According to the study by new University of Colorado Boulder research associates, aging rats that ran just over half a kilometer each week were protected against infection-induced memory loss.

Even a small amount of running was sufficient to confer robust benefits for those rats that ran compared to those that did not run, the researchers found.  “This is an important finding because older aged individuals are more vulnerable to memory impairments following bacterial infections or surgery,” explains Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.  “Millions of baby boomers are reaching the age when diminished memory should be of great concern.”

Prior research studies have shown that exercise in humans protects against declines in cognitive function associated with aging and protects against dementia. Researchers also have shown that dementia is often preceded by bacterial infections, such as pneumonia, or other immune challenges.

The OC resesearchers noted that this is the first study to show that voluntary exercise reduced aging-induced susceptibility to the cognitive impairments that follow a bacterial infection.  The researchers found that rats infected with E. coli bacteria experienced detrimental effects on the hippocampus, an area of the brain that mediates learning and memory.   Small amounts of voluntary exercise prevented the priming of microglia, the exaggerated inflammation in the brain, and the decrease of growth factors.

Scientists at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City reported that small clusters of A-beta protein, called “oligomers”, found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, are what poison brain cells and cause the memory loss associated with the disease. 

Today 5.4 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzeimers according to data shared by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, the national trade group that helps consumers get long-term care insurance coverage.  “Alzheimer’s is the most costly long-term care incident impacting individuals and their families,” explains Jesse Slome, the organization’s executive director.

Previous research has shown that grape seed polyphenolic extract (GSPE) slows and may even stop A-beta oligomers from being formed.  As a result, the scientists indicate it also reduces cognitive impairment and the characteristic brain degeneration seen in mice bred to develop Alzheimer’s Disease.

For almost half a year, researchers gave GSPE to mice bred to develop Alzheimer’s Disease.  The mice’s brains had significantly reduced levels of the chemical implicated in the promotion of Alzheimer’s disease memory loss. B

As a result, the researchers concluded that GSPE was a safe, low-cost intervention that can selectively lower levels of memory-impairing A-beta oligomer in live subjects, and “strongly suggest that GSPE should be further tested as a potential prevention and/or therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease.

The lead scientist noted that patients who are already in the first stages of the disease may also benefit from early intervention with such a treatment.  Funds from the National Institutes of Health helped pay for the study.

According to researchers, another study found that blood tests could indicate higher risks of dementia later in life.

Alzheimer’s disease is not curable and existing treatments only have limited effects notes Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.  Alzheimer’s is the leading cause of costly long-term care need among seniors.

The ability to precisely diagnose Alzheimer’s disease during life, which is now impossible, could lead to improved research.

The findings from the study were published Jan. 19 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Currently, doctors correctly diagnose Alzheimer’s disease about 85 percent of the time. The illness can be confirmed only through brain analysis after death.

In one of the new studies, researchers led by a team from Avid Radiopharmaceuticals reported that they were able to find signs of Alzheimer’s disease by using PET scanning technology. They had scanned 35 people who appeared to have the disease before their deaths and looked for signs of beta amyloid, a kind of gunk that clogs the brain in people with the illness.

The other study attempted to measure levels of beta amyloid in the blood. It linked lower levels — a sign that the gunk is getting tied up in the brain — to higher cognitive problems in 997 elderly people over a nine-year period.

The researchers also found that people with higher levels of “cognitive reserve” — such as those with higher levels of education and literacy — seemed to be buffered against dementia, said the study’s lead author at the University of California, San Francisco.

The study conducted by Canadian scientists found more dramatic evidence that those who have spoken two or more languages consistently over many years experienced a delay in the onset of their symptoms by as much as five years. 

“We are not claiming that bilingualism in any way prevents Alzheimer’s or other dementias, but it may contribute to cognitive reserve in the brain which appears to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms for quite some time,” said Dr. Craik, lead investigator and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Memory. 

The brains of people who speak two languages still show deterioration from Alzheimer’s pathology; however, their special ability with two languages seems to equip them with compensatory skills to hold back the tell-tale symptoms of Alzheimer’s, such as memory loss, confusion, and difficulties with problem-solving and planning. 

Observations were made on patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer’s from 2007 to 2009. The patients’ date of diagnosis and age of onset of cognitive impairment were recorded along with information on occupational history, education and language history (i.e. fluency in English and any other languages). 

