National Multiple Sclerosis Society presents award to Baylor College of Medicine scientistNorthrop’s impressive credentials include a PhD and an MD degree from University of Washington, Seattle, but her current research thrust, genetic ties to familial and environmental commonalities, is underway at the Center for Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis.

The Center, part of the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, follows the progress of MS in 25 youngsters, all diagnosed with pediatric onset.....

Pot's Active Ingredient Could Fight Alzheimer's.../more at Forbes.comThe active ingredient in marijuana -- delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) -- may slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests.

According to a team at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., THC preserves brain levels of an important neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. It does so by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, which breaks down acetylcholine.

Reporting in the current issue of Molecular Pharmaceutics, the Scripps team noted that existing Alzheimer's medicines, including donepezil and tacrine, also relieve symptoms by inhibiting this enzyme.

In their work in the laboratory, the researchers found that THC inhibits a different site on the acetylcholinesterase molecule and at lower concentrations.

They also discovered that THC prevents the formation of amyloid protein plaques that damage the brain and are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

"Our results provide a mechanism whereby the THC molecule can directly impact Alzheimer's disease pathology," the study authors wrote. In addition, THC may prove valuable as a model for developing new and more effective drugs to treat the disease, they said.....

N.J. Nursing Home Sued for Reviving Alzheimer's Patient

Marijuana may stave off Alzheimer's..../Click for full press release from The Scripps Research Institute
"Discovery Could Lead to More Effective Treatments"

"Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found that the active ingredient in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, inhibits the formation of amyloid plaque, the primary pathological marker for Alzheimer's disease. In fact, the study said, THC is "a considerably superior inhibitor of [amyloid plaque] aggregation" to several currently approved drugs for treating the disease.

According to the new Scripps Research study, which used both computer modeling and biochemical assays, THC inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which acts as a "molecular chaperone" to accelerate the formation of amyloid plaque in the brains of Alzheimer victims. Although experts disagree on whether the presence of beta-amyloid plaques in those areas critical to memory and cognition is a symptom or cause, it remains a significant hallmark of the disease. With its strong inhibitory abilities, the study said, THC "may provide an improved therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease" that would treat "both the symptoms and progression" of the disease.

"While we are certainly not advocating the use of illegal drugs, these findings offer convincing evidence that THC possesses remarkable inhibitory qualities, especially when compared to AChE inhibitors currently available to patients," said Kim Janda, Ph.D., who is Ely R. Callaway, Jr. Professor of Chemistry at Scripps Research, a member of The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, and director of the Worm Institute of Research and Medicine. "In a test against propidium, one of the most effective inhibitors reported to date, THC blocked AChE-induced aggregation completely, while the propidium did not. Although our study is far from final, it does show that there is a previously unrecognized molecular mechanism through which THC may directly affect the progression of Alzheimer's disease."....

As the new study points out, any new treatment that could halt or even slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease would have a major impact on the quality of life for patients, as well as reducing the staggering health care costs associated with the disease....."

"Drinking black tea reduces measures of stress-related hormones and harmful cardiovascular changes, reported researchers here. In short, it seems to calm jangled nerves.":

Antioxidant-rich Pecans Can Protect Against Unhealthy Oxidation (CLICK FOR MORE):

"A new research study from Loma Linda University (LLU) shows that adding just a handful of pecans to your diet each day may inhibit unwanted oxidation of blood lipids, thus helping reduce the risk of heart disease. Researchers suggest that this positive effect was in part due to the pecan's significant content of vitamin E.

'Plant foods, including pecans, are rich sources of phytochemicals that can have a unique effect on the body,' says LLU researcher Ella Haddad, DrPH, associate professor, department of nutrition, School of Public Health.

Pecans contain different forms of vitamin E -- known as tocopherols -- which protects fats from oxidation. Pecans are especially rich in one form of vitamin E -- gamma tocopherol.

'We found that eating pecans increased levels of gamma tocopherol concentrations in the blood and subsequently reduced a marker of lipid oxidation,' adds Dr. Haddad.

Oxidation of fats in the blood -- a process akin to rusting -- is detrimental to health. When the 'bad' cholesterol becomes oxidized, it is more likely to build up and result in arteriosclerosis.

These latest research findings on pecan's healthfulness were published in the latest issue of Nutrition Research, just released this week. They are from the second phase of a research project designed to evaluate the health benefits of pecans, according to Dr. Haddad. She analyzed blood samples from study participants (a total of 23 men and women between the ages of 25 and 55) who ate two diets: one that contained pecans and one that did not. Participants were randomly placed on either the American Heart Association's Step I diet or a pecan-enriched version of the Step I diet. (The pecan-enriched diet was similar to the Step I diet but replaced 20 percent of calories with pecans). After four weeks on one diet, they then switched to the other diet..."

Heart Attack Signs Vary - CBS News (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Both men and women can experience 'atypical' heart attack symptoms, as well as classic signs of a heart attack.

People need to know that so they seek emergency help immediately for those symptoms. But some patients may have mistaken beliefs about heart attack differences in men and women, say Jill Quinn and Kathleen King of the University of Rochester’s nursing school in New York.

Quinn, PhD, RN, CS-ANP, is an assistant professor specializing in cardiovascular nursing. King, PhD, RN, FAAN, is a professor with a focus on women and heart disease.

'Expectations that only women experience atypical symptoms can lead to confusion for both men and women, resulting in delay [of seeking treatment],' they told the Second International Conference on Women, Heart Disease, and Stroke, which is underway in Orlando, Fla.

25 Steps To Better Health , Report Lists Leading Preventive Health Services - CBS News (CLICK FOR MORE):

"The Partnership for Prevention has released a report listing the top 25 preventive health services.

The report, 'Priorities for America’s Health: Capitalizing on Life-Saving, Cost-Effective Preventive Strategies,' was funded by the CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

'Currently, about 95 percent of health care dollars in the United States are spent on treating diseases, with relatively little attention paid to preventing diseases, which should be a national priority,” states former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., in a Partnership for Prevention news release.

'Basically, these are the preventive health services that offer the biggest bang for the buck,' says Satcher, who chaired the panel that drafted the list.

List of Top 25 Preventive Health Services
Here is the report's list of the top 25 preventive health services, along with the score assigned by the panel (with 10 being the highest score):..."

Testing Athletes' Hearts May Cut Deaths (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Testing athletes' hearts dramatically lowered the rate of sports-related sudden cardiac deaths in Italy, a study suggests, but experts said it was not clear such an effort would have as big a payoff in the United States.

There are roughly two dozen sports-related deaths of high school and college students from sudden cardiac arrest in the United States each year. Only a handful of schools require electrocardiogram, or EKG, screening.

Since 1982, Italy has required all athletes to get EKGs for hidden heart problems before playing competitive sports, and about 2 percent are disqualified because of heart problems.

Researchers from the University of Padua Medical School analyzed trends in sudden deaths from heart problems before and after the program began. They looked at both athletes and non-athletes, ages 12 to 35, in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy between 1979 and 2004.

They found that, among athletes, the rate of sudden deaths fell by 89 percent over the 25 year-period. The rate among non-athletes did not change..."

Lucentis Stalls Blood Vessel Growth in Macular Degeneration - CME Teaching Brief� - MedPage TodayLucentis (ranibizumab) is an effective treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration, according to two large randomized controlled trials.
Action Points

One of the reports found that over two years, on average, patients receiving injections of Lucentis gained more than one line of visual acuity on a standard eye chart, whereas those receiving sham injections lost more than two lines.

The second study found that at one year the average patient receiving Lucentis gained about two lines of visual acuity. By contrast, the average patient receiving photodynamic therapy as a sham treatment lost about two lines on the eye chart.

In both studies, which appeared, in the Oct. 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. the most feared complication, bacterial infection inside the eye, occurred in one of every 2,000 injections.....

Water in the Brain Hints at Early Cognitive Decline (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Early signs of Alzheimer's disease may show up in subtle changes in the diffusion of water in key brain structures, as revealed by MRI, researchers here suggested.

In a small study, patients with mild cognitive impairment were found to have elevations in apparent diffusion coefficient in brain areas governing memory when compared with control patients, and reported Min-Ying Su, Ph.D., of the University of California at Irvine, and colleagues, in the October issue of Radiology.

These elevations correlated with worse memory performance scores, the investigators added.

'Our methods may enable earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, allowing earlier intervention to slow down disease progression,' they said.

Apparent diffusion coefficient is a measure of the diffusion of water in the brain, which is normally hindered by local tissues such as cell membranes, intracellular organelles, axons and myelin sheaths. MRI evidence of elevated apparent diffusion coefficient is therefore believed to signal tissue atrophy.

Dr. Su and colleagues conducted a prospective study of alteration in the apparent diffusion coefficient of cortical gray and white matter and subcortical structures known to be involved in mild cognitive impairment..."

Earlier Detection of Alzheimer's Disease Made Possible by New Discovery (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Comparing the fight against Alzheimer's disease to a boxing match, it appears that AD just took a blow to the body. It was not intended as a knockout, just another punch to break down the defenses. The similar blow against AD is the discovery of a new technique that can enable early detection of the disease, which can lead to faster beneficial treatment.

Researchers report in the October issue of Radiology they have developed a new computer-aided analysis technique that can identify early cellular damage found in AD.

"With increasing longevity among the population, the incidence of AD is expected to rise rapidly, creating a great burden not only for patients and their families, but also for society," said Min-Ying Su, Ph.D., author and associate professor in the Department of Radiological Sciences & the Tu and Yuen Center for Functional Onco-Imaging at the University of California at Irvine.

"Our methods may enable earlier diagnosis of AD, allowing earlier intervention to slow down disease progression," she added.

As AD progresses, cell membranes in the brain may be damaged, allowing water molecules to move throughout the brain more freely. This phenomenon can disrupt neural processes and cause neuron cells to die, leading to brain atrophy..."

New Technique Might Help Diagnose Alzheimer's Disease (CLICK FOR MORE):

"A new computer-aided analysis technique may help spot early signs of Alzheimer's disease, according to new research.

As Alzheimer's disease progresses, cells in the brain may become damaged, which allows water molecules to move throughout the brain more freely.

This process of cellular damage causes an increase in the 'apparent diffusion coefficient,' or ADC, which is a measurement used to study the distribution of water in the brain.

A new study included in the October issue of Radiology looked at 13 elderly people with mild cognitive impairment -- a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease -- and 13 people without mild cognitive impairment.

The participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and performed memory-recall tasks.

The MRIs used a new computer-aided analysis program to measure ADC values in different regions of the brain.

The University of California, Irvine researchers found that the participants with mild cognitive impairment had increased water content in certain regions of the brain, including white-matter areas, the hippocampus, temporal lobe gray matter and the corpus callosum..."

Help for caregivers of Alzheimer's patients (CLICK FOR MORE):

"There is relief for caregivers caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's.

However, not enough take advantage of a statewide respite care program.

A game of bingo keeps 81-year-old Virginia Puzzo busy.

She has early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Her daughter Terri Serio says, 'She took care of her mother so it was me to take care of my mother.'

But after years of caring for her mother, Terri Serio found respite here at the Mary Wade home in New Haven.

Serio says,'I was tired, my fuse was extremely short.'

In the beginning Terri contacted the Agency for Aging where she learned about an under-utilized respite program.

Betsy Wieland, Agency for Aging, says,'We are seeing certainly a steady stream of referrals but nowhere near the numbers that could be served.'

Too few families take advantage of the Connecticut statewide respite care program. It provides limited funding for eligible families..."

Alzheimer's disease program (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Elan Corp., the maker of the Tysabri multiple sclerosis treatment, will pay as much as $200 million to add an experimental treatment to its Alzheimer's disease program.

Transition Therapeutics Inc., based in Toronto, will get $7.5 million this year and the same amount next year from Elan for a drug known as AZD-103, in addition to milestone payments that may reach $185 million, the Dublin-based drugmaker said today. The drug is in the earliest stage of human research..."

Red Wine May Help Prevent Alzheimer's (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Drinking Cabernet Sauvignon may help prevent Alzheimer's disease, according to new animal research.

Reporting in the November issue of the FASEB Journal, researchers observed the effects of feeding the red wine to mice with Alzheimer's disease-type brain changes.

Compared to mice that received ethanol or water, the mice that were given Cabernet Sauvignon experienced significantly reduced Alzheimer's disease-type brain deterioration of memory function.

The researchers, from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, found Cabernet Sauvignon's benefits were due to its ability to prevent the generation of proteins that cause plaque build-up in the brain, which is the main characteristic of Alzheimer's disease..."

Nerve stimulation promising for Alzheimer's (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve, which originates in the brain and then branches widely throughout the neck, chest and abdomen, seems to help some people with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.

'The study primarily showed that VNS (vagus nerve stimulation) is well tolerated and safe in patients with Alzheimer's disease for up to 12 months,' Dr. Magnus J. C. Sjgren from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden told Reuters Health.

'Furthermore, the study gave an indication that VNS may be of benefit, as a cognitive enhancing therapy,' the researcher added..."

Mayo Clinic(CLICK FOR MORE):

Higher blood pressure associated with decline in walking ability in older persons"

"Decline in lower limb function is common in older people, and worsening gait is associated with increased risk of dementia and death. However, factors contributing to gait difficulties in older persons are not well understood. A study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center suggests that higher blood pressure may be one factor associated with a decline in walking ability in later life. The research, by Dr. Raj Shah and colleagues at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, is published in the August 2006 issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, the scientific journal of The Gerontological Society of America.

Researchers recruited 888 older Catholic clergy without dementia or Parkinson's disease who are participating in the Religious Orders Study. At baseline, blood pressure was measured, the presence of vascular diseases and diabetes was recorded, cognitive function was assessed, and medications were inspected.

At baseline and subsequent annual visits, gait and balance were assessed using performance-based tasks, such as the time and number of steps taken to walk 8 feet, the time to sit up and down five times, the number of steps off the line during an 8-foot heel-to-toe walk, and a comparison of ability to stand with eyes open and eyes closed.

Participants completed a mean of nearly eight annual evaluations with a high rate of follow-up. Controlling for age, education, and gender, the study found a 10mmHg increment in systolic blood pressure was associated with greater decline in lower limb function. On average, lower limb function declined 28.7 percent faster in persons with a systolic blood pressure of 160 mmHg than in persons with a normal systolic blood pressure of 120 mmHg.

'After memory loss, the biggest concern of older individuals is loss of mobility,' said Dr. Raj Shah, medical director of the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center's Memory Clinic. 'If high blood pressure is impacting gait, it is a risk factor that possibly can be controlled in order to help people stay active as they age..."

Hardships of caring for a parent with Alzheimer's (CLICK FOR MORE):

"The whole family needs to be involved in the care of a parent with Alzheimer's disease, and it seems fitting to speak about this topic because World's Alzheimer's Day was Sept. 21. Mom is not like she used to be.
One minute her memory is intact and laughter comes with recalling the past. She lucidly remembers people and places that have been a part of her 75 years and she recalls specific points in time that have relative meaning to family and friends.
Then the next moment can be frightening. Her memory struggles and at times is blank; it can be one of the saddest moments in life. She will look directly at you and not know who you are, not know where she is and not know who she is.
Beleaguered, frustrated and stressed out, a caregiver becomes familiar with tears.
This is not my mother I am writing about this week; she's the mother of a close associate.
It is OK to share this because in so doing we build a bridge of knowledge.
Caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease is a 24/7/365 job.
There is no let up. No one person need to shoulder such a hardship of singularly caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease.
My friend's sister is caring for their mother with Alzheimer's disease. The sister has many moments of sharing tears..."

blueberries give relief from symptoms of Alzheimer's (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Special to The Plain Talk NEWPORT-Kenneth Presnell, 74, of Forest Trail Road, Sevierville, says he has been feeding his wife blueberries since the doctors practically gave up on her because of the severity of her Alzheimer's disease and she is now making a remarkable recovery. Presnell married his wife, Ruby Presnell, 70, 52 years ago. The couple has three children: Kenneth Darrell Presnell, who is married to Michele and they have two children, Dylan and Jessie; Karen Parks, who has two children, Tammy and Angel; and Kathy Keys, who is married to Randell Keys, and they have one child, Randell Keys Jr. Presnell said his wife's Alzheimer's was so bad that she didn't recognize any of the children or grandchildren, nor did she recognize him. The Presnells were born and raised in the Henry Town Road area of Sevier County, but lived in Cosby when Ruby was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1991. Presnell said he moved to their home on Forest Trail Road because her medical condition and physical abilities were deteriorating and their current residence provided a good place to care for her under the conditions. 'She continued to get worse and eventually the Alzheimer's caused her to become bedridden on oxygen and it forced us to have to use an IV solution to help keep her alive,' said Presnell. 'In the six months before I started using the blueberries, which was 18 months ago, she had pneumonia five times and two of those times, it was double pneumonia. We almost lost her during all of that. 'She had a bad attack and I took her to the emergency room,' continued Presnell. 'We were there for hours and all they could do was stabilize her. They sent us back home with not much hope of her getting better..."

FOXNews.com - Simple Eye Test Could Spot Alzheimer's Disease Early (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Scanning the eyes with lasers could help detect signs of Alzheimer's disease even before symptoms of the neurological illness appear in the brain.

These laser tests could improve patients' chances of starting Alzheimer's treatments early, before the onset of irreparable damage to the brain.

'We need to catch the disease before symptoms emerge to give us the greatest chance to alter its course and ultimately cure it,' researcher Lee Goldstein, an interdisciplinary neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School, told LiveScience.

• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Human Body Center.

In 2003, Goldstein and his colleagues discovered that the same malformed amyloid beta proteins that are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease can also be found in the eye's lens and its surrounding fluid.

Last year, they revealed a pair of non-invasive tests that scan the eye for these tell-tale molecules to potentially detect the disease in its earliest stages..."

It’s Fish Oil After Heart Attacks- New York Times (CLICK FOR MORE):

"It seems natural for Italy to be at the forefront of the fish oil trend and home to the largest clinical trials. Scientists have long noted that Mediterranean diets are salubrious for the heart and theorized that the high content of broiled and baked fish might be partly responsible.

But the landmark Gissi-Prevenzione trial of fish oil had methodological weaknesses: the patients treated with prescription fish oil pills were compared with untreated patients, rather than with patients given a dummy pill. This meant that, despite impressive results, the trial did not meet the F.D.A.’s standards for approval. Yet by 2004, regulators in almost all European countries, including Spain, France and Britain, had approved Omacor for use in heart attack patients.

Marylou Rowe, a spokeswoman for Reliant Pharmaceuticals, which owns the license for the drug in the United States, said that further trials of Omacor would be needed for it to be licensed for heart attack patients in the United States. But she refused to discuss a timetable..."

Prostate cancer treatment ups heart and diabetes risks (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Hormone-suppressing therapy is not suitable for all cases of the disease, researcher says
A treatment for prostate cancer that blocks male hormone production is associated with increased risks for diabetes and heart disease -- and it's being used far more often than it should be, according to Boston researchers.

The Harvard Medical School group studied more than 73,000 men age 66 years and older who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and followed for as long as 10 years..."

3 steps to a healthier heart (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Get out the tape measure.

People who carry weight in their midsections are at a higher risk for heart disease; now experts know just how much belly fat is bad. A recent study from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, found that a waist-to-hip ratio greater than 0.85 increases your risk of cardiovascular disease (the bigger the tummy, the higher the risk). To figure out your ratio, divide your waist size by your hip size.

Fight fair.

Women who made hostile comments while quarreling with their husbands were more likely to have arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) than wives who argued without being demeaning or spiteful, according to a new study from University of Utah on 150 long-married couples..."

"A daily glass of antioxidant-rich pomegranate juice could halve the build-up of harmful proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease (CLICK FOR MORE):

“This study is the first to show beneficial effects (both behavioral and neuropathological) of pomegranate juice in an animal model of AD,” wrote lead researcher Richard Hartman from Loma Linda University in California.

Alzheimers disease is the most common form of dementia and currently affects over 13 million people worldwide. The direct and indirect cost of Alzheimer care is over $100bn (€ 81bn) in the US alone. The direct cost of Alzheimer care in the UK was estimated at �15bn (€ 22bn).

Although the mechanism of Alzheimer's is not clear, more support is gathering for the build-up of plaque from beta-amyloid deposits. The deposits are associated with an increase in brain cell damage and death from oxidative stress.

It is against the oxidative stress that the polyphenols appear to offer protection..."

25 Steps To Better Health. List of Top 25 Preventive Health Services (CLICK FOR MORE):

"The Partnership for Prevention has released a report listing the top 25 preventive health services.

The report, 'Priorities for America’s Health: Capitalizing on Life-Saving, Cost-Effective Preventive Strategies,' was funded by the CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

'Currently, about 95 percent of health care dollars in the United States are spent on treating diseases, with relatively little attention paid to preventing diseases, which should be a national priority,” states former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., in a Partnership for Prevention news release.

'Basically, these are the preventive health services that offer the biggest bang for the buck,' says Satcher, who chaired the panel that drafted the list..."

Risk factors seen in young heart disease patients (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Heart disease patients younger than 55 years of age can benefit substantially from cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training (CRET) programs, according to a report in Archives of Internal Medicine.

'Young coronary patients have a very abnormal risk profile, characterized by more obesity, (high cholesterol), and much higher psychological distress,' Dr. Carl J. Lavie from the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans told Reuters Health. 'All of these parameters, as well as many other aspects of the risk profile, markedly improve following formal CRET, including 50 to 80 percent reductions in the (rate) of these abnormal behavioral patterns.'

Lavie and Dr. Richard V. Milani investigated psychological and overall risk profiles in younger patients with heart disease, compared them with those of older patients (at least 70 years of age), and evaluated the effects of formal CRET programs in the younger patients following a heart attack or related event.

Compared with the older patients, the younger ones were more likely to be overweight and have higher cholesterol levels, but they had lower blood pressure, the authors report.

Younger patients also had higher scores for depression, hostility, and anxiety..."

Testing Athletes' Hearts May Cut Deaths (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Testing athletes' hearts dramatically lowered the rate of sports-related sudden cardiac deaths in Italy, a study suggests, but experts said it was not clear such an effort would have as big a payoff in the United States.

There are roughly two dozen sports-related deaths of high school and college students from sudden cardiac arrest in the United States each year. Only a handful of schools require electrocardiogram, or EKG, screening.

Since 1982, Italy has required all athletes to get EKGs for hidden heart problems before playing competitive sports, and about 2 percent are disqualified because of heart problems.

Researchers from the University of Padua Medical School analyzed trends in sudden deaths from heart problems before and after the program began. They looked at both athletes and non-athletes, ages 12 to 35, in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy between 1979 and 2004.

They found that, among athletes, the rate of sudden deaths fell by 89 percent over the 25 year-period. The rate among non-athletes did not change.

Dr. Barry Maron, an expert on heart problems in athletes at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, praised the research, which appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association..."

Antioxidant-rich Pecans can help reduce the risk of heart disease (CLICK FOR MORE):

"A new research study from Loma Linda University (LLU) shows that adding just a handful of pecans to your diet each day may inhibit unwanted oxidation of blood lipids, thus helping reduce the risk of heart disease. Researchers suggest that this positive effect was in part due to the pecan's significant content of vitamin E.

'Plant foods, including pecans, are rich sources of phytochemicals that can have a unique effect on the body,' says LLU researcher Ella Haddad, DrPH, associate professor, department of nutrition, School of Public Health.

Pecans contain different forms of vitamin E -- known as tocopherols -- which protects fats from oxidation. Pecans are especially rich in one form of vitamin E -- gamma tocopherol.

'We found that eating pecans increased levels of gamma tocopherol concentrations in the blood and subsequently reduced a marker of lipid oxidation,' adds Dr. Haddad.

Oxidation of fats in the blood -- a process akin to rusting -- is detrimental to health. When the 'bad' cholesterol becomes oxidized, it is more likely to build up and result in arteriosclerosis.

These latest research findings on pecan's healthfulness were published in the latest issue of Nutrition Research, just released this week. They are from the second phase of a research project designed to evaluate the health benefits of pecans, according to Dr. Haddad. She analyzed blood samples from study participants (a total of 23 men and women between the ages of 25 and 55) who ate two diets: one that contained pecans and one that did not. Participants were randomly placed on either the American Heart Association's Step I diet or a pecan-enriched version of the Step I diet. (The pecan-enriched diet was similar to the Step I diet but replaced 20 percent of calories with pecans). After four weeks on one diet, they then switched to the other diet..."

Heart Attack Signs Vary (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Both men and women can experience 'atypical' heart attack symptoms, as well as classic signs of a heart attack.

People need to know that so they seek emergency help immediately for those symptoms. But some patients may have mistaken beliefs about heart attack differences in men and women, say Jill Quinn and Kathleen King of the University of Rochester’s nursing school in New York.

Quinn, PhD, RN, CS-ANP, is an assistant professor specializing in cardiovascular nursing. King, PhD, RN, FAAN, is a professor with a focus on women and heart disease.

'Expectations that only women experience atypical symptoms can lead to confusion for both men and women, resulting in delay [of seeking treatment],' they told the Second International Conference on Women, Heart Disease, and Stroke, which is underway in Orlando, Fla.

