Alzheimer's- a deeper look

Scientists around the globe are striving to not only understand what causes Alzheimer's but how to slow it down and have hopes of curing it as well. I came across two articles from U.S. News which discuss scientists latest finds in researching the genes that may cause Alzheimer's.

Trio of Gene Variations That May Raise Alzheimer's Risks explains how defects in CLU, CR1 and PICALM genes may increase ones chance of developing Alzheimer's.

"Although the role of these two new genes [CLU and CR1] . . . is not yet known in detail, previous studies suggest that they may be involved in the elimination of the major component of amyloid plaques," explained Amouyel, the leader of the team that studied the CLU and CR1 genes. "Genetic variants at CLU, CR1 and APOE may influence susceptibility to late-onset forms of the disease."

The collaboration of scientists from all over the world plus more than 20,000 individuals that volunteered for the study has provided the biggest genetic breakthrough in over ten years. Finding the gene variants may help them discover new treatments to slow or cure the disease. Three Genes Linked to Alzheimer's Disease Risk is a similar article. Click here to read.

In another study, it is believed that colds and coughs may speed up the progression of Alzheimer's. It may be that infections cause inflammation in the body, which speeds up the damage caused by Alzheimer's. However, another explanation for the link is that people with worsening Alzheimer's are more vulnerable to infections.

In this study, 275 Alzheimer's patients spent six months taking a series of tests which involved memory, thinking, as well as measuring TNF-alpha (a chemical that helps create inflammation). This is what was found:

Their carers were asked to record any illnesses or injuries, such as coughs, colds, upset stomachs, urinary tract infections, falls, and bruises.

People who had higher TNF-alpha at the start of the study had slightly lower scores on memory and thinking tests after six months. People with low levels had a drop of about 0.8 points, compared with 2.4 points for people with high levels.

About half the people in the study had at least one infection or injury. These people were also likely to get poorer test scores. People who hadn't been ill saw their average score drop by 1.6 points, compared with 3.5 for people who had at least one infection or injury.

Although the researchers did find a bigger drop in test scores for people suffering inflammation, the differences were small. They amount to about 2 points, and the scale ran from 0 to 70. Doctors usually say that there must be a change of about 4 points on this scale before you'd notice a difference in the severity of someone's Alzheimer's.

How reliable are the findings?

The study did find a link between infections and worsening Alzheimer's, but it's impossible to be sure that these illnesses really caused the decline. It might be that as people become more ill with Alzheimer's, they're more vulnerable to infections and injuries. For example, research has shown that people who have Alzheimer's have a higher risk of falls. It's also possible that someone struggling to look after themselves might have difficulty with things like regularly washing their hands, which can increase the risk of colds and flu.

Another issue is that infections can make people confused. This could have led to lower scores in the memory tests, rather than worsening Alzheimer's. The researchers took cases of delirium caused by infection into account, but they might have missed milder cases of confusion.

In an effort to find a cure or to delay the progress of Alzheimer's researchers looked at a cancer drug that make it easier for neurons in the brain to manufacture new proteins in mice. Read more here: Cancer Drug May Fight Alzheimer's

Related Articles:

New Alzheimer's Gene Target's Found

National Institute on Aging

Participating in Alzheimer's Research

AD Clinical Trials: Questions and Answers

Related posts by RMS Snowdrop:

What is Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer's stole my grandma

Alzheimer's stole my Nanny

If I develop Alzheimer's: A letter to my family

What is Alzheimer's?

In 1901, Aloi Alzheimer, a German physician, had a patient brought to him with symptoms he'd never seen before. Fifty-one year old Frau Auguste D. was having problems with her memory, a hard time speaking and understanding what others were saying to her, as well as suspicions her husband was cheating on her. Following her death in the spring of 1906, Dr. Alzheimer asked the family's permission to do an autopsy. This is what he found in Auguste’s brain, "he saw dramatic shrinkage, especially of the cortex, the outer layer involved in memory, thinking, judgment and speech. Under the microscope, he also saw widespread fatty deposits in small blood vessels, dead and dying brain cells, and abnormal deposits in and around cells."

The following November, Dr. Alzheimer brought this case to a scientific meeting. "In 1910, Emil Kraepelin, a psychiatrist noted for his work in naming and classifying brain disorders, proposed that the disease be named after Alzheimer."

From the introduction of What is Alzheimer's?:

• Is a progressive and fatal brain disease. As many as 5.3 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer's destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, and it is fatal. Today it is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States. For more information, see Warning Signs and Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease.

• Is the most common form of dementia, a general term for the loss of memory and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 50 to 70 percent of dementia cases. Other types of dementia include vascular dementia, mixed dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia. For more information about other causes of dementia, please see Related Dementias.
  
