First Proof Against Alzheimer's
6/11/2008 ·
Proof: Alzheimer’s Crashes
She was not a spring chicken, her head hung low as she waited in line until it was her turn to ask a question.
Tell me, she said, can Speed Learning help me control my symptoms of Alzheimer’s?
Look, I said, we have both anecdotal evidence (she said, he said), and a 15-year research project by Dr. David Snowden at the University of Kentucky with a nursing home for Nuns age eighty and above. However, our pro forma answer is Speed Learning is for students and executives who need to 3x their reading speed and 2x their long-term memory. We have senior citizens who are graduates but we never mention Alzheimer’s.
She seemed to sink lower and finally said; I still want to take the course because it might do me some good and I used to love reading.
Learning Slows Physical Progression of pf Alzheimer’s Disease
The headline on January 24, 2007 published by the Journal of Neuroscience about learning slowing Alzheimer’s grabbed my attention. The research was done by neuroscientists Frank LaFeria and Dr. James McGaughm at the University of California at Irvine. These are top-guns in their profession.
What the gist of it?
The elderly, by keeping their minds alert, vertical and seeking, can help delay the onset of this scary degenerative form of dementia. Since 1959 this is the first report to make this claim from a major university neurological team.
It seems that using your brain for (cognitive learning) stops clumping and plaque formation; both disconnect neuron-to-neuron feedback causing mental instability and loss of memory.
Remember the term tangles, which do what it sounds like in the brain when Alzheimer’s raises its head. Studying and using your brain (use it or lose it) defeats (overcomes) tangles.
By the way, it is a scientific fact highly educated people (Master’s and up) are less likely (up to 40%) to develop Alzheimer’s in the first place. Schooling is one firewall, another is playing chess, card and board games and acting as a teacher in an area of your expertise.
Mice First
Research is clear that cognitive decline is drastically reduced when mice are trained compared to the control which are not. Do not laugh; we have more in common genetically with mice than any creature except chimps.
Stimulating the mind with activities such as reading books or completing puzzles may help delay and/or prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s in senior citizens, according to the specialists at U of C at Urvine.
The scientists were surprised that a mild level of learning reduced the pathology and cognitive decline in the face of Alzheimer’s disease.
How Much Learning is Required?
Dr. Edward Lorenz (MIT), credited with the Butterfly Effect, said Small changes lead to Massive reactions. He wrote: Predictability: Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?
These studies raise the question whether doubling up on the learning sessions will produce bigger and better benefits for Alzheimer’s sufferers.
Presently 4.5 million U.S. adults suffer the effects of Alzheimer’s. Did you know that Alzheimer’s is the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer?
Did you know up to 51 percent of senior citizens suffer from Alzheimer’s by age 80? It is no longer a novelty for adults to live into their 80s and 90s and by 2,050 it is estimated over 20 million U.S. citizens will have the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
Endwords
We believe in preventative medicine to avoid many forms of dementia including Alzheimer’s. Picture a firewall around you cerebral cortex (left and right hemispheres) from studying and learning on a regular basis.
Many of us exercise our bodies to maintain our senses and motor structures; we suggest devoting some of this effort to protecting your brain from mental atrophy.
Twelve hours in a Speed Learning workshop exercises attention and concentration. It improves reading speed by a factor of three, and doubles your working memory.
The old lady who asked us about Speed Learning to avoid Alzheimer’s graduated with honors; six years later her Alzheimer’s symptoms have stabilized and even subsided. We cannot say it was because of Speed Learning but it did not hurt to activate her cognitive skills. Two months after she completed the program she referred an adult to us for training with only one eye. Yes really.
See ya,
Yorum (yok) Yorum yaz!
Promising Research For Alzheimer's Disease Cure
6/11/2008 ·
There are scientific advancements that look promising for controlling and preventing the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's is such a complex disease that most experts anticipate that a drug that will control the disease will very likely contain a drug cocktail. The treatment that is only conjecture may include a regimen of drugs that is used to treat AIDS.
The progress in the search for a cure for Alzheimer's looks promising. Several Research scientists are being funded by The Alzheimer's Disease Association as well as additional resources from private and philanthropic organizations. Scientists are gaining insights how the disease progresses in the brain. Many Experts believe that a new generation of treatments will evolve that will prevent, slow or perhaps reverse the damaging effects of Alzheimer's disease.
