Health: Bad Synapse Creation Linked To Alzheimer's - The Post Chronicle: The defect in PAK enzyme signaling pathways -- vital to the creation of synapses -- is related to the loss of a protein in certain forms of mental retardation, such as Down syndrome. The University of California-Los Angeles/Department of Veterans Affairs study suggests therapies designed to address the PAK defect could treat cognitive problems in both patient populations.

"The emerging lesson is that cognitive problems in Alzheimer's disease are related to defects in the machinery controlling neuronal connections, not the lesions observed by pathologists," said principal investigator Greg Cole, a professor of medicine and neurology. "Our findings show that PAK defects in the brains of Alzheimer's patients appear sufficient to directly cause cognitive difficulties."

READ MORE: "Research from UNSW provides the most convincing evidence to date that complex mental activity across people%u2019s lives significantly reduces the risk of dementia. The researchers found that such activity almost halves the incidence of dementia.

The paper, which has just been published in Psychological Medicine, is the first comprehensive review of the research in the field of %u2019brain reserve%u2019, which looks at the role of education, occupational complexity and mentally stimulating lifestyle pursuits in preventing cognitive decline. The paper integrates data from 29,000 individuals across 22 studies from around the world.

'Until now there have been mixed messages about the role of education, occupation, IQ and mentally stimulating leisure activities, in preventing cognitive decline. Now the results are much clearer,' said the lead author, Dr Michael Valenzuela, from the School of Psychiatry at UNSW. 'It is a case of %u2019use it or lose it%u2019. If you increase your brain reserve over your lifetime, you seem to lessen the risk of Alzheimer%u2019s and other neurodegenerative diseases.'

The key conclusion is that individuals with high brain reserve have a 46 percent decreased risk of dementia, compared to those with low brain reserve. All the studies assessed agreed that mentally stimulating leisure activities, even in late life, are associated with a protective effect.

'This suggests that brain reserve is not a static property, nor that it is determined by early life experiences such as level of education, socio-economic deprivation or poor nutrition,' said Dr Valenzuela. 'It is never too late to build brain reserve.'

Dr Valenzuela%u2019s previous research showed that after five weeks of memory-based mental exercise, participants increased brain chemistry markers in the opposite direction to that seen in Alzheimer%u2019s disease. 'The interesting point here is that this change was concentrated to the hippocampus, a part of the brain first affected in dementia,' said Dr Valenzuela.

This is consistent with studies of brain reserve in mice, where some of the animals were %u2019hothoused%u2019 in stimulating environments. These mice had changes in the microstructure of their brains, compared with the controls.
"

CLICK TO READ MORE: "A new review of past clinical trials confirmed what many doctors already suspected: Three drugs that treat Alzheimer's disease %u2014 Aricept, Razadyne and Exelon %u2014 provide only a small benefit to patients.

The review, published in this month's issue of The Cochrane Library, evaluated 13 high-quality studies involving more than 7,000 patients. All three drugs made equally small improvements in the patients' mental functioning and in their ability to carry out everyday activities.

The results of this review confirm what past studies have shown %u2014 that the drugs have a modest effect. However, doctors' opinions vary about the usefulness of the drugs. Some said they believe the drugs help patients while other doctors believe they bring little benefit."

CLICK TO READ MORE: "Results Suggest Alzheimer's Disease May Be More Common than Previously Recognized
A new study from Rush University MedicalCenter helps explain why gait problems are often progressive in old age and related to risk of dementia and death.

The study, published in the January issue of the Annals of Neurology, found that neurofibrillary tangles in the substantia nigra, a part of the brain that is subject to cell loss in Parkinson's disease, are associated with gait impairment in older persons with and without dementia. Neurofibrillary tangles are a classic brain abnormality seen in Alzheimer's disease. The more tangle pathology in the substantia nigra, the more impaired the person's gait was before death.

'Older persons without Parkinson's disease often exhibit parkinsonian signs, such as difficulty with walking and balance (gait impairment), slowness in movements, rigidity and tremor,' said study author Dr. Julie Schneider of the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center. 'The mild parkinsonian signs associated with aging have been historically viewed simply as an expected sign of aging rather than a disease process. Previous studies have shown that at least one of these signs, gait impairment, has harmful effects in older persons, and our current study suggests why this may be the case.'"

READ MORE: "Consuming apple juice may protect against cell damage that contributes to age-related memory loss, conclude researchers investigating the benefits in mice.....They believe their results are down to the rich antioxidant levels in concentrated apple juice.....While studies in humans are needed to confirm the benefit to ageing people, the new research adds to previous evidence that fruit and vegetable intake might be good for an ageing brain."

KYW Newsradio 1060 - CLICK TO READ MORE: "Police and volunteer firefighters are looking for an 80-year-old woman who is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease."

READ MORE: "A 73-year-old man suffering from Alzheimers, who was last seen Friday, has been found."

