ALAMO / A weekend retreat from Alzheimer's / Lively camp offers good time for patients, respite for families

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linkExercise that targets a weak region of the hipbone may help prevent fractures, but simple walking will not, new research indicates. As people age, the outer "cortical" layer of bone in a particular region the hipbone or upper femur become thinner, making the hip more prone to fracture, according to the report in The Lancet medical journal.

LINK - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage TodayHigh school academic whiz kids may keep that mental edge throughout life, even to the extent of avoiding Alzheimer's disease, say researchers here.

In a study of nearly 400 graduates in the mid-1940s, the Cleveland team's findings support the reserve theory, which suggests that people with higher IQs, and who are more mentally active, have a greater supply of neurons to recruit if there is brain damage or loss of neurons to age-related dementia.

This reserve of brain cells allows people to compensate so that they "maintain cognitive efficiency," according to Thomas Fritsch, Ph.D., of the University Memory and Aging Center at University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western and colleagues.

The authors also pointed to another potential model which could explain the data as well as the reserve model. "It is also possible that persons with cognitive impairments and dementia in adulthood had lower cognitive performance and activity levels in youth because of an early influence of neuropathology," they wrote.

"The risk of having dementia/mild cognitive impairment is half as great for persons who are one standard deviation above the mean than for persons who are at the mean, (P=0.003)," they reported in the July issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Otis IQ was negatively and significantly associated with dementia status, [odds ratio (OR)= 0.55, 95% confidence interval (CI)= 0.30%u20131.00], P=.049.

But for those who are less intellectually gifted, an active lifestyle, as indicated by participation in extracurricular activities in high school, can independently reduce the risk of dementia, they added. High school students who are active in two or more extracurricular activities each year of high school can reduce their risk of dementia by about a third compared to those with fewer activities (P=0.02).

"This implies that the vulnerability to cognitive impairments associated with lower IQ can be decreased through lifestyle modifications," they said.

The Lancet Neurology...LINK

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine.....LINK

NBC 4 - LINKThe system, known as "Project Lifesaver," uses wristbands that contain a tracking device -- each with a frequency unique to its wearer -- and electronic wands operated by police officers. The program is designed for "folks that have Alzheimer's, dementia, autism -- any developmentally disabled individual who might wander away from their loved ones," The wristbands for at-risk individuals cost about $280 each, and there is a $10-per-month operation fee.

Pharmaceutical Business Review...LINKVasogen has reported the completion of a phase I clinical trial, which demonstrated the safety of its lead drug candidate in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other central nervous system disorders.

Pharmaceutical Business Review...LINKVasogen has reported the completion of a phase I clinical trial, which demonstrated the safety of its lead drug candidate in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other central nervous system disorders.

CTV.ca |LINKOlder people who stay active in a wide variety of ways seem to have a better chance of warding off dementia, according to research that found it's the diversity, not intensity, of the exercise that counts.

And the pastimes can range from gardening to aerobics. "It's not necessarily the energy you spend," said Dr. Constantine Lyketsos, a Johns Hopkins University epidemiologist and the study's lead author. "It's the variety that matters."

CTV.ca | LINK: " The hope is that patients can be diagnosed before the disease has irreparably damaged the brain.
Researchers at the New York University School of Medicine have found that subtle changes in a memory region of the brain seem to predict with 85 per cent accuracy who will get Alzheimer's almost a decade before symptoms appear.
'The brain is revealing secrets before they are even detectable to patients or to the doctors,' says Dr. Mony DeLeon, a psychiatry professor at NYU."

EurekAlert! Public News List...LINKYour IQ and extracurricular interests as a teenager may forecast your memory and thinking abilities decades later.

A new study by researchers at the University Memory and Aging Center, affiliated with Case Western Reserve University (Case) and University Hospitals of Cleveland (UHC), found that persons who were more active in high school and who had higher IQ scores, were less likely to have mild memory and thinking problems and dementia as older adults. Their results are published in the July 2005 issue of The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

MedlinePlus - CLICK HEREScientists at the Oregon Research Institute say their recent study has confirmed
the health benefits of cobblestone walking for older adults. The study confirmed a pilot report that walking on a cobblestone mat surface resulted in significant reductions in blood pressure and improvements in balance
and physical performance among adults 60 and over.

MedlinePlus - CLICK HEREDonepezil (Aricept), a drug used for treating people with Alzheimer's disease, may also improve the thinking ability of Parkinson's patients who have developed dementia -- a common problem with this disorder -- new research suggests.