Heart Attacks in Men vs. Women

Everyone needs to take care of his or her heart. Heart disease is a leading killer for both sexes. A heart attack is its most visible sign, says the American Heart Association (AHA). Last year, the AHA predicted that 700,000 people in America would have their first heart attack in 2004. Another 500,000 heart attack survivors were expected to have another heart attack last year..."

Fish Oil/Statin Combo Helps Heart (CLICK FOR MORE):

"Taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs with a fatty acid found in salmon, tuna, and herring can pack a one-two punch against heart disease, Japanese researchers report.

The fatty acid is called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). It's one of the disease-fighting omega-3 fatty acids.

In a study of more than 18,000 men and women, those who took high doses of EPA plus a cholesterol-lowering statin drug (either Zocor or Pravachol) were 19 percent less likely to suffer a variety of heart ailments, compared with those who took statins alone..."

Alzheimer's treatments: What's on the horizon? - MayoClinic.com
Despite many promising leads, new treatments for Alzheimer's are slow to emerge. Future treatments will likely focus on stopping the disease in people at risk.

Alzheimer's treatments consist mainly of medications that stabilize cognitive function, if only for a short period of time. These drugs stage a holding action, primarily postponing further cognitive declines.

But the Alzheimer's treatments of the future will focus more on preventing the disease, which can begin decades before a person experiences its signs and symptoms. Increasingly, even as investigators work to detect Alzheimer's at its earliest stage, they're also looking to arrest its progress when the effects may still be reversible.

Alzheimer's vaccine
Early studies in mice showed that immunization with amyloid-beta peptide reduced the number of plaques — clusters of abnormal cells associated with Alzheimer's disease — in the brain. But a trial of an Alzheimer's vaccine in humans was halted after some participants developed brain inflammation.

Scientists continue to search for an Alzheimer's vaccine that will not produce such dangerous side effects.

Secretase inhibitors
Medications called secretase inhibitors interrupt the actions of enzymes that lead to plaques in the brain. To be safe, though, these drugs must be able to target only the harmful actions of secretase and not interfere with the enzymes' normal functions in the body.

Another major challenge is that a secretase-inhibiting drug must be able to cross the blood-brain barrier that surrounds and protects the brain from foreign substances in the blood. This barrier typically doesn't allow large molecules to pass into the brain.

Cardiovascular therapies
Some studies have shown that taking statins — cholesterol-lowering drugs — in midlife reduces a person's risk of dementia. Other studies, however, have failed to find this association. If there is a link between high cholesterol and Alzheimer's, the risk of Alzheimer's could be reduced by controlling cholesterol levels through diet and medication.

Along similar lines, a large study found that people who took medications to lower blood pressure had a reduced risk of vascular dementia, which is caused by a series of small strokes. Because vascular dementia and Alzheimer's appear to be linked, controlling high blood pressure may also help prevent Alzheimer's.

Anti-inflammatory agents
Inflammation appears to play a role in Alzheimer's, although it's still unknown if it's a cause or an effect of the disease.

Several studies indicate that anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others), naproxen sodium (Aleve) and indomethacin (Indocin), may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. But these types of drugs can also cause serious gastrointestinal bleeding, so more studies are needed to determine whether the benefits outweigh the risks.

Hormones
Early studies indicated that hormone replacement therapy, typically prescribed to ease menopausal symptoms, might protect women over the age of 65 against Alzheimer's. But more recent studies not only refute these findings, but also suggest that this hormone therapy might even increase the risk of dementia.

The timing of the hormone replacement therapy may be the reason for apparently contradictory results. Some researchers speculate that early hormone therapy, during a woman's 50s, may be protective, while later use becomes harmful.

Medications that mimic estrogen's effects, such as the osteoporosis drug raloxifene (Evista), may provide cognitive benefits without estrogen's risks.

In men, low testosterone levels have been linked to increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers are investigating whether testosterone supplements might help men who have Alzheimer's or are at risk of the disease, but the results have been mixed.

Timeline for answers
New Alzheimer's treatments take time to develop, and then even more studies are needed to establish a treatment's safety and effectiveness. But all this time and effort will eventually pay off. Most researchers expect to see major progress in the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's in the next few decades....

Double Jeopardy: Obese Smokers at Higher Risk of Death [click for more]People who are both very obese and who smoke increase their risk of death by 3.5 to 5 times that of people of normal weight who never smoke, finds a study in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

According to the study, 20 percent of obese adults in the United States smoke, which puts them at a higher risk of death caused by cancer and circulatory disease. The authors further found that, in general, being a current smoker was a far stronger risk factor for cancer death than being obese.

“Smoking has been known as a very strong risk factor for many cancers, particularly lung cancer, which is the most common site of cancer death,” said lead author D. Michal Freedman, Ph.D., of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute.

The study surveyed more than 80,000 current and former radiologic technologists between the ages of 22 and 92 who completed a self-administered questionnaire in the period from 1983 to 1989. They all were followed through December 2002 and the number of deaths was reported.

The questionnaire collected information such as birth date, height, weight and smoking behavior. Participants’ body mass indexes were calculated from their weight and height A BMI of 30 to 34.9 was considered obese, and more than 35 was very obese.

Smoking behaviors were categorized by duration, intensity and current status. Freedman and her colleagues analyzed a measure that included both cigarettes smoked per day and duration of smoking. They found, in general, that more smoking or “pack-years” was related to a higher risk of death.

Also, in both women and men of all ages, the risk of death from circulatory disease increased with each additional increment in the BMI. When participants were obese and also current smokers, their risk of death from circulatory disease jumped even higher to an increase of 6- to 11-fold for those under age 65, compared to the participants of normal weight who never smoked.

The study......

Warning signs:Threats like rising obesity rate could make diabetes an epidemic [click for more]William Flynn remembers all too well the weekend in high school when he could not quench his thirst. In just a few days, he drank an entire case of Coke.

By Sunday, he felt terribly sick.

His blood sugar had soared to the scary level of 500, more than triple the normal range.

Doctors diagnosed him with juvenile diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the body does not manufacture enough insulin. To survive, he would need to inject himself with insulin daily and closely monitor his diet and exercise.

"I felt like I was being destroyed," recalled Flynn. "I had to gain control over it."

He has been doing just that for 18 years now.

One recent afternoon, Flynn, 37, a man with the impish smile and boyish looks of Matthew Broderick, came home from work at Phillips Academy in Andover and quickly attended to his diabetes needs. He jabbed a finger stick into his skin to draw blood to measure his glucose level, noting that it feels like pushing in a thumb tack. His injection of insulin would come a...

Aging Well, Living Well (click here for more)Americans are living longer than ever before, and many seniors are living active, healthy, and productive lives. A woman who is 65 today can expect to live, on average, another 19 years to age 84. Many of you are using this extra time volunteering in your communities, traveling, and spending more time with family and friends. Taking good care of your body and mind will help you enjoy your golden years.

Key health issues for older women include:

Cardiovascular disease (such as heart disease and stroke)

Cancer

Mental health disorders

The medical community has focused a great deal of attention on health issues facing older women in recent years. More older women are being represented in medical research studies such as the Women's Health Initiative, which included over 150,000 postmenopausal women. Such research has helped health care providers learn much about menopause, osteoporosis, heart disease, and other conditions that are important to women. More research has also been done on the prevention of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer.

Older women still have higher rates of disability than men of the same age, not because more women develop disabilities than men, but rather women with disabilities survive longer than men. Taking good care of yourself, including.....

What’s New in Joint Replacement Surgery?


Joint replacement surgery may be the most appropriate option when persistent joint pain, due to arthritis, causes disability and interferes with daily life. This commonly applies to the hip or knee where a degenerative form of arthritis, called osteoarthritis, often develops.

After all other courses of treatment have been tried, joint replacement surgery can dramatically reduce pain and restore a person’s quality-of-life. Called arthroplasty, the surgery involves removing the damaged joint and replacing it with an artificial one.

Latest in joint replacement surgery
Considered a major surgery, new technology and advances in surgical and anesthetic techniques have greatly reduced the risks involved with joint replacement surgery. For example, Brigham and Women’s surgeons operating on the knee are now using a minimally invasive technique that is as effective as traditional open surgery but provides important advantages.

Minimally invasive rotating platform total knee replacement is a relatively new procedure that uses a less invasive technique that reduces blood loss and tissue trauma. The goal of minimally invasive total knee replacement is to improve short-term results without changing the excellent long-term outcome. Most patients who require total knee replacement can be appropriate candidates for the minimally invasive approach.

Other important advances include developments in anesthesia and pain management that speed rehabilitation and play a pivotal role in successful minimally invasive knee replacement surgery.

“In the past, the surgery involved significant incisions to the knee and caused trauma to the surrounding tissue, which resulted in long, painful recuperation periods. These latest techniques directly help patients by reducing pain and shortening their recovery,” says Thomas S. Thornhill, MD, Orthopedist-in-Chief within the Department of Orthopedic Surgery.

Latest scanning device finds heart disease, and controversy, quickly [CLICK 4 MORE]
"Coming soon to a medical center near you: a much-anticipated but controversial X-ray machine that can detect heart disease in five seconds.

Although the 64-slice CT scanner can be used to see other parts of the body, its most talked-about ability is to detect blockages in coronary arteries.

Highly precise, 3-D images show if a patient's symptoms, such as chest pain, are caused by heart disease and require an invasive procedure such as catheterization to correct.
Cardiologists say that the machine is not as reliable for someone with previously treated heart disease. The better option in those cases is to go straight to catheterization, they advise.

Limitations aside, doctors rave about how quickly the scanner can rule out serious cardiac complications.

More than 1,000 of the machines have been installed worldwide since their rollout two years ago. They got a celebrity boost when Oprah Winfrey underwent a cardiac check with the device on her TV talk show last year.

“Ever since Oprah, I've been bombarded by physicians in other parts of the country (and) even from Japan, France and Saudi Arabia” who want their patients to be scanned, said Dr. John Hauschildt of Rady Children's Hospital in Kearny Mesa, the first facility in the county to get the 64-slice CT scanner.

The machine is not without its critics. Some cardiologists worry that it will be overused, exposing people who have no symptoms or risk factors for heart.....

Brian Finnegan holds a binder with pictures of his mother and information about Alzheimer's Disease. Finnegan, whose mother has had the disease for 12 years, will be the grand marshal of the Alzheimer's Walk on Oct. 14
Alzheimer’s: A ‘horrible’ family experience

The Smith family: stories from the families...[MORE]
"The third and final stage of Alzheimer's disease begins with a steep cognitive slide.

"I prepared myself," Ericka Smith said, "so it was like, here we are. She doesn't know who I am. OK."

By early 2004, a full-time caregiver had moved into the Smith's Orinda home to help care for Suzie. By the end of the year, a second full-time caregiver had moved in, too, to help on weekends, evenings and whenever the need arose. But by January 2005, the situation was untenable.

Early Onset patients are not feeble. They may no longer recognize their families or caregivers, or understand what a toilet or shower is for, but they can fight off what, to them, appears to be a physical assault. Instead of seeing a beloved daughter or trusted caregiver, they see a total stranger who is stripping off their clothes and shoving them, however gently, into a tiled cubicle full of water.

For the Smiths, the whole thing came to a head the weekend that Ericka's father, Rick, went to San Diego to see some old Navy buddies. By some strange alignment of stars, all six turned out to have spouses with Early Onset Alzheimer's.

Back in Orinda, all hell had broken loose.

"She bit me four times," Ericka recalled. "It took three of us to get her to the bathroom. She chased me around the house. She thought that I was going to murder her."

The family did an emergency check-in at an Alzheimer's residence facility that Rick's Navy buddies recommended. Suzie has lived there ever since. Now 59, Suzie does not recognize her family when...."

"Cabernet Sauvignon Red Wine Reduces the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease"
PRESS RELEASE: Mount Sinai School of Medicine

"A new study directed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine has found that moderate red wine consumption in a form of Cabernet Sauvignon may help reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The study entitled “ Moderate Consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon Attenuates β-amyloid Neuropathology in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease” is in press, and will be published in the November 2006 issue of The FASEB Journal. The breakthrough study will also be presented at the “Society for Neuroscience Meeting” held in Atlanta, Georgia, October 14-18, 2006.

“ Our study is the first to report that moderate consumption of red wine in a form of Cabernet Sauvignon delivered in the drinking water for ~7 months significantly reduces AD-type β-amyloid neuropathology, and memory deterioration in ~11-month-old transgenic mice that model AD,” reported researchers Dr. Giulio Maria Pasinetti and Dr. Jun Wang at Mount Sinai. “This study supports epidemiological evidence indicating that moderate wine consumption, within the range recommended by the FDA dietary guidelines of one drink per day for women and two for men, may help reduce the relative risk for AD clinical dementia.”

“This new breakthrough is another step forward in Alzheimer’s research at Mount Sinai and across the globe for this growing health concern that has devastating effects,” say Giulio Maria Pasinetti, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Director of the Neuroinflammation Research Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and lead author of the study and Dr. Jun Wang, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and co-Author of the study. “These findings give researchers and millions of families a glimpse of light at the end of the long dark tunnel for future prevention of this disease.”

People with AD exhibit elevated levels of beta-amyloid peptides that cause plaque buildup in the brain, which is the main characteristic of AD. An estimated 4.5 million Americans have AD. Presently, there are no known cures or effective preventive strategies. While genetic factors are responsible in early-onset cases, they appear to play less of a role in late-onset-sporadic AD cases, the most common form of AD. However, lifestyle factors such as diet and now moderate wine consumption are receiving increasing attention for its potential preventative impact on AD.

Using mice, with AD-type β-amyloid (Aβ) neuropathology, researchers at Mount Sinai tested whether moderate consumption of the red wine Cabernet Sauvignon changes AD-type neuropathology and cognitive deterioration. The wine used was delivered in a final concentration of approximately 6 percent ethanol. It was found that Cabernet Sauvignon significantly reduced AD-type deterioration of spatial memory function and Aβ neuropathology in mice relative to control mice that were treated with either a comparable amount of ethanol or water alone. Cabernet Sauvignon was found to exert a beneficial effect by promoting non-amyloidogenic processing of amyloid precursor protein, which ultimately prevents the generation of AD β-amyloid neuropathology.....

Bayer says mistakenly failed to disclose drug data [MORE Reuters.com]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - German drug maker Bayer AG "mistakenly" failed to inform U.S. regulators about a study on the risks of heart-surgery drug Trasylol before an advisory panel met and ruled the side effects were acceptable, the company said on Friday.

The Food and Drug Administration said the early findings from a new review of hospital records from 67,000 patients suggested Trasylol use may increase the chances of death, serious kidney damage, congestive heart failure and strokes.

The agency said it was reviewing the data to decide how they would impact current advice to limit Trasylol use to cases in which doctors believe reducing blood loss during bypass surgery is essential and outweighs possible risks.....

Elan to Pay $200 Million to Develop Alzheimer's Drug Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Elan Corp., the maker of the Tysabri multiple sclerosis treatment, will pay as much as $200 million to add an experimental treatment to its Alzheimer's disease program.

Transition Therapeutics Inc., based in Toronto, will get $7.5 million this year and the same amount next year from Elan for a drug known as AZD-103, in addition to milestone payments that may reach $185 million, the Dublin-based drugmaker said today. The drug is in the earliest stage of human research.

Elan is already working with Wyeth to develop two experimental compounds for Alzheimer's disease, a progressive brain disorder that affects about 20 million people worldwide. The company is also developing drugs for Parkinson's and Crohn's diseases after reintroducing Tysabri in recent months.....

Water in the Brain Hints at Early Cognitive Decline IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 26 -- Early signs of Alzheimer's disease may show up in subtle changes in the diffusion of water in key brain structures, as revealed by MRI, researchers here suggested.

In a small study, patients with mild cognitive impairment were found to have elevations in apparent diffusion coefficient in brain areas governing memory when compared with control patients, and reported Min-Ying Su, Ph.D., of the University of California at Irvine, and colleagues, in the October issue of Radiology.

These elevations correlated with worse memory performance scores, the investigators added.

"Our methods may enable earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, allowing earlier intervention to slow down disease......... progression," they said.

Teva sees 15 drug applications from 2009-2015 - washingtonpost.com.......At a meeting for analysts and investors in New York, the Israel-based company touted its stable of experimental medicines that include potential therapies for multiple sclerosis, lupus, Alzheimer's disease and cancer.....

National Survey Shows Women Overlook Common Warning Signs Associated With Poor Blood Sugar Management, Raising the Risk for Diabetes and Heart Disease - MORE Forbes.com
For women, excess weight in the mid-section, frequent fatigue and carbohydrate cravings may be the warning signs of something more serious. A new survey commissioned by the not-for-profit National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC) showed that 75 percent of women ages 40-65 who had not been diagnosed with, but had a family history of diabetes or heart disease, reported that they experienced these symptoms. However, nearly one-third (32%) of all women surveyed did not know they could be signs of impaired insulin function, a key risk factor for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The most common symptoms experienced were excess weight in the mid-section (62%), frequent fatigue (36%) and carbohydrate cravings (30%).

"When women who don't have diabetes hear the word 'insulin' they tune out because they think it doesn't apply to them. It is critical for women to look at these common symptoms as a wake up call and understand that insulin health is important for all of us," said Audrey Sheppard, President and CEO of NWHRC, the leading independent health information source for women. "Our goal is to educate women about the important role blood sugar plays in preventing disease and how simple physical and dietary changes can help improve their overall health....."

A large study concludes widely used hormone therapy for prostate cancer survivors increases their risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.
MORE
Study author Dr. Nancy Keating of the Harvard Medical School cautions: “Patients and physicians need to be aware of the elevated risk as they make treatment decisions.”

An estimated 234,000 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year. Because of new screening techniques, many of them will be diagnosed with cancer limited to the prostate or to the prostate and its immediate region. Such early disease is treated primarily with surgery alone or with radiation therapy.

An increasing number of these men are also put on hormone therapy to reduce the risk of the disease coming back or spreading in the case some cancer cells escaped initial treatment. Hormone therapy (androgen suppression or GnRH agonist therapy) stops the body’s production the sex hormone testosterone which prostate cancer uses to grow.

Most patients with advanced disease are prescribed hormone therapy to slow down their cancer’s growth. Because men with more advanced disease have benefited from hormone therapy, many men with early disease treated with radiation are also given a two to three year course of androgen suppression therapy.

“Men with prostate cancer have high five-year survival rates, but they also have higher rates of non-cancer mortality than healthy men,” Dr. Keating said in urging a more cautious approach to prescribing hormone therapy to men with early stage prostate cancer.

Dr, Keating and colleagues examined the treatments given 73,000 prostate cancer patients aged 66 or older diagnosed with early stage disease.....

Stem cells show little heart-attack aid - MORE
Giving heart attack survivors stem cells from their own bone marrow did little to repair their damaged hearts, according to the three best studies to date of this controversial therapy.

The modest results suggest more study is needed — and, some scientists say, demonstrate the need to lift political limits on using cells from embryos, which offer more promise for turning into heart-repairing tissue.....

Study Identifies Potential New Marker For Heart Failure Diagnosis, Prognosis....Harvard- Mass General Hospital...MORE
A collaborative study by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the University Hospital of Maastricht, The Netherlands, has identified a new candidate biomarker for heart failure with the potential of further improving the challenging task of diagnosing and predicting outcomes for patients with symptoms of heart failure, primarily shortness of breath. In the September 19 Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the investigators report that elevated blood levels of galectin-3, an inflammatory protein, can help diagnose heart failure and identify patients at risk of dying within 60 days. Another potential marker, apelin, did not prove to be useful.

"Heart failure is one of the most difficult diagnoses to make accurately, since it has numerous, varied symptoms, and signs that indicate heart failure are hard to detect," says James Januzzi Jr., MD, of the MGH Cardiology Division, the paper's co-lead author and principal investigator of the 2005 PRIDE Study, from which the data for the current report was generated. "It also is notoriously difficult to identify those heart failure patients at the highest risk of death, so biomarker screening to assist with prognostication has been studied and increasingly implemented over the past several years."

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY:
Researchers offer advice regarding nutritional supplements...MORE
If you're curious about the dizzying array of nutritional supplements available, you're not alone. Annual sales in the category top $4 billion.

Eating a healthy diet will typically supply sufficient nutrients, but if you decide to try a product, consult with your doctor and pharmacist. Supplements can be overkill if you're already taking a multivitamin. They also can cause allergic reactions and interact with medications.

"Most people think that if they get a substance over the counter, it's all right to take," notes Rudy Nelson Lea Jr., MD, a family medicine physician on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Garland. "But if you're taking prescription medicine at the same time, it's often not all right."
Following are some of the most common supplements and their benefits and potential dangers.
Calcium
- Proposed benefit: Osteoporosis prevention
- Beware: Calcium carbonate, found in Citracal, should be taken with food. Calcium citrate, the form of calcium found in Os-Cal, is absorbed differently by the body and can be taken on an empty stomach. If in doubt, check the label or ask your health care provider, advises Julie A. Allen, PharMD, RPh, pharmacy director at Baylor Garland.
Echinacea
- Proposed benefit: Treatment of respiratory infections such as the common cold. "Proponents suggest that it increases the response of white blood cells-the cells in the body that fight off infections," Dr. Lea said.
- Beware: People who are on medication that suppresses the immune system should avoid echinacea.
Iron
- Proposed benefit: Treatment of low blood iron or anemia by helping the body make red blood cells.
- Beware: Iron may affect the results of certain medical tests. Possible side effects include bloody diarrhea, constipation and fever.
Omega-3 fatty acids
- Proposed benefit: Enhanced cardiovascular health, brain function and immunity. For patients with elevated triglycerides, Dr. Lea recommends one gram in the form of fish oil capsules with each meal.
- Beware: A high intake could cause excessive bleeding-supplementing should be stopped two weeks before and after surgery.
Vitamin B complex.......

Reduce the Risk of Cancer: Eat Your Fruits and Veggies...(MORE:Fox News)
"Remember when your mom told you to eat your vegetables? When you couldn't get up from the table until you'd finished your broccoli, peas and carrots? When there was no dessert until you ate your green beans?

It seems that mom might have been on to something.

That's because fruits and vegetables have been shown to be among the best means to reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases. According to the Produce for a Better Health Foundation, "deeply hued fruits and vegetables provide the wide range of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals your body needs to maintain good health and energy levels, protect against the effects of aging, and reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.

Of course, there aren't any fail-safe methods to ward off cancer, but most experts..."

Live Long? Die Young? Answer Isn't Just in Genes - New York Times

"Yet even diseases commonly Yet even diseases commonly thought to be strongly inherited, like many cancers, are not, researchers found. In a paper in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2000, Dr. Paul Lichtenstein of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and his colleagues analyzed cancer rates in 44,788 pairs of Nordic twins. They found that only a few cancers — breast, prostate and colorectal — had a noticeable genetic component. And it was not much. If one identical twin got one of those cancers, the chance that the other twin would get it was generally less than 15 percent, about five times the risk for the average person but not a very big risk over all.

Looked at one way, the data say that genes can determine cancer risk. But viewed another way, the data say that the risk for an identical twin of a cancer patient is not even close to 100 percent, as it would be if genes completely determined who would get the disease.

Dr. Robert Hoover of the National Cancer Institute wrote in an accompanying editorial: “There is a low absolute probability that a cancer will develop in a person whose identical twin — a person with an identical genome and many similar exposures — has the same type of cancer. This should also be instructive to some scientists and others interested in individual risk assessment who believe that with enough information, it will be possible to predict accurately who will contract a disease and who will not.”

Alzheimer’s disease also has a genetic component, but genes are far from the only factor in determining who gets the disease, said Margaret Gatz of the University of Southern California and Nancy Pedersen of the Karolinska Institute......"

New research shows restricting in food intake can help fight disease - [CLICK]

"A new study directed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine extends and strengthens the research that experimental dietary regimens might halt or even reverse symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The study entitled “Calorie Restriction Attenuates Alzheimer’s Disease Type Brain Amyloidosis in Squirrel Monkeys” which has been accepted for publication and will be published in the November 2006 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, demonstrates the potential beneficial role of calorie restriction in AD type brain neuropathology in non-human primates. Restricting caloric intake may prevent AD by triggering activity in the brain associated with longevity.

“The present study strengthens the possibility that CR may exert beneficial effects on delaying the onset of AD- amyloid brain neuropathology in humans, similar to that observed in squirrel monkey and rodent models of AD,” reported Mount Sinai researcher Dr. Pasinetti and his colleagues, who published their study, showing how restricting caloric intake based on a low-carbohydrate diet may prevent AD in an experimental mouse model, in the July 2006 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

“This new breakthrough brings great anticipation for further human study of caloric restriction, for AD investigators and for those physicians who treat millions of people suffering with this disease” says Giulio Maria Pasinetti, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Director of the Neuroinflammation Research Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “The findings offer a glimmer of hope that there may someday be a way to prevent and stop this devastating disease in its tracks.”

AD is a rapidly growing public health concern with potentially devastating effects. An estimated 4.5 million Americans have AD. Presently, there are no known cures or effective preventive strategies. While genetic factors are responsible in early-onset cases, they appear to play less of a role in late-onset-sporadic AD cases, the most common form of AD.....

