Showing posts with label health alzheimers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health alzheimers. Show all posts

Friday 24 June 2011

Protein 'helps predict Alzheimer's risk'

Protein 'helps predict Alzheimer's risk'

Woman
Risk of Alzheimer's can be predicted with 80% accuracy, says report
A protein in spinal fluid could be used to predict the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to German researchers.
Patients with high levels of the chemical - soluble amyloid precursor protein beta - were more likely to develop the disease, they found.
Doctors said in the journal Neurology this was more precise than other tests.
Alzheimer's Research UK said early diagnosis was a key goal, and the study represented a potential new lead.
Doctors analysed samples of spinal fluid from 58 patients with mild cognitive impairment, a memory-loss condition which can lead to Alzheimer's.
The patients were followed for three years. Around a third developed Alzheimer's.
Those who developed the illness had, on average, 1,200 nanograms/ml of the protein in the spinal fluid at the start of the study.
Those who did not started with just 932 nanograms/ml.
Beta amyloid proteins have already been implicated in Alzheimer's itself, but not as a "predictor" of the disease.
The researchers said that a combination of soluble amyloid precursor protein beta, defective tau proteins, which are involved in the structure of brain cells, and a patient's age was 80% accurate in predicting the onset of the disease.
Early diagnosis crucial
There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease. If a treatment is developed, it is thought that it would need to be delivered early, before any permanent damage was done.
Dr Robert Perneczky, from the Technical University Munich, said: "Being able to identify who will develop Alzheimer's disease very early in the process will be crucial in the future.
"Once we have treatments that could prevent Alzheimer's disease, we could begin to treat very early and hopefully prevent the loss of memory and thinking skills that occurs with this devastating disease."
More than 800,000 people have dementia in the UK, and that figure is expected to rise as populations get older.
Rebecca Wood, chief executive of Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "The ability to diagnose Alzheimer's early is a key goal for doctors and researchers. This small study provides a potential new lead to follow up.
"We will need to see larger trials before we can know how accurate this method could be as a diagnostic test. It will also be important to see how measurements of these proteins compare to those found in healthy people."

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Warning over combining common medicines for elderly

Warning over combining common medicines for elderly

Taking multiple common drugs has been linked to brain decline and death
Combinations of commonly used drugs - for conditions such as heart disease, depression and allergies - have been linked to a greater risk of death and declining brain function by scientists.
Pills
They said half of people over 65 were prescribed these drugs.
The effect was greatest in patients taking multiple courses of medication, according to the study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Experts said patients must not panic or stop taking their medicines.
The researchers were investigating medicines which affect a chemical in the brain - acetylcholine. The neurotransmitter is vital for passing messages from nerve cell to nerve cell, but many common drugs interfere with it as a side effect.
Eighty drugs were rated for their "anticholinergic" activity: they were given a score of one for a mild effect, two for moderate and three for severe. Some were given by prescription only, while others were available over the counter.

Some of the drugs examined

Category one, mild
  • Codeine (painkiller)
  • Warfarin (blood thinner)
  • Timolol maleate (eye drops)
Category three, severe
  • Piriton (antihistamine)
  • Ditropan (incontinence drug)
  • Seroxat (antidepressant)
A combined score was calculated in 13,000 patients aged 65 or over, by adding together the scores for all the medicines they were taking.
A patient taking one severe drug and two mild ones would have an overall score of five.
Deadly consequences
Between 1991 and 1993, 20% of patients with a score of four or more died. Of those taking no anticholinergic drugs only 7% died.
Patients with a score of five or more showed a 4% drop in ratings of brain function.
Other factors, such as increased mortality from underlying diseases, were removed from the analysis.

“Start Quote

Do not stop your medicines without taking advice first”
End Quote Dr Clare Gerada Royal College of GPs
However, this study cannot say that the drugs caused death or reduced brain function, merely that there was an association.
Dr Chris Fox, who led the research at the University of East Anglia, said: "Clinicians should conduct regular reviews of the medication taken by their older patients, both prescribed and over the counter, and wherever possible avoid prescribing multiple drugs with anticholinergic effects.
Dr Clare Gerada, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said the findings of the study were important.
She told patients: "The first thing is not to worry too much, the second thing is to discuss it with your doctor or the pharmacist, and the third thing is do not stop your medicines without taking advice first."
She said doctors reviewed medication every 15 months and were aware of the risks of combining different drugs.
Dr Fox said he wanted to conduct further research to investigate how anticholinergic drugs might increase mortality.
Synapse Electrical signals cannot cross the gap between brain cells; neurotransmitters pass the message on
A more modern study is also thought to be desirable. Practices and drugs have changed since the data was collected two decades ago.
Ian Maidment, an NHS pharmacist in Kent and Medway, believes the situation may now be even worse.
He said the use of anticholinergic drugs had "probably increased as more things are being treated and more drugs are being used."
Brain decline
Reduction of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine has already been implicated in dementia.
The drug Aricept is given to some patients with Alzheimer's disease to boost acetylcholine levels.
Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the Alzheimer's Society, said a 4% drop in brain function for a healthy person would feel like a slow, sluggish day.
"If you are at a level where one little thing pushes you over into confusion, then that is much more serious," she added.
"However, it is vital that people do not panic or stop taking their medication without consulting their GP."
Rebecca Wood, chief executive of Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "This comprehensive study could have some far-reaching effects. The results underline the critical importance of calculated drug prescription."
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Thursday 9 September 2010

