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.