Collectively, the study suggests that the investigation of calorie restriction in non-human primates may be a valuable approach towards understanding the role of calorie restriction in human AD pathology. The present study strengthens the possibility that calorie restriction may exert beneficial effects in delaying the onset of AD. The findings also elucidate the important relationship between the expression of longevity genes like SIRT1 in calorie restriction dietary regimens and mechanisms associated with the prevention of AD....

Study Condemns F.D.A.'s Handling of Drug Safety: consumers should be wary of drugs that have only recently been approved...New York Times..[CLICK FOR FULL ARTICLE: FREE ON-LINE NYT REGISTRATION]:

¶WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 — The nation’s system for ensuring the safety of medicines needs major changes, advertising of new drugs should be restricted, and consumers should be wary of drugs that have only recently been approved, according to a long-anticipated study of drug safety.

The report by the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, is likely to intensify a debate about the safety of the nation’s drug supply and the adequacy of the government’s oversight. The debate heated up in September 2004 when Merck withdrew its popular arthritis drug Vioxx after studies showed that it doubled the risks of heart attacks....

CLICK TO READ MORE: Published September 10, 2006: If you're not yet convinced that fish oil should be slipped into the water supply, consider this: Scientists have created genetically modified pigs that can produce the omega-3 fatty acids normally found in seafood.

Though this omega bacon isn't sizzling just yet, the researchers believe the cloned creatures are necessary because if omega-3s grow any more popular, we'll need to dig up new sources for what some consider the "miracle drug" of the century.

The strongest evidence shows that a diet rich in omega-3s fights heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends fish and fish oil to reduce heart attack risk and to help those who already have had one. They also are suggested for people with high triglycerides, which are important fats found in the blood. Heart disease, obesity and diabetes are associated with high triglycerides.

But omega-3s, nutrients that have antiinflammatory properties, may have a rainbow of other therapeutic uses, including treatment of arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, exercise-induced asthma, macular degeneration, depression, attention-deficit disorder, autoimmune disorders and breast and liver cancer, just to name a few. (See sidebar, Page 6.) Preliminary studies have shown that the use of omega-3s may even help prevent premature labor.

ABC VIDEO: : Chinese Herb Offers Hope for Alzheimer's Patients:
"EXCITING NEWS ABOUT A CHINESE HERB THAT SOME DOCTORS FEEL MIGHT DO MORE TO HELP ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS THEN ANY DRUG CURRENTLY ON THE MARKET.AS MEDICAL REPORTER KATHY FOWLER EXPLAINS, LOCAL DOCTORS ARE RECRUITING PATIENTS TO STUDY THIS HERB FOR THE FIRST TIME.Kathy Fowler:THIS HERB IS CALLED HUPERZINE A... IT'S AN EXTRACT FROM MOSS THAT GROWS IN CHINA. CHINESE DOCTORS USE IT TO TREAT ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS AND NOW LOCAL DOCTORS ARE TESTING IT TO SEE JUST HOW GOOD IT IS......"

Human stem cells help blinded rats -CLICK FOR MORE: "Human embryonic stem cells can partly restore vision in blinded rats, and may offer a source of transplants for people with certain eye diseases, researchers at a U.S. company reported on Thursday The finding, published in the journal Cloning and Stem Cells, might offer a way to use stem cells that now exist in laboratories, the researchers said.

"We have developed a technology that we hope can be used to treat degenerative eye diseases such as macular degeneration," said Dr. Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Massachusetts, who led the study. "We have demonstrated that these human embryonic-stem-cell-derived cells can rescue visual function in animals that otherwise would have gone blind," Lanza said in an e-mail.

Stem cells are a kind of template cell for the body, producing the various tissue and cell types. Those taken from days-old embryos are especially malleable, and can produce any cell or tissue found in the body. Their use and production is controversial, however, with opponents saying it is unethical to use human embryos in this way. They say there are plenty of good experiments to be done using so-called adult stem cells, and scientists are racing to find potential therapies using both kinds of cells.

President George W. Bush restricted federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research to a few lines, or batches, of cells that existed as of August 2001. Private companies such as Advanced Cell Technology can do as they like, and Lanza's team used some of those batches from 2001 as well as other batches produced using private funds.....

CLICK FOR TULANE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
NEW ORLEANS - Soy protein helps lower total cholesterol, low-density lipid "bad" cholesterol and triglycerides, and slightly raises high-density lipid "good" cholesterol, according to a Tulane University study published in the Sept. 1, 2006 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.

The Tulane study gives strong support to the notion that soy protein should be part of a comprehensive dietary intervention for the prevention and treatment of high blood cholesterol levels. Replacing foods high in saturated fat, trans-saturated fat and cholesterol with soy foods, such as tofu or soy milk, should be beneficial to cardiovascular health.

Kristi Reynolds, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and a team of Tulane colleagues analyzed data from 41 different studies on the effects of isolated soy protein on blood cholesterol levels.

The studies analyzed by the team were all randomized controlled trials conducted from 1982 through 2004 among adult participants. A total of 1,756 adults participated in these trials, with 27 of the 41 trials carried out in the United States.

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL STORY: "Alzheimer's PredictorTwo complementary brain scans can pick up Alzheimer's before it happens.By Brad KlozaSeptember 19, 2006 | Mind & Brain


"Whether it's misplacing your keys or forgetting a phone number, lots of people wonder when simple lapses in memory might be an early sign of Alzheimer's. Now researchers are working on software that might help predict who's really at risk.

New York University brain researchers Susan De Santi and Lisa Mosconi are part of a team developing software that they say will help tell the difference between a person who's just getting old and one who's on the road to Alzheimer's. The software combines information from two different types of brain scans: MRI and PET.

The software takes advantage of the strengths of these two types of brain scans, and each helps mitigate areas where the other is weak. MRI, for instance, is a very good tool to study the inner makeup of the brain and to pinpoint precise locations. PET is much less precise, but does a good job of showing where the brain is using sugar, the energy source of living cells. Plunges in energy use could signal decline in brain function, and the researchers decided to focus on the hippocampus, a part of the brain known to be affected in Alzheimer's.

"What we are trying to do is to find a measure that would predict decline from normal aging to Alzheimer's disease," says Mosconi. "And it looks like the hippocampus is particularly involved in early Alzheimer's disease..."

more: Scientists may have found a new cause of Alzheimer's disease symptoms.

Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and colleagues have been studying genes known as "presenilins," known to be mutated in people with an inherited form of Alzheimer's disease.

Until now, presenilins have been primarily known for their role in forming the plaques that riddle the brains of Alzheimer's patients. But this new study, published in the Sept. 8 issue of Cell, found that presenilins may also control the balance of calcium within cells.

"YES, DOCTOR, IT CAN BE DONE: MRIs MADE SAFE FOR PEOPLE WITH MODERN DEFIBRILLATORS AND PACEMAKERS"

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Media Relations and Public Affairs

September 18, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

- Low-energy "fix" for machine, other steps vastly reduce risk

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have painstakingly figured out how to safely perform magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans on men and women who have any one of 24 modern types of implanted defibrillators and pacemakers.

Henry Halperin, M.D., and his team have developed a combination of methods that reduce the risk of life-threatening meltdowns and other complications posed by MRI's ability to charge and manipulate the electrical properties of cells to produce real-time images from inside the body.

"We have turned a once exceptional procedure into one that is now a routine at Hopkins," Halperin says.

Among other things, the Johns Hopkins group reprograms the devices, fixing them to a specific sequence. This makes the implanted devices "blind" to their external environment, reducing the potential for their electronics to confuse the radiofrequency generated by the MRI with an irregular heartbeat and preventing misfires. They also turn off the defibrillators' shocking function for the brief duration of the MRI scan, about 30 to 60 minutes.

Also changed is the amount of electrical energy used at peak scanning in MRI. The Johns Hopkins team reduced the strength of the electromagnetic field by half, from as much as 4 watts per kilogram to 2 watts per kilogram per patient.

"This lower-energy scan still provided images of sufficient quality to make an accurate diagnosis in more than 90 percent of cases tested," Halperin said in an article published in the Sept. 18 issue of the journal Circulation, reporting on 55 of more than 100 patients scanned at Johns Hopkins so far.

Their report comes just two years after the same journal published the team's initial, positive findings in animals, stirring fierce debate at several international conferences as to whether or not MRI could truly be made safe.

Since 2004, the Johns Hopkins team says its expanded use of MRI has made more than a dozen potentially life-saving diagnoses, despite the fact that the tiny, battery-driven heart devices, which help the body's main pump maintain a beat, have long been considered unsafe and off limits for testing.

"The risk to patients of burning heart tissue or misfiring is still there," Halperin cautions. "But our results show that with appropriate precautions, MRI is a safe and effective diagnostic tool to use for those with modern implanted heart devices." An electro-physiologist and professor of medicine, radiology and biomedical engineering at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart Institute, Halperin has long led efforts to expand access to MRI.

Except for research purposes, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not authorized any implanted cardiac device for MRI testing. But Halperin says opening up this diagnostic option is important for the estimated 2 million Americans, many of them elderly, who have these implanted devices but who are also denied the benefits of the quick and accurate images that MRI provides.

"Once these precautions are better understood and further refined, we hope policy makers will see fit to review current restrictions on scanning anyone with a device," says lead author Saman Nazarian, M.D., a cardiac electrophysiology, clinical and research fellow at Johns Hopkins.

"These images are critical to early diagnosis of certain cancers of the brain, head and neck, and to guide invasive procedures," he notes.

Of those scanned in the study, 31 had a pacemaker and 24 had an implantable defibrillator. Only modern devices - pacemakers made after 1996 and defrillators manufactured after 2000 - were tested, Nazarian says, because the latest models were deemed to be safer than older versions. Newer models are made of titanium, a non-magnetic metal, he points out, and they are smaller and more lightweight and have better protection from the radiofrequency energy of the MRI scanner.

Using a single scanner, a 1.5 Tesla by General Electric, the Johns Hopkins group was able to help plan artery-opening procedures for more than a half-dozen in the test group; improve measurements of tumor growth in nine others; and detect two strokes, a benign brain mass and a blood clot in the spine that had been missed by alternative imaging from CT scanning.

Nazarian cautions that only physicians specially trained in MRI safety, or with access to specialists familiar with the specific precautions taken in his study, should undertake this approach. "It is also important at this time to restrict MRI use to those with implanted devices specifically tested, and scanners of the same type and magnetic strength as that used in our study," he adds.

All study participants were closely monitored during the scans with electrocardiography and pulse oximetry, and staff members were on hand to resuscitate patients in the event of an emergency.

All subjects were over age 19 and were followed from three months to six months to look for any post-test heart damage or changes in the devices' programming.

Patients were disqualified from testing if they had any leads placed on the surface of the heart or leads that were capped with metal, and therefore not connected to the battery and at greater risk of overheating. Leads are the electrical components connecting the device to the heart muscle, and when the leads are attached to the battery or embedded in the blood vessels, they are less likely to be overheated by the MRI field.

An analysis of records showed that scans provided definitive answers to physicians' diagnostic questions 100 percent of the time for conditions affecting areas outside the chest, and 93 percent of the time for conditions that affected the heart and the upper body. In the latter category, the remaining 7 percent of the scans were too distorted by imaging artifacts from the implanted devices to make a clear diagnosis.

Device monitoring showed that lead sensing did not fluctuate or change during the scan. Battery measurements showed that scans did not deplete or strengthen the battery's charge. Indeed, pacemakers and defibrillators performed successfully after the scans without any premature firing or false alarms.

Pacemakers and defibrillators are implantable devices used to treat people with an abnormal heartbeat, a condition known as arrhythmia. More than 2.2 million Americans are living with arrhythmia. It can occur in a healthy heart and be of minimal consequence, or it can lead to more serious heart disease, stroke or sudden cardiac death.

Funding for this study was provided by the National Institutes of Health, and the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. Halperin is a paid consultant to defibrillator manufacturer Medtronic, and co-investigators Ronald Berger, M.D., Ph.D., and Albert Lardo, Ph.D., are paid consultants to Guidant Corp., another device manufacturer. Co-author David Bluemke, M.D., Ph.D., has also received honoraria from General Electric Health Care for presentations. None of these companies provided funding for the study, and the terms of the physicians' arrangements are managed by The Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.

Other investigators in this research, conducted solely at Johns Hopkins, were Ariel Roguin, M.D., Ph.D.; Menekhem Zviman, Ph.D.; Timm Dickfeld, M.D., Ph.D.; Robert G. Weiss, M.D.; and Hugh Calkins, M.D.

A complete listing of heart devices made safe for MRI scanning is provided below.

-- JHM --

LIST OF TESTED IMPLANTED CARDIAC DEVICES

Pacemakers with Satisfactory MRI Testing

Manufacturer: St Jude
1. Pacesetter AFP (262)
2. Trilogy (2360)
3. Entity (5326)
4. Affinity (5130, 5330)
5. Integrity (5142, 5342, 5346)
6. Identity (5172, 5370, 5376, 5380, 5386)

Manufacturer: Guidant
7. Vigor (1232)
8. Discovery (1272)
9. Insignia (1194, 1290)

Manufacturer: Medtronic
10. EnPulse (AT-500, E2SRO1, E2DRO1)
11. Kappa (701, 901)
12. Prodigy (7860)
13. In Sync BiV (8040, 8042)

Defibrillators with Satisfactory MRI Testing

Manufacturer: St Jude
14. Photon (V-194, V-230, V-232)
15. Atlas (V-240)
16. Epic (V-197, V-235, V-239)

Manufacturer: Guidant
17. Prizm (1850, 1851, 1852, 1860, 1861)
18. Contak (1823, H119, H170, H175)
19. Vitality (T125, T135)

Manufacturer: Medtronic
20. Maximo (7232)
21. Gem-II (7273)
22. Gem-III (7275)
23. Marquis (7274)
24. InSync (7272)

FULL STORY
Butler Hospital and Brown Medical School, Providence, RI, USA [Abstract: National Institutes of Health - Entrez PubMed]

Buying time: management of mild cognitive impairment and early dementia
This paper provides an overview of the relationship between mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer?s disease and the clinical evidence in favour of using donepezil for these patients in terms of effects on memory and cognition...Full Story

Early initiation of Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment is advantageous because it can potentially keep patients in milder stages of the disease longer than delayed treatment. Early initiation of cholinesterase inhibitor therapy is an effective intervention for mild AD. Therefore, it is critical to identify and monitor patients who are at risk for AD and to initiate treatment once AD is diagnosed. A new diagnostic category, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), has been evolving to identify patients who demonstrate objective memory impairment but have essentially intact function or only limited functional impairment and do not meet diagnostic criteria for dementia. The amnestic subtype of this condition is associated with a high risk of AD - 16% of amnestic MCI patients convert to AD each year compared with 1% to 3% of normal elders. A recent three-year study found that patients with amnestic MCI who were treated with donepezil had a significantly reduced likelihood of progression to dementia in the first 12 months of treatment. ....

Johns Hopkins Medicine:

Study among elderly women shows seniors especially may be at risk

ANEMIA AFFECTS BODY -- AND MAYBE THE MIND

For older adults, anemia's trademark loss of oxygen-toting red blood cells has long been linked to fatigue, muscle weakness and other physical ailments. Now researchers at Johns Hopkins have found a relationship between anemia and impaired thinking, too.

"Our work supports the notion that mild anemia may be an independent risk factor for so-called executive-function impairment in older adults," says Paulo Chaves, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the lead author of the study. "If further studies confirm that's true, this could mean that correction of anemia in these patients might offer a chance to prevent such a cognitive decline."

Reporting on the research in the September issue of The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the Johns Hopkins investigators went looking for such an effect because previous studies showed that age-related declines in the brain's so-called executive function -- problem solving, planning, assessing dangers, following up on important activities -- lead to declines in self-sufficiency.

"Executive function impairment, which happens often before memory loss occurs, may happen early on in the process of becoming unable to carry on with instrumental day-to-day living activities, such as shopping, cooking, taking medications, paying bills, walking, etc.," says Chaves.

Chaves and his team gave three psychological tests commonly used to evaluate executive function to 364 women, all between 70 and 80 years old, who were living in Baltimore, Md. Approximately 10 percent had anemia, which was of mild intensity.

Some 15 percent of those with the worst results on all three of the tests were anemic, compared to only 3 percent who scored best. Those with anemia were four to five times more likely to perform worst on the executive function tests, compared to those with normal blood hemoglobin, after taking into account the effect of other factors that affect cognition, such as age, education and existing diseases.

"These preliminary results don't prove that anemia causes impaired executive function, nor indicate that treatment of anemia would necessarily lead to better executive function," says Chaves. "However, they are compelling enough to serve as a roadmap for continued research."

How anemia could affect thinking remains to be determined. It could be that it chronically diminishes the supply of oxygen to the brain. Another view proposes that the fatigue accompanying anemia leads to inactivity and the loss of aerobic-fitness benefits to the prefrontal cortex.

The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging and grants from the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at The Johns Hopkins University; General Clinical Research Center, National Institutes of Health; and Ortho Biotech Products L.P., which produces a medication that stimulates the production of red blood cells. Chaves has served as a paid consultant for Ortho Biotech Products L.P. The terms of the latter arrangement were managed by The Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.

- -JHM- -

CLICK TO READ MOREis having a new medicine clinically-tested on two subjects in Russia for leader Kim Jong-Il who is suffering from diabetes and heart disease, a news report says.

An unnamed lawmaker from South Korea's ruling party was quoted as telling the Yonhap news agency that he had been briefed on the drug tests by Kim Seung-Kyu, the director of South Korea's main spy agnecy.

"I heard about it from director Kim at a recent intelligence committee plenary session at parliament," he was quoted as saying.

"His agency believes the two (test subjects), who are same in physique and age as Kim Jong-Il, are receiving the new medicine for diabetes and heart diseases at a hospital in Russia.".....

- Focus On Fiber: How Much is Enough?KPLC-TV: "The average American only gets about half the amount of fiber they need everyday for their body to function optimally. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), fiber helps lower cholesterol and is important for the health of our digestive system. Both the AHA and the National Cancer Institute recommend that we consume 25 to 30 grams of fiber daily. Dietary fiber is a transparent solid complex carbohydrate that is the main part of the cell walls of plants. It has two forms: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber may help lower blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Insoluble fiber provides the bulk needed for proper functioning of the stomach and intestines. It promotes healthy intestinal action and prevents constipation by moving bodily waste through the digestive tract faster, so harmful substances don't have as much contact with the intestinal walls. Unfortunately, many people are not eating this much fiber, which is causing serious cardio-vascular health concerns. Recently the AHA and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) confirmed that coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing more people than any other disease. It causes heart attack and angina (chest pain). A blood clot that goes to the heart is considered a heart attack, but if it goes to the brain it is a stroke. The AHA ranks stoke as the third most fatal disease in America, causing paralysis and brain damage. Eating a high-fiber diet can significantly lower our risk of heart attack, stroke and colon cancer. A 19-year follow-up study reported...."

Memory loss: When to seek help: Mayo Clinic...CLICK HERE FOR MORE:
"Alzheimer's symptoms follow a pattern distinct from that of normal memory loss.

"Everyone forgets things. How many times have you lost your car keys or forgotten the name of a person you just met? Forgetfulness tends to increase with age, but there's a big difference between normal absent-mindedness and the type of memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease.

What's normal?
Normal age-related memory loss doesn't prevent you from living a full and productive life. You just need more time to remember a name or the task you had set out to do. You're aware that you're forgetful and may even joke about it.

People with memory loss due to something other than normal aging, such as Alzheimer's disease, may feel that something's not quite right, but they're unable to pinpoint what's bothering them. Rather than call attention to a memory lapse, they may behave as if everything is fine.

Additional symptoms
Memory loss associated with Alzheimer's gets worse over time, but it certainly is not the only symptom of the disease.

Some of the earliest signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease include:

Asking the same questions repeatedly
Difficulty finding words or use of inappropriate words
Not being able to complete familiar tasks, such as following a recipe
Misplacing items in inappropriate places, such as putting a wallet in the refrigerator
Becoming lost while driving on familiar streets
Undergoing sudden changes in mood or behavior for no apparent reason

Reversible conditions
Many other medical problems cause symptoms similar to Alzheimer's. That's why it's so important to consult a doctor if you've noticed memory lapses or uncharacteristic mood swings in yourself or in someone close to you. The problem may be a potentially reversible illness, such as depression, a metabolic disorder such as hypothyroidism, a reaction to a drug, or a vitamin deficiency.

Ask your doctor
To help rule out some of these other problems, here's a list of questions you may want to ask your doctor:

Could some of my medications be interacting? If you take more than one medication a day, there is a chance that these drugs could interact in your body, producing such symptoms as dizziness and memory loss. Give your doctor a list of all the medicines you use, including herbal remedies and over-the-counter items such as arthritis cream.

Have I lost or gained any weight? Your weight is a factor in the dosage for some types of drugs. Losing or gaining even 10 pounds could make you have too much or too little medicine in your body, which might result in symptoms that mimic Alzheimer's disease.

Could I be dehydrated? Older people are at higher risk of dehydration because the ability to feel thirst decreases with age. While dehydration itself can cause confusion, it can also increase the concentration of medicine in your blood, which can affect your mental processes.

Might I have a concussion? Some people can lose consciousness after a fall and not realize it. Ask your doctor to check you over if you find an unexplained, tender lump on your head. Also talk to your doctor if you start to feel mentally fuzzy after what seems like a minor fall.

Could I be depressed? Sometimes, family members and even health professionals suspect Alzheimer's disease in older adults who are really just depressed. Your doctor can use neurological and psychological evaluations to test you for depression.

Could I be drinking too much? Alcohol is really just another drug, which can cause memory loss all on its own or by interacting with your medicines.....MORE

When daughters become mothers:
"There comes a time when our parents get older and they need to be cared for. In a high percentage of cases, this responsibility falls to the daughter. In some cases, the son takes care of his elder parent. No matter who is doing the duty, it can become a 24-hour and seven day per week commitment.

Children become parents to the very folks who raised them. Whether the elder is physically or mentally affected -or both - the responsibility of care is enormous. It can eat up a person%u2019s life savings. It can eat up work and leisure time for their children. Hard-working folks can end up spending thousands every month to send their parents to a 'nursing home' or long-term care facility. Some end up broke......"

Aspirin, Ibuprofen Don't Mix: FDA: Timing Of Doses Key To Keeping Aspirin's Heart Protection - CBS News Interactive: Healthwatch: "A new report says the heart-related benefits of taking aspirin can be offset if you take it too closely to when you take ibuprofen.

The Food and Drug Administration paper says people taking a low dose of aspirin each day for long-term protection against heart attacks and strokes can wipe out that protection if they take ibuprofen less than a half-hour after taking aspirin. It says the desired effect from aspirin also won't happen if you take it less than eight hours after taking ibuprofen.

On The Early Show Tuesday, medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay pointed out that ibuprofen is the main ingredient in such over-the-counter pain relievers as Advil and Motrin.

It's been estimated by the manufacturer of Bayer aspirin that 28 million Americans take a small dose of aspirin every day, because it's been shown to help reduce a person's risk of heart attack and stroke.

The main way aspirin does it, Senay explained, is by limiting the blood's ability to form dangerous clots. But the FDA paper says aspirin's clot-fighting abilities can be cancelled out when aspirin and ibuprofen are taken too closely together.

But that, Senay noted, applies to when people take immediate-release aspirin.

Many people use a slower-release form of aspirin with what's called an enteric coating, because that form is considered less likely to irritate the stomach. There isn't enough research yet to know how ibuprofen interacts with the slower-release aspirin, Senay observed.

She adds this is yet another reminder that medications can interact badly, whether they're OTC, prescribed by doctors, or so-called natural remedies.

You should discuss whatever you take, from any or all of those categories, with your doctor, Senay stressed. You also should carefully read product labels and package inserts. In some cases, such as with aspirin and ibuprofen, one product can cancel out an important benefit you hope to get from the other. In other cases, two products that may help you separately could cause serious harm if you take them together.

If you take aspirin regularly to help protect your heart and are wondering, after reading this, whether there's any alternative to ibuprofen, Senay says that's unclear at the moment.....MORE"

Accelerated Weight Loss May Signal Imminent Dementia Onset
"An early warning sign for Alzheimer's disease could be accelerated weight loss, researchers here suggested. Among more than 400 healthy older adults ages 65 to 95, followed as part of a longitudinal study of Alzheimer's, those who had a sudden doubling of the rate of weight loss developed dementia about a year later, found David K. Johnson, Ph.D., of Washington University, and colleagues.

'Specific factors contributing to weight loss are unknown, but these data suggest they operate before the development of dementia of Alzheimer's type,' the authors reported in the Sept. 11 issue of Archives of Neurology. 'Hence, weight loss may be a preclinical indicator of Alzheimer disease.'

Other studies have shown that weight loss is associated with development of dementia and with nursing home placement, but the timing and rate of the weight loss in relationship to the first signs of dementia are unknown, the authors noted...."

Enzyme May Help Fight Alzheimer's - Forbes.com:
"Researchers Researchers think they may have found a way to target neurofibrillary tangles, the jumbled bits of protein inside brain cells that might contribute to Alzheimer's disease.

In tests with mice and fruit flies, an enzyme appeared to both eliminate the tangles and reduce the brain's decline.

The research is in an early stage. However, the approach is both unique and promising, said study co-author Dr. Daniel Geschwind, professor of neurology, psychiatry and human genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"We've shown in animals that this is working," Geschwind said. "I think it's very viable, but one needs to prove that."

