Clipmarks | BobbyDelray's 'alzheimer's' clips

I missed the early signs of Dementia (Alzheimer's) in my mother, will You?

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:19:14 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: iamanalzheimerscaregiver.blogspot.com

Looking back, there is little doubt in my mind I should have realized my mother was suffering from dementia sooner. Sadly, I didn't have the proper education, information, or frame of reference.

Most people tend to ignore the early symptoms of the disease believing they are simply signs of "old age"

Anyone who ends up in my shoes knows and understands that a person in the early stages of Alzheimer’s can function normally

even drive a car

Behavior changes slowly in the elderly

as they begin to suffer cognitive impairment these changes are hard to detect

If my mother had been enrolled in any of the studies listed below, I feel certain she would have been diagnosed sooner. This would have allowed me to get her in an exercise program, get her proper nutrition, and insured that she was taking her medication as prescribed

I learned in the last four years how important these factors are in the quality of her life

The woman in the picture is my 91 year old mother

She suffers from Alzheimer’s disease

Tags: alzheimer's, dementia, early signs

The Validation Breakthrough: Simple Techniques for Communicating with People with Alzheimer's Type D

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:12:25 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: Here ya go Sahara.

Thank you for your very nice comments.

Clip Source: alzheimersreadingroom.blogspot.com

You might get the impression from the title that this book is only for professionals; this is not the case. The validation theory works and it is simple to apply. The case studies are invaluable and provide you with specific situations that you are sure to encounter. I am convinced everyone involved with elderly parents suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's will benefit greatly from this book.

If you live with or care for someone with Alzheimer's or other age related dementia, you must read this book ! What an eye-opener! For the first time I finally understood why Alzheimer's patient say what they say and do what they do.

Gives practical ideas and techniques for helping people with dementia deal with issues from paranoia and blaming to sadness and helplessness.

"It works," she told me. "Validation Breakthrough" shows a new way of relating to people with dementia of Alzheimer's type.

I give The Validation Breakthrough five stars

You will certainly reduce stress by learning these technique

Tags: alzheimer's, dementia, frustration, communication

'Instant' Alzheimer's Drug Claim

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:14:15 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: iamanalzheimerscaregiver.blogspot.com

Ten minutes after the injection, the researchers reported that the patient was calmer, less frustrated and more attentive. He could correctly identify California as his home state, but incorrectly identified the current year. At two hours, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment had improved from seven out of a possible 30 to 15. The man's wife and son confirmed the improvements.

A drug used for arthritis can reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer's 'in minutes'", the Daily Mail reported. Several newspapers covered the story of how an 81-year-old man with Alzheimer's disease improved within 10 minutes of being injected with a new drug, etanercept. The BBC reported that his wife described the effect on her husband as being "put back to where he was". His son said, "This was the single most remarkable thing I've seen".

Tags: alzheimer's, enbrel, etanercept

Anti-Alzheimer's Mechanism In Omega-3 Fatty Acids Found

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:58:07 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Many Alzheimer's researchers have long touted fish oil, by pill or diet, as an accessible and inexpensive "weapon" that may delay or prevent this debilitating disease. Now, UCLA scientists have confirmed that fish oil is indeed a deterrent against Alzheimer's, and they have identified the reasons why.

Greg Cole

associate director of UCLA's Alzheimer Disease Research Center, and his colleagues report that the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) found in fish oil increases the production of LR11, a protein that is found at reduced levels in Alzheimer's patients and which is known to destroy the protein that forms the "plaques" associated with the disease.

We found that even low doses of DHA increased the levels of LR11 in rat neurons

Based on the positive results, the National Institutes of Health is currently conducting a large-scale clinical trial with DHA in patients with established Alzheimer's disease.

This research is reported in the Journal of Neuroscience, now online.

Tags: alzheimer's, omega 3, fish, oil, fatty, acid

Epix Soars 50% On Alzheimer's Data

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 03:34:40 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.forbes.com

EPIX Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: EPIX - News), today announced compelling top-line results from a Phase 2a two-week clinical trial of its novel 5-HT4 agonist, PRX-03140, in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The results show that patients receiving 150 mg of PRX-03140 orally once daily as monotherapy achieved a mean 5.7 point improvement on the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) versus a 0.2 point worsening in patients on placebo (p= 0.005). Patients on a 50 mg dose of PRX-03140 showed a 1.1 point improvement on the ADAS-cog.

After reviewing these data, Serge Gauthier, M.D., Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit at McGill University, stated, “There is such an urgent and undeniable need for additional safe and effective treatments for Alzheimer’s patients. Findings like these data are not only encouraging and compelling – they appear to represent a step forward in our ability to understand and combat the effects of Alzheimer’s.