  
• Has no current cure. But treatments for symptoms, combined with the right services and support, can make life better for the millions of Americans living with Alzheimer’s. There is an accelerating worldwide effort under way to find better ways to treat the disease, delay its onset, or prevent it from developing. Learn more about recent progress in Alzheimer research funded by the Alzheimer’s Association in the Research section.

Currently no one knows what causes Alzheimer's to start but it is known that it begins in the section of the brain for recent memory then spreads. The disease destroys brain cells and starts anywhere from ten to twenty years before any symptoms are visible. Unfortunately the number of those affected by Alzheimer's will only increase as more and more people are living longer lives. How long they will live depends on when they were diagnosed, the sex of the person, and if there are any other health problems- anywhere from three to more than ten years.

Here is a more in-depth description of how Alzheimer's works-

From the National Aging Institute Alzheimer's Disease Fact Sheet:

Tangles begin to develop deep in the brain, in an area called the entorhinal cortex, and plaques form in other areas. As more and more plaques and tangles form in particular brain areas, healthy neurons begin to work less efficiently. Then, they lose their ability to function and communicate with each other, and eventually they die. This damaging process spreads to a nearby structure, called the hippocampus, which is essential in forming memories. As the death of neurons increases, affected brain regions begin to shrink. By the final stage of AD, damage is widespread and brain tissue has shrunk significantly.

The very early signs of Alzheimer's can mostly only be seen in brain scans. Reading the mild signs of Alzheimer's was scary because it sounds like how I am now at 36. My mom just told me that it's because I have four busy kids. I hope she's right! My biological maternal grandmother has it, her mom had it, and This is about the stage my grandma was in when we first noticed something wasn't right.

Mild AD

As AD progresses, memory loss continues and changes in other cognitive abilities appear. Problems can include getting lost, trouble handling money and paying bills, repeating questions, taking longer to complete normal daily tasks, poor judgment, and mood and personality changes. People often are first diagnosed in this stage.

The next stage is:

Moderate AD

In this stage, damage occurs in areas of the brain that control language, reasoning, sensory processing, and conscious thought. Memory loss and confusion increase, and people begin to have problems recognizing family and friends. They may be unable to learn new things, carry out tasks that involve multiple steps (such as getting dressed), or cope with new situations. They may have hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia, and may behave impulsively.

This may sound odd but I feel grateful that this is the last stage my grandma went through. The Saturday before she died my mom took her out to lunch and they had a good time. Grandma couldn't remember much from one minute to the next and according to my mom, seemed frustrated by that. A few days later she was rushed to the hospital where she died from bowel blockage. She hadn't gone to the bathroom for a while but told the doctor that she had. She didn't know who anyone was or where she was. Of course she didn't know if she'd gone to the bathroom recently. However, this prevented her from reaching the last stage which in my opinion was a good thing.

Severe AD

By the final stage, plaques and tangles have spread throughout the brain and brain tissue has shrunk significantly. People with severe AD cannot communicate and are completely dependent on others for their care. Near the end, the person may be in bed most or all of the time as the body shuts down.

I hope that you have learned a little more about Alzheimer's and have a better understanding of this devastating disease. I know that I learned a lot.

Please visit my other posts on this subject:

Alzheimer's stole my grandma

Azheimer's stole my Nanny

If I develop Azheimer's- A letter to my family

Sites I used in this post:

What is Alzheimer's?

National Institute on Aging

Run for the Fallen- 2nd annual

On Sunday, August 23rd at 9:00 AM I was among over 500 people ready to walk/run to remember Marines who have lost their lives T.A.M.P.A./Tampa Area Marine Parents Association was founded in April of 2004 as a support group for families located in the state of Florida who have a family member serving in the United States Marine Corps. Last year 266 walkers and runners participated in the event. This year there were over 500.

This is was not a fund raiser, just a commemorative event to honor each of the fallen heroes in the state of Florida for OEF/OIF. I participated to walk for those Marines who we have lost and for my half brother, Brian.

The following email is from a participant from last year's run and was read during the opening ceremony. Cyd, who organized this event with her family had to choke back tears while reading it. The entire crowd was silent and at the end I witnessed many wiping tears away, myself included.

My name is Coleen and I met you at the run 2 weeks ago------I am a volunteer with Deb's organization, Grateful American Coin, and introduced myself to you and also met your daughter that day.
I thought you would like to hear a follow-up story. I walked for Pfc Joshua Brown. When I got home I "googled" the name and found a few different articles about his passing a little over a year ago. I couldn't let it go at that so, although I couldn't find his family's address, I did find his home church in Michigan (his pastor was quoted in a few articles along with the name of the church). I sent him a letter asking him to pass along my condolences and also to let his parents know we are thinking about him down here in Florida through this walk, and how much we appreciate his service to our country. I also included the bib from the race with Joshua's name and a Grateful American Coin.