The researchers found that bilingual patients had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 4.3 years later and had reported the onset of symptoms five years later than the monolingual patients. The groups were equivalent on measures of cognitive and occupational level, there was no apparent effect of immigration status, and there were no gender differences. 

According to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, the current study adds to mounting scientific evidence that lifestyle factors – such as regular cardiovascular exercise, a healthy diet, and speaking more than one language – can play a central role in how the brain copes with age-related cognitive decline and diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada.

Luteolin is found in many plants, including carrots, peppers, celery, olive oil, peppermint, rosemary and chamomile.  The compound inhibits the release of inflammatory molecules in the brain.

According to researchers who examined the effects of dietary luteolin in a mouse model of aging and reported their findings in the Journal of Nutrition.

The researchers focused on specialized immune cells that reside in the brain and spinal cord.   Inflammation in the brain also appears to be a key contributor to age-related memory problems, said the University of Illinois animal sciences professor who led the new study.

Scientists found previously that during normal aging, microglial cells become dysregulated and begin producing excessive levels of inflammatory cytokines.  The researcher has spent nearly a decade studying the anti-inflammatory properties of nutrients and various bioactive plant compounds, including luteolin.

According to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance which tracks aging research and issues, this is the first study to suggest, however, that luteolin improves cognitive health by acting directly on the microglial cells to reduce their production of inflammatory cytokines in the brain.

The researchers showed that microglial cells that were exposed to a bacterial toxin produced inflammatory cytokines that could kill neurons. When the microglia were exposed to luteolin before they encountered the toxin, however, the neurons lived.

The researchers next turned their attention to the effects of luteolin on the brains and behavior of adult (3- to 6-month-old) and aged (2-year-old) mice. The mice were fed a control diet or a luteolin-supplemented diet for four weeks. The researchers assessed their spatial memory and measured levels of inflammatory markers in the hippocampus, a brain region that is important to memory and spatial awareness.

Normally, aged mice have higher levels of inflammatory molecules in the hippocampus and are more impaired on memory tests than younger adult mice. Aged mice on the luteolin-supplemented diet, however, did better on the learning and memory task than their peers, and the levels of inflammatory cytokines in their brains were more like those of the younger adult mice.

The data suggests that consuming a healthy diet has the potential to reduce age-associated inflammation in the brain, which can result in better cognitive health.

According to a new report the cost will surpass $601 billion by the end of this year; over 1% of global GDP (Gross Domestic Product).  The new report published by Alzheimer’s Disease International. 

The report was authored by Professor Anders Wimo of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; and Professor Martin Prince, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, UK.

“This should be an important wake-up call that Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are the single most significant health and social crisis of the 21st century,” declared Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.  “Individuals are woefully unprepared for the social and economic disruptions this disease will cause.”
The reports highlights the following information:

Global costs of dementia will surpass 1% of global GDP this year

Global costs of dementia will exceed $601 billion for the year 2010

There will be two times as many people with dementia in 2030 as there are today

There will be three times as many people with dementia by 2050 as there arean today

The costs of caring for individuals with dementia will probably increase faster than the increase in prevalence. This will be especially so in developing nations.

Although dementia is one of the costliest illnesses, research and development, as well as investments are considerably smaller than for other major illnesses which do not impact as much on national economies.

One expert nooted that this new Report gives us the clearest, most comprehensive picture yet of the global economic and social costs of dementia. The World Alzheimer Report 2010, merged the best available data and the most recent insights regarding the worldwide economic cost of dementia. This enabled researchers to provide more detailed estimates than before, by making use of recently available data that considerably strengthens the evidence base.

According to the findings of studies conducted by researchers from Oxford University, England, in an article published in Plos One (Public Library of Science One), this two-year clinical trial is the largest ever which examined the effect of B vitamins on “mild cognitive impairment” (MCI).

Individuals with MCI have a higher risk of progression to Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia notes Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance the industry’s trade group.

“People with mild cognitive impairment can function in everyday activities, but they may have problems with memory, such as recalling people’s names, losing the flow of a conversation, and not remembering where they left things,” Slome explains. Approximately 16% of individuals aged over 70 years are affected by mild cognitive impairment.
David Smith, University Department of Pharmacology and Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics, University of Oxford, trial co-leader, said:

The single-center, randomized, double-blind controlled trial involved 168 volunteers who all had been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment.  One group received high daily doses of vitamins B₆ (0.5 mg/d) and B₁₂ (20 mg/d), as well as folic acid (0.8 mg/d). This was 300 times the recommended daily intake for B₁₂, 15 times daily recommended amounts of B₆, and 4 times daily recommended intake of folic acid.

