer’s Association’s medical and science council, has expressed suspicion due to the private nature of the research because the lead researcher has a financial interest in the drug. It is hoped that other laboratories and scientists will be able to duplicate the results, but that more rigorous clinical work remains to be done.
UCLA associate professor of neurology John Ringman and colleagues have reported in the journal Neurology that there may be a way to detect Alzheimer’s even before symptoms appear by measuring the level of certain proteins in the blood and spinal fluid. These proteins are potentially useful biomarkers to identify and track progression of the disease before the patient shows any signs of deteriorating mental acuity.
The amount of suffering for the families of those 10 million people could be reduced drastically if there were effective treatments, so there is a good deal of public and private research ongoing. Hopefully when the Boomers reach an age where they have ready access to medical care via Medicare, diagnosis and treatment will be available to them.
More Cool, Mind-Blowing Facts!
Jun 6 at 3:03pm by Aileen
Here are some more strange (and very disturbing) facts about the human body, from Vicki over at the One Big Health Nut blog…
• Nearly 50% of the bacteria in your body (and humans harbor 3 times more bacterial cells than human cells) live on the surface of your tongue, which (by the way) is the strongest muscle in your body. Probably a good reason why Mommy-Kisses work better than Mommy-Licks on boo-boos.
• The incidence of immune system diseases has increased more than 200% in the last five years. Yikes! Is that environmental?
• By the time a person is 35 years old, s/he begins losing about 7,000 brain cells a day which are never replaced. Whoa. I’d say something profound about that, but I forgot what the subject was…
• A moderate sunburn damages blood vessels in the skin so seriously that it takes between four and fifteen months for them to heal. The reason I keep SPF 50 on hand all summer.
• Right-handed people live an average of nine years longer than left-handed people. Need I remind readers that correlation does NOT equal causation?
Go on over to One Big Health Nut and read the rest for yourself!
Research: You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
Sep 28 at 6:06pm by Aileen
It started way back in 2002, when researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University discovered some Compounds That Rejuvenate Rats, May Aid Humans. Actually, it was a combination of dietary supplements that dramatically improved the activity, energy level and cognitive function of old lab rats. The micro-nutrient compounds were identified as acetyl-L-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid.
Lipoic acid comes naturally in organ meats as well as spinach, broccoli and potatoes. Acetylcarnitine is found in red meats, milk, fish and chicken. Best vegetable sources are avacado, whole wheat and asparagus.
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