Alzheimer's disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder which slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. Eventually, the affected individual loses the ability to perform everyday tasks. While experts aren't quite sure what the primary cause of Alzheimer's disease is, they identified numerous factors that heighten the risk of this disease or contribute to its progression. According to the latest study, eating habits belong to this group of factors. Western diet isn't known for its health benefits and is associated with higher risks for different diseases. In this article, we're going to discuss how the Western diet is linked to Alzheimer's.
The Difficult, Delicate Untangling of Our Parents’ Financial Lives
When my in-laws became too incapacitated to handle their own affairs, my wife and I took over. A year and a half later, we’re still trying to figure it all out.
Support for vulnerable caregiving families vital
We read with immense sadness of the incarceration of the 43-year-old mother who had been driven to push her autistic son out of the window, due in part to the relapse of her depressive condition in 2014 ("Jailed for pushing autistic son out of window"; last Saturday).
Often, primary caregivers of children with moderate to severe autism face high levels of emotional, psychological and physical stress on a recurring basis.
Breaking points can be reached when there is spousal tension or family conflict, which further plays on the emotions of a vulnerable and distressed primary caregiver.
Early Onset Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s is a disease that many people associate with the elderly. While it is true that many people in their mid-to-late 60’s are often diagnosed, people as young as 30 have been told they have Alzheimer’s. When you’re that young, you and the people around you are probably not watching for the signs of this disease and may not even know what they are. Keep reading to discover the signs of early onset Alzheimer’s and learn how to monitor and track your health with MemTrax.
Light therapy shows promise in activating memories lost due to Alzheimer's
Researchers have successfully activated feelings from lost memories among mice genetically engineered to have early-onset Alzheimer’s disease by using a light stimulation therapy developed in 2012. Although the therapy, called optogenetics, can only be used in mice, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said the therapy could offer promise for people suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s, a condition that affects an estimated 200,000 Americans.
What Science Actually Tells Us Can Affect Our Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease
The biggest risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease are aging and genetic predisposition. That is, all of our risks go up as we get older, and those with certain genetic variants, like APOE e4, are also at heightened risk. But aside from these factors that we can’t control, there are some things that we do in the way of activities and lifestyle, which seem to affect our risk, both for better and for worse. Research has found that different factors are linked to Alzheimer’s, depending on how they influence our neurology, metabolisms, immune systems and cardiovascular systems. The caveat is that while they may not affect whether plaques and tangles accumulate in our brains, they may at least affect the speed with which they do, the age at which they do and our ability to cope with them.
Exercise can cut risk of Alzheimer's, say new studies
Two new studies published Friday in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease have shown the beneficial effects of exercise in the prevention of Alzheimer's disease.
Both studies were conducted by researchers from the UCLA Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh. Led by Cyrus Raji, the team looked at 876 patients with an average age of 78 who were taking part in the Cardiovascular Health Study, which took place over a 30-year period and across four different research sites in the U.S.
Brushing teeth regularly could ward off Alzheimer's disease
Brushing your teeth regularly could slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease after scientists found that speeds up mental decline by six times.Periodontitis, or gum disease, is common in older people and can get worse in old age as people struggle to maintain their oral hygiene.
It is thought that periodontal bacteria increase levels of inflammation in the body, which has been linked to greater mental decline in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
High school student to present research that could lead to Alzheimer's treatment
Plans for prom, thoughts of what college is going to be like, one senior in Salisbury has more than that on his mind.
Michael Li, a senior at Bennett High School in Salisbury plans on continuing his research on the rear part of the brain in the hopes ofleading to the development of treatment of neurodegenerative diseases likeAlzheimer's or Parkinson's.
"I thought it was really cool that you could use these as tools you know math and computer science as tools to basically develop a bigger understanding on how the brain works and unravel the mysteries of the brain," says Michael Li.
Decisions and despair as a family lives with Alzheimer’s
I danced around my mother all weekend, but finally we sat together on two stools over a last cup of tea. I was about to leave. The caregiver was coming — a kindly, white-haired man named Martin who brought her gourmet coffee and knew how to help without condescension when she tried to heat it up in the microwave.
But for now, we were alone in a quiet house. My daughters were off somewhere on the iPad — I’d given up enforcing the screen-time limit today. Instead I studied my mother’s creased face and saw the flicker of a shadow cross it.
Nancy Reagan’s toughest battle: The ‘long, long goodbye’ to the man she loved
By the time Nancy Reagan sat down with Mike Wallace of “60 Minutes” in 2002, her eyes had lost their familiar gleam.
More than a decade out of the world spotlight, hers was now a life consumed by a torturous, private struggle. Her husband’s generous spirit — once among the most commanding on Earth — had been reduced by Alzheimer’s to a passing flicker of semi-cognizance.
In the White House, she’d developed a reputation as a fierce protector of the president, even while surrounded by allies. Now the former first lady, who had decades earlier said that her life didn’t begin until she met Ronald Reagan, was still protecting the love of her life.
Screening for Alzheimer’s Gene Tests the Desire to Know
Marty and Matt Reiswig, two brothers in Denver, knew that Alzheimer’s disease ran in their family, but neither of them understood why. Then a cousin, Gary Reiswig, whom they barely knew, wrote a book about their family, “The Thousand Mile Stare.”
When the brothers read it, they realized what they were facing.
In the extended Reiswig family, Alzheimer’s disease is not just a random occurrence. It results from a mutated gene that is passed down from parent to child.