I received a letter from his pastor today. And a greater surprise was to receive a call from Wayne Brown, Joshua's father, tonight at home. He and his wife were calling from Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Mr. Brown called to thank me for the kind gesture. It was an extremely moving call. We talked for a few minutes and I reiterated what I had stated in my letter and how we in Florida had not forgotten.

I want to thank you and your organization for putting this together. Also to Deb for passing it along to me. As you can imagine, I have coined many people since I joined Deb's mission and I gotta tell you, this is by far the most meaningful experience for me to date. Although you touched many lives that day, know that you also touched the lives of Joshua's parents over a thousand miles away in Michigan. -Colleen

It was truly pleasurable to participate in such a wonderful event. I'm already looking forward to next year and know that I will be doing more than walking or running. I want to be a part of making it happen. Seeing the huge jump in participants from last year to this year I have a feeling they are going to need all the help they can get. My hope is that the number of people involved grows quickly but the number of those who are to be remembered does not. My prayers and thoughts go out to all the families and friends who have soldiers that have given their lives to defend our freedom and help countries in need. To all who are injured, I wish them a quick recovery.



In Loving Memory of Those We Personally Knew
Who Have Paid The Ultimate Sacrifice

LCpl Andrew J. Aviles, USMC - April 7, 2003 - OIF

Major Richard Gannon II, USMC - April 17, 2004 - OIF
LCpl Gary VanLeuvan, USMC - April 17, 2004 - OIF
LCpl Ruben Vadlez, USMC - April 17, 2004 - OIF
Cpl Christopher Gibson, USMC - April 17, 2004 - OIF
Cpl Michael Smith Jr., USMC - April 17, 2004 - OIF
Cpl Ronald R. Payne Jr., USMC - May 7, 2004 - OEF
LCpl Jacob Lugo, USMC - August 24, 2004 - OIF

PFC Roberto Baez, USArmy - October 3, 2005 - OIF

Cpl Joseph Bier, USMC - December 7, 2005 - OIF

Cpl Scott Procopio, USMC - April 2, 2006 - OIF

LCpl KunYoung Kim, USMC - April 2, 2006 - OIF

Sgt. Lea R. Mills, USMC - April 28, 2006 - OIF
SSgt Joseph Fuerst, USANG - June 24, 2006 - OEF

PFC Christopher T. Riviere, USMC - September 26, 2006 - OIF

SSgt Sandy R. Britt, USArmy - August 21, 2007 - OIF

LCpl Jordan C. Haerter, USMC - April 22, 2008 - OIF

LCpl Alberto Francesconi, USMC - January 1, 2009 - OEF

MINE!

I've heard that word thousands of times in the last fifteen years of raising my kids. I understood when I was preggo with my oldest that I would lose certain things; time, sleep, boobs, my girlish figure. But there were other things I was unprepared to lose......like everything!

Sleep and time went first as Kelly was a very colicky baby. My images of a quiet, cooing baby went out the window the day we brought her home- she did NOT act like that the four days we were in the hospital! As I attempted to nurse, there went the boobs. This was followed by my favorite food, chips and salsa. Apparently this was not good for a new baby's tummy. Ok, I can live with that, too.



Four kids later nothing is mine. They've taken over everything. My oldest two daughters take my clothes, socks, make up, jewelry, even my sports bra! My youngest two take my drinks, food, even my toothbrush! My CD's, DVD's, TV, computer, paper, notebooks, pens, patience, time, girlish figure, my bed....all gone.

A little over a year ago, I started taking "me" time. I filled my big garden tub up with floral smelling bubbles, lit some vanilla or strawberry candles, found a juicy Harlequin Romance book and tried to relax. "MOMMY I'M HUNGRY!" "MOMMY I'M THIRSTY!" "MOMMY SHE HIT ME!" What the hell am I supposed to do about that while I'm nekked in the tub? This is MY "ME" TIME dammit!



A couple of months ago, I realized that not one square inch of our 2100 square foot house was mine. Not a one. Even Hubby had his office, it's a walk-in closet but still, there are no children or toys in there...ever. I looked around trying to find a corner. Bingo! My grandma's hutch. I spent half the day clearing out all the crap that was shoved in the drawers whenever we did the "oh crap, the in-laws will be here in twenty minutes clean up." I put all my romance books in there. My markers, crayons, and coloring books (which, yes, the kids have broken and colored in), are all stored underneath and in the drawers, my exercise magazines that I read but never use are lines up perfectly on the shelf....MINE, MINE, MINE!



So far it's safe. My bras, toothbrushes, food, boobs, time, sleep, and bath time all belong to my kids. But the hutch is mine.....and my underwear. But I'm sure even that will find it's way into the hands of my children eventually. As long as it's not my son's.