The newest discovery in the Alzheimer's research community is from the UK. A team of research scientist led by Dr. Emma Kidd at Cardiff University's Welsh School of Pharmacy recently completed a study showing that it is possible to decrease production of a small protein called amyloid (A*), This protein is believed to be the main cause of the disease. The research was funded by the Alzheimer's Society, the UK's leading care and research charity for Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have discovered a new brain imaging compound that shows promise by giving researchers a way to detect Alzheimer's disease earlier. This imaging molecule can detect and map the plaques and tangles in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.
This discovery could eventually lead to earlier diagnosis of the devastating disease. The compound is called FDDNP. FDDNP also holds promise as a research tool to evaluate new treatments for Alzheimer's. The study was funded in part by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Alzhemed is being developed by Neurochem Inc. This company is just months away from finding out if the drug developed by their Quebec-based company can actually slow the course of Alzheimer's disease. A clinical trial of the drug will wrap up in January, with results expected in the spring.
The company has been developing the drug for over 12 years. The focusing of the research and development team was one of the toughest challenges in medicine: keeping Alzheimer's disease from slowly, relentlessly destroying the brain. The goal was something no drug has yet done.
There are also tests being conducted on a drug derived from a Chinese moss that has been used for more than 2,000 years in the Middle Kingdom to treat fevers. Dr. Aisen, a leading researcher for Neurochem learned in 1999 that doctors in China had been using the drug, called Huperzine A, for 20 years to relieve symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
This drug is now made by Neuro-Hitech Inc. The drug improves memory in much the same way as Pfizer's Aricept and other Alzheimer's treatments. However this natural derivative does not have the gastrointestinal side effects. Aisen was most intrigued by evidence that during research with mice, Huperzine-A protected brain cells from the ravages of plaque and tangles. No other drug has been able to accomplish that feat.
Over 12 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's disease. The direct and indirect cost of caring for Alzheimer's victims in the United States alone is more than $100 billion a year. Research to find a cure for this dreaded disease is on-going. Some of the most promising information suggests that strategies for maintaining a healthy lifestyle may help reduce the risks of developing this disease.
Yorum (yok) Yorum yaz!
Alzheimer's Risk May Be Reduced By the Mediterranean Diet
6/11/2008 ·
Alzheimers has been a subject in many households over the last decade as more and more people become aware of its existence and the sadness it can bring to families and friends. A small breakthrough is always welcome in these areas and so it has seemingly been found within the Mediterranean diet. The following studies have been released to the media in many parts of the globe and although it may only represent the beginning of perhaps a larger breakthrough, it does address the importance of diet. In this case, the Mediterranean diet.
In a number of studies undertaken recently it was found that a Mediterranean diet and possibly fish oil supplements are potential ammunition in the fight against Alzheimer's disease. In addition, it seems omega-3 fatty acid supplements might slow cognitive decline in milder cases
One study, a Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas and his colleagues at Columbia University Medical Center in New York found that eating a Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk for developing Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia that can affect memory, language and behaviour.
The information apparently formulated from researchers who studied over 1,900 adults with an average age of 76. From all the participants, 194 already had Alzheimer's and 1,790 did not.
Over the previous year their diets were ranked from a low of zero to a high of nine for how closely they adhered to a Mediterranean-style diet, which includes large amounts of fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals and fish, moderate amounts of alcohol, and reduced intake of red meat and dairy products. For each additional unit on the diet score, the risk for Alzheimer's disease decreased by 19 to 24 per cent.
Those participants who were in the top one-third of the diet scores had 68 per cent lower odds of having Alzheimer's disease than those in the bottom one-third, after researchers considered other factors such as age and weight. Equally interesting, Swedish researchers have found that omega-3 fatty acid supplements may slow mental decline in some people with very mild Alzheimer's disease.
It is also worth noting that the studies also indicated that eating fish, high in omega-3 fatty acids, might be protective against Alzheimer's disease, so Dr. Yvonne Freund-Levi from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm set out to see if supplements provide similar protection.
It was noted that this study was relatively small and short, only involving 174 people, lasting one year, but apparently it did produce encouraging results. It showed that Omega-3 fatty acids reduced cognitive decline compared with inactive supplements in those mildly affected by the disease, but importantly, not in those with more advanced Alzheimer's disease.
Yorum (yok) Yorum yaz!
How To Avoid Alzheimer's Disease
6/11/2008 ·
Start fighting Alzheimer's disease no matter what age you are, that way you will help reduce your chances of getting this disease. Exercise your brain regularly by reading, memorizing things, playing games that force you to use your brain, doing crossword puzzles, etc. Keep your brain in tip-top shape.