The other group received a placebo (tablets without any active ingredients).  Treatment lasted 24 months.

The principal outcome measure was the change in the rate of atrophy of the whole brain, assessed by serial volumetric MRI scans.

The researchers found that the B vitamin with folic acid group had an average brain shrinkage of 0.76% per year.   The placebo group had an average brain shrinkage of 1.08% per year. 

Those with the highest homocysteine blood levels at the start of the trial who took the B vitamins and folic acid experienced half the brain shrinkage compared to individuals with the highest homocysteine blood levels at the start and who received the placebo. 

To learn more about long-term care insurance and receive a free, no obligation quote for this protection, visit the Association’s Consumer Information Center.  Click here now.

Research published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry conducted by researchers at Bangor University, Wales found that people who received cognitive rehabilitation felt their performance of daily activities improved. Carers of those receiving the treatment also noted an improvement in their own quality of life.

Cognitive rehabilitation is a treatment where people with dementia work with health professionals to identify personal goals and develop strategies for achieving them. 

Goals were tailored to the participants’ specific needs and included things such as remembering details of jobs to be done around the house, maintaining concentration when cooking, learning to use a mobile phone and remembering the names of people at an exercise class. The cognitive rehabilitation group said they saw an improvement in their ability to carry out all of the chosen activities.

The trial compared eight weekly individual sessions of cognitive rehabilitation with relaxation therapy and no treatment. As well as setting and working on goals the cognitive rehabilitation group also learnt and practised techniques for taking in new information, managing stress and maintaining attention and concentration.

The Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Society, says, ‘This research is the first trial of its kind to evaluate the effectiveness of the ‘cognitive rehabilitation’ technique.   The findings provide a basis for a larger study of cognitive rehabilitation as a means of assisting people in the early stages of dementia and their families to better manage the condition.’

Millions will develop dementia in the next ten years according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. In order to enable people with dementia to live well with the condition we need more funding to further research in this area.

Researchers report that drugs, called anticholinergics, block acetylcholine, a nervous system neurotransmitter, and are widely-used medical therapies. They are sold over the counter under various brand names such as Benadryl, Dramamine, Excedrin PM, Sominex, Tylenol PM, and Unisom. Other anticholinergic drugs, such as Paxil, are available only by prescription. 

Older adults most commonly use drugs with anticholinergic effects as sleep aids and to relieve bladder leakage problems.

Researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine conducted a six-year observational study, evaluating 1,652 Indianapolis area African-Americans over the age of 70 who had normal cognitive function when the study began. In addition to monitoring cognition, the investigators tracked all over-the-counter and prescription medications taken by study participants.

The scientists found that taking one anticholinergic significantly increased an individual’s risk of developing mild cognitive impairment .  Taking two of these drugs doubled this risk.

 Posted by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance

“Millions of aging seniors suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease,” explains Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.  These conditions account for the longest and most costly causes for long term health care.

When a person ages they lose certain spines the researchers noted.  We did not know which ones and how their loss impacted cognition.  The new study shows which spines are lost and what their impact is on brain function, giving us a foundation to research treatment interventions to protect against age-related cognitive decline.

The research team studied six young adult and nine older rhesus monkeys as they participated in a delayed response test. The monkeys watched as food was baited and hidden, and then a screen was put in front of them so they could no longer see the location of the hidden reward.

At the beginning of the test, the screen was raised immediately and the monkeys were able to find the food reward right away. The subject’s memory was tested by increasing the time that the reward was blocked from view to test if the monkeys retained where the reward was placed over longer intervals of time. Aged monkeys performed significantly worse on the tests than young monkeys, especially as the time intervals increased.

The researchers determined that the older monkeys lacked the thin spines but retained the larger spines, indicating that the loss of the thin spines may be responsible for the monkeys’ inability to learn and retain information during the test. For the first time, the researchers determined that the large spines were stable, which provides a synaptic basis for the observation that expertise and skills learned early in life are often maintained into old age. 

The study is published in the June 2 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.