According to researchers from Finland and Sweden, people who live alone have twice the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in later life compared with married or cohabiting people.

Being widowed or divorced in mid-life carries three times the risk of developing dementia, says study author Miia Kivipelto.

As life expectancy increases in various regions of the world, dementia is becoming a growing health concern. In 2005 an estimated 25 million people had dementia, and the number is expected to reach 81.1 million by 2040. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States.

Dementia is a word for a group of symptoms caused by disorders that affect the brain. Memory loss is a common symptom of dementia. However, memory loss by itself does not mean you have dementia. People with dementia have serious problems with two or more brain functions, such as memory and language.

While there have been a number of studies linking being in a couple to good health and longevity this is the first study to focus on marital status and the risk of dementia.

The researchers interviewed a random sample of men and women derived from a group of 2000 adults. The participants came from two regions in Eastern Finland. They were initially surveyed at around 50 years of age and again around 21 years later. Participants were divided into the following groups: married/cohabitant, single, divorced or widowed. The team also investigated whether there was a link between living alone and being a carrier of the ApoE4 gene variant (or allele), the known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s.

The results reveal that people living without a partner during middle age had a higher risk of developing cognitive impairment in late life compared to those living with a partner. Individuals who become widowed at this age are three times more likely to develop dementia. The study also concluded that carriers of ApoE4 gene variant who lose their partners and remain living alone have the highest risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

These results are important for preventing dementia and cognitive impairment. As Kivipelto explains, we now know that it would be worth offering supportive intervention for individuals who have lost a partner.

Read the source article here

By uncovering a mechanism that causes damage to brain synapses during Alzheimer’s disease, researchers might have found a key to reducing or preventing nerve degeneration for these patients.

According to a report in the April 3 issue of Science, researchers at the U.S.-based Burnham Institute for Medical Research have shown that beta-amyloid protein “multimers” create excessive nitric oxide. This free radical then reacts with the protein Drp1, causing the fragmentation of mitochondria — the cell’s energy storehouses — in the brain, a violent process that causes the neurodegeneration linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Finish reading this article at: Brain Cells Give New Clues

ScienceDaily (Apr. 18, 2009) — New therapeutic approaches in Alzheimer’s disease are urgently needed. Work led by Professor Mark Pepys FRS over more than 20 years has identified a protein known as serum amyloid P component (SAP) as a possible therapeutic target in Alzheimer’s disease. In collaboration with Roche he developed a new small molecule drug, CPHPC, which specifically targets SAP and removes it from the blood.

In the exciting new work reported now in the PNAS, the Pepys team together with Professor Martin Rossor and colleagues from the Dementia Research Centre of UCL’s Institute of Neurology, have shown that the drug also removes SAP from the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Read the rest of this article by clicking the following link: Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a 100-year-old myth that’s over the hill. So says Dr. Peter Whitehouse, a geriatric neurologist and author of “The Myth of Alzheimer’s: What You Aren’t Being Told About Today’s Most Dreaded Diagnosis.”

Whitehouse, who played an important role in brain research that led to the first four medications designed to treat Alzheimer’s, has replaced the term “Alzheimer’s disease” with “severe brain aging.” That distinction, he says, makes all the difference. He says we need to stop throwing money at searching for a cure to what he calls “age-associated cognitive challenges.” Instead of medication, the focus should be on preventing brain aging through simple strategies such as exercise, reading and eating right, he says.

We talked with Whitehouse ahead of his visit to the Twin Cities this week.

The interview with Dr. Whitehouse can be viewed at the following link: Brain Aging

More good news on the neurobics front: Reading books, playing games or engaging in computer activities or crafts like pottery or quilting helps keep the brain young into old age, according to a new report. And while reading was good for the brain, watching too much TV seemed to be bad for it.

The findings, to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle in late April, add to a growing body of evidence that mental challenges, or “neurobics,” like crossword puzzles and word games help keep memory and thinking sharp.

The research, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., involved a random sampling of 1,321 men and women in their 70s and 80s. Among the participants, 197 had mild cognitive impairment, a form of memory loss that sometimes precedes Alzheimer’s disease. The remainder had no memory problems.
Interested in reading the full article? Follow the link: Keeping the Brain Young

• Researchers are getting closer to major advances in detecting and treating Alzheimer’s.

Sometime in the near future, probably in our lifetime, a patient will be able to undergo a test that will identify the biological markers of Alzheimer’s disease, much like cholesterol now serves as a biomarker for heart disease. Treatment will come in the form of a vaccine.

Such developments will be a huge breakthrough for a disease that today has no cure and can only be definitely diagnosed after death, when a patient’s brain is autopsied. What’s more, these tests and treatments aren’t the stuff of science fiction.

“A ton of work is being done in the field,” says Dr. Maria Carrillo, director of Medical and Scientific Relations for the Alzheimer’s Association. “We are on the hunt for early detection tests that can be done in a general practitioner’s office. And as far as medicines are concerned, we’re looking at a very robust pipeline.”

To read the rest of this article click here

Many people complain of memory lapses, but there is a difference between Alzheimer’s disease and forgetting where you left your keys. Absent-mindedness should not be confused with Alzheimer’s. If you are experiencing any of the 10 warning signs below, schedule an appointment with your doctor.

• Memory loss
• Difficulty performing familiar tasks
• Problems with language
• Disorientation to time and place
• Poor or decreased judgment
• Problems with abstract thinking
• Misplacing things
• Changes in mood or behavior
• Changes in personality
• Loss of initiative.

Source: The Alzheimer’s Association