Do You Know the Early Signs Of Alzheimer's

Posted by: Charlotte

Do You Know the Early Signs Of Alzheimer's - 11/18/11 04:37 AM

Those who are caring for elderly loved ones should learn as much as possible about Alzheimer's. There is no cure at this time but a lot of research is going on and hopefully there will be a breakthrough. In the meantime it is important to catch it early as there are treatments for slowing it down. Here is an excellent source of information on the subject for anyone interested.
Posted by: Anne HolmesAdministrator

Re: Do You Know the Early Signs Of Alzheimer's - 11/22/11 07:14 PM

New research on Alzheimer's was just published yesterday in the medical journal Neurology. It relates early onset ALZ and body mass index.

I haven't yet digested the findings - a quick read was a bit confusing, but here's a link to an article about the research in Science Daily.

And here's a quick quote from that article:

Quote:
The study found that in people with no memory or thinking problems and in people with mild cognitive impairment, those who had the Alzheimer's biomarkers were also more likely to have a lower BMI than those who did not have the biomarkers.

For example, 85 percent of the people with mild cognitive impairment who had a BMI below 25 had signs of the beta-amyloid plaques in their brains that are a hallmark of the disease, compared to 48 percent of those with mild cognitive impairment who were overweight. The relationship was also found in people with no memory or thinking problems.

"These results suggest Alzheimer's disease brain changes are associated with systemic metabolic changes in the very earliest phases of the disease," said study author Jeffrey M. Burns, MD, MS, of the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "This might be due to damage in the area of the brain called the hypothalamus that plays a role in regulating energy metabolism and food intake. Further studies should investigate whether this relationship reflects a systemic response to an unrecognized disease or a long-standing trait that predisposes a person to developing the disease."



Anne
Posted by: chatty lady

Re: Do You Know the Early Signs Of Alzheimer's - 12/19/11 10:20 PM

So much to try to utilize all at once. It is a very confusing disease at best!