Canadian Mike Bates wrote an article for The Windsor Star about Dr. Norman Doidge, author of The Brain That Changes Itself, a book about how we can actually change the physiological structure of our brains.
A self-proclaimed exercise geek, Bates follows the research. He is a certified personal trainer who teaches kinesiology at the University of Windsor, and owns Refine Fitness Studio in Windsor.
Bates and Doidge (and others), believe exercise is the only activity that has been shown to increase the production and conductivity of neurons in the brain. He goes on to explain how neurons are the basic building blocks of our nervous system.
"Protein is the basic building block of muscle, but without proper functioning neurons our muscles would not know how to move or would not move as quickly and effectively. A neuron's key function is to transmit information in the body.
"According to Dr. Arthur Kramer, a faculty member in neuroscience and psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana in Champaign: 'Exercise has neuroprotective effects enabling higher levels of cognition and delaying the onset of various forms of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease.'
"There is a substantial amount of research on the effect that exercise has on the brain. The literature shows a significant protective effect of physical activity on cognitive function and on decreased incidence of dementia, with the benefits lasting up to several decades. A few studies of human subjects older than 65 years showed that exercising at least 15 to 30 minutes three times weekly reduced the probability of developing Alzheimer's disease, even in subjects who were genetically predisposed.
"The majority of the research in this area shows that aerobic exercise has the biggest impact on cognition and overall brain functioning. This is not to say that strength training and stretching should be forgotten. There are many studies that show us the health benefits of resistance training and stretching.
"If you aren't getting this, then read it again: Regular exercise will not only help you live a longer more enjoyable life, it will help your brain function and decrease the chance of all kinds of health conditions as you get older - even if you are genetically predisposed."
Emphasis mine. The part that really grabbed my attention is that exercise offers some defense even against genetics. Every one who knows me knows my husband carries the Apoe4 gene, and that Alzheimer's is well underway at our house. I've been wondering what would motivate me to exercise. I believe that if I would he would.
Right now we are both doing physical therapy, him for a torn rotator cuff, me for a knee replacement. We are both in pretty sorry shape at the moment. We can't let that stop us. I also have COPD. Between his brain and my lungs, we simply must not stop exercising, even when therapy is finished.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
When the nose doesn’t know; how loss of smell signals Alzheimer’s | Vancouver Sun Blogs
When the nose doesn’t know; how loss of smell signals Alzheimer’s | Vancouver Sun Blogs:
'via Blog this'
Enhanced ability to smell odors must come later. That's where we are right now. He's so sensitive to the smell of dirt, he can't be near a potted plant.
'via Blog this'
Enhanced ability to smell odors must come later. That's where we are right now. He's so sensitive to the smell of dirt, he can't be near a potted plant.
Pat Robertson Advises Man, Divorce Your Wife With Alzheimer's (Video)
Pat Robertson Advises Man, Divorce Your Wife With Alzheimer's (Video):
'via Blog this'
If anybody hears of Pat Robertson seeing the error of his ways, please let me know. However, I suspect we will be waiting a long time.
'via Blog this'
If anybody hears of Pat Robertson seeing the error of his ways, please let me know. However, I suspect we will be waiting a long time.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Dear Alzheimer's Association Leadership
Some folks are getting more and more upset with the Alzheimer's Association. I am happy to give them as much publicity as I can. This is important because so many of us look to alz.org for information.
Dear Alzheimer's Association Leadership
Dear Alzheimer's Association Leadership
Alzheimer's can grab hold of your mind early
There are loads of good Alzheimer blogs out there. I like this one from Salinas, CA.
From Home Care Monterey CA - Family In-Home Caregiving Blog - View from an (unnamed) private duty caregiver
With Medicare, Medi-Cal and Private Insurance all looking to slash costs, some are questioning whether it is worth the financial cost of testing for a disease if there is no cure for it. But what about the human cost if someone has disturbing symptoms and a Doctor doesn't want to test for a disease because there is no cure?
This is a disturbing moral dilemma that I am sure will be more and more common as more baby boomers retire and the cost of medical care continues to soar. The Monterey Herald highlighted this issue on the front page of the health section on Thursday, with a focus on the tragic Alzhiemer's disease.
"I don't remember if I had a bath," Barbara Lehser, only 54 years old, told the paper. "It took me two hours to follow a recipe. I drove to my childhood homestead the other week instead of my own home. It's really scary," she said. Her Doctors and many others are arguing over whether to test her for Alzheimer's disease.
