MORE: "Actor David Hyde Pierce made an emotional plea for increased activism around Alzheimer's disease Monday (Oct. 17), saying that federal funding has leveled off despite scientific progress in understanding and treating the disease in the last 15 years. Pierce, a member of the Alzheimer's Association's National Board, watched both his father and grandfather deteriorate and die from the disease, and watched both his mother and grandmother wither under the strain of care-giving and die of other causes."

MORE: WASHINGTON POST: "Frail, elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease who are given widely used antipsychotic drugs such as Zyprexa and Risperdal have a higher risk of dying than patients who are given sugar pills, and doctors should be cautious in prescribing the drugs, according to a new analysis of earlier studies."

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Study may also have implications for dieters

Mice with the mouse model of Alzheimer's disease show improvements in their condition when treated with a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. A report published today in the peer-reviewed, open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism, showed that a brain protein, amyloid-beta, which is an indicator of Alzheimer's disease, is reduced in mice on the so-called ketogenic diet.
The report, by Samuel Henderson, from Accera, Inc, Colorado and colleagues from Belgium runs counter to previous studies suggesting a negative effect of fat on Alzheimer's disease.

"This work supports the premise that key aspects of Alzheimer's disease can be altered by changes in metabolism. It also highlights the interaction of dietary components and how such components influence the metabolic state", write the authors.

The authors believe that insulin and the related hormone, insulin-related growth factor-1 (IGF-1), are the key players. "Insulin is often considered a storage hormone, since it promotes deposition of fat but insulin may also work to encourage amyloid-beta production."

Richard Feinman, editor of the journal, explains the relation between nutrients: "You might say that fat is the bomb, and insulin (from carbohydrate) is the fuse. Most studies of the deleterious effects of fat have been done in the presence of high carbohydrate. If carbs are high, dietary fat is not oxidized and is instead stored as body fat." When carbohydrates are very low and fat is high, compounds called ketone bodies are generated (ketosis) and these compounds may play a role in the observed reduction in amyloid-beta. In association with a group from University of Washington led by Dr. Suzanne Craft, Henderson has previously shown cognitive improvement in patients with mild AD who were given a diet that raises ketone bodies.

In an accompanying editorial, Feinman says, "Although it is too early to tell how the results will fit into the treatment of AD, the implication for diet in general is also important." The primacy of insulin as a control element is the basis of popular weight-loss diets based on carbohydrate restriction. Such regimens allow dieters to regulate fat and calorie intake by appetite alone as long as carbohydrate intake remains minimal. Feinman points out, "Henderson's effort is one of several recent studies that point the way to understanding metabolism beyond the issues surrounding simple fat reduction."

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Article:
A ketogenic diet reduces amyloid beta 40 and 42 in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease
Ingrid Van der Auwera, Stefaan Wera, Fred Van Leuven, and Samuel T.Henderson
Nutrition & Metabolism, in press

Performing exercises that focus on balance may help older adults stand more firmly on their feet, according to a new study.

Researchers found that a series of at-home exercises improved balance among the 55- to 60-year-olds they studied. Specifically, the exercises increased the speed of their sway patterns, which may steady their stance.

Everybody, young or old, sways imperceptibly on their feet as part of maintaining balance and stability. Sway patterns do, however, change with age, said David Koceja, a professor of kinesiology at Indiana University Bloomington and one of the researchers on the new study.

While younger people generally sway forward and backward, he told Reuters Health, older adults tend to take on a less stable, side-to-side sway, so that their overall pattern looks like a circle.

In their study, Koceja and his colleagues found that the balance regimen they prescribed did not alter side-to-side sway, but it bumped up participants' sway speed by 16 percent, on average.

This suggests that the exercisers' balance "system" would be quicker to adapt to change, and potentially prevent falls -- a major cause of injury and disability as people age.

Indeed, balancing exercises are an important, if overlooked, part of staying fit for older people, Koceja said. Strengthening exercises may improve muscle tone, and cardiovascular exercise may do the heart good, but balancing tasks are needed to improve stability, he explained.

Unlike the case with other forms of exercise -- where, for example, results are apparent in a change in muscle mass -- the benefits of balance exercises may be tougher to see. But they are worth doing, according to Koceja.Brigham & Women's Hospital {CLICK FOR MORE}

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