Vitamin B 'puts off Alzheimer's'

8 September 2010 Last updated at 22:05

Vitamin B 'puts off Alzheimer's'



CT scan Brain scan of a person with Alzheimer's
A new study suggests high doses of B vitamins may halve the rate of brain shrinkage in older people experiencing some of the warning signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Brain shrinkage is one of the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment, which often leads to dementia.
Researchers say this could be the first step towards finding a way to delay the onset of Alzheimer's.
Experts said the findings were important but more research was needed.
The study, published in the journal Public Library of Science One, looked at 168 elderly people experiencing levels of mental decline known as mild cognitive impairment.
This condition, marked by mild memory lapses and language problems, is beyond what can be explained by normal ageing and can be a precursor to Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.
Half of the volunteers were given a daily tablet containing levels of the B vitamins folate, B6 and B12 well above the recommended daily amount. The other half were given a placebo.
After two years, the rate at which their brains had shrunk was measured.
The average brain shrinks at a rate of 0.5% a year after the age of 60. The brains of those with mild cognitive impairment shrink twice as fast. Alzheimer's patients have brain shrinkage of 2.5% a year.
The team, from the Oxford Project to investigate Memory and Ageing (Optima), found that on average, in those taking vitamin supplements, brain shrinkage slowed by 30%.
In some cases it slowed by more than 50%, making their brain atrophy no worse than that of people without cognitive impairment.
'Protecting' the brain
Certain B vitamins - folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12 - control levels of a substance known as homocysteine in the blood. High levels of homocysteine are associated with faster brain shrinkage and Alzheimer's disease.

“Start Quote

These vitamins are doing something to the brain structure - they're protecting it, and that's very important because we need to protect the brain to prevent Alzheimer's”
End Quote Professor David Smith Oxford University
The study authors believe it was the B vitamins' effect on levels of homocysteine that helped slow the rate of brain shrinkage.
The study author, Professor David Smith, said the results were more significant than he had expected.
"It's a bigger effect than anyone could have predicted," he said, "and it's telling us something biological.
"These vitamins are doing something to the brain structure - they're protecting it, and that's very important because we need to protect the brain to prevent Alzheimer's."
He said more research was now needed to see whether high doses of B vitamins actually prevented the development of Alzheimer's in people with mild cognitive impairment.
The Alzheimer's Research Trust, which co-funded the study, also called for further investigation.
"These are very important results, with B vitamins now showing a prospect of protecting some people from Alzheimer's in old age," said chief executive Rebecca Wood.
"The strong findings must inspire an expanded trial to follow people expected to develop Alzheimer's."
B vitamins are found naturally in many foods, including meat, fish, eggs and green vegetables.
Experts are advising against taking higher than recommended levels in the light of these findings.
Chris Kennard, chair of the Medical Research Council's Neurosciences and Mental Health Board, said: "We must be cautious when recommending supplements like vitamin B as there are separate health risks if taken in too high doses.
"Further research is required before we can recommend the supplement as a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's."

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Wednesday 16 December 2009

appetite hormone likely to develop the disease

Alzheimer's risk linked to level of appetite hormone


The hormone leptin controls appetite
burger
High levels of a hormone that controls appetite appear to be linked to a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, US research suggests.
The 12-year-study of 200 volunteers found those with the lowest levels of leptin were more likely to develop the disease than those with the highest.
The JAMA study builds on work that links low leptin levels to the brain plaques found in Alzheimer's patients.
The hope is leptin could eventually be used as both a marker and a treatment.
The hormone leptin is produced by fat cells and tells the brain that the body is full and so reduces appetite. It has long been touted as a potential weapon in treating obesity.
But there is growing evidence that the hormone also benefits brain function.
Research on mice - conducted to establish why obese patients with diabetes often have long-term memory problems - found those who received doses of leptin were far more adept at negotiating their way through a maze.
The latest research, carried out at Boston University Medical Center, involved regular brain scans on 198 older volunteers over a 12-year period.
A quarter of those with the lowest levels of leptin went on to develop Alzheimer's disease, compared with 6% of those with the highest levels.
"If our findings our confirmed by others, leptin levels in older adults may serve as one of several possible biomarkers for healthy brain ageing and, more importantly, may open new pathways for possible preventive and therapeutic intervention."
Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "Previous studies have shown that obesity in mid-life is associated with an increased risk of dementia, but this new research suggests that leptin might have a role to play.
"There is evidence that leptin has functions in the brain - further studies in this area could lead to the possibility that this hormone plays a role in new treatments for Alzheimer's."
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