Much of Alzheimer's research has focused on so-called amyloid plaques, a buildup of proteins inside the brain between cells that appears to contribute to dementia. But Geschwind and his colleagues looked at tangles, another part of the puzzle. These tangles of protein, called tau, are associated with cognitive decline in Alzheimer's and similar "tauopathy" diseases.

Neurofibrillary tangles are "a kind of compressed bunch of filaments that are just like a tangled bit of twine inside the [brain] cell," Geschwind said.

It's not clear if tangles hurt brain cells or are just a symptom of a dementia problem. "The point is that they're totally correlated with neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease, and in a number of other dementias," he said.

In some forms of dementia, tangles are "the whole story" because amyloid plaques aren't present, said Dr. Sam Gandy, director of the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Geschwind and his colleagues suspected that an enzyme known as puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase plays a role in degenerating brains. They tried to see if the enzyme would affect brain cells in mice that had been genetically engineered to suffer from neural degeneration that was similar to Alzheimer's in humans.

The scientists launched a similar effort in fruit flies. While fruit flies may not seem like the brainiest of species, the researchers simulated Alzheimer's by causing degeneration in the cells of their eyes, Geschwind said.

The researchers found that the enzyme appeared to prevent both the decline of brain cells and snip apart tangles. Research on brain cells taken from humans suggested that the scientists are on the right track.

The findings are published in the Sept. 7 issue of the journal Neuron...."

Learning to live with aging -- gracefully

Amorfix achieves milestone in developing Alzheimers test :
"Amorfix's Epitope Protection (EP) technology, is able to detect amyloid, an accumulation of protein aggregates, which are also formed in Alzheimer's disease. With this advancement, Amorfix will be committing additional resources to develop an ultra-sensitive blood test for Alzheimer's disease, based upon Amorfix's patent-pending EP technology...."

Drug study aimed at Hispanics
:
"A clinical trial under way in Las Vegas brings to light not only the increased rate of Alzheimer's disease among Hispanics but also the challenges in getting Hispanics to participate in such trials.

The study, at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, will try to determine whether Donepezil, a common medication for Alzheimer's, reacts the same in Hispanics as in other groups.

Effective treatment information is crucial because Hispanics already have a high incidence of the disease (more than 200,000 cases nationwide from a population of 42 million) and are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the country. A recent report by the Alzheimer's Association indicates that based on current trends, more than 1.3 million Hispanics will fall victim to the disease by 2050.

Unfortunately, as Dr. Charles Bernick of the Nevada School of Medicine points out, that estimate may be low.

"Hispanics are also expected to have the longest life expectancy of any ethnic group as well, and age is the single greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease," he said.

Experts attribute Hispanic longevity to genetics, cultural aspects such as solid family ties, and lifestyle and behavior choices.

It is believed that by the middle of the century, the life expectancy of U.S. Hispanics will increase to 87 years, which means they will jump from 5 percent of the overall elderly population to 16 percent, according to the Alzheimer's Association. In addition, Hispanics develop symptoms of Alzheimer's about five years sooner than other groups, which further expands the pool of people potentially affected. ....."

Alzheimer's Drug Candidate Caprospinol Shows Favorable Results in Acute Toxicity Study
- MSN :
"Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ( announced today, its Alzheimer's research compound Caprospinol (SP-233) demonstrated no toxicity, when administered orally in an Acute Toxicity Study. Preclinical studies suggest Caprospinol (SP-233) exhibits neuroprotective properties against beta- amyloid-induced toxicity which could be indicative of a promising treatment for Alzheimer's disease."

woman contributes to national quilt to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease
: "After spending years in the medical field, Patricia Gray thought she could handle anything. So when doctors diagnosed her 56-year-old husband Lawrence with Alzheimers disease, she wasn%u2019t the least bit fazed.

“I thought I could deal with it. No problem,” said the Georgetown resident. “But there is no way to describe it to anyone. You get sympathy, but people don’t understand you have to deal with this 24 hours a day.”

Lawrence, 63, is now in the final stages of the disease. His wife still cares for him, but she admits it’s getting “harder and harder” each day.

To try and make people aware of the disease and what caregivers must deal with on a daily basis, Gray decided to help get the word out. To do this, she is quilting a a 4 foot-by-4-foot block which will be part of the Alzheimer’s Association of New York’s giant quilt which will be on display in Central Park in November. The organization has put the word out nationwide, and Gray said her part of the quilt is finished...

Alzheimer's research drives novelist:
"The motivations for being a novelist vary. For many, it's the potential fame and possible fortune. For others, it's the love of putting together sentences from the English language. For Woodland author Julie Casper, it's raising money for Alzheimer's research.Casper stayed up late into the night caring for her mother who was suffering from the effects of the Alzheimer's. Feeling powerless while caring for a loved-one with a degenerative disease dejected Casper.'As I started getting into this, I was really frustrated that there was no cure for what my mother had,' Casper said. 'You always feel helpless.'Casper, who holds a doctorate in Earth science, always loved writing. In school she also wrote for the school newspaper. Naturally, her thoughts turned toward prose during the tedious care of her mother. During that time, at 42 years old, she began her first novel.'Writing was almost like an emotional escape from the day to day of having to deal with Alzheimer's and how depressing and frustrating that was,' Casper said. 'Writing allowed me an escape, the same as someone watching a movie. It was kind of respite, therapeutic.... in a way. It was entertainment for me while I could still be close by to her. It kind of eased the stress.'While writing, she also thought of ways to help her mother and others with Alzheimer's. She decided to dedicate the proceeds from her book to Alzheimer's research......"

[a tearjerker] "Are you a caretaker for someone, perhaps with Alzheimer's? Consider this
story. A nurse writes, 'It was a busy morning,....."

Safety of External Defibrillators Examined: "More than one in five external defibrillators, which are often placed in public places to revive heart attack victims in emergencies, were recalled because of potential malfunctions, new research shows.

The data, based on 10 years of U.S. Food and Drug Administration records, provide some of the first evidence on the safety and reliability of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). The findings were presented Thursday at the Heart Rhythm Society's annual meeting in Boston....."

The Aging Population and Health Care Needs: "The number of older people in the U.S. is rising dramatically. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the number of Americans 65 and older tripled over the last 100 years, from 3.1 million in 1900 to 35 million in 2000. The 65-plus group now makes up about 12 percent of the U.S. population. As more baby-boomers age, those numbers will continue to grow. By 2020, researchers estimate 54.6 million Americans will be 65 and older......"

"Having two strokes more than doubles a person's risk of dying in the next two years, a University of Michigan study finds [United Press International] :
Those who live through a stroke should get special attention from their physicians and other health professionals to reduce their risk of having another one, because of their extra risk of suffering another stroke, according to the study published in the journal Annals of Neurology.....

Nanogen Earns Patents for Use of Biomarkers Related to Diabetes and Alzheimers Disease

Researchers Restore Memory Lost in Mice With Alzheimer's
Increasing levels of a key housekeeping enzyme in the brains of mice with a rodent form of Alzheimer's disease successfully restored memory and nerve cell function, according to a new study.

Although only demonstrated in an animal model, the work could point to a promising strategy for battling the debilitating disease and perhaps even reversing its effects in humans.

Columbia University researchers focused on newly discovered aspects of an enzyme called ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase (Uch-L1). It is part of a network that controls a memory molecule that is inhibited by amyloid proteins.

Ubiquitin is a "tag" that marks proteins for destruction by the cellular "garbage disposal" system known as the proteasome. Uch-L1 serves as a gatekeeper to this system by removing the tag to allow the breakdown of protein to start.

"By injecting what is essentially a Uch-L1 drug to raise its levels in the brain, we were able to restore a great deal of brain activity in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's," said Dr. Michael Shelanski, co-author of the study and chairman of the pathology department at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons.

"While amyloid beta is certainly a key player in Alzheimer's disease, and efforts to reduce it remain a worthy goal, our results show that even in the presence of the plaque, damage to memory can be reversed."

The researchers tested the mice's memory by putting them in a cage where they got a mild shock when they touched part of the floor. Mice with normal memories remained still the second time they were placed in the cage, because they recognized the spot and remembered what happened before. Mice with brain changes similar to Alzheimer's effects didn't remember and continued to move around. But after those animals were treated with the enzyme, they acted like normal mice again.

In another test, the scientists treated brain slices with a chemical that blocked the enzyme's function. That brain tissue proved less likely to form and strengthen nerve connections that are the basis of learning and memory. But when the tissue was treated to restore Uch-L1 levels, the deficits in nerve transmission were corrected.

"Because the amyloid beta proteins that cause Alzheimer's may play a normal, important physiological role in the body, we can't destroy them as a therapy," explained Dr. Ottavio Arancio, an assistant professor of pathology at Columbia and co-author of the report.

"What makes this newly discovered enzyme exciting as a potentially effective therapy is that it restores memory without destroying amyloid beta proteins."

Risk of Recurrent Stroke High in Mexican-Americans :
"Mexican Americans have an almost 60% higher risk of a second stroke than non-Hispanic white patients, although ethnicity was not linked to a high risk of subsequent all-cause death in both groups, according to researchers here........."

Cardiovascular Safety Warning Added for Stimulants for ADHD : "With an eye on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the FDA has ordered blanket changes for labels of all stimulants, including Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine sulfate) and Ritalin (methylphenidate).

The new language warned that sudden death 'has been reported in association with CNS stimulant treatment at usual doses in children and adolescents with structural cardiac abnormalities or other serious heart problem.'

Additionally, the labels now warn that although 'some serious heart problems alone carry an increased risk of sudden death, stimulant products generally should not be used in children or adolescents with known serious structural cardiac abnormalities, cardiomyopathy, serious heart rhythm abnormalities, or other serious cardiac problems that may place them at an increased vulnerability to the sympathomimetic effects of a stimulant drug......'"

Researchers Identify New Protein Biomarker Candidates That May Lead to Better Diagnosis and Treatment for Age-Related Diseases

Novartis seeks to patch up Alzheimer%u2019s drug delivery: "Patients suffering from Alzheimers disease are one step closer to receiving Novartiss Exelon as a transdermal patch instead of a capsule following an international clinical study which showed that the new delivery method reduces side effects without compromising on efficacy.

The six-month trial of 1,195 patients in 21 countries demonstrated that the once-daily Exelon patch provided benefits across a range of symptoms and that the target dose was well tolerated, with over 70 per cent of caregivers preferring patches to capsules due to better compliance and less interference with daily lives....."

Stroke risk spikes twice daily:
"The day contains two 'time zones,' one in the morning and one in the evening, when the risk of stroke is greatest, researchers have found.

The Japanese scientists, who published their findings in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, examined 12,957 stroke cases and found that while the risk of stroke was lowest during sleep, it peaked between the hours of 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., and again between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m............"

FDA Approves New Indication For Plavix (clopidogrel Bisulfate) Offering New Option For Patients With Most Severe Type Of Heart Attack:
"Sanofi-aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for the antiplatelet agent PLAVIX(clopidogrel bisulfate) to reduce the rate of death from any cause and the rate of a combined endpoint of re-infarction, stroke or death in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). STEMI is a severe acute heart attack in which a coronary artery is generally blocked completely. These blockages are caused by clot formation in the arteries, a life-threatening complication of an underlying disease known as atherothrombosis. However, this benefit is not known to pertain to patients who receive primary angioplasty.

'Clopidogrel taken with aspirin has previously been shown to reduce the risk of death, recurrent heart attacks or stroke in patients with unstable angina or less severe heart attacks,' said Dr. Marc Sabatine, TIMI Study Group, Brigham and Women's Hospital. 'Now, based on the positive results of two clinical trials, COMMIT and CLARITY-TIMI 28, clopidogrel has been approved by the FDA for use with aspirin in patients with the most severe types of heart attacks, thereby extending the benefit of clopidogrel to patients across the spectrum of acute coronary syndromes.' ...."

"Thanks for the memories:Support for Alzheimer's research is local woman's way of remembering parents....For seven years Connie Clark watched as Alzheimer's disease took the memory and the life of her father.

For seven years she saw the disease slowly rob the loving and kind pharmacist, who once remembered every one of his customer's names, of his memories, his way of life and his ability to even function.

"That's the tragedy of the disease. Families grieve and grieve as they watch them progress," Clark said. "I think that is the really sad part of this is, where did they go?"......"

"When small tasks turn into huge obstacles
:
" Memory impairment can cause stress on patient, caregiver......"

Solving Alzheimers riddle :
"Forget omega-3 fatty-acid supplements, bridge, and crossword puzzles. If you really want to prevent memory loss and Alzheimer% disease, do everything possible to avoid a stroke. And the most effective way to do that, says Dr. Howard Feldman, is through controlling blood pressure....."

High-Dose Statins Following a Stroke Can Prevent a Second
Patients with cardiovascular disease are less likely to have a stroke if they are taking statins.

Loading up on a statin within six months of a stroke or transient ischemic attack reduced the risk of recurrent stroke or TIA, according to results of a major trial published today.....

skin test for Alzheimer's disease::
PRESS RELEASE: Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI)
"A painless skin test for Alzheimer%u2019s disease? It may seem unlikely, but scientists at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) have isolated a substance in skin cells that may provide doctors with a quick and accurate yes-or-no answer when they suspect a patient is showing early signs of the disease. The test could be performed easily by a nurse or medical technician in a doctor%u2019s office or outpatient clinic."

Osteoporosis Treatment Now Approved in Europe & US for Men ! "The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week approved Actonel 35mg (risedronate sodium tablets) for treatment to increase bone mass in men with osteoporosis. This follows the positive outcome in July 2006 of the European application for the additional indication of %u2018treatment of osteoporosis in men at high risk of fracture. ...."

A journey through the known---and unknown: "Alzheimer’s patient Dorothee Lundgren, 60, sits at the kitchen table chewing her bottom lip and staring blankly out the window. She was 49 when she began noticing symptoms."

Diets High in Copper and Fats Linked to Cognitive Decline - CME Teaching Brief- MedPage Today:
"A diet high in saturated and trans fats along with a high intake of dietary copper may be associated with an accelerated decline in thinking, learning, and memory, according to researchers here.

In a study of 3,718 participants, ages 65 and older, enrolled in the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP), high copper intake from food and supplements was linked to a significantly faster rate of cognitive decline. However, the association held only for those who also consumed a diet high in saturated and trans fats, found a study in the August issue of the Archives of Neurology.

Organ meats, such as liver, and shellfish are foods with the highest copper levels, followed by nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, potatoes, chocolate, and some fruits. Drinking water delivered through copper pipes may also add trace amounts of the metal. The recommended dietary allowance of copper for adults is 0.9 mg/d, said Martha Clare Morris, Sc.D., of Rush here, and colleagues......."

Many different reversible conditions can cause an older person to appear to have dementia:
"At the first sign of memory loss and confusion we think of Alzheimer's disease and anticipate hearing, 'It's Alzheimer's disease: there's nothing you can do.' These inaccurate words are spoken too often to older people and their families. Instead of accepting this misinformation, consider these alternatives.Maybe it's not Alzheimer's disease!!! There are reversible conditions that can cause an older person to appear to have dementia....."

Neur-Hitech signs agreement with Xel to develop Alzheimer transdermal patch treatment: "The therapeutic agent is Huperzine A, a molecule currently undergoing U.S. phase II clinical testing as an orally administered treatment for mild-to-moderate Alzheimer disease....."

Stigma, denial may delay Alzheimer diagnosis by average of over 2 years, new survey shows: "Concern about stigma and denial of symptoms can delay a diagnosis of Alzheimer disease by more than 2 years (28.7 months) on average after symptoms appear, according to a new survey from the Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA)......"

Slipping Away-Self-portraits of an artist's progression into Alzheimer's to be focus of series of community education programs
Alzheimer's disease took O.C. "Shorty" Blackburn's wife. It's now taking Don Rowe's wife.

The other day they joined the director of a day-care center for people with Alzheimer's at an exhibit of self-portraits made by artist William Utermohlen as he descended into Alzheimer's. The expressions of frustration, anger, despair, fear, sadness, resignation and - in the end - blankness were all too familiar to them.

Looking at a painting that shows Utermohlen peering through bars, Rowe said, "He thinks he is in prison."

"He is in prison," said Jean Small, the director of Senior Services' Elizabeth & Tab Williams Adult Day Center, where Rowe's wife, Jo, goes during the day.....

The Scripps Research Institute
By disrupting the aging process in an organism, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered two mechanisms in an animal model of Alzheimer’s disease that protect cells against protein aggregation that leads to damage called “proteotoxicity.” Since proteotoxicity appears to cause the neurodegeneration in disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, these findings have important therapeutic implications.

The research, led by Professor Jeffery Kelly of Scripps Research and Professor Andrew Dillin of the Salk Institute’s Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, is being published August 10, 2006 as an article in an advanced, online edition of the journal Science.
Alzheimer’s disease now strikes more than one in 30 Americans, and about half the population that lives past 85 acquires Alzheimer’s. Approximately one million Americans have Parkinson’s disease, including three out of every 100 people over age 60. Aging is the most important risk factor for both of these diseases.

The new study—conducted in a C. elegans model, a roundworm that expresses a protein whose aggregation appears to cause Alzheimer’s disease—showed that toxicity from protein aggregation is “drastically reduced” when aging is slowed by modulating the insulin growth factor (IGF) signaling pathway.

Moreover, the researchers found two novel independent activities promoting this cellular survival. The first protective mechanism disassembles and cuts up protein aggregates. Surprisingly, the second protective mechanism enables the formation of larger aggregates from smaller ones that appear to be more toxic.
Unexpected Findings

Kelly, who is Lita Annenberg Hazen Professor of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute, a member of its Skaggs Institute of Chemical Biology, and dean of graduate and postgraduate studies, stresses that this novel work was a synergetic collaboration between the research groups at the two institutions.

The Dillin lab at Salk was interested in investigating the connection between cell aging and the onset of proteotoxicity. So, the group set out to determine if the aging process in the worm could be slowed by using RNA interference (RNAi), a naturally occurring process known to suppress certain gene activity in living cells, to lower the activity of the IGF signaling pathway. Indeed, this approach worked and the researchers discovered that if aging was delayed, the onset of proteotoxicity was also postponed.
“In switching this pathway on and off, we also found that we altered the high molecular weight aggregates—the plaque buildup in the animals,” explains Dillin.

But the researchers also noticed an unexpected phenomenon. “Curiously,” Dillin continues, “some animals were totally protected from proteotoxicity despite having high molecular weight aggregation buildup, while other animals were extremely sensitive to proteotoxicity even though they had no detectable high molecular weight aggregates.”
Dillin was eager to further investigate these unexpected findings, so he contacted Kelly at Scripps Research, whose lab had the expertise to examine and analyze these aggregates.
Opposite Activities

Intrigued, Kelly’s colleague Jan Bieschke in collaboration with Ehud Cohen of the Dillin laboratory did additional experiments perturbing individual components of the IGF signaling pathway. They focused on two downstream transcription factors, heat shock factor-1 (HSF-1) and DAF 16, to see what effect they had on aggregation. The results were surprising.
“When we inhibited only HSF-1, the result was a tremendous amount of aggregate buildup; when we selectively inhibited DAF 16, there were almost no aggregates observed,” Kelly says. “That clued us in to the fact that these two transcription factors must be controlling effectively opposite activities.”

His group had been using aggregation assays for a long time, and it occurred to him and his colleagues to add samples of the worm’s ground-up tissue to these assays as a way of even more sensitively detecting how these transcription factors were controlling aggregation in the animal. The Scripps Research team subjected the worm contents to aggregation assays, using fluorescent dyes that emit light when amyloid is present to read out the extent of aggregation. “It turned out that this worked really well,” Kelly says.
When Cohen and Bieschke examined the results, they expected to see less aggregation in the worms when insulin signaling was inhibited. “In fact, what they saw was more.”

Teasing apart the results, the researchers concluded that two mechanisms were protecting the worms against protein-aggregation-associated proteotoxicity. One mechanism was taking the aggregates apart and degrading them into small pieces; the second mechanism was taking smaller, lower-molecular-weight aggregates and transforming them into high molecular weight aggregates of lower toxicity.
Kelly says that this second finding is “quite surprising” in that heavier aggregates seem to be protective for the cell, albeit in a transient fashion—until the cell can “re-group” to dispose of the aggregates. “What we expected was that the amount of aggregates would correlate with toxicity in these worms, but there was no correlation.”

“This second finding is clearly a shift in paradigm,” says Dillin. “For nearly a year in this work, we assumed that large aggregates were the toxic species; however, our data proved otherwise. These results further support a shift in thinking for this field regarding the toxicity of small aggregates and lays the framework for new avenues to combat age-onset protein aggregation diseases, such as AD, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and ALS owing to the protective biological activities discovered.”

“Now, we want to use this mechanistic information to discover the macromolecular basis for these activities and to discover small molecules that will delay the aging program and thus delay the onset of proteotoxicity associated with these diseases by modulating aggregation and disaggregation activities,” Kelly states. “The hope is that, by manipulating the protective mechanism inherent in cells, we can find a single entity—a single drug—that would be useful for a variety of neurodegenerative diseases where protein aggregation leads to neurodegeneration.”

In addition to Kelly and Bieschke at Scripps Research and Dillin and Cohen at Salk, Technician Rhonda Perciavalle of the Salk Institute also made significant contributions to the Science study, titled “Opposing Activities Protect from Age Onset Proteotoxicity.”

Elevated Blood Sugar Sours Older Women's Wits : "Chronically elevated blood glucose saps cognitive function in older women, according to researchers here.

Postmenopausal women with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels of 7% or higher had a fourfold risk of mild cognitive impairment or dementia over four years compared with women with HbA1c lower than 7%, reported Kristine Yaffe, M.D., of the University of California San Francisco and colleagues, in the current issue of the Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging....."

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!..Calorie Restriction May Prevent Alzheimer's Through Promotion Of Longevity Program In The Brain
Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City:
A recent study directed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine suggests that experimental dietary regimens might calm or even reverse symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The study, which appears in the July 2006 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, is the first to show that restricting caloric intake, specifically carbohydrates, may prevent AD by triggering activity in the brain associated with longevity.

"Both clinical and epidemiological evidence suggests that modification of lifestyle factors such as nutrition may prove crucial to Alzheimer's Disease management," says Giulio Maria Pasinetti, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Director of the Neuroinflammation Research Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and lead author of the study. "This research, however, is the first to show a connection between nutrition and Alzheimer's Disease neuropathy by defining mechanistic pathways in the brain and scrutinizing biochemical functions. We hope these findings further unlock the mystery of Alzheimer's and bring hope to the millions of Americans suffering from this disease."

"Don Hayen, a retired doctor, is working on his second book, in addition to hosting a blog to help himself and others cope with the effects of Alzheimer's disease.":

New Studies Bolster Potential of Statin Drugs for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease
Statin drugs may help treat or prevent Alzheimer's disease (AD) by reducing inflammation according to researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine (Wolozin B, Manger J, Bryant R, Cordy J, Green RC, McKee A, Acta Neurol Scand Suppl. August, 2006;114: s185:63-70). The authors review current research into the relationship between cholesterol, statin drugs and AD and note that "demonstration that cholesterol lowering medicines, such as statins, benefit subjects with AD would have a large and immediate impact on public health." Their studies compared the brains of AD patients who took statins with those who did not and found evidence that statins strikingly reduced signs of inflammation in the brain, pointing to a possible mechanism through which statin drugs might slow or prevent the progression of the disease..."

Lonely Children May Grow Up With Fragile Hearts - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today
"For some patients with cardiovascular disease risk factors, the root cause may be the loneliness of childhood, according to a study that followed more than 1,000 adults from birth. Those who were socially isolated as children and adolescents were up to 2.5 times more likely than others to have three or more risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including hypertension and elevated cholesterol, said Avshalom Caspi, Ph.D., of the Institute of Psychiatry here...."

Ketamine May Give 'Almost Instantaneous' Relief for Severe Depression - medpagetoday:
"Symptoms of depression can be made to disappear in less than two hours with a common anesthetic, not the weeks or months required for onset of relief with traditional antidepressants, according to results of a pilot study.

'We have broken the sound barrier in depression treatment,' said Carlos A. Zarate, Jr., M.D., chief of the mood disorders section the National Institute of Mental Health, who reported on the effects of ketamine, a common anesthetic, in the August 8 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Dr. Zarate and colleagues said a single injection of ketamine, which targets the N-methlyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, can eliminate depression symptoms within 110 minutes...

Interestingly, ketamine is a popular street drug, which is sold under a number of names including kit kat, jet and super C. Dr. Zarat acknowledged that common side effects included perceptual disturbances, confusion, increased blood pressure, euphoria, dizziness, and increased libido.

But the effects never lasted longer than 110 minutes, while the beneficial effect of a single dose was generally durable for seven days.

Ketamine is approved for human use, but is most commonly used as a veterinary anesthetic...."

Aging Males Contribute to Miscarriage Rate : "Paternal age is a significant risk factor for miscarriage, according a case control study of almost 14,000 pregnancies. It showed that men start to go downhill after 35.

Women with partners ages 35 or older had nearly a threefold increase in spontaneous abortions compared with women whose partners were younger than 25, wrote Karine Kleinhaus, M.D., M.P.H., of Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, and colleagues, in the Aug. 1 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology...."

