Dr Mel Siff Blog

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Here are a few articles summarising research findings on Alzheimer’s disease:

<http://www.ananova.com/>

The first news item suggests that a substance implicated in the complex web
of causation of heart disease may also be involved in the development of
Alzheimer’s disease.

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American scientists find Alzheimer’s link

American scientists have discovered a link between Alzheimer’s disease and a
common substance found in the bloodstream.

The discovery that people with high blood levels of an amino acid called
homocysteine are at a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s could lead to a
test to identify people most likely to become sufferers. The team of
scientists from Boston University and Tufts University said they could not
show homocysteine is a cause of Alzheimer’s.

The discovery could lead to research to develop a test to find people most at
risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and to advise them on taking steps to reduce
the risk. Homocysteine is a by-product of a normal diet, but its levels are
highest in people whose diet is dominated by meat and lacks fruit and leafy
vegetables.

Scientists say it’s too early to assume that giving people vitamin
supplements would be enough to prevent Alzheimer’s developing. Dr Sudha
Seshardi, a neurologist at Boston University who led the study, said the
study reinforced the need to eat a balanced diet with fruit and vegetables.

The study took eight years and followed 1,092 people aged between 68 and 97
who did not initially have Alzheimer’s, finding that 83 developed the disease.

It found that those who had a level of homocysteine higher than 14 micromoles
per litre of blood had twice the risk of developing the disease.

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Other research has suggested that keeping oneself very mentally exercised may
help in reducing the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Crossword puzzles could stave off Alzheimer’s disease

Scientists have found puzzling over a cryptic crossword or reading a
newspaper may help stave off mental decline in the elderly. An American study
of 800 Catholic nuns, priests and monks found that “frequent participation in
cognitively stimulating activities is associated with reduced risk of
Alzheimer’s disease”.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of senile dementia, causing progressive
memory loss and confusion.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association,
followed the group for about four-and-a-half years and rated their level of
cognitive activity. None had dementia at the start…..

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Testosterone could be used as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers who tested the male hormone on rats believe the treatment might
work on humans. They say it prevents a key brain abnormality linked with the
disease.

The treatment was designed by Sozos Papasozomenos and Alikunju Shanavas at
the University of Texas-Houston Medical School, reports New Scientist.

They found testosterone blocks a process called tau hyperphosphorylation
which creates so-called tau tangles.
These bundles of protein are associated with the brains of Alzheimer’s
patients. Oestrogen combined with testosterone – but not oestrogen alone -
also blocked their formation.

The new work suggests maintaining normal levels of testosterone in ageing
men, and adding testosterone to oestrogen supplements for post-menopausal
women, could help reduce the disease risk.

Dr Mel Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/

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