The debate was in high gear at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference held in Paris France last week (July 2011), where research on new methods such as easier brain scans, an eye test and a blood test made it clear there will be more tools for Alzheimer's diagnosis in the future.
Current drugs only treat Alzheimer's disease symptoms. They only work on half of the people they are prescribed to, and they only last for one year on average. Some argue against diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's victims. There is no data "to show that knowing makes any difference in outcomes. Until we do, this is going to be a tough sell," Dr. Kenneth Rockwood of Dalhousie University told the paper.
As regular readers of my blog know, I am an avid supporter of the Alzheimer's Association, a great group of people who help the families of those suffering from Alzheimer's disease. They are also the largest private funder of Alzheimer's research in the United States and have been involved in every major discovery over the past three decades. Having cared for my grandmother for more than five years before she passed away in January, I can tell you that there is nothing more terrifying than losing your mind and not knowing why. I completely disagree with Dr. Rockwood and anyone else who is in support of letting sleeping dogs lie.
If someone is losing their memory, or in the case of Ms. Lehser, driving back to a childhood residence instead of going home, they want to know why. Although the research studies indicate that treatments for Alzheimer's disease are only 50% successful and last only a year, on average, averages can be deceiving. We went through myriad medications for Nana, and have done the same for numerous Clients of Family inHome Caregiving with Alzheimer's and dementia. Some work, some don't. Everyone has different body chemistry. But having even one day with a loved one who is disappearing before your eyes is better than nothing. I wouldn't give up any of those lucid moments with my grandmother for any amount of money.
I once worked as a temporary employee for an HMO and at their weekly staff meeting they were talking openly about how they wished a prematurely born baby would die. The ICU care was just killing their budget and their bonuses were going to suffer. I walked off of the job in disgust. We can not make life and death or quality of life decisions based on money, it is not moral. Ms. Lehser's story is, thankfully, a rare one. Most people don't get Alzheimer's disease until they are in their senior years.
However, it is not unheard of.
In a village in Columbia, early onset Alzheimer's affects almost everyone. Their memories start failing in their 40's, sometimes as early as 32, and the average resident has full-blow Alzheimer's by the age of 47. Tragic as it is, the village is a great setting for a research study. Inbreeding and environment are two possible causes. Unfortunately the region is filled with drug traffickers and it's been difficult to get a full-blown research project done. However, it does show two things. One: Alzheimer's doesn't affect everyone, and there are likely cause and effects that can be discovered by studying populations like this; and, Two: the concept that Alzheimer's disease is an old person's disease that nothing can be done about because it is a function of age is a false one.
From Home Care Monterey CA - Family In-Home Caregiving Blog - View from an (unnamed) private duty caregiver
With Medicare, Medi-Cal and Private Insurance all looking to slash costs, some are questioning whether it is worth the financial cost of testing for a disease if there is no cure for it. But what about the human cost if someone has disturbing symptoms and a Doctor doesn't want to test for a disease because there is no cure?
This is a disturbing moral dilemma that I am sure will be more and more common as more baby boomers retire and the cost of medical care continues to soar. The Monterey Herald highlighted this issue on the front page of the health section on Thursday, with a focus on the tragic Alzhiemer's disease.
"I don't remember if I had a bath," Barbara Lehser, only 54 years old, told the paper. "It took me two hours to follow a recipe. I drove to my childhood homestead the other week instead of my own home. It's really scary," she said. Her Doctors and many others are arguing over whether to test her for Alzheimer's disease.
The debate was in high gear at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference held in Paris France last week (July 2011), where research on new methods such as easier brain scans, an eye test and a blood test made it clear there will be more tools for Alzheimer's diagnosis in the future.
Current drugs only treat Alzheimer's disease symptoms. They only work on half of the people they are prescribed to, and they only last for one year on average. Some argue against diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's victims. There is no data "to show that knowing makes any difference in outcomes. Until we do, this is going to be a tough sell," Dr. Kenneth Rockwood of Dalhousie University told the paper.
As regular readers of my blog know, I am an avid supporter of the Alzheimer's Association, a great group of people who help the families of those suffering from Alzheimer's disease. They are also the largest private funder of Alzheimer's research in the United States and have been involved in every major discovery over the past three decades. Having cared for my grandmother for more than five years before she passed away in January, I can tell you that there is nothing more terrifying than losing your mind and not knowing why. I completely disagree with Dr. Rockwood and anyone else who is in support of letting sleeping dogs lie.