Disadvantaged Elderly Particularly Vulnerable to Heat Wave :
"The summer is barely half over, and much of the country has had enough -- enough of heat-related illness, enough heat-related power outages, and enough heat-related misery from a sweltering wave of extraordinary heat that broke records from coast to coast.

In the hours before the oppressive temperatures began to moderate, more than 50,000 baseball fans sweated through a three-hour day game here at Yankee Stadium in temperatures that hovered near 100 degrees. They were given free bottles of water.

Ironically, though, the outdoor gathering was healthier than staying home in sweltering conditions, which a study in the August issue of the American Sociological Review called the primary cause of the deaths of more than 700 elderly Chicago residents in a 1995 heat wave....."

HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: Press Release: RESEARCHERS UNCOVER HOW A MOLECULAR SWITCH REGULATES FAT AND CHOLESTEROL METABOLISM PATHWAY
Findings May Contribute to Understanding and Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome Condition

"Boston, MA-August 2,2006-Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital have identified how a molecular switch regulates fat and cholesterol production, a step that may help advance treatments for metabolic syndrome, the constellation of diseases that includes high cholesterol, obesity, type II diabetes, and high blood pressure......"

Dementia Risk Can Be Tested
"Researchers have for the first time developed a "risk score" to try to predict which people may develop dementia.

The leading factors virtually mirror those already known for cardiovascular disease: obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, according to the study published Thursday in the journal Lancet Neurology.

Having any one of these risk factors doubles a person's chance of developing dementia, and having all three increases their chances by six times, said Dr. Miia Kivipelto, an associate professor at the Aging Research Centre in Stockholm, Sweden, and the study's lead author.

Risk scores have been developed for other diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, "but we've never before had a tool like this for estimating the risk of dementia," Kivipelto said......

"We have known for years that trying to control obesity, blood pressure and cholesterol can prevent heart disease," said Kivipelto, "but now it's not only the heart you can save, but also the brain...."

Las Americas - Combatir el Alzheimer le cuesta al mundo 200 mil millones cada ano
"La enfermedad del Alzheimer, el tercer problema sanitario en los países desarrollados (tras los accidentes cardiovasculares y el cáncer), supone un coste sociosanitario en el mundo de unos 200 mil millones de euros.
Hace falta investigar más... "

Alzheimer's Creates Struggles for Families:
"It's easy not to see a devastating disease such as Alzheimer's take hold of a loved one.
Julie Webster of Deephaven had Early Onset Alzheimer's.She was only 59 and, according to her family, had some minor forgetfulness...nothing suggesting she'd suddenly wander off. Her daughter says she even asked the neurologist if it was possible for things to progress that quickly, and was told no.

Typically, Alzheimer's Disease does progress very slowly. There are some health issues of greater concern for Alzheimer's patients, including urinary tract infections, tooth abcesses, constipation or even a headache. All of these things can send someone with Alzheimer's into a confused state.

So for family protect loved ones, experts recommend they remain 'ahead of the safety curve,' being vigilant about the signs, such as...."

Art Boosts Alzheimer's Patients' Spirits: "Alzheimer's sufferer Jim Lash from Aspen Village at Lowry stands next to two of his water color paintings at the Bel Mar Center in Lakewood, Colo., during an art exhibit to benefit Alzheimer's patients, Thursday, June 15, 2006. Lash is one of a group of artists--all with Alzheimer's---that are part of the Memories in the Making program that began in 1988 in Orange County, Calif. There are now dozens of chapters in 26 states and experts say the artwork has provided an extraordinary outlet for Alzheimer's patients. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey...................."

Carotid Artery Stenting Deemed Safe Treatment Option For Elderly In Recent Study:
"Carotid artery stenting can be performed safely in patients 80 years or older, according to study results released for the first time today at the 3rd Annual American Society of Interventional & Therapeutic Neuroradiology (ASITN)...... "

new ID system
Iris recognition service brought in to help find missing Alzheimer's patients
Under a new program in place in 21 states and getting its start in Maine in Penobscot County, a digital camera would take a picture of the unidentified person and compare it to a local or national database.
[PHOTO]Susan Carpenter (center), development officer with the Massachusetts-based B12 Technologies, explains the iris recognition biometric technology...Paid for through a $25,000 grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation...

Melatonin and Sleep Disturbances:
"....'We found melatonin to be a very good treatment for these patients. In Israel, [melatonin] is a pharmaceutical substance that needs a physician's prescription and is prepared in pharmacies. The usual dosage...is 5 mg taken daily at a fixed time [usually 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.]. Melatonin treatment is well established in our treatment protocol,' he said. 'It has to be emphasized, however, that this treatment is only effective for biological rhythm disorders [sleep/wake schedule disturbances and jet lag], but it is not a miracle sleeping pill for psychophysiological insomnia.' Dagan added that he has not confronted any major side effect....."

"MESSAGE TO OLDER ADULTS: EMBRACE, DON'T FEAR THE EFFECTS OF SENSIBLE EXERCISE
- Stress from exercise does not threaten the heart, study shows - Johns Hopkins Medicine Press Releaase
"A Johns Hopkins study should ease the concerns held by many older adults with mild high blood pressure about the strain or harm exercise could cause their hearts. Results of the research on 104 men and women age 55 to 75 showed that a moderate program of physical exertion had no ill effects on the heart's ability to pump blood nor does it produce a harmful increase in heart size.

In this study, "moderate" translated to sustained exercise for about an hour, three times a week. Researchers say that people's concerns stem from the fact that during each workout, blood pressure can on average rise from 40 millimeters to 60 millimeters of mercury. The Johns Hopkins study is believed to be the first to evaluate the effects of exercise on the heart's ability to function, to pump and to fill up with blood.

"While having high blood pressure at rest is a well-established risk factor for heart problems, older people should not fear the effects of moderate exercise on the heart, despite short-term bump-ups in blood pressure during their workout," says lead study investigator and exercise physiologist Kerry Stewart, Ed.D., a professor of medicine and director of clinical and research exercise physiology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart Institute. "Exercise is a highly effective means of increasing the heart's efficiency and reducing body fat, factors that may ward off future health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes."

A report on the Johns Hopkins study, published in the July issue of the journal Heart, showed that after six months of aerobic exercise on a treadmill, bicycle or stepper, plus weightlifting, participants showed no overall ill effects in 11 measures of diastolic heart function, when the organ's main chamber fills with blood between beats. They also found that exercise produced no increase in eight measures of heart size, including left ventricular mass and wall thickness. In contrast, a long-term effect of hypertension, even when the body is relaxed, is hypertrophy, an enlargement of the heart that eventually stiffens and weakens the muscle.

Not only were there no ill effects sustained, despite periodic increases in blood pressure during the workout, Stewart and his team reported, but results also suggest that the exercise producing these effects benefited the hearts of those who made the most gains in physical fitness and for those who lost the most abdominal fat....

And, researchers say, unlike the increased heart size that results from high blood pressure, any increase in heart size observed in the active group was similar to what athletes experience when their hearts get bigger and stronger, not stiff.

A study published last year by the Johns Hopkins scientists showed that exercise reduced by more than 20 percent the number of people who develop metabolic syndrome, a clustering of three or more risk factors for developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Risk factors include high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose levels, excess abdominal fat and abnormal cholesterol....

"Making gains in body fitness and losing abdominal fat are truly important to the long-term health of the heart," says study co-author and cardiologist Edward Shapiro, M.D., a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Our results confirm that moderate-intensity exercise can have many health benefits - including gains in heart function that are linked to increased fitness and reduced fatness.

"Our study also shows that the vast majority of older people with mildly elevated blood pressure can benefit from moderate exercise, and they should talk about it with their physician to determine an appropriate exercise and any other options for treatment...."

Harvard News Release

For older women, there’s not much leeway between healthful and harmful drinking

BOSTON, MA —Various studies suggest that moderate drinking helps prevent cardiovascular disease and lowers the risk for dementia. What hasn’t made the headlines are the downsides of alcohol for women. The July issue of Harvard Women’s Health Watch reports on the risks of alcohol, and why women, especially older women, are particularly vulnerable to them.

There is solid evidence for benefits from moderate drinking. For example, studies have shown that one drink per day, compared with no drinking at all, can reduce a woman’s risk for heart disease and stroke by as much as 50%. Other research suggests that older women who drink moderately have better cognitive skills.

But there are also risks. Even as little as one-half drink per day increases the risk for breast cancer, possibly because alcohol raises estrogen blood levels, which can promote the growth of breast tumors. Women are also quicker than men to become dependent on alcohol and to suffer the consequences, including damage to the brain and other organs, psychiatric problems, and accidents. One in 13 adults in the United States has a serious alcohol problem, and at least six million of them are women.

Women are more sensitive to alcohol than men are because their bodies contain less water and more fatty tissue. Water dilutes alcohol in the bloodstream; fat retains it. So women’s brains and other organs are exposed to higher concentrations of alcohol for longer periods of time. The risk increases with age.

Given the benefits and risks of alcohol, the Harvard Women’s Health Watch suggests that women 65 and over should be especially careful to limit themselves to one drink per day—or less.

Harvard News Release

For older women, there’s not much leeway between healthful and harmful drinking

BOSTON, MA —Various studies suggest that moderate drinking helps prevent cardiovascular disease and lowers the risk for dementia. What hasn’t made the headlines are the downsides of alcohol for women. The July issue of Harvard Women’s Health Watch reports on the risks of alcohol, and why women, especially older women, are particularly vulnerable to them.

There is solid evidence for benefits from moderate drinking. For example, studies have shown that one drink per day, compared with no drinking at all, can reduce a woman’s risk for heart disease and stroke by as much as 50%. Other research suggests that older women who drink moderately have better cognitive skills.

But there are also risks. Even as little as one-half drink per day increases the risk for breast cancer, possibly because alcohol raises estrogen blood levels, which can promote the growth of breast tumors. Women are also quicker than men to become dependent on alcohol and to suffer the consequences, including damage to the brain and other organs, psychiatric problems, and accidents. One in 13 adults in the United States has a serious alcohol problem, and at least six million of them are women.

Women are more sensitive to alcohol than men are because their bodies contain less water and more fatty tissue. Water dilutes alcohol in the bloodstream; fat retains it. So women’s brains and other organs are exposed to higher concentrations of alcohol for longer periods of time. The risk increases with age.

Given the benefits and risks of alcohol, the Harvard Women’s Health Watch suggests that women 65 and over should be especially careful to limit themselves to one drink per day—or less.

Risk Factors Total a Score to Predict Dementia Risk :
"There's a simple way, to calculate a middle-age patient's eventual dementia risk, on a scale of one to 15, according to Swedish investigators.The risk score highlights the role of vascular factors in the development of dementia 20 years hence, said Tiia Ngandu, Ph.D., of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

'It may help to identify individuals who can benefit from lifestyle changes and drug therapies,' she said in a poster presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders here...."

"

Alzheimer study explains death of brain cells:
"Researchers at Children's Hospital & Research Center at Oakland (CHRCO) have published a new study that is the first to explain how brain cells die in patients with Alzheimer Disease. This discovery is an important first step to helping researchers devise ways to slow, prevent and eventually cure a disease that affects an estimated 4.5 million Americans. In a study published in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, lead scientist Hani Atamna, PhD, found that alterations in the production of heme (a molecule that contains iron) may be the key to understanding why excessive amyloid-beta is toxic to brain cells. Dr. Atamna had previously discovered that Alzheimes patients have abnormal amounts of heme in their brains. In new research results, Atamna's team showed that amyloid-beta readily binds with heme to form a compound that can be flushed from cells. When there is insufficient heme or too much amyloid-beta, however, the amyloid-beta forms large toxic 'clumps' that the cell cannot dissolve and eliminate......"

Women and Cardiovascular Disease: Brigham and Women's Hospital - Harvard Medical
How does cardiovascular disease affect women?
Long considered a man's problem, heart disease now affects more females than males. Heart disease is responsible for 52 percent of all deaths in American women, claiming 250,000 female lives every year – more than all forms of cancer. Fortunately, much is known today about preventing and monitoring heart disease through lifestyle changes, which makes it possible to control many of your risk factors. Learn more.

Alzheimer's patch shows promise:
"Alzheimer's patients may soon get the first skin patch to treat the creeping brain degeneration, a novel way to deliver an older drug so it's easier to take and might even work a little better.The patch, which infuses the drug Exelon through patients' skin, headlines a trio of innovative potential treatments unveiled Wednesday at an Alzheimer's meeting in Spain. Also under study are a prostate cancer drug that may help dementia, too, and an immune therapy to ward off the gunk that is Alzheimer's brain-clogging hallmark......"

New Drug for Hearing Loss Enters Clinical Testing
"Sound Pharmaceuticals has started a 32 patient Phase 1 study of SPI-1005 in normal healthy volunteers. SPI-1005 is an oral capsule, and contains as its active ingredient a selenium based small molecule mimic of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase...."

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Media Relations and Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GIVING UP DRIVING MAY BE EXPRESS LANE TO LONG-TERM CARE
"Taking the keys has serious consequences for older drivers," study concludes.

Although the slower driving habits of some seniors often steam impatient younger motorists, researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have found that elders who stay behind the wheel are less likely to enter nursing homes or assisted living centers than those who have never driven or who have given up driving altogether.

The Johns Hopkins study findings, published in the July issue of the American Journal of Public Health, included extensive interviews conducted over a 10-year period with 1,593 seniors between 65 and 84 years of age who lived in the small Eastern Shore town of Salisbury, Md.

"We are not recommending continuation of driving for seniors who are a threat to themselves or others on the road," said Ellen Freeman, Ph.D., an epidemiological researcher now working with the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute and the study's lead author. "Instead, we hope that understanding the very real health impact that losing the ability to drive has on seniors will encourage families to plan contingencies to assist elderly members with transportation issues."

The researchers also pointed out that losing the ability to drive poses an especially significant hardship to seniors living in isolated rural areas or any place without good, accessible public transportation for the elderly.

NIA NEWS RELEASE
July 17, 2006

*Scientists Discover New Frontotemporal Dementia Gene*

Scientists have discovered genetic mutations that cause a form of familial frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a finding that provides clues to the underlying mechanism of this devastating disease and that may provide insight for future approaches to developing therapies. The mutations are contained in a single gene that scientists can now identify as responsible for a large portion of inherited FTD. A rare brain disorder, FTD usually affects people between ages 40 and 64 with symptoms that include personality changes and inappropriate social behavior. Published online July 16, 2006, in Nature, the research was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The discovery builds on a 1998 finding of mutations in another gene that is responsible for a smaller proportion of inherited FTD cases. Amazingly, both the gene found in 1998 and the newly found gene were found on the same region of chromosome 17. Today’s discovery appears to explain all the remaining inherited FTD cases linked to genes on chromosome 17 and may provide new insights into the causes of the overall disease process. Geneticist Michael Hutton, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Jacksonville, Fla., led an international scientific team to discover the new gene.

“This new finding is an important advance in our understanding of frontotemporal dementia,” says NIA director Richard J. Hodes. “It identifies a mutation in the gene producing a growth factor that helps neurons survive, and it suggests that lack of this growth factor may be involved in this form of frontotemporal dementia.”

FTD encompasses a set of rare brain disorders. While most cases are sporadic, an estimated 20 to 50 percent has a family history of dementia, according to the Association for Frontotemporal Dementias. FTD affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. People with FTD may exhibit uninhibited and socially inappropriate behavior, changes in personality and, in late stages, loss of memory, motor skills and speech. There is no treatment.

Migraine with "aura" linked with heart disease risk:
"A new study found that older women who experience migraines with auras run a much higher risk of heart disease than women who either get migraines without auras, or never have migraines at all.
"Aura" refers to visual warnings migraine sufferers experience 10 to 30 minutes before a migraine, and can include seeing bright lights or wavy lines, or temporary vision loss.

The researchers say they need to conduct further studies to determine if men and younger women with aura migraines also run a higher risk of stroke and heart disease. More research is also needed to find out how to lower the risks for aura migraine sufferers, as well as whether or not treating the migraine itself can lower risks.

Most likely, the migraines and heart disease share a common cause. The "aura" of the migraines is simply a symptom of the underlying cause, which is probably related to poor cardiovascular health and poor nutritional habits.......The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.."

"The Anti-Aging Diet":
"It seems we're all trying to find the 'magic bullet' that delays the natural aging process. Put an antiaging label on most any product, and it flies off the shelves.

Yet if you're trying to look your best without going under the knife, a secret ingredient might be right under your nose. Some experts say one answer to aging gracefully can be found in the grocery store -- in fruits, vegetables, green tea, and a host of other healthful foods that are rich in antioxidants and other potentially age-deterring compounds....."

Researchers Discover a Genetic Cause for Atrial Fibrillation:
"Mayo Clinic investigators have discovered a gene mutation causing chaotic electrical activation of the heart muscle and atrial fibrillation (AF), a common heart-rhythm disturbance affecting millions of Americans. Atrial fibrillation can lead to heart failure and stroke.
'The discovery underscores the significance of heredity in susceptibility to atrial fibrillation,' explains Timothy M. Olson, M.D., director of the Cardiovascular Genetics Laboratory at Mayo Clinic...."

Poor Glycemic Control Increases Diabetics' Risk of Dementia : "Diabetic patients with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels that are well out of control are driving down the road towards dementia,......"

Treatment for Alzheimer's may be necessary before 50: "If treatment to prevent Alzheimer's disease is going to work, it may have to begin in middle age -- or even younger, new research by Seattle scientists suggests.
The researchers found that in people genetically prone to Alzheimer's, significant amounts of a brain-clogging protein start moving from the spinal fluid to the brain about age 50 or younger.
'It can be going on for decades before we have an inkling of symptoms,' said Dr. Elaine Peskind, associate director of the University of Washington Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle.
Previous research has indicated that Alzheimer's begins years before symptoms appear. But this latest work by Peskind, the lead scientist, and her colleagues is the first to look at early signs across a wide range of ages -- from 21 to 88.
The research is particularly significant because scientists predict a dramatic increase in Alzheimer's in the decades ahead...."

Allon's Compound Shows Effect on Both Classic Hallmarks of Alzheimer's:
"The Neuro Protection Company(TM), announced today that the Company's proprietary compound NAP has been shown in preclinical studies to be effective in reducing both amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, two pathologies most closely correlated with Alzheimer's disease in humans....."

Cause Of Neuronal Death In Down's Syndrome, Alzheimer's Disease Could Be Surprisingly Simple
"Two papers in the July 6, 2006, Neuron, published by Cell Press, report evidence that surprisingly simple genetic abnormalities in the machinery of critical neuronal growth-regulating molecules can kill neurons in Down's syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders. The researchers said their basic findings could aid progress toward treatment for the cognitive deficits in these disorders....."

Teddies May Improve Quality of Life in Alzheimers:
"Dolls and teddy bears can help Alzheimer's patients interact and communicate with others, finds a new study.

A team of doctors at Newcastle General Hospital studied the benefits of dolls after seeing how a patient bonded with a teddy bear from her son, reported the online edition of BBC News.

They found that Alzheimer's disease patients can lose their intellectual, social and emotional abilities over time. The patients also started interacted better with staff and other residents.

In the small-scale study, they gave 14 patients of a Newcastle nursing home a doll or a teddy bear each. They were then assessed over a 12-week period.

Dolls appear to alleviate agitation or distress, help overcome communication difficulties, and reduce withdrawal, the research presented to a British Psychological Society Conference said.

Using toys to help people with dementia has been looked at before as it is an important, non-drug based approach to behaviour disturbances in dementia residents, the study noted.

'What we have done with this study is to look at their use over a longer time period and to investigate whether patients chose to have a doll or teddy bear, said Ian James, a doctor at the hospital.

'Clearly, using a doll doesn't reverse dementia, but it did seem to improve quality of life,' he added.

'The findings will, we hope, help advise other clinical teams in their use of this technique.' "

Barrow growing...Neurological facility's 7-story tower at St. Joe's to double capacity, add high-tech procedures
(Arizona Republic-July 8)

"It's where Saudi royalty came for intricate back surgery.

It helped treat Pvt. Jessica Lynch's war injuries.

It's where patients are chilled almost to death so their brain surgeries can go more smoothly.

And now it's getting bigger.

The new Barrow Neurosciences Tower at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in central Phoenix will open to patients next week. The $160 million, seven-story tower will double the surgical capacity at world-renowned Barrow.

Barrow now will have the largest number of operating rooms of its type in the world, said Dr. Robert Spetzler, director of the Barrow Neurological Institute.

"There are few, if any, neuroscience centers like this in the world," he said. "It's incredible to have a building this size, with this many surgical suites and this many patient beds solely dedicated to neuroscience care."

For Barrow, the expansion means a chance to add technology as well as beds.

Among the new features is an extremely powerful magnetic resonance imaging machine that can provide immediate brain scans during operations.

That will let doctors check during surgery to make sure the entire brain tumor has been removed. Now, patients have to be sewn up, sent for the scans and then sent back for surgery again....First of its type

The MRI machine, a 3-Tesla Intraoperative Magnetic, is the first of its type to be installed at any hospital. Other MRI machines are typically 1.5-Tesla, which means Barrow's new MRI provides even more detailed scans.

"It's the difference between regular television and high-definition television," Spetzler said......Because the magnet is so powerful - it can pull a gun out of a holster - patients are loaded into the machine on special iron-free equipment.

Another gee-whiz feature of the tower is its "supercool" operating room, where the temperature can be reduced to 55 degrees from 68 to 70 degrees in just three minutes.

The chilling is key for a special technique Spetzler developed to bring a patient to the brink of death to lower the risk of complications during brain surgery.

In "cardiac standstill," doctors chill the patient's body so that the heart and blood flow are stopped. That makes it easier for a surgeon to go in and clip a brain aneurysm. Spetzler has done the procedure 107 times. The Discovery Health Channel broadcast one of the operations recently.

The neuroscience tower also contains:
• Eleven surgical suites dedicated to neurosurgery. Each suite has a microscope connected to a computer that allows surgeons to see on a computer screen an extremely magnified image of what they are operating on.

• All of the suites will have video-conferencing capabilities that will allow physicians and medical students around the world to view what is happening in the operating rooms.

• Sixty-four intensive-care beds and 80 acute-care beds devoted to neurological and neurosurgical care. That's more than double what the hospital has now.

Barrow also has the largest neurosurgery residency-training program in the nation and more certified neuroscience registered nurses than any other hospital in the United States."

Older Men Can Make Big Gains to Avoid Heart Disease Risk with Five Habits

"High-risk coronary heart disease patients achieve therapeutic goals effectively with rosuvastatin
"Rosuvastatin 10 or 20 mg is an effective and safe therapeutic option for high-risk patients to achieve their lipid and apolipoprotein targets.

According to a study from the United States, "National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines for patients at a high risk of coronary heart disease set a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) target of<100 mg/dL. This target can be difficult to attain with diet and current therapy."

"In a 16-week multinational trial, 1993 high-risk patients were randomized to rosuvastatin 20 mg, atorvastatin 10 mg, atorvastatin 20 mg, simvastatin 20 mg, or simivastatin 40 mg for 8 ......."

Helping Alzheimer's Patients Picture The Past:
"(CBS ) There's no cure for Alzheimer's Disease, but patients can sometimes recover memories lost for years. That's how it's been for Joyce Gilbert. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2000, but is still able to share memories of childhood with her family.'Things that were lost because of the Alzheimer's are now brought out in her paintings,' said daughter-in-law JoAnn Gilbert. 'She shows us places we haven't been and things she hasn't been able to tell us about.'Joyce is becoming an accomplished painter with help from 'Memories in the Making,' a program artist Toni Morley brought to Bay Area care facilities five years ago.'I believe art is healing,' Morley explained. 'I've seen many miracles happen. I've seen whole pieces of people's history come back.....'"

Recognize and Respond to Early Alzheimer’s Signs
"Many clinicians and patients consider occasional forgetfulness an inevitable part of aging. But when does memory loss cross into territory that signals a more serious condition such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD)?

“That’s the difficulty with recognizing the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease,” says Brigid Reynolds, APRN, BC, nurse practitioner and clinical coordinator at the Memory Disorders Program at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. “Alzheimer’s is often misinterpreted and underrecognized by both family members and clinicians.”

Fewer than 50% of the 2 million individuals who have been diagnosed with AD receive treatment, says Reynolds. Another 2 million people experience AD symptoms but have not received a diagnosis from their physicians. Because AD medications such as cholinesterase inhibitors can provide symptomatic relief in the early stage of the disease, it is all the more important to recognize signs early on. The lack of an AD screening tool makes early diagnosis difficult, however. While a careful review of symptoms leads to an accurate diagnosis for more than 90% of patients, a thorough evaluation often is time-prohibitive in primary care settings..."

Report concludes Alzheimer costs will stagger government...:
" A new report concludes the price tag from Alzheimer disease will skyrocket over the next 25 years, particularly in Florida, home to the nation's fastest-growing over-65 and over-85 populations. The study prompted a new coalition of researchers, health care providers, business leaders and senior advocates to call for an 'all-out push' to find a cure..........."

American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry Releases Principles of Care for Patients with Dementia Due to Alzheimer's Disease: "Care model aims to improve quality of life for Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers

The American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) released today its position statement on principles of care for patients with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD). With more than 4.5 million Americans suffering from AD, the most common form of dementia, and with this number expected to triple in the next 40-50 years, AAGP saw a critical need to provide a minimal set of care principles for medical professionals to follow when treating patients with AD.