READ MORE: "Compounds in black currants
may help protect against Alzheimer's disease, according to a
study in the current issue of Chemistry & Industry
magazine.

Researchers found that these compounds -- anthocyanins and
polyphenolics -- had a strong protective effect in cultured
neuronal cells. Darker black currants contain more anthocyanins and
are likely to be more potent.

'These compounds also work in hippocampal cells taken
straight from the brain,' researcher James Joseph of Tufts
University said in a prepared statement. He said these protective
effects will likely be reproduced in the human body and that these
compounds may prevent or significantly delay the onset of
Alzheimer's.
"

READ MORE: "Axonyx Inc. announced today completion of the ascending single dose Phase I trial with Posiphen(TM), in clinical development for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease progression.

This double-blind, placebo controlled study of Posiphen in healthy
men and women sought to establish well tolerated doses. Posiphen
appears to be well tolerated at single doses up to and including 80mg.
Blood levels of Posiphen associated with this study were higher than
those associated with beneficial effects on beta-amyloid metabolism in
animal models. The build-up of beta-amyloid (A beta) is generally
believed to be causative of the dementia of Alzheimer's disease. No
serious adverse events were reported at any dose level."

READ MORE: "Doctors may refuse to implement new guidelines on drugs for patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, leading psychiatrists said yesterday."

READ MORE: "The descendants of philanthropist James H. Binger are locked in a bitter legal battle against his longtime companion over what should become of a large chunk of his fortune. Binger made Jane K. Mauer a beneficiary in his will shortly before he died in late 2004, at age 88. 'We were in love, we were confidants, we traveled the world together,' she said. But his children and grandchildren fear he was manipulated into changing his will and giving the Minneapolis woman property worth millions of dollars. They contend he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease or was otherwise impaired when he gave Mauer, now 60, downtown building and other property"

READ MORE...Northwestern University : "Drug discovery researchers at Northwestern University have developed a novel orally administered compound specifically targeted to suppress brain cell inflammation and neuron loss associated with Alzheimer%u2019s disease.

The compound is also rapidly absorbed by the brain and is non-toxic %u2013 important considerations for a central nervous system drug that might need to be taken for extended periods.

As described in the Jan. 11 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, the compound, called"

New York Times: "A modest amount of exercise - as few as three sessions a week - may reduce the risk of dementia in people over 65, new research shows.
From a group of 2,581 participants in a health maintenance organization in Seattle, researchers selected 1,740 people over 65 who showed no evidence of mental decline. They interviewed the subjects about their exercise habits, assessed their general health and then traced their progress for an average of about six years, periodically testing their memory and other mental abilities.
By the end of the study, published last week in Annals of Internal Medicine, 158 had developed some kind of dementia and about 400 had withdrawn from the study or died.
People who exercised more than three times a week developed dementia at a rate of 13 per 1,000 patient-years, compared with 19.7 per 1,000 patient-years for those who exercised less. (A thousand patient-years is the equivalent of 100 patients observed over a period of 10 years.)
The authors acknowledge that their data depend on self-reports, which are not always reliable, that they did not measure exercise intensity, and that although they controlled for diet supplement use, smoking, alcohol use, education and other diseases, other factors may still influence their results.
Still, Dr. Eric B. Larson, director of the Group Health Cooperative's Center for Health Studies in Seattle and the lead author on the paper, said: 'It's a robust study. Low levels of exercise cause a 30 to 40 percent reduction in risk for dementia. If someone is starting to decline, it looks like exercise may significantly help.'



"

New York Times: "A modest amount of exercise - as few as three sessions a week - may reduce the risk of dementia in people over 65, new research shows.
From a group of 2,581 participants in a health maintenance organization in Seattle, researchers selected 1,740 people over 65 who showed no evidence of mental decline. They interviewed the subjects about their exercise habits, assessed their general health and then traced their progress for an average of about six years, periodically testing their memory and other mental abilities.
By the end of the study, published last week in Annals of Internal Medicine, 158 had developed some kind of dementia and about 400 had withdrawn from the study or died.
People who exercised more than three times a week developed dementia at a rate of 13 per 1,000 patient-years, compared with 19.7 per 1,000 patient-years for those who exercised less. (A thousand patient-years is the equivalent of 100 patients observed over a period of 10 years.)
The authors acknowledge that their data depend on self-reports, which are not always reliable, that they did not measure exercise intensity, and that although they controlled for diet supplement use, smoking, alcohol use, education and other diseases, other factors may still influence their results.
Still, Dr. Eric B. Larson, director of the Group Health Cooperative's Center for Health Studies in Seattle and the lead author on the paper, said: 'It's a robust study. Low levels of exercise cause a 30 to 40 percent reduction in risk for dementia. If someone is starting to decline, it looks like exercise may significantly help.'



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