Here are some tips that I found in the book Superfoods Healthstyle, by Steven G. Pratt and Kathy Matthews:
•Eat fish on a regular basis, especially the fatty varieties like wild Alaskan salmon. This is because of the omega-3 fatty acids that it contains. You can also get your omega-3s in DHA enriched eggs (eggs with high omega-3 content, like Eggland’s Best eggs).
•Keep your blood pressure low, ideally around 120/80
•Keep your weight an optimum level. Do this by eating properly and exercising on a regular basis.
•Feed your brain with complex carbohydrates (like whole wheat bread and oatmeal) so you can give your brain a steady supply of glucose that it needs to improve your memory.
•Have your homocysteine levels checked since you could nearly double your chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease if they are elevated. If they are elevated, make sure you take a good multivitamin that has all the B vitamins.
•Have a complete blood count done to make sure you are not anemic.
•Keep your cholesterol below 200 mg/d
•Don’t drink too much alcohol
•Exercise to increase the blood flow to the brain
•Socialize
•Lower your risk for diabetes
•Eat blueberries – which are also sometimes called “brain berries”
•Eat avocado, which works in a similar way as blueberries
•Avoid transfats
•Make sure you take in lots of vitamins C and E
•Eat lots of pumpkin and spinach, which are high in betacarotene.
•Take a Ginkgo Biloba supplement daily (don’t take it if you are using other blood thinners though, such as aspiring, since it might have an adverse effect)
•Spice your food up with turmeric
•Increase your niacin intake. Excellent sources of food containing niacin are turkey breast, chicken breast, tuna, wild salmon, sardines, peanut butter and vitamin-enriched cold cereals.
•Take an acetyl-Lcarnitine supplement – 500 mg twice a day
Take control now. Don't wait until you start feeling the symptoms of Alzheimer's before you start doing something about it. The best way to reduce the chances of getting this degenerative disease is by doing something about it now. Keep you brain in tip-top shape by reading to your kids or grandkids, or just curling up on your bed or favorite chair and reading a magazine or book to yourself. Follow the other tips mentioned above and you will be on your way to preventing Alzheimer's Disease.
Yorum (yok) Yorum yaz!
Would You Swim In The Cook's River?
6/11/2008 ·
For those of you who don't know, there is a Cook's river which flows into Botany Bay, original landing site of Captain Cook who claims to have discovered Australia. In those days Sydney had pristine waters and no doubt the sailors eagerly drank fresh water coming from this small river.
Well, things have changed. The river is now fed by a concoction of effluent from factories and chemical plants and I would guess you have more chances of surviving in the Pirana Infested Amazon! It is a fact of life that many of our urban waterways are badly polluted.
I pointed this out to someone and he suggested not to forget the air we breathe. There is a motorway which runs near the Cook's river which has ventilation problems. Every day trucks pour out Carbon Monoxide, Hydrogen Sulphide and Benzine and thousands of commuters inhale a cocktail of these.
A food technologist from the CSIRO, Australia's peak scientific research organisation told me that their research was confined to how to make bread and other foods look better and last longer. Most of the research is paid for by commercial companies and nutrition is last n the last. Food has the vitamins processed out of it and the artificial vitamins are added to make it look like it is nutritious. We have no idea what we are eating!
These days we are trained to think that these things don't affect us. Somehow we can take in tons of toxicides, herbicides and heavy metals and have perfect health! Over 2 billion pounds are dumped into the environment every year. Many of our medicos deny a link between intake of these poisonous substances and the increase in degenerative disease. We are told we are living longer, but have you looked around lately? How many people are partially disabled in their 30s and 40s? Is this really normal?
Looking at the scientific evidence, our bodies were never designed to cope with the high levels of toxins and heavy metals we are exposed to. We store these in fat cells and when the body overloads, watch out, you are in serious trouble. Many diseases such as some cancers, chronic fatigue and alzheimer's have been linked to increased chemical load.
As with all things, when the problem becomes serious enough, a genius comes forward with a solution, often something that has existed in nature for ages. This is where Zeolites come in. Zeolites are minerals cooled from Volcanic Ash. Who would have thought that these tiny particles would prvide nature's best answer to our toxic world. Very small particles safely munch up heavy metals and toxins in your body like microscopic "Pacmen". When your toxic load is low, your chances of serious illness diminish greatly. Isn't it worth taking a closer look at these amazing minerals the west ignored for centuries.
Yorum (yok) Yorum yaz!