"We are clearly in a period where we should all be thinking of Alzheimer's as a condition we can treat, even though we do not have a cure yet," said Constantine Lyketsos, M.D., M.H.S., professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and chair of the AAGP task force that prepared the position statement. .....
"

American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry Releases Principles of Care for Patients with Dementia Due to Alzheimer's Disease: "Care model aims to improve quality of life for Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers

The American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) released today its position statement on principles of care for patients with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD). With more than 4.5 million Americans suffering from AD, the most common form of dementia, and with this number expected to triple in the next 40-50 years, AAGP saw a critical need to provide a minimal set of care principles for medical professionals to follow when treating patients with AD.

"We are clearly in a period where we should all be thinking of Alzheimer's as a condition we can treat, even though we do not have a cure yet," said Constantine Lyketsos, M.D., M.H.S., professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and chair of the AAGP task force that prepared the position statement. .....
"

NBC Video: Monitors To Track Alzheimer's Patients:
".....authorities are taking a high-tech approach to help locate Alzheimer's patients who have wandered away from home.Authorities estimate two-thirds of the 4.5 million Americans who suffer from Alzheimer's disease will wander off at some point. When that happens, rescuers have only hours to find them before they risk dying of exposure or other causes.A local service organization has donated money to the Wake County Sheriff's Office to help buy a directional antenna and 10 monitoring bracelets for Alzheimers patients.'(The bracelet) emits a signal, and once that person walks away, we come out with our deputies and use the wand to locate them,' Sheriff Donnie Harrison said, noting that he's been trying to implement the system for years......"

Constipation Linked to Aggression in Nursing Home Residents:
" Constipation can trigger physical aggression in a nursing home resident with dementia, researchers here reported.

In a large group of residents with dementia, those with constipation were about as likely to exhibit aggressive physical behavior as those who experienced hallucinations, said Ralph Leonard, M.D., M.P.H., of the medical software company CALM-MD here.

'To our knowledge no prior studies have investigated the association of constipation,' Dr. Leonard and colleagues said in the June 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. 'We chose to study constipation a priori because it is common, modifiable, and recognized by clinicians to be a cause of many non-specific symptoms.'

The cross-sectional study also confirmed results of previous studies that depression, delusions, and hallucinations were linked with aggressive behavior in nursing home residents with dementia, the authors said...."

Number with Alzheimer's likely twice estimates, study finds:

"The number of Americans with Alzheimer's disease is probably two to three times more than current estimates, according to a new study. And as the population ages, Alzheimer's could become the most expensive disease in the country. In the new study, brain autopsies of elderly people who had had no symptoms of Alzheimer's showed that more than a third had lesions in their brains that met the criteria for the disease. Dr. David A. Bennett, director of the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, led the study, which will appear Tuesday in the journal Neurology.
About 4 million people in the United States are now thought to have Alzheimer's. The cost of caring for people with the brain disease tops $100 billion a year, according to the Lasker Foundation."

Doctors can use the 'Viagra visit' to screen men for heart: "By Tara Parker-Pope, The Wall Street Journal

If you're thinking about trying Viagra or another erectile-dysfunction drug to boost your sex life, chances are you should be talking to your doctor about your heart health as well.
There's a growing push in the medical community to use the 'Viagra visit' -- the time when a man asks his doctor for an erectile-dysfunction drug -- as a way to better screen men for heart disease. That's because studies increasingly show that an unhealthy vascular system is one of the main reasons men develop problems achieving and maintaining erections. And many doctors now believe that just as they check a man's cholesterol and blood pressure during the annual physical, they should also be asking detailed questions about a man's erectile function to better gauge his overall cardiovascular health and risk for heart attack.
While erectile dysfunction has long been treated as a lifestyle issue, erection problems appear to be a very early warning sign of looming heart troubles. An Italian study showed that in two-thirds of patients who had known coronary-artery disease as well as erectile dysfunction, the erection problems showed up, on average, three years before other symptoms, such as the chest pain caused by angina.
'It looks like erectile function is one of the first things to go long before someone has a heart attack or stroke,' says Steven A. Grover, professor of medicine at McGill University in Montreal. 'It's one of the first early warnings that something is wrong with the vascular system.'
While this may sound ominous, it also means men with erectile dysfunction are warned soon enough that they still have time to reverse heart disease by exercising, losing weight, and lowering cholesterol and high blood pressure. Doctors say men often are more motivated to make lifestyle changes once ED sets in. And studies show that in addition to lowering heart-attack risk, exercise and weight loss also can improve a man's erectile function.
'It's hard to catch a man's interest when you say 10 years from now you'll have a heart attack,' says Richard Sadovsky, associate professor of family medicine at the State University of New York-Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. 'But it's a very good teachable moment -- men are a little more willing to listen to lifestyle changes and clinical recommendation when it has to do with erections......'"

A Plateful of Eating Advice:
"Yet another new set of dietary guidelines emerged last week. This one was dished out by the American Heart Association (AHA), which updated recommendations it issued in 2000. Add that to the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines, the revised Food Guide Pyramid and food recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences, among others, and it all piles up to a heaping platter of advice to eat right.While the number of dietary guidelines is increasing, the recommendations remain remarkably consistent, with a few exceptions....."

A Plateful of Eating Advice:
"Yet another new set of dietary guidelines emerged last week. This one was dished out by the American Heart Association (AHA), which updated recommendations it issued in 2000. Add that to the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines, the revised Food Guide Pyramid and food recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences, among others, and it all piles up to a heaping platter of advice to eat right.While the number of dietary guidelines is increasing, the recommendations remain remarkably consistent, with a few exceptions....."

New Test Yields Clues Into Alzheimer's Onset : "A new test may help scientists answer a perplexing 'which came first' question about the development of Alzheimer's disease, possibly pointing the way to earlier diagnosis or even treatment. Brain deposits of a small protein known as amyloid beta long have been associated with Alzheimer's. But scientists have been unable to determine whether the body begins producing too much of the protein or loses the ability to clear it away...... Now, a research team led by Dr. Randall J. Bateman at Washington University in St. Louis is poised to find that answer with a test that for the first time can monitor the protein....."

VIDEO: Treatments For Rheumatoid Arthritis: "(CBS)
NEW YORK
Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the body's immune system turn on itself.'It's called an immune reaction where our own cells are attacking our own tissue, and it's destructive,' says Beth Israel Medical Center's Dr. Robert Gotlin. And it especially targets the joints.'It feels like my hip's gonna come out of place,' says Mona Lisa Moore. She's only 42 years old, yet she has rheumatoid arthritis in her hip and knee. She's done well with traditional treatments like anti-inflammatory pills and steroids. But they don't work for everyone. Some patients need newer, stronger medications called TNF blockers. Steroids work kind of like a bomb, effecting all the elements of the immune system. these new medications are more like a bullet, directed toward the specific chemicals involved in rheumatoid arthritis.TNF attacks the joints directly and destroys them. Drugs like Remicade keep TNF from doing damage.'By surpressing that chemical, we can control the inflammatory response in rheumatoid arthritis and help preserve the joints,' says Dr. Gotlin. On the other hand, the newly-approved drug Rituxan helps in a different way. It's a cancer drug that kills off immune cells involved in causing rheumatoid arthritis.But with stronger medications comes more serious side effects. These drugs affect the liver and other organs, suppress the immune system, and may increase the risk of cancer. Dr. Gotlin says treating rheumatoid arthritis is a matter of weighing potential risks and benefits.'The choice becomes it it worth the risk... to control your inflammation, give you mobility back, and get you healthier and living your lifestyle.'..."

ABC News: Some 'Senior Moments' Could Be Alzheimer's
: "A study found that in a disturbing number of cases, embarrassing 'senior moments' such as forgetting a recent conversation or drawing a blank on someone's name may really be a sign of Alzheimer's after all.

Chicago scientists reached that conclusion after autopsies on the brains of 134 older people who had appeared to be mentally normal, apart from some subtle forgetfulness.

Occasional forgetfulness is often written off as a normal part of growing old and nothing to get alarmed about. And in most cases, that is probably true.

But the scientists found to their surprise that the brains of more than one-third of the participants were riddled with waxy protein clumps and other signs of degeneration that are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease...."

CNN VIDEO - Rats partially overcome paralysis in stem cell study :
"Paralyzed rats partially regained the use of a previously immobile hind leg in a study in which scientists injected the rodents with stem cells from mouse embryos, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Results of the study were published this week in the journal Annals of Neurology.

Before the research began, the rats were given a virus that caused a neurodegenerative disease, paralyzing them. In the study, 11 of the 15 rats made a partial, but significant, recovery from paralysis, researchers said. The rats recovered enough muscle strength to bear weight and walk on the previously paralyzed hind leg...."

Report: Alzheimer's may affect younger age group
"Alzheimer's disease and dementia may afflict about a half-million Americans ages 55 to 64, said a report that challenges the widely held view that the conditions affect only elderly patients.

The finding points to a need for better diagnosis and treatment options for people in this age group, said the Alzheimer's Association, a Chicago-based research and advocacy group that prepared the report. The report found that 480,000 people from age 55 to 64 had cognitive impairments severe enough to be considered disabling.

Many people are still working when symptoms first emerge, the report said. Others leave the work force before cognitive problems surface, and then can't get private insurance or government health programs to cover the cost of treatment.
For younger people with dementia, 'it starts with cognitive impairment, then decreased performance on the job, then loss of the job, loss of income and then, later, a diagnosis,' said Stephen McConnell, vice president of advocacy and public policy for the Alzheimer's Association. It is a 'tragic sequence of events,' he said....

The disease, which starts with memory problems and ends with severe brain damage and death, affects about 5 percent of Americans from age 65 to 74, and half those 85 and older, according to the NIA.

Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's is difficult because patients, as well as their employers or families, can mistakenly attribute symptoms the normal absent-mindedness that comes with aging, said Dr. John H. Morrison, chairman of the department of neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York."

Screening Mammography Rates Overestimated for Older Women
- CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today
"Women in their Medicare years may claim to have regular screening mammograms but many aren't as good as their word, a study has found.

Overall, older women are significantly less likely to have regular mammograms than self-reported surveys suggest, according to a report in the June American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Widely cited self-reported data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the National Health Interview Study (NHIS) suggest levels as high as 70% to 80% for biennial screening of women ages 65 to 69, with no substantial difference in race or ethnicity. However, Medicare data tell a different story, found Rebecca Smith-Bindman, M.D., and colleagues at the University of California here and at Harvard Medical School...."

Cutting calories may help to prevent Alzheimer's

"First Ever Disease-Modifying Drugs Will Account for Nearly 60% of Market to Treat Alzheimer's Disease In 2015":

Regular Exercise May Delay Alzheimer's
a by as much as 30 percent to 40 percent, a new study reveals. Even better, the findings applies to everyone in their later years, not just those already in great physical shape.......

Psychology Today: Are You What You Eat?:
"...it's tempting to dwell on relationships between a particular food and a corresponding mental benefit or mood boost. But it's an overall healthy eating pattern that yields results, not any one food, warns Larry Lindner, executive editor of Tufts University's Health and Nutrition Newsletter. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and dairy, for example, can blunt cognitive deficits in most people. But to those who say that eating a piece of bread raises serotonin levels and makes you happy, Lindner responds, "If carbohydrates caused happiness, ours would be the happiest nation in the world."

Each of us processes food in a unique way, too. "Some people have different metabolic rates," says neuroscientist Chandan Prasad, editor-in-chief of the journal Nutritional Neuroscience. "Even rats show individual effects in food studies." He points to the burgeoning field of genomics, where scientists are searching for links between genetic makeup and varieties of response to diet.

With these caveats in mind:"[more]

Meditation benefits patients with heart disease
"In a study of adults with coronary heart disease (CHD), who were stable and were receiving optimal medical care, 16 weeks of transcendental meditation (TM) not only led to significant reductions in blood pressure, but also improved heart rate variability and insulin resistance, which is associated with an increase risk of diabetes.

These beneficial health effects were achieved without changes in body weight, medication or psychosocial variables, investigators report in the Archives of Internal Medicine...."

Nature Medicine Publication Reports Positive Preclinical Data with Alzheimer's Disease Drug Candidate AZD-103
"AZD-103. The AZD-103 compound is a possible disease-modifying therapeutic drug
candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. This unique class of drug
candidates may provide significant advantages over the current therapies on
the market. The findings in the Nature Medicine publication show that oral
treatment of AZD-103 (scyllo-cyclohexanehexol) reduces accumulation of amyloid
beta and amyloid beta plaques in the brain, as well as reduces or eliminates
learning deficits in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.
Transition is pursuing the clinical drug development of AZD-103 in an
expedited manner and today, also announced that dosing with AZD-103 has
commenced in Phase I clinical trials......"

News - Betaferon (Interferon Beta-1b) Approved in Europe as a First-Line Treatment for the Earliest Stages of Multiple Sclerosis: "'Effective treatment early in the course of the disease is important since studies have shown that irreversible nerve damage and brain atrophy can occur in the earliest stages of MS. We now have the ability to treat patients from the earliest sign of MS with therapy that has an excellent safety profile over 16 years,' said David Bates, Professor of Clinical Neurology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and Chairman of the MS Forum.

The label extension is based on results from the BENEFIT(a) study which showed that Betaferon(R) 250 mcg treatment in the early phase of the disease reduced the risk of developing CDMS by 50% compared with placebo(1,b). Furthermore, patients in the Betaferon(R) group were two times better protected(c) than placebo-treated patients against developing MS as defined by the McDonald diagnostic criteria(2). Left untreated in the placebo group, 85% of people who experienced a first clinical event went on to be diagnosed with MS within two years.

'The results of the BENEFIT trial show that Betaferon can substantially slow down the course of MS in early patients, especially those at the earliest stage of the disease, when it has the greatest impact,' said Darlene Jody, MD, Head of Specialized Therapeutics Global Business Unit at Schering Group.

A supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) requesting an expanded label for Betaferon (marketed as Betaseron(R) in the U.S.) was filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by Berlex, Inc., a U.S. affiliate of Schering AG, in February 2006 and is pending review.

The Betaferon(R) extended indication is for the treatment of patients with a single demyelinating event with an active inflammatory process, if it is severe enough to warrant treatment with intravenous corticosteroids, if alternative diagnoses have been excluded, and if they are determined to be at high risk of developing clinically definite multiple sclerosis. The results of the BENEFIT study were used to define the high risk criteria for identifying patients appropriate for Betaferon(R) treatment. The criteria reflect the differences in disease dissemination among patients with monofocal(d) and multifocal(d) onset of disease with a first clinical event suggestive of MS.

Betaferon is also indicated for the treatment of:
- Patients with relapsing remitting MS and two or more relapses within the last two years
- Patients with secondary progressive MS with active disease, evidenced by relapses."

Did you know that MS symptoms often stabilize or remit during pregnancy? - Click for full article
"Studies show that MS has no adverse effects on the course of pregnancy. In fact, symptoms often temporarily improve. Scientists believe this may be related to a natural suppression of the immune system that occurs in the uterus during pregnancy. This suppression is a mechanism that protects the fetus. Otherwise, a woman's immune system might identify her fetus as foreign tissue. MS is an autoimmune disease-a disease in which the body attacks its own tissues. That's why changes in a woman's immune system during pregnancy may be the reason for a temporary stabilization or remission of MS. A woman with MS may, however, be more likely to experience problems related to the disease after delivery. Doctors say between 20% and 40% of women with MS experience a relapse in the three months following childbirth. There is no evidence, however, that the overall course of disease is affected by pregnancy or childbirth. It is very important that women with MS discuss pregnancy or any plans to become pregnant with their doctors. One reason is that some drugs used to treat MS may cause birth defects. Also, some drugs can be passed to a child during breast feeding................"

Varicose Veins: The! Tangled Web They Weave: Brigham And Women's Hospital - A Harvard Affiliate:
"Can I Get Rid of Them?
Varicose veins and spider veins: If you suffer from painful or unsightly leg veins, you’re not alone. Varicose veins affect an estimated 40 percent of women and 25 percent of men in the U.S.; and about 50 percent of women and 20 percent of men have spider veins. How do these veins develop? In medium-sized veins, a series of valves keeps the blood flowing in the right direction. When the valves fail or the muscle walls weaken, tiny amounts of blood pool inside the veins and form a varicose vein. Another, less extreme type of varicose vein is a spider vein. These thin red or purplish networks of very fine veins near the surface of the skin take their name from the pattern they form, often resembling a tangle of spiders. Learn more."

Calcium...The best heart test? - :
"As doctors become more adept at predicting heart attacks, they're paying increasing attention to calcium, whose presence can signal trouble long before a patient feels sick. Atherosclerosis, the most common form of heart disease, occurs when plaque accumulates in the walls of the coronary arteries.
Calcium, more than bones and teeth

Plaque can restrict blood flow, leading to chest pain, shortness of breath, and heart attacks. And calcium is a marker for plaque. 'The problem with cholesterol is that it indirectly measures health risks - you're looking at someone's blood to see what their arteries are doing,' says Dr. Shelton Thomas of Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists in Richmond. 'Thirty percent of people who have heart attacks have normal cholesterol. But if you have normal cholesterol and a high calcium score, then we know that you're putting plaque in your arteries. It's the plaque that can kill you.....'"

Health: Researchers Scramble For Alzheimer's Cure : "University of Washington scientists are testing two new drugs they hope will ease the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease patients.
One of the new medications seeks to remove the brain-altering plaque that partially causes Alzheimer's, the other is designed to prevent its production....."

Studies: Walking May Ward Off Alzheimer's: "The health benefits of regular walking may include helping prevent mental decline and Alzheimer's disease, research in patients aged 70 and up has found, bolstering evidence that exercise needn't be strenuous to be good for you.
There's plenty of evidence that mental exercise, such as crossword puzzles and reading, may reduce Alzheimer's risks, but previous studies on brain benefits from physical exercise had conflicting results..........."

"About 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's now, although that number could be far larger if it included the millions of people who are in the early stages of the disease and have yet not had it diagnosed. And the oldest Baby Boomers, now in their 60s, are heading into the decades when Alzheimer's is most likely to strike.

About 5 percent of people ages 65 to 74 have Alzheimer's disease, and by age 85, people have a nearly 50-50 chance of suffering Alzheimer's, the National Institute on Aging says. The number of new cases is growing every year, and by 2050, the affliction could strike 14 million Americans." [National Institute on Aging"

Exercise, diet could cut Alzheimers risk : "Regular exercise and a healthy diet could go a long way to reducing the risk of developing Alzheimers disease, a medical expert said on Thursday.A recent Finnish study showed that middle-aged people taking regular exercise at least twice a week could reduce their risk of developing Alzheimers disease by 50 percent in old age, neurologist Miia Kivipelto said at a conference in Amsterdam...An active lifestyle, both physical, mental and social, is preventive. Its never too early to start to prevent Alzheimer9s disease, said Kivipelto, an Alzheimers disease specialist at Stockholms Gerontology Research Centre...."

Studies: Walking May Ward Off Alzheimer's :
"The health benefits of regular walking may include helping prevent mental decline and Alzheimer's disease, research in patients aged 70 and up has found, bolstering evidence that exercise needn't be strenuous to be good for you.
There's plenty of evidence that mental exercise, such as crossword puzzles and reading, may reduce Alzheimer's risks, but previous studies on brain benefits from physical exercise had conflicting results.

The new findings, contained in two studies, clarify how much exercise might be beneficial and are good news for older people who want to avoid mental decline but "don't like doing all that awful, sweaty stuff," said Bill Thies, vice president for medical and scientific affairs of the Alzheimer's Association....."

Big Pharma Joins Forces to Challenge Alzheimer's Ruling ; DRUGS_ Rivals to Hold Strategy Meeting:
" Executives from five rival pharmaceutical companies will meet at the offices of a City law firm tomorrow to thrash out their response to a government decision to deny Alzheimer's drugs to thousands of patients. The industry's relationship with the Government is becoming more tense. Representatives from Pfizer, Shire, Novartis, Lundbeck and Eisai, as well as from the Alzheimer's Society, are expected to discuss whether they will launch a unified appeal, rather than a barrage of individual claims, against the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), and if so, on what grounds.

In its final appraisal on a group of Alzheimer's treatments, Nice - the government-funded body that decides which drugs can be made available through the NHS - ruled late last month that the NHS should pay for treatments only for moderate cases of the disease. Patients with mild and severe symptoms will not be eligible. Lundbeck, which sells the drug Ebixa, was particularly hard hit by the decision, as that treatment is targeted only at severe cases and will no longer be available. The other products, Ari-cept, Reminyl and Exelon - developed by Pfizer/Eisai, Shire and Novartis respectively - are prescribed for both mild and moderate cases, so the blow is not as heavy. The Alzheimer's Society called the decision to prohibit the treat -ments that can slow the progression of the disease and which cost pounds 2.50 per day 'disgraceful' and 'outrageous'. Any appeals must be lodged by 15 June....."

Anti-Constipation Drug Found Especially Useful for Older Patients - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today:
"The Medicare set may benefit even more than younger patients from the new anti-constipation drug Amitiza (lubiprostone), investigators reported at Digestive Disease Week sessions here.

Indeed, elderly patients may be a particular target for Amitiza, according to a team of researchers from Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, the drug's manufacturer, who presented data in a poster session.

'We were looking in our pivotal trials at the efficacy of Amitiza in a subgroup [consisting of] of elderly patients,' said Sucampo's associate director of clinical development, Taryn R. Joswick, B.S. 'We found they had a lower rate of adverse events, a lower incidence of nausea.'

Previous research convinced the FDA that Amitiza is safe and effective for chronic constipation in adult patients in general, including older patients, and the agency approved the drug at the end of January. But constipation is particularly common among the elderly. Between 15% and 20% of Americans 65 or older suffer from the ailment by some estimates, and it may affect up to half of all nursing home residents.

Amitiza works differently from any other drug so far approved for chronic constipation, she noted. It acts through chloride channels to increase the fluid in the intestines, speeding transit in the intestines and colon..... "

Liz Taylor Dismisses Alzheimer's Report
(The New York Times: FREE 1-TIME REGISTRATION)

Botox Soothes Overactive Bladder
- [CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today]
"Botox (botulinum toxin type A) injected directly into the bladder's detrusor muscle at 30 different sites not only tamed an overactive organ but kept the bladder calm for almost a year, according to Swiss researchers.

Unlike Botox treatments in other muscular disorders or for cosmetic repair, where injections must be repeated at frequent intervals, one injection could provide a long-term cure, Daniel Schmid Jr., M.D., of the University of Zurich reported at the American Urological Association meeting here.

"We were very surprised that we didn't have to re-inject these people after three months or six months," Dr. Schmid said.

Nine months after the initial treatment, 82% of 150 patients, refractory to anticholinergics, who were treated with Botox, were continent, a statistically significant improvement (P<.001 level), Dr. Schmid said. "We can now say that the mean effectiveness of one series of injections is 11 months," he added.

At 11 months, 43% of the patients did not require any further treatment, while 23% of the patients have required re-injections. Thirty-one percent of patients have been able to control the return of urgency with anticholinergic drugs...."

Patients Fail To Grasp Importance of Cholesterol Numbers
"Patients may not be getting the message about the heart risks associated with dyslipidemia when the message is delivered by-the-numbers, according to researchers here.

A better way to drive home the message is to concentrate on cardiovascular risk-adjusted age-a formula that homes in on the grim fact that, as an example, a 42-year-old man with elevated Framingham Heart Score has the heart of a 70-year-old man, Brown researchers reported in the May-June issue of Annals of Family Medicine....."

Harvard Medical: The Skinny on Fat
"It’s especially easy these days to feel that the gurus of health don’t know what they’re talking about. What else would explain the recent results from the large, 8-year-long Women’s Health Initiative study showing that a low fat diet—long a mainstay of government healthy eating recommendations—does almost nothing to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, or colon cancer?....."

Vaccine to Cut Risk of Shingles in Older People Is Approved - New York Times:
"Federal drug regulators have approved the first vaccine intended to reduce the risk of shingles in people 60 and older.

The vaccine, called Zostavax, is a souped-up version of the chickenpox vaccine. Both chickenpox and shingles are caused by the herpes zoster virus, which is present in almost everyone. .Zostavax, made by Merck, works by mimicking a shingles attack, but without the pain or blisters that shingles causes. The vaccine strengthens the body's immune response against the virus, reducing the chances of an outbreak, as well as the severity of the disease if it does occur.The science behind the vaccine is relatively simple. Zostavax is roughly equivalent to 14 doses of the pediatric chickenpox vaccine. Nonetheless, Zostavax represents a significant breakthrough, several scientists said. It is the first therapeutic vaccine, meaning it prevents or eases the severity of the problems from an infection that has already occurred.Scientists have been hoping..."

OUR NEW WEBSITE: "ARICEPT NEWS"....[click here]
ARICEPT is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD)...

OUR NEW WEBSITE: "EXELON NEWS"....[click here]
Exelon is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD)...

"Common antidepressant medications may increase the risk of death in heart patients by as much as 55 percent.":
Researchers say many more studies need to be done. Past studies have found a link between depression and heart disease. Because of that, doctors have increasingly prescribed anti-depressants for heart patients."