Tags: alzheimer's, epix, alzheimer’s disease assessment scale, brain

A Blood Test for Alzheimer's?

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 21:49:11 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.healthandage.com

Apparently there are 18 'signaling' proteins in plasma that can be used to help diagnose the presence of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study reported in Nature Medicine.

Scientists assayed plasma from 85 Alzheimer's disease and from 79 non-Alzheimer subjects, looking for 120 known signaling proteins. Using half the samples, they found 18 signaling proteins that distinguished the Alzheimer's plasma samples from the others.

hen they tested the remaining samples to see how well the chosen proteins were able to select the Alzheimer's. They found the testing procedure recognized 90% of the Alzheimer's plasma and 88% of the non-Alzheimer's.

In another test, the signaling proteins were able to identify patients with mild cognitive impairment who went on to develop Alzheimer's in the next 2-6 years with 91% accuracy, and achieved 100% success in recognizing mild cognitive impairment subject who didn't develop Alzheimer's.

Tags: alzheimer's, blood test

Using Exercise To Fight Off Alzheimer's

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 01:18:24 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: iamanalzheimerscaregiver.blogspot.com

As many of you know, I am a big believer in the importance of exercise. This is a good article.

That's my 91 year old mother at Gold's Gym.

Stanford scientists find blood test to ID Alzheimer's

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 01:41:40 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: This is an important development for those genetically predisposed to Alzheimer's.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

NEW YORK, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Researchers Sunday reported progress on development of a blood test that can diagnose Alzheimer's disease, perhaps years before memory loss sets in.

The researchers, mainly based at California's Stanford University, said the test was about 90 percent accurate in distinguishing the blood of people with Alzheimer's from the blood of others, The New York Times reported. The scientists said the test was about 80 percent accurate in determining which patients with mild memory loss would go on to develop Alzheimer's disease during the next two to six years.

The results were published online in the journal Nature Medicine.

Tags: alzheimer's, test, stanford, blood, research, genetics, predisposed

Patients Can't Recall Their Medications To Tell Doctors

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 17:14:53 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: I can tell you from experience, not only couldn't my mother name the drugs she was taking, she was not taking them as prescribed. I investigated this when her behavior first started to change and show signs of dementia. Why is this important? Is my belief that if my mother had been taking her hypertension drugs as prescribed she would be much healthier today and the onset and development of her Alzheimer's might have been delayed.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

New research from Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine has found that nearly 50 percent of patients taking antihypertensive drugs in three community health centers were unable to accurately name a single one of their medications listed in their medical chart. That number climbed to 65 percent for patients with low health literacy.

Patients Can't Recall Their Medications To Tell Doctors

Tags: patients can't recall medications tell doctors, alzheimer's,

Alzheimer's 100 years

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:39:09 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.zwire.com

According to the National Alzheimer's Association, every 72 seconds someone in America develops this disease. Although many people are aware of it by name and what it can do to vibrant, healthy, strong people, author Susan Berg believes "it is everyone's duty to embrace this disease because there is no time to lose when fighting the battle of preventing it."

The year 2006 marked the 100th anniversary of a small medical meeting in Germany where physician Alois Alzheimer presented the haunting case of Auguste D. Alzheimer for the first time.

After her death four years later, this mysterious disorder began entering the medical literature as Alzheimer's disease.

The unusual brain deposits that were described after an autopsy of the brain and the pathological hallmarks of dramatic brain shrinkage and two types of microscopic deposits, which Dr. Alzheimer had never seen before became known as plagues and tangles.

Tags: alzheimer's

Aricept & Severe Alzheimer's

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 18:31:42 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: The only thing I can say is Aricept definitely helps my mother. Is it a cure, NO!

Clip Source: www.google.com

A research study for people living in nursing homes with severe Alzheimer's disease showed those taking Aricept (Donepezil) improved slightly. But do minimal improvements mean that a medication used in the early and moderate stages of Alzheimer's should be used in the later stages of dementia?

Aricept & Severe Alzheimer's

Tags: alzheimer's, aricept, early stage, nursing home, donepezil

Diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease In Earliest Stages: New Method

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 22:08:26 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

The proposed criteria are based on examining the structure and function of the brain using advanced brain imaging techniques as well as looking at spinal fluid for the imprint of the disease. Early detection will allow researchers to test vaccines that might be used preventively or to treat fully affected individuals, or other drug treatments that are directed at the earliest stages of the disease -- the best time to reduce symptoms.

Tags: alzheimer's, early stage, diagnosis