Preventing Alzheimer's Disease

Several strategies may be worth trying to prevent Alzheimer's.
In the first of a related series of articles focusing on Alzheimer's disease, the Los Angeles Times (7/26, Roan) reports that nothing has been found to prevent Alzheimer's disease, according to an "assessment was issued by a National Institutes of Health task force at an April meeting." However, "several healthy and inexpensive strategies are clearly worth trying, say neurologists and Alzheimer's researchers." Currently, "the strategies with the most support are regular physical activity, a Mediterranean diet, and high levels of cognitive engagement."
Early-stage programs may be valuable for those recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The Los Angeles Times (7/26, Ogilvie) discusses the value of "early stage programs" to assist patients newly diagnosed with Alzheimer's and their families. Such programs provide "a safe place to be heard; educational seminars and day trips; and access to practical advice on matters, such as financial planning and end-of-life care," as well as alleviate the isolation such a devastating diagnosis brings. In fact, according to Steven Arnold, a professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Pennsylvania and the director of the Penn Memory Center, "interacting with people who are sensitive to what they're going through...can comfort people with the disease and help alleviate that isolation, as well as the depression that the Alzheimer's Assn. estimates affects 20%-40% of patients."
Five medications have been approved to treat cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer's. The Los Angeles Times (7/26, Roan) reports, "Five medications have been approved to treat the cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer's disease." The medicines, which include Namenda (memantine), Razadyne (reminyl galantamine), Exelon (rivastigmine), Aricept (donepezil), and Cognex (tacrine) "can reduce some symptoms -- such as difficulties with memory, language, attention and reasoning -- especially in the early stages of the disease." However, "they don't work for everyone, and none of them works permanently."
Researchers now targeting tau as well as beta-amyloid to develop new therapies . The Los Angeles Times (7/26, Adams) reports that researchers "studying treatments for Alzheimer's disease have focused on telltale plaques that appear in patients' diseased brains as a target for therapy. The plaques are clumps of a small protein called beta-amyloid that build up in the space around nerve cells and interfere with normal brain function." However, "earlier this month at an international conference, different tangled structures inside neurons took center stage alongside plaques. These so-called neurofibrillary tangles involve another protein, called tau, that normally functions to move critical supplies around neurons. Tau tangles are now being targeted with new experimental therapies."
Researchers report progress on Alzheimer's blood test. The Houston Chronicle (7/25, Ackerman) reported, "Texas scientists are on the verge of developing a blood test to identify patients with Alzheimer's disease, a potential breakthrough on the difficult-to-diagnose ailment. The test, details of which were presented at an international conference on Alzheimer's in Hawaii this month, would give nonspecialists who often have trouble diagnosing the disease a tool to catch it earlier and make a referral when its progression can still be slowed. ... The study was the product of the Texas Alzheimer's Research Consortium, a Legislature-created collaboration that includes Baylor, Texas Tech, UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth."
Research in mice explores role sirtuin may play in Alzheimer's. The New York Times (7/24, A9, Wade) reported, "A potentially promising approach to treating Alzheimer's disease has been developed by researchers studying sirtuin, a protein thought capable of extending lifespan in laboratory animals." In fact, by "using mice prone to developing Alzheimer's, the researchers showed that activating sirtuin suppressed the disease and that destroying sirtuin made it much worse." The researchers from the "Massachusetts Institute of Technology...say it raises the hope of treating Alzheimer's, and possibly other neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's, with drugs that activate sirtuin." The Boston Globe (7/26, Weintraub) also covers the story.