If someone is losing their memory, or in the case of Ms. Lehser, driving back to a childhood residence instead of going home, they want to know why. Although the research studies indicate that treatments for Alzheimer's disease are only 50% successful and last only a year, on average, averages can be deceiving. We went through myriad medications for Nana, and have done the same for numerous Clients of Family inHome Caregiving with Alzheimer's and dementia. Some work, some don't. Everyone has different body chemistry. But having even one day with a loved one who is disappearing before your eyes is better than nothing. I wouldn't give up any of those lucid moments with my grandmother for any amount of money.
I once worked as a temporary employee for an HMO and at their weekly staff meeting they were talking openly about how they wished a prematurely born baby would die. The ICU care was just killing their budget and their bonuses were going to suffer. I walked off of the job in disgust. We can not make life and death or quality of life decisions based on money, it is not moral. Ms. Lehser's story is, thankfully, a rare one. Most people don't get Alzheimer's disease until they are in their senior years.
However, it is not unheard of.
In a village in Columbia, early onset Alzheimer's affects almost everyone. Their memories start failing in their 40's, sometimes as early as 32, and the average resident has full-blow Alzheimer's by the age of 47. Tragic as it is, the village is a great setting for a research study. Inbreeding and environment are two possible causes. Unfortunately the region is filled with drug traffickers and it's been difficult to get a full-blown research project done. However, it does show two things. One: Alzheimer's doesn't affect everyone, and there are likely cause and effects that can be discovered by studying populations like this; and, Two: the concept that Alzheimer's disease is an old person's disease that nothing can be done about because it is a function of age is a false one.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
What Good is Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease?
What Good is Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease?
For an alternative view of whether early detection of AD is always a good idea, click on the link above.
For an alternative view of whether early detection of AD is always a good idea, click on the link above.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Overwhelming Majority of the Public Want to Know If They Have Alzheimer's
Overwhelming Majority of the Public Want to Know If They Have Alzheimer's
Be sure and click on the above link and read the article claiming people want to know if they have Alzheimer's. Then come back here and comment whether you agree.
My husband is angry now that he knows. I am wondering if I did the right thing urging him to seek help for his confusion, agitation, and rage, which was more of a problem than memory loss. I didn't care if he couldn't remember doodley-squat, as long as he didn't yell at me about it.
Another thing: articles are showing up claiming Alzheimer's is a lifestyle disease in more than half the cases:
"More than half of all Alzheimer's disease cases could be prevented through lifestyle changes and managing certain chronic medical conditions, says San Francisco VA Medical Center psychiatrist Deborah Barnes, who analyzed global data involving hundreds of thousands of participants.
The biggest "modifiable risk factors" for the disease are physical inactivity, depression, smoking, midlife hypertension, midlife obesity, low education and diabetes, which account for 51 percent of Alzheimer's cases worldwide and 54 percent in the U.S.
"What's exciting is that this suggests that some very simple lifestyle changes, such as increasing physical activity and quitting smoking, could have a tremendous impact on preventing Alzheimer's and other dementias," Dr. Barnes says.
Well, phooey on that. My husband has the APOE4 gene, one of the markers that spell big trouble ahead. My head is spinning with concerns about Alzheimer's becoming another shame-producer, when people are beginning to speak out about it. I'll bet this Dr. Barnes is a skinny blond runner who skis.
Be sure and click on the above link and read the article claiming people want to know if they have Alzheimer's. Then come back here and comment whether you agree.
My husband is angry now that he knows. I am wondering if I did the right thing urging him to seek help for his confusion, agitation, and rage, which was more of a problem than memory loss. I didn't care if he couldn't remember doodley-squat, as long as he didn't yell at me about it.
Another thing: articles are showing up claiming Alzheimer's is a lifestyle disease in more than half the cases:
"More than half of all Alzheimer's disease cases could be prevented through lifestyle changes and managing certain chronic medical conditions, says San Francisco VA Medical Center psychiatrist Deborah Barnes, who analyzed global data involving hundreds of thousands of participants.
The biggest "modifiable risk factors" for the disease are physical inactivity, depression, smoking, midlife hypertension, midlife obesity, low education and diabetes, which account for 51 percent of Alzheimer's cases worldwide and 54 percent in the U.S.
"What's exciting is that this suggests that some very simple lifestyle changes, such as increasing physical activity and quitting smoking, could have a tremendous impact on preventing Alzheimer's and other dementias," Dr. Barnes says.
Well, phooey on that. My husband has the APOE4 gene, one of the markers that spell big trouble ahead. My head is spinning with concerns about Alzheimer's becoming another shame-producer, when people are beginning to speak out about it. I'll bet this Dr. Barnes is a skinny blond runner who skis.
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