InPharm.com - life support for the pharmaceutical industry: "Specialist pharma company Phytopharm says it is confident of finding a partner to develop and market one of its lead products, which could be a breakthrough in Alzheimer's disease. Pre-clinical studies suggest Cogane could actually reverse the effects of Alzheimer's disease, but the company's latest phase II trials have been inconclusive. The trials showed the drug was safe, but patients taking the treatment showed no better outcomes than those taking a placebo. The company says the Alzheimer's patients in the placebo group did not show the deterioration in cognitive function that would normally be expected, thereby possibly concealing any possible benefits of the new drug...."

NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) Issues its Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) on the use of Drugs for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

Parkinson's study tries 'neurobiology of music': "Researcher wants to know which beats help patients improve movement...Howard Tomlinson and his wife of 57 years, Joy, recently returned from an 11-day Caribbean cruise, with stops in Panama and Costa Rica.

The Katy couple always have enjoyed dancing, though since the onset of Parkinson's disease about four years ago, Howard Tomlinson's capacity for cutting a rug has been somewhat diminished...."

Key stress protein linked to toxicities responsible for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's:
"Protein Disulphide Isomerase identified as marker for disease, potential drug target/// Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have discovered a mechanistic link between cellular stress caused by free radicals and accumulation of misfolded proteins that lead to nerve cell injury and death in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.... "

Behavioral problems common with Alzheimer's - Unmet needs can lead to agitation and restlessness
"Alzheimer's disease is commonly associated with poor short-term memory, impaired judgment and communication difficulties. While these aspects of the disease are frustrating for the person who is diagnosed and his caregiver, the onset of behavioral symptoms as the illness progresses can present further challenges, especially for the caregiver.

Behavioral symptoms are common as the person progresses into the middle stage of Alzheimer's disease. Agitation, often accompanied by restlessness and fidgeting, is one of the most common symptoms.

Agitation can result from unmet needs. As the person with memory impairment experiences difficulty in communication, including expressing thoughts verbally and processing information, he will begin to have difficulty recognizing and communicating basic needs. Something as simple as asking for a drink of water may be difficult.

If the caregiver does not realize subtle changes from day to day and recognize when more assistance is needed, the person with memory impairment may go for extended periods without basic needs like hydration being met.

Certainly, caregivers do not intentionally ignore these basic needs. Rather, the nuisances of this illness and the changes in their loved ones can happen so gradually that the caregiver misses early warning signs indicating the person needs more help.

When basic needs like hunger, pain and discomfort are overlooked, the person with memory impairment may become restless or fidgety leading to agitation. Caregivers can be proactive by paying close attention to whether their loved ones are able to meet their own needs throughout the day.

For example, hydration is critical on any given day but particularly on hot, summer days in our humid climate. Monitoring the fluid intake of the person with memory impairment is very important since he may not recognize his need for hydration or may not know how to go about getting himself a glass of water.

In addition to basic physical needs that should be assessed to determine why a person may be experiencing agitation, careful consideration of the environmental factors should be taken into account. Lighting, heat index and noise level can all affect a person with memory impairment.

Lighting is an important factor in caring for a person with memory impairment, especially in the middle stages. If a room is poorly lit, shadows and darkness throughout the room can be disturbing and confusing to the person with memory impairment. Allowing natural light to flow into the home during daytime hours and turning on lamps and overhead lights as the sun sets will help the person be less confused and reduce agitation.

The temperature of the home can also aid in reducing the risk of agitation. Keeping the room at a comfortable temperature helps eliminate the chance of the person becoming agitated. If he is too warm and does not know how to communicate his discomfort to his caregiver, he will likely become irritable and agitated.

While many of us carefully consider how we use air-conditioning in our homes as the cost of electricity continues to soar, it is important to weigh the benefits of saving a few more dollars vs. possibly increasing your loved one's agitation if the home is not a comfortable temperature. Turning the temperature too high on the air-conditioning and closing the window shades throughout the home may result in undesirable behavioral symptoms in the person with memory impairment.

A noisy environment can also result in agitation in the person. Because the person is experiencing difficulty processing information, overstimulation may cause increased confusion.

If a caregiver has the radio playing in the kitchen and the television going in the living room, it may be very difficult to get the person with memory impairment to sit down at the dining room table to eat dinner.

Eliminate unnecessary noise in the environment when trying to get the person with memory impairment to focus on a task.

Agitation may happen for reasons not obvious to the caregiver. It may occur as a result of communication or interaction that seemed innocent but caused frustration in the person with memory impairment, which then escalated to the point of agitation.

This can easily happen when a caregiver tries to reason with the person or tries to make him do something he does not want to do or does not understand. The caregiver is innocently trying to "help" the person, but instead causes agitation due to the person's inability to understand logic and reasoning or his inability to understand the verbal communication....."

Press Release: Medical Intelligence announces the expanded distribution of Columba phone-bracelets in France [click for full press release]
" This way, not only will the families of Alzheimer's patients be able to order the Columba phone-bracelets from France Telecom stores, branded as "Handicap Solutions", as originally expected, but they will also have access to the product through any France Telecom or Mobistore agency........The Columba phone-bracelet to prevent disappearance among Alzheimer's patients is a definitive solution to the problems of wandering and straying caused by Alzheimer's disease. Combining "handsfree" portable telephone, GPS positioning system and intelligent alert system that detects any wandering outside of a security zone, the Columba device is able to quickly locate the person who has strayed this pre-defined zone, thereby reducing the risks associated with Alzheimer's patients' wanderings."

Metabolic syndrome raises risk of heart failure

Heart Slowdown Rate Predicts Post-MI Mortality Risk - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today: "The ability of the heart to slow down is a better predictor of mortality after a heart attack than the current gold standard measure, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), according to researchers here. 'This new measure can detect high-risk patients even if the current gold-standard measure fails,' said Georg Schmidt, M.D., of the Munich University of Technology..... "

Women at greater risk of heart disease than men: "Breast cancer gets more attention, but cardiovascular diseases kill 10 times as many women

Erectile dysfunction: Three links between erectile dysfunction and heart disease - Mayo Clinic:
"Erectile dysfunction can be a wake-up call that you are at risk for heart disease. The same factors that contribute to heart disease %u2014 smoking, cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and others %u2014 can cause sexual problems.......more"

Alzheimer's caregivers want time: "An Alzheimer's Foundation of America survey of U.S. family caregivers of loved ones with Alzheimer's found they could use more time.

The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive and sponsored by Forest Pharmaceuticals, illustrates the social and emotional ramifications of caregiving for individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Sixty-two percent of respondents noted less time for themselves; 53 percent said they were not able to go out as often as before; 46 percent described themselves as more anxious, stressed or burned out; and 45 percent said they don't see friends as often.

However, 64 percent of caregivers learned they are stronger than they thought they were, and 46 percent said they have become more compassionate since caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease....."

Diagnostic for mini-strokes effective
A U.S. study found an accelerated diagnostic protocol for stroke in hospitals was less costly, had shorter hospitals stays and comparable clinical outcomes.

Study leader Dr. Michael Ross said some 300,000 Americans per year are diagnosed with Transient Ischemic Attack, or mini-stroke, and more than 10 percent will suffer a stroke within 90 days, with 64 percent of those strokes disabling, and 5 percent will experience a major cardiac event. Traditionally, these patients are admitted for a series of diagnostic tests that take several days.

Hip resurfacing new option for hip pain

Inside Your Brain: An Interactive Tour:
"What happens in the brain of a person with Alzheimers disease? This tour explains how the brain works and how Alzheimer's affects it."

Press Release: A proposed drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease achieve positive results in a Phase II clinical trial
The compound TC-1734 could be used as a treatment for age associated memory impairment. It was discovered by Targacept researchers utilizing a molecular design platform designed at Targacept.

Targacept is developing the drug along with AstraZeneca.

Smaller Brain Regions Presage Drift into Alzheimer's: "Patients with mild cognitive impairment who have smaller-than-average hippocampal volumes are more likely to progress from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease, researchers here have found.

Those with mild cognitive impairment who develop Alzheimer's also have evidence of greater atrophy of specific regions of the hippocampus, reported Liana G. Apostolova, M.D., and colleagues, of the University of California at Los Angeles.

In contrast, patients with larger hippocampal volumes are more likely to either remain mildly impaired or improve over time, the authors wrote in the May 8 issue of Archives of Neurology....."

Heart Disease & Stroke: The Facts

Does Maintenance Therapy Reduce Depression in Seniors?: "Maintenance therapy with antidepressants and psychotherapy may reduce the risk of depression recurrence in elderly patients who have single-episode depression, according to a University of Pittsburgh study. The study also demonstrated that those with fewer coexisting chronic conditions received greater benefits from paroxetine than participants who were not as healthy. Maintenance with psychotherapy did not appear to prevent recurrent depression. "

Heart Failure Linked to Dementia Risk
Results of a new study suggest an association between heart failure and an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in elderly subjects.

New strategy for Alzheimer's under study:
"A possible strategy for preventing or treating Alzheimer's disease and other brain and spinal cord damage has been uncovered by researchers.

The study team, from the San Francisco Veteran Administration Medical Center and the University of North Carolina, identified several compounds that reportedly could play a role in treating degenerative conditions of the nervous system."

Heart disease risk factors may bring on menopause:
"Women with more risk factors for cardiovascular disease tend to enter menopause earlier than women without cardiovascular risk factors, according to an analysis of data from the Framingham Heart Study...."

Persistent Pain Common After Stroke:
"Results of a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry suggest that patient-reported pain is common shortly after stroke and the pain may persist for months...."

Cognitive Impairment in Older Physicians May Be Widespread:
"As many as 8000 physicians in current practice are likely to have some form of cognitive impairment, and the existing medical literature provides little guidance. .... "

FDA approves varenicline (Chantix) to help people quit smoking - Mayo Clinic: "If you're ready to quit smoking, a new medication may help you kick the habit.
Varenicline (Chantix) is the latest addition to the arsenal of quit-smoking aids approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Like other similar products, Chantix helps ease nicotine withdrawal symptoms. But there's a twist. The drug also blocks the effects of nicotine if you begin to smoke again.
Chantix is a prescription medication sold in tablet form. It's intended to be taken for 12 weeks. If you quit smoking during that time, your doctor may prescribe Chantix for another 12 weeks to enhance long-term success. ...."

High blood pressure: Get the most out of home monitoring - Mayo Clinic:
"Checking your own blood pressure at home is an important part of managing high blood pressure. Learn how to use home monitors safely and accurately."

5 Simple Steps for Women Nationwide To Take Charge of Their Heart Health During Women's Health Week:
The American Heart Association's Go Red For Women movement is encouraging women to follow 5 simple steps, during National Women's Health Week, to take charge of their heart health. While no time is better than the present, women can begin this new and improved lifestyle while preparing for the summer months

5 Simple Steps for Women To Take Charge of Their Heart Health During Women's

Bad Gums Connected to Heart Disease

Omega-3 goes mainstream:
" In the days after the Jan. 2 Sago Mine explosion disaster, the only survivor, Randal McCloy Jr., was experiencing multiple organ failure and severe brain damage.
Dr. Julian Bailes, McCloy's neurosurgeon at the West Virginia University School of Medicine and head of the trauma center, was up to speed on the latest benefits of the 'miracle molecule' omega-3 fatty acids when he phoned Barry Sears of Zone Diet fame to ask about a recommended dose for the very ill miner.....After being in a coma for weeks and in rehab for months, the miner is stiff and thin but walking on his own and exercising his weak right arm.

Besides helping heal the brain, omega-3, which is probably one of the most studied natural supplements, has passed muster in helping heal the heart, pancreas, immune system and joints. Potent anti-inflammatories, omega-3 fish oil supplements contain the same fatty acids — DHA and EPA — found in fish.

Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, said many studies have confirmed omega-3 supplements reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death and protect against cardiovascular diseases.

"This has more evidence-based science than any other supplement," said Dr. Steven Lamm, an internist at New York University School of Medicine. "Here is one example where more is better," Lamm said.

But just how much? Dr. Joseph Hibbeln of the National Institutes of Health has studied the role of omega-3 fatty acids in depression and noted that 9 grams a day of omega-3 fatty acids are as potent as a prescription antidepressant for some patients. Others say the body needs a minimum of 4 grams a day...."

Listen to your heart - MSNBC.com: "As a wife and mom, Sharon Markey hasnt always listened to her heart. Two months ago it almost killed her.
The 38-year-old Newtown Township mother of three diagnosed her indigestion as a leftover from a dinner party the night before. Within 24 hours, doctors told her she had a heart attack, and that she might need a new heart.
While her heart condition was rare, that Markey missed signs she was having a heart attack is all too common, doctors say. It's one reason why heart problems are the No. 1 killer of American women.
The gender gap in heart care has improved over the last 15 years, but it still exists, medical professionals say. A recent American Heart Association study found that women's chest pain is often not taken as seriously as mens.
Many doctors say the problem is a lingering perception that heart disease is a man's problem - an old man's problem....."

What we risk for taste - Trans fats make fast foods delicious but dangerous
"....Last month, researchers writing in the New England Journal of Medicine came up with a startling calculation buried deep in their exhaustive review of dozens of trans fat studies published over more than a decade.

Near elimination of artificially produced trans fats would avert between 72,000 and 228,000 heart attacks and deaths from coronary heart disease in the U.S. each year.

"The evidence for harm is considerable," said lead author Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "There really is little reason for having them in the food supply."

Banning the substances, which are devoid of nutritional value, should be considered, said Mozaffarian, who also works as an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

"The wisest thing to do is to eliminate anything made in partially hydrogenated oils," he said...."

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I AM SORRY! WE HAVE HAD A PROBLEM YESTERDAY !

We are in the process of adding more security to our websites to prevent hackers from accessing them. We are converting all photos so that we can host them on our own website. The good news is that we have have had 92,200 visitors as of today!

Sincerely,
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Neuropathologic changes in Alzheimer's disease: potential targets for treatment

New Guidelines Offer Power to Prevent Stroke....MORE
American Heart Association/American Stroke Association scientific statement

"Healthy habits and appropriate treatments help prevent stroke, according to graded, evidenced-based recommendations issued today by the American Heart Association and it's division, the American Stroke Association.

These "primary prevention" guidelines are published in the rapid access issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death and a major source of disability in the United States. Every year about 700,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke, resulting in nearly 158,000 deaths. From 1993 - 2003, the stroke death rate fell 18.5%, but the actual number of stroke deaths declined only 0.7%, according to 2006 association statistics.

"Stroke remains a major public health problem. Its human and economic toll is staggering," said Larry B. Goldstein, MD, the guidelines' lead author and chair of the association's Stroke Council.

The estimated direct and indirect cost of stroke in 2006 is $57.9 billion.

"Stroke can be prevented and we are learning more about ways of accomplishing that," said Goldstein, professor of medicine (neurology) and director of the Duke Center for Cerebrovascular Disease at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. The guidelines addressed risks that can't be altered and those that can be influenced.

Non-modifiable risk factors
Risk factors that can't be changed include age, gender, race/ethnicity and family history. Older people, men, African Americans, and people with a family history of stroke are generally at greater risk than others.

Modifiable risk factors
In the guidelines, modifiable risk factors are categorized as "well-documented" or "less well-documented or potentially modifiable."

The guidelines reiterate some well-known prevention measures such as controlling high blood pressure, not smoking, avoiding exposure to secondhand smoke, being physically active and treating disorders that increase the risk of stroke such as atrial fibrillation (a type of irregular heartbeat), carotid artery disease and heart failure.

The guidelines suggest physicians consider using a risk assessment tool such as the Framingham Stroke Profile to assess patients' risk.

"It is important to identify patients at high risk of stroke because research shows that many strokes can be prevented if those individuals modify their risk factors," Goldstein said.....[more]

Navigating patients and caregivers through the course of Alzheimer's disease - Abstract

Neuroprotection in vascular dementia

Doctor's Guide - Abstract: This review article discusses the current understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms and lesion types that underlie vascular dementia, methods for diagnosing this condition, the role that ischemic processes play in the development of this condition, clinical research findings on the use of various agents for treatment, and the benefits of treating identifiable vascular risk factors

FDA Approves Smoking-Cessation Drug :
"The FDA today approved the smoking-cessation drug Chantix (varenicline tartrate), which targets nicotine receptors in the brain.

The approval followed a priority review that the FDA said was necessary because of the drug's 'significant potential benefit to public health.'"

FDA Flashes Red Light on Green Tea Heart Benefits: "Green tea does not lower heart-disease risk, according to the FDA. The agency rejected a request for a 'qualified health claim' that would have permitted labeling for cardiovascular benefits from the consumption of green tea, either as a drink or a dietary supplement. In its letter of denial, the FDA concluded that the studies presented to support the claim were flawed in design, inconclusive, or found no evidence of a beneficial relationship."

15 ways to live longer...Forbes.com

Women Low on Testosterone Get Boost from Patch
BOSTON — Hormone-deficient women who tried a testosterone patch for a year grew stronger bones, bigger muscles, and a more robust libido, according to a study here.

"Seniors must act fast or pay the price" (Click to read full story - Chicago Tribune)

"6.5 million seniors have 6 days to make sense of the Medicare maze and pick a plan"

"....This is the first time Medicare is paying for prescription drugs, an essential and expensive treatment for most seniors, and the largest expansion of the government health plan in more than 40 years. But persuading seniors to sign up has been an uphill battle.

Like Mayer, large numbers of people are baffled by the complexity of Medicare's drug benefit, which is being administered by dozens of private companies. And like him, they're weighing the costs of joining against the benefits, and worrying about a financial penalty for people who don't sign up in time. The fine is 1 percent of an average drug plan's monthly premium.

Even critics of the drug program say this is reason enough to take the plunge.

"Select a plan now and avoid the penalty," said Vicki Gottlich, a senior attorney with the Center for Medicare Advocacy. "Insurance is important. You get car insurance and hope you never have an accident. So, get drug insurance even if you hope you won't need it."

Elaine Aulig, a MS patient, takes medications to keep the disease and its complications under control. Copaxone, costs more than $1,400 a month. Until February, Aulig's former company was paying for her prescriptions; now she belongs to Blue Medicare Rx Standard, a Medicare drug plan offered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. But with a $250 deductible, the $2,850 doughnut hole, a $27 monthly premium, and drug co-payments, her expenses will still come to almost $5,000 a year, Aulig estimated....."

HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL:
Improve Your Memory: 10 research-proven tips for a better memory

"Normal age-related changes in the brain can slow some cognitive processes, making it a bit harder to learn new things quickly or to ward off distractions. The good news is that, thanks to decades of research, most of us can sharpen our minds with proven, do-it-yourself strategies. Here are some ways to boost your ability to remember as you age.

1. Believe in yourself.

Myths about aging can contribute to a failing memory. Middle-aged and older learners do worse on memory tasks when exposed to negative stereotypes about aging and memory, and better if exposed to messages about memory preservation into old age.

2. Economize your brain use.

Take advantage of calendars and planners, maps, shopping lists, file folders, and address books to keep routine information accessible. Designate a place at home for your glasses, keys, and other items you use frequently.

3. Organize your thoughts.

New information that’s broken into smaller chunks, such as the hyphenated sections of a phone or social security number, is easier to remember than a single long list, such as financial account numbers or the name of everyone in a classroom.

4. Use all your senses.

The more senses you use when you learn something, the more of your brain will be involved in retaining the memory. For example, odors are famous for conjuring memories from the distant past, especially those with strong emotional content, such as visits to a cookie-baking grandparent.

5. Expand your brain.

Widen the brain regions involved in learning by reading aloud, drawing a picture, or writing down the information you want to learn (even if you never look back at your notes). Just forming a visual image of something makes it easier to remember and understand; it forces you to make the information more precise.

6. Repeat after me.

When you want to remember something you have just heard or thought about, repeat it out loud. For example, if you’ve just been told someone’s name, use it when you speak with him or her: “So John, where did you meet Camille?”

7. Space it out.

Instead of repeating something many times in a short period, as if you were cramming for an exam, re-study the essentials after increasingly longer periods of time — once an hour, then every few hours, then every day. Spacing out periods of study is particularly valuable when you are trying to master complicated information.

8. Make a mnemonic.

Mnemonic devices are creative ways to remember lists. They can take the form of acronyms — such as the classic “Every good boy does fine,” to remember the musical notes E, G, B, D, and F on the lines of the treble clef. For older learners, a particularly helpful system is a story mnemonic — that is, a brief narrative in which each item cues you to remember the next one.

9. Challenge yourself.

Engaging in activities that require you to concentrate and tax your memory will help you maintain skills as you age. Discuss books, do crossword puzzles, try new recipes, travel, and undertake projects or hobbies that require skills you aren’t familiar or comfortable with.

10. Take a course.

Memory-improvement courses are becoming more common. Choose one run by health professionals or experts in psychology or cognitive rehabilitation. Stay away from courses that center on computer or concentration games, which generally won’t help you with real-life memory problems. Select a course that focuses on practical ways to manage everyday challenges.

For more information on the many things you can do to protect and improve your memory, order our special health report, Improving Memory: Understanding and preventing age-related memory loss, available at www.health.harvard.edu/IM."

Where There's Smoke There's Often an ICD That Fires :
" Smokers, even former smokers, with an implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) are more likely to be shocked than are patients who never smoked, researchers here found.

Current smokers have more than a sevenfold increase in risk of appropriate shocks and former smokers are more than five times more likely to receive appropriate shocks than never-smokers"

Eisai Will Initiate First Clinical Study for E2012, A Potential New Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease

Statin Therapy Improved Retinal Blood Circulation - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today

Ultrasound Can Help Predict Heart Attack Risk :
"Ultrasound imaging to detect plaque buildup (atherosclerosis) in the carotid artery of the neck may help doctors predict heart attack and other cardiac events in adults considered at low-risk for heart disease.

That's the conclusion of a study presented Monday at the American Heart Association's seventh Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke, in Washington, D.C.

"A significant proportion of people who have heart attacks do not have traditional heart disease risk factors," study lead author Dr. Kwame O. Akosah, associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin, said in a prepared statement.

"In this study, we looked at whether using carotid ultrasound -- a simple, noninvasive, relatively cheap test that is available in many doctors' offices -- might help identify which patients are at risk for cardiac events," Akosah said.

He noted that atherosclerosis is systemic -- if there's plaque buildup in the carotid artery, it may also be present in other important arteries, such as the coronary and leg arteries......"

Men More Likely to Die From Stroke Than Women - FOXNews.com - :
"Men may be more likely to die or develop serious complications from a stroke than women.

A new study shows that despite the fact that men tend to have strokes at an earlier age than women, they face an 8 percent higher risk of death and 90 percent higher risk of developing pneumonia as a complication of a stroke.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S.; each year more than 700,000 people suffer a stroke. Researchers say the results suggest that although men tend to have strokes at a younger age, they may be more vulnerable after a stroke..."

VSM reports progress on using MEG for diagnosing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's

Alzheimer's programs could face funding cut
:
"President Bush has proposed eliminating $20M in grants"

Brain Change in Mild Cognitive Impairment:
"Mild cognitive impairment, a memory disorder considered an early predictor of Alzheimer's disease, results in structural brain changes, a U.S. study finds.

I think our study provides an anatomical basis for the clinical condition of mild cognitive impairment, says study leader Dr. Joseph Parisi, a Mayo Clinic neuropathologist. This shows that there are structural changes in the brains of patients who may develop Alzheimer's disease.

Autopsies were performed by Mayo Clinic pathologists on the brains of 15 people who died while they had clinical mild cognitive impairment, as well as on the brains of 28 patients who were cognitively normal and 23 with probable Alzheimer's....."

InDepth: Osteoporosis.....Brigham And Women's Hospital: CLICK HERE FOR MORE:
"Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become weak and brittle. If left unchecked, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks (fracture). Any bone can be affected, but of special concern are fractures of the hips, spine, and wrists. If diagnosed early, progression of osteoporosis can be slowed and complications prevented....."

The Age of Boomers ; Keep Your Brain in Mind During Daily Activities:
"There are two Alzheimer's disease and dementia risk factors that you can'tcontrol:
genetics and aging. But it's smart to cut your risk by keeping your brain and body
sharp, said geriatrician Dr. Teresa Catron....."

Study: Diet may cut Alzheimer's risk : "The diet he tested includes eating lots of vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals and fish, while limiting intake of meat and dairy products, drinking moderate amounts of alcohol and emphasizing monounsaturated fats, such as in olive oil, over saturated fats. Previous research has suggested that such an approach can reduce the risk of heart disease......"

Nymox AlzheimAlert Findings To Be Presented at Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association

Heart disease manifests later in women:
"A U.S. cardiologist says heart disease usually manifests in women at 60 instead of 50 as in men, when women's bodies are weaker and less able to fight disease.

'The problem has been growing for years,' says Dr. Erica Jones, an associate professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and an associate attending physician at the Iris Cantor Women's Health Center of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.

'But women have been slow to respond and get the preventative screenings and immediate medical help that can save their life. They need to.'......"

Menu made for maintaining the mind:
"Consume chocolate, nuts and red wine. Who could argue with that?...."

Alzheimer's Theory Set For Drug Test:
"A provocative new theory suggests that one root cause of Alzheimer's disease is linked to diabetes _ a theory about to be tested in thousands of Alzheimer's patients given the diabetes drug Avandia in hopes of slowing brain decay. It's a scary scenario: Alzheimer's already is expected to skyrocket as the population grays, rising from 4.5 million sufferers today to a staggering 14 million by 2050. If the new theory is right, the nation's current obesity-fueled epidemic of Type 2 diabetes could worsen that toll. But proponents see potential good news: If diabetic-like changes in the way brain cells use sugar to generate energy truly trigger Alzheimer's in at least some patients, then maybe doctors could intervene early and slow down that degeneration....."

Long Term Statin Drug Use Safe According to Safety Task Force; Nymox Has Global Patent Rights for Statin Drugs for the Treatment and Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease

Cache at Forefront in Alzheimer's Research: "The research laboratory is huge, an entire county in northern Utah where more than 90 percent of residents 65 and older agreed to be studied. And it's likely that when proven prevention, treatment or even a cure for Alzheimer's disease are found, Cache County will have played some role."

Moms Most Likely to Pass Heart Disease on to Kids - Forbes.com:
" Mothers pass on much that is good to their children, but a new study shows there's one gift most would rather not receive -- heart disease...."

PLEASE HELP!!!

Date: Wednesday - April 26th and Thursday April 27th
Time: 8:00 am to 1:00pm
Location: Barrow Neurological Institute Lobby
Contact Information: www.Bloodhero.com [Sponsor Code: "stjoes"]

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Reduces Risk of Death in Heart Disease :
[American College of Cardiology 55th annual meeting]
"In an observational study that involved more than 30,000 people, the risk of mortality was significantly reduced for those who had been taking omega-3 fatty oil supplements, researchers reported at the 55th annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology.

'It looks as it grandma was right, that cod liver oil might have been the best thing you ever ate,' said Vinod Raxwal, M.D., a cardiology fellow at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. 'We found that if people were not taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements they had a 2.96 times risk of dying compared with people who were taking the supplements....'"

Protein Found that Prevents Key Alzheimer's Pathology :
[Abstract: MedpageToday - [Source reference: Chen F et al "TMP21 Is A Presenilin Complex Component That Modulates γ- But Not ε-Secretase Activity" Nature 440;7088.]

"A better understanding of the insidious forces that culminate in Alzheimer's disease was revealed here today. The process of protein slicing that leads to the development and accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients appears to cut both ways, reported Peter St. George-Hyslop, M.D., D.Sc., director of the Center for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease at the University of Toronto, and colleagues, in the April 27 issue of Nature.

A lowly 'cargo transporter' protein called TMP21 seems to play a key role in preventing the abnormal cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP) into beta-amyloid fragments, they found. At the same time, TMP21 does not interfere with a different form of protein cleavage essential for normal cell signaling processes, they said. The discovery could lead the way to new therapies for preventing or treating Alzheimer's, perhaps an analog of TMP21 that targets the abnormal cleavage while leaving other protein slicing functions intact."

Protein splits key to Alzheimers -- study:
[United Press International]
"Researchers said Wednesday they may have found yet another key to the puzzle of how Alzheimer's disease occurs.

Scientists at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of Toronto said they have identified a protein that 'reins in the rogue activity of the molecules that make amyloid-beta peptides,' the suspected culprits in preventing normal brain function in Alzheimer's disease patients..."

Brain Images Link Strokes to Heart Damage :
[Abstract - National Institutes of Health]
"Ischemic strokes in two specific area of the brain appear to send shockwaves through the sympathetic nervous system to cause myocardial injury. Magnetic resonance imaging studies of patients who had new evidence of myocardial damage following an ischemic stroke indicated that infarctions occurring in the right insula and right inferior parietal lobule regions of the brain might be to blame, researchers here reported in an early online release in Neurology.

'The link between the brain and the heart in stroke patients is fascinating,' said A. Gregory Sorensen, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital. 'For instance, most patients with acute stroke have elevated blood pressure that returns to baseline over three to seven days. The connection is believed to be through the autonomic nervous system, but what the mechanism is has been unclear...."

When Implanted Heart Device Fails, Removal is Risky:
[Abstract - Medscape]
"If implanted cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) malfunction, replacement is neither simple nor risk free. Data suggest that ICDs malfunction at a rate 20-fold higher than the pacemaker malfunction rate, which implies that these devices are more likely to be candidates for replacement, according to findings of a survey reported in the April 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association...."

Diet and Exercise Reverse Frailty in Older Obese Patients :
[Abstract - National Library of Medicine]
"Even those of advancing age who are frail and obese can improve their health by diet and exercise, according to a study here.

A small pilot study showed that six months of a reduced-calorie diet combined with behavioral therapy and regular exercise resulted in significant weight loss and improved physical function for these patients, said Dennis T. Villareal, M.D., of the Washington University School of Medicine here."

New Analysis Questions Antipsychotics' Stroke Risk [Psychiatric News]:
"Off-label use of antipsychotic drugs in older patients with dementia is associated with higher risk of strokes, but higher baseline risk or mis-classification of events may account for the difference. ..."

Abstract: Pharmacological Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Dementia: A Review of the Evidence, : "ConclusionsPharmacological therapies are not particularly effective for management of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia. Of the agents reviewed, the atypical antipsychotics risperidone and olanzapine currently have the best evidence for efficacy. However, the effects are modest and further complicated by an increased risk of stroke. Additional trials of cholinesterase inhibitors enrolling patients with high levels of neuropsychiatric symptoms may be warranted. " [Journal of American Medical Association

Abatacept: A new drug for rheumatoid arthritis treatment - MayoClinic.com:
"Abatacept (Orencia) belongs to a new class of drugs called costimulation modulators. Find out how Abatacept can help people with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis."

Dementia: Not always Alzheimer's -.com:
"Many disorders, some curable, can cause dementia. Don't assume it's always Alzheimer's." Mayo Clinic]

Triple-Drug Therapy Reduces Stroke Severity: "When ischemic strokes occur, patients who happen to be taking ACE inhibitors, antiplatelet agents, and statins may have reduced the severity. In a record review of 210 patients who arrived at the hospital within 24 hours of stroke onset, those who had been on the triple therapy had lower National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores and smaller lesions on imaging than patients who were on either two of the three agents, antiplatelet therapy alone, or no therapy......Patients on triple therapy were also more likely to have a shorter length of stay and better functional status on discharge...Magdy Selim, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center here reported in the April 25 issue of Neurology."
[Abstract - medpagetoday]

Neurochem Presents an Update on Tramiprosate (Alzhemed) Program for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease at 9th International Geneva/Springfield Symposium on Advances in Alzheimer Therapy :
"Paul S. Aisen, M.D., Professor of Neurology and Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center, and principal investigator in the United States of the ongoing Phase III clinical trial for tramiprosate (Alzhemed%u2122) presented an update on Neurochem's investigational product candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The presentation by Dr. Aisen took place on April 22, in Geneva, Switzerland, at the 9th International Geneva/Springfield Symposium on Advances in Alzheimer Therapy."
[PharmaLive]

What's Good for the Heart Is Good for the Head - The New York Times :
Healthy habits may prevent more than heart disease and possibly some cancers: they may protect the brain too.
[Free registration to read on NYTimes.com.]

Leuprolide Acetate Stabilises Cognitive Decline in Women With Alzheimer's Disease: "Leuprolide acetate, a drug that is commonly used to treat prostate cancer, appears to produce a significant stabilisation of cognitive function in women with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD)....According to a substudy analysis of a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised, phase 2 clinical trial, the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist leuprolide acetate can significantly stabilise cognitive and global functions in women with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) who are on concomitant cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs)...."
[Abstract - National Institutes of Health]

Art and Alzheimer's.
MoMA offers special program to patients and caregivers

Review examines immunotherapy for Alzheimer disease.
Researchers review immunotherapy for Alzheimer disease and other dementias in a recent issue of Current Opinion in Neurology.
According to the review from England, "The aim of this article is to review the role of immunotherapy in the removal of proteins which accumulate abnormally in neurodegenerative disorders associated with dementia, in particular amyloid-beta accumulation in Alzheimer disease...."

Brain games aim to boost your IQ

Phenserine Tartrate Shows Good Safety and Efficacy for Mild to Moderate Alzheimer's Disease: Presented at AAT: "The cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) phenserine tartrate (PhT) shows significant improvements in cognitive function in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to an evaluation of 2 combined placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised trials.

Lawrence T. Friedhoff, MD, PhD, co-investigator and president, Pharmaceutical Special Projects Group, LCC, a drug development consulting company in New Jersey, presented the findings here April 22nd at the 9th International Geneva/Springfield Symposium on Advances in Alzheimer Therapy (AAT)."

Sticky Brains Don't Dull Memories :
"Plaque on the brain doesn't sound good, but the condition may not be as crippling as once thought. Mice with the gummy deposits-- usually a symptom of Alzheimer's disease--can still have normal memories, according to a new study. The findings suggest a novel target for Alzheimer's drugs and a new way of understanding how the disease ravages the brain, say the researchers."

Buck Institute scientists stop spread of disease in mice:
"Researchers at the Buck Institute today reported a breakthrough in the understanding of how Alzheimer's disease develops in the brain, a discovery that could lead to new therapies for the often devastating affliction.Buck Institute scientists discovered that the act of blocking a newly discovered molecular pathway that may be critical in the development of Alzheimer's can effectively stop memory loss in laboratory mice. The breakthrough appeared today on the online site of the National Academy of Sciences"

John Hopkins researchers say that Viagra reduces the stimulatory effects of hormonal stress on the heart by half
"Viagra – Miracle Drug for Heart Disease – Sidenafil Citrate Can Be Used To Treat Heart Failure and Enlargement...."

The ravages of Alzheimer's - OPINION: "Five patients were sitting in their wheelchairs, grouped around a table. The big man with his back to me had his right arm raised in the air as if he were leading the conversation. Two women leaned forward and seemed to be listening closely. My mother, on the far side, was also talking. I could see her smile and gesture with her hands. The second man was sideways to me. His head was moving, as if he were nodding in agreement.

It looked like five friends preparing for a card game perhaps, or just chatting about the morning news.

As I approached the table, however, I realized that the two women were asleep. The man with his back to me also had his eyes closed. His raised right arm was rigid, except for the fist that is clenching and unclenching. The other man was muttering, 'Engineer. Bridges' over and over again. From previous visits, I know that he was once a prominent engineer......"

Merck found liable in man's fatal heart attack
A state jury found Merck & Co. liable Friday for the death of a 71-year-old man who had a fatal heart attack within a month of taking its painkiller Vioxx, which has since been withdrawn, and ordered the company to pay $32 million. Merck said it would appeal.

A systematic review of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of memantine in patients with moderately severe to severe Alzheimer's disease.

Mayo Clinic News Release: - Declining memory tests can be an early indicator of future onset of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
: "For many people who will eventually develop Alzheimer's disease, low memory scores can be an early indicator of future Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a transition stage between the cognitive changes of normal aging and the more serious problems caused by Alzheimer's disease.

The results of a study lead by Richard J. Caselli, M.D., Chair of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, indicated that memory declines earlier and more selectively than other cognitive domains in the vast majority of individuals who develop MCI. 'When we looked at the patients scores before they were diagnosed with MCI and compared them to the rest of our study population (who didn't develop MCI) we observed that memory scores, were lower in the MCI-to-be group. This finding suggests, that even before a patient is symptomatic or objectively impaired, they are performing less well than their peers,' said Dr. Caselli....."

Mediterranean Diet May Repel Alzheimer's:
"A Mediterranean-style diet that appears to cut the risk of heart disease also may help protect against Alzheimer's disease, a new study suggests.

People who followed the diet were up to 40 percent less likely than those who largely avoided it to develop Alzheimer's during the course of the research, scientists reported.

Still, more research must be done before the diet can be recommended to ward off Alzheimer's, said Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas of the Columbia University Medical Center in New York, lead author of the research. The diet he tested includes eating lots of vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals and fish, while limiting intake of meat and dairy products, drinking moderate amounts of alcohol and emphasizing monounsaturated fats, such as in olive oil, over saturated fats. Previous research has suggested that such an approach can reduce the risk of heart disease....

The idea that a heart-healthy diet could also help fight Alzheimer's fits in with growing evidence that 'the kinds of things we associate with being bad for our heart turn out to be bad for our brain,' said Dr. Marilyn Albert, a Johns Hopkins neurology professor and spokeswoman for the Alzheimer's Association. The list includes high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking and uncontrolled diabetes, she said...."

"Newspapers Called Often Wrong on Neurologic Disorders - Mayo Clinic Phoenix ."
[SUMMARY - MedPageToday - PHOENIX, March 20]

"About one in five newspaper articles about neurological conditions...contains errors, according to a study by Mayo Clinic researchers.

Moreover, roughly 21% of news stories about neurological conditions contain 'stigmatizing language' that portrays the patients with these conditions as socially undesirable or reduced in personal wealth, wrote neurologist Joseph I. Sirven, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic Phoenix.

Inaccuracies included overestimating risk of mortality, presenting symptoms as more severe, or reporting unusual, atypical symptoms as the norm. Treatment inaccuracies included false claims that a therapy was curative or lack of reporting of adverse effects of therapy.

And "omission of key data is the announcement of a new treatment or scientific breakthrough with no further identification or explanation," the authors wrote.

In an editorial Jessica M. Fishman Ph.D., and David Casarett M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, wrote that the inaccuracies and stigmatizing language identified are important because several surveys have identified newspapers as a "widely used and highly trusted source of health information."

So errors in newspaper articles "may have a disproportionate influence on individuals who place high trust in this source of information compared to other sources."

The papers included in the review were the Arizona Republic, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Houston Chronicle, New York Times, San Diego Union-Tribune...

The neurologic conditions included....MS, stroke, traumatic brain injury, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, brain tumors...."

SOURCE: MedPageToday
[Primary source: Mayo Clinic Proceedings
Source reference:
Caspermeyer JJ et al "Evaluation of Stigmatizing Language and Medical Errors in Neurology Coverage by US Newspapers" Mayo Clin Proc 2006; 81:300-306

Additional source: Mayo Clinic Proceedings
Source reference:
Fishman JM and Casarett D "Mass Media and Medicine: When the Most Trusted Media Mislead" Mayo Clin Proc 2006; 81:291-292"

Mayo Clinic News Release: "Newspaper Coverage of Neurologic Conditions Incorrect 20 Percent of the Time, Study Shows" [CLICK TO READ COMPLETE MAYO PRESS RELEASE]

Blurry Age-Related Vision Loss Associated with Fuzzy Memory : "There's further evidence that vision loss from age-related macular degeneration is associated with reduced cognitive function. Older persons with vision worse than 20/40 in both eyes were nearly three times more likely than those with better eyesight to be cognitively impaired,......"

Compression Stockings Cut DVT Risk on Long Flights : " Passengers wearing compression stockings on long jetliner flights are less likely to develop an asymptomatic deep vein thrombosis than are those who go bare, according to a Cochrane Collaboration meta-analysis. The use of compression stockings on flights lasting at least seven hours appeared to reduce the DVT risk by 90%...."

Mediterranean Diet Lowered Alzheimer's Risk :
[Nikolaos Scarmeas, M.D., of Columbia University here, and colleagues, in the April issue of the Annals of Neurology and published online.]
"The Mediterranean diet may be brain food, according to a community-based study here.....A group of participants who stuck to elements of the Mediterranean diet -- high in fruits, vegetables, cereals, but low in meat and dairy products -- had a reduced risk for Alzheimer's disease. None was demented at the outset.

Overall, each additional unit of the Mediterranean diet adherence score (a zero to nine-point scale) was associated with a 9% to 10% decreased risk for Alzheimer's, reported Nikolaos Scarmeas, M.D., of Columbia University here, and colleagues, in the April issue of the Annals of Neurology and published online.
Compared with participants who had the lowest adherence to the diet, the risk for those with the highest adherence was 39% to 40% lower, while those in the middle tertile had a decreased Alzheimer's risk of 15% to 21%. This, the investigators said, showing a significant dose response, and sensitivity analysis did not change these findings.

This study suggested that 'an overall dietary pattern is likely to have a greater effect on health than a single nutrient,' Dr. Scarmeas said.

The Mediterranean diet is characterized by a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals; high intake of unsaturated fatty acids (mostly olive oil), but a low intake of saturated fatty acids; a moderately high intake of fish; a low to moderate intake of dairy products (mostly cheese or yogurt); a low intake of meat and poultry; and a regular but moderate intake of alcohol, primarily wine and with meals......"

Education Seems Good for the Heart : "For reasons that aren't entirely clear, better-educated patients seem to have coronary arteries with less calcium buildup....So it appeared from the observational Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, reported by Lijing L. Yan, Ph.D., M.P.H., of Northwestern University here, and colleagues, in the April 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.....For instance, high school dropouts were four times more likely to have significant calcium buildup in coronary arteries than people with advanced degrees......,"

New Lens Can Reduce Need for Glasses after Cataract Surgery
Many patients can now reduce their need for glasses after their cataracts are removed, thanks to the latest generation of technology for cataract treatment. This is big news for the 50 percent of people over age 65 who have cataracts.

Standard cataract treatment involves removing the eye’s native lens, which has become clouded, and replacing it with a synthetic intraocular lens (IOL). Conventional IOLs restore distance and intermediate vision, but most people still need reading glasses for close work. The ReSTOR lens, recently approved by Medicare, accommodates for all ranges of vision, significantly reducing the need for reading glasses after cataract surgery.

Cleveland Clinic ophthalmologist Allen Roth, M.D., is one of the first specialists in Northeast Ohio to use the high-tech lens. "With the ReSTOR lens, as many as 80 to 90 percent of people will not need glasses at all," Dr. Roth says. "The remaining 10 to 20 percent will find their dependency on glasses much reduced......"

American Academy of Neurology 58th Annual Meeting Scientific Highlights
Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk for developing Alzheimers disease. Researchers in New York examined over 2000 subjects, interviewing them about dietary habits and testing their cognitive ability over time. Those who ate a Mediterranean diet high in vegetables, grain, and unsaturated fats, and low in meat and dairy were less likely to develop Alzheimers disease.

Obesity in midlife may increase the risk of Alzheimers disease, according to researchers in California. Health records from 1964 and the present were examined for almost 9,000 middle-aged individuals, correlating past obesity to the risk for a current diagnosis of Alzheimers disease. Individuals in the top 20 percent of obesity measures in 1964 were two to three times as likely to develop Alzheimers disease as those in the bottom 20 percent.

Cognitive decline is also increased with lower blood levels of the hormone leptin, which affects both appetite and brain development. In a study of almost 3,000 healthy elderly followed over five years, those with the lowest leptin levels had a greater decline in their cognitive ability than those with the highest levels.Sex hormones may also play a role in the risk for cognitive decline. In a study of almost 800 men and women, those women with the lowest levels of estradiol (a type of estrogen) declined fastest, compared to those women with the highest levels. This correlation was seen in both black and white women. No effect of estradiol was seen in men, and no effect was seen for the hormone testosterone in either sex"

American Academy of Neurology 58th Annual Meeting Scientific Highlights:
"Stroke ....Patients taking statins to lower their cholesterol have a reduced risk of stroke, according to an international study by researchers from Ohio and Korea. Those on statins had approximately half the risk of a first-ever stroke compared to those with equally high cholesterol but not on statins.Pure oxygen does not help the brain recover after traumatic brain injury, according to researchers in Missouri. In a study of five patients, they found that 100 percent oxygen at normal pressure did not improve delivery of oxygen to the brain or increase metabolic activity. They noted that the utility of high-pressure (hyperbaric) oxygen is still unknown."

Video: Cholesterol buildup in the arteries - MayoClinic.com
Tens of millions of American adults have high blood cholesterol. Watch this video to see how blood cholesterol builds up in your arteries

Cholesterol: Top foods to lower your lipids and protect your heart - MayoClinic.com
What's in? What's out? From one day to the next, you can't be sure. Find out today's top foods to reduce your cholesterol and protect your heart.

Psychology Today: Power Up Your Brain: "Lily Hearst is trim, fit and trilingual. She practices piano an hour a day, a passion she has indulged since she first learned the instrument a hundred years ago. At lunchtime she visits the local senior center in Berkeley, California, where she gives regular concerts. She enjoyed rock climbing and skiing when she was younger and now swims for 20 minutes every day. 'At my age, I'm glad I can do that,' says Hearst.

As a centenarian, Hearst belongs to an elite club whose numbers are swelling: There are about 75,000 Americans age 100 and up, and the U.S. Census Bureau projects that figure will rise to some 800,000 by the year 2050. Like many centenarians, Hearst attributes her longevity to good genes and healthful habits. Her parents remained vigorous into their 80s; her sister to age 90. She eschews wheelchairs, eats well ('a grapefruit every morning'), drinks socially and doesn't smoke. Add to that a healthy dose of optimism, and her modus vivendi starts to jibe with current findings about lifestyle choices and sustained vitality......"

Psychology Today: Power Up Your Brain: "Lily Hearst is trim, fit and trilingual. She practices piano an hour a day, a passion she has indulged since she first learned the instrument a hundred years ago. At lunchtime she visits the local senior center in Berkeley, California, where she gives regular concerts. She enjoyed rock climbing and skiing when she was younger and now swims for 20 minutes every day. 'At my age, I'm glad I can do that,' says Hearst.

As a centenarian, Hearst belongs to an elite club whose numbers are swelling: There are about 75,000 Americans age 100 and up, and the U.S. Census Bureau projects that figure will rise to some 800,000 by the year 2050. Like many centenarians, Hearst attributes her longevity to good genes and healthful habits. Her parents remained vigorous into their 80s; her sister to age 90. She eschews wheelchairs, eats well ('a grapefruit every morning'), drinks socially and doesn't smoke. Add to that a healthy dose of optimism, and her modus vivendi starts to jibe with current findings about lifestyle choices and sustained vitality......"

Mediterranean Diet May Defend Against Alzheimer's, Study Say:
"The arsenal against Alzheimer's mayget a pleasurable addition, a Mediterranean diet chock full of fish, olive oil, grains, fresh produce and moderate amounts of
wine, a study suggested. Investigators who studied 2,258 New Yorkers found thatthose who followed the diet most closely were significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer's over the four-year follow-up, according to results in this month's Annals of Neurology."

NHLBI Health Information Materials from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Free Guidebooks Make for Heart-Healthy Reading [CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE GUIDE BOOKS
Only three percent of American adults follow the "big four" habits to prevent heart disease: Healthy diet, regular physical activity, proper weight, and not smoking, according to a recent national survey.

In order to help people improve their heart health, the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has issued two new guidebooks about the factors that increase heart disease risk or that may contribute to worsening existing heart disease.

"Your Guide to a Healthy Heart" includes a detailed action plan for heart health and "Your Guide to Living Well With Heart Disease" has information to help people with heart disease protect and improve their heart health....

Sleep-Disordered Breathing Linked to Arrhythmias
Compared with those who don't have sleep-disordered breathing, sufferers are two to four times more likely to have abnormal cardiac rhythms such as atrial fibrillation and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia during the night, reported Reena Mehra, M.D., of Case Western Reserve here in the April 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Ovary Removal Surgery Elevates Risk for Dementia - Mayo Clinic :
"Mayo Clinic researchers have found that ovariectomy, surgical removal of a woman's ovaries, raises her risk of developing dementia or cognitive impairment. Risk is especially increased if a woman has her ovaries removed at a young age....."

VIDEO: "Baby Boomers Stay Active, and So Do Their Doctors" - New York Times [Free registration]
"For America's baby boomers, a generation weaned on Jack LaLanne, shaped by Jane Fonda videos and sculpted in the modern-day gym, too much of a good thing has consequences.

Encouraged by doctors to continue to exercise three to five times a week for their health, a legion of running, swimming and biking boomers are flouting the conventional limits of the middle-aged body's abilities, and filling the nation's operating rooms and orthopedists' offices in the process.They need knee and hip replacements, surgery for cartilage and ligament damage, and treatment for tendinitis, arthritis, bursitis and stress fractures. The phenomenon even has a name in medical circles: boomeritis. 'Boomers are the first generation that grew up exercising, and the first that expects, indeed demands, that they be able to exercise into their 70's,' said Dr. Nicholas A. DiNubile, a Philadelphia-area orthopedic surgeon, who coined and trademarked the term boomeritis. 'But evolution doesn't work that quick...."

Study shows how painkillers raise heart risk

Eye ailment tied to cognitive decline
: " Worsening of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a degenerative eye disorder that is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, appears to be associated with some cognitive impairment, according to a report by the Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group (AREDS).Several small studies have identified a link between AMD and cognitive impairment, Dr. Traci E. Clemons, at the EMMES Corporation in Rockville, Maryland, and the AREDS group members comment in their paper, published in the Archives of Ophthalmology for April. Their goal was to investigate this association within a large sample of patients, many of whom had advanced AMD....."

Blunted heart rate rise during exercise a bad sign : "In healthy middle-aged men, a blunted increase in heart rate while exercising at 40 percent to 100 percent of maximal workload is a strong predictor of early heart disease and death, Finnish heart doctors report.
'The magnitude of the association was comparable with that of other major cardiovascular risk factors,' warn Dr. Kai P. Savonen from Kuopio Research Institute of Exercise Medicine and colleagues in the European Heart Journal...." [Reuters]