Being Bi-Lingual Could Avert Alzheimer’s by 5 Years

There are many suggested ways to delay or even avert Alzheimer’s and they usually revolve around staying mentally active. Now new research from Canada has found more dramatic evidence that speaking two languages can help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms by as much as five years.

The latest study examined the clinical records of more than 200 patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer’s disease and found 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. Dual language capability is not uncommon in Canada where many speak both English and French and the science team are not claiming that bilingualism in any way prevents Alzheimer’s or other dementias. What they are saying is that it may contribute to cognitive reserve in the brain which appears to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms for quite some time.

The lead investigator is Dr. Craik who is also co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Memory and he clarified that the brains of people who speak two languages still show deterioration from Alzheimer’s, 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.

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 patients who spoke only one language. Interestingly, there was no apparent effect of immigration status, and there were no gender differences.

The current study adds to mounting scientific evidence that lifestyle factors – such as regular cardiovascular exercise, a healthy diet, and keeping mentally alert – can play a central role in how the brain copes with age-related cognitive decline and diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

“Although a great deal of research is being focused on the development of new and more effective medications for Alzheimer’s disease, there are currently no drug treatments that show any effects on delaying Alzheimer’s symptoms, let alone delaying the onset of these symptoms by up to five years,” said Dr. Freedman, head of Neurology and director of the Sam and Ida Ross Memory Clinic at Baycrest.

That being the case it might be time to dust off the Linguaphone records, or sign up for a language class at your local adult education centre. Chinese ought to be difficult enough to stir the brain cells into action!

How to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s

I am always in favour of prevention rather than cure and there is now significant evidence that lifestyle and diet may play a role in reducing your risk of developing this increasingly common condition. Just as a heart-healthy diet reduces your risk of heart disease, a similar diet seems to also contribute to Alzheimer’s prevention by reducing some risks. The same medical conditions (diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol) and lifestyle factors (lack of exercise, poor diet, smoking, obesity) that lead to stroke and heart disease also lead to a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This is because the factors that affect blood vessels throughout the body also affect blood vessels in the brain.

In the latest study, published in April 2010, over 2,000 elderly New Yorkers who were dementia free were followed for almost 4 years. In that time, 253 subjects developed Alzheimer’s disease, and the dietary patterns of all subjects were characterized and analyzed. They don’t say at what point elderly begins, but I will be generous and assume that all their subjects were over the age of 60, but the common characteristics of a ‘brain-healthy’ diet generally avoids saturated fats and cholesterol, and emphasizes dark-skinned fruits and vegetables (rich in anti-oxidants) and coldwater fish (which contain omega-3 fatty acids).

The study found that those people who strongly adhered to this dietary pattern were 38% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease compared with those whose diet was significantly different.

If you want to minimise your risk of developing Alzheimer’s than basically you need to follow a modified Mediterranean diet. This means higher intakes of nuts, fish, tomatoes, poultry, cruciferous vegetables, fruits, salad dressing (oil and vinegar) and dark green leafy vegetables and a lower intake of high-fat dairy products, red meat, organ meat, and butter.

A previous study published in 2006, showed that people who most closely followed the Mediterranean diet had the lowest Alzheimer’s risk – 40% lower than those who were least likely to follow the diet. This diet places emphasis on eating fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans and grains with red meat and poultry eaten only rarely, and olive oil and fatty fish are the main sources of fat in the diet.

I think this is good news as once again it puts responsibility for our long-term health into our own hands — and hence into our stomachs. We have absolutely no control over our genetic inheritance or predisposition to certain diseases, but what we certainly can do is create the best conditions for optimal health through a health promoting — not health debilitating — diet.

Alzheimers detection in young people is possible

Alzheimer’s is one of society’s greatest fears, and although this item has been covered this week in the mainstream press I just wanted to highlight in case you missed it. It seems it may now be possible to have an early diagnostic test in teenagers to establish their risk for the disease as scans have found that people carrying the affected gene show changes in their brain activity decades before any symptoms from dementia might occur.

This gene is responsible for removing cholesterol from the blood and taking it to the liver where it is broken down and is involved in brain function and repair. The APOE4 version of the gene has also been linked with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and poor recovery from traumatic brain injuries. People who inherit one copy of the APOE4 gene are known to be at a four fold increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease while those with two copies are at ten times the normal risk. One in four of the population are though to have at least one copy of the gene, although even those who carry the altered gene are not certain to go on to have symptoms of dementia and those without the gene are not completely in the clear. A team at University of Oxford and Imperial College London carried out a series of brain scans on people aged between 20 and 35 who were showing no signs of the disease but were carrying the altered gene and compared the results to people with a different version of the gene. These results are the first to show that there was hyperactivity in the part of the brain involved in memory in healthy young people who have the APOE4 version of the gene. The study shows that their brains behave differently even when they are not asked to perform memory tests. It is thought the brains of people carrying the APOE4 version of the gene have to work harder both during memory tests and at rest and become ‘worn out’ which is what brings on symptoms of dementia later in life.

These are exciting first steps towards establishing a diagnostic procedure much earlier to show who may go on to develop Alzheimer’s and hopefully aid in prevention and treatment. Further news in this week is that the already popular Mediterranean diet might also significantly decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, according to a study from the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University.

A third of participants who strictly followed a Mediterranean diet were 28 percent less likely to develop borderline dementia than the third with the lowest adherence; and the diet also appeared to protect patients with borderline dementia from developing Alzheimer’s disease. Again, the ones with the highest adherence to the diet were 48 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than the one-third with the lowest compliance. So get out the olive oil and increase the amount of vegetables, fish and pulses and decrease the saturated fats, dairy and red meat.

Vitamin D and Alzheimer’s link confirmed

Cambridge University and the University of Michigan, have for the first time identified a relationship between Vitamin D and cognitive impairment in a large-scale study of older people. In northern climates there can be a lack of vitamin D, particularly in the winter months, when we suffer from grey skies and not enough sunshine.

Vitamin D is vital to our immune system and to keep our bones strong in the process of breaking down old bone and building up new bone. This process goes on throughout out lives, but it can slow down without the right levels of vitamin and mineral support. We obtain our supply from sunlight, foods fortified with vitamin D like cow’s milk, soya milk and cereals and oily fish. Unfortunately, as we get older we are less able to absorb vitamin D from sunlight so need to increase our intake from other sources or take supplements.

This new study is important because it reinforces the connection between vitamin D, cognitive function and dementia as in Alzheimer’s. The researchers assessed cognitive function in 2000 adults aged 65 and over in England, and what they found was that as levels of Vitamin D went down, their levels of cognitive impairment went up. In fact they had double the chance of being cognitively impaired than those in the study who had good levels of vitamin D.

As prevention is infinitely better than cure – which, sadly, in the case of Alzheimer’s is still being sought – it makes sense to do all you can to weigh the odds in your favour. Keep mentally alert with quizzes, crosswords or bridge. Take up a new hobby that stretches your brain (line or sequence dancing works well for this) and think about learning a new language or skill. Book a holiday in the sun in the winter and sensibly enjoy exposure to sunlight as often as you can. Supplements are easy to obtain, but there are cautions with them so don’t exceed the dose recommended by your doctor or a qualified nutritionist.

Blood test to detect early Alzheimer’s

There is no doubt that the fear of Alzheimer’s is a major concern for many people as they get older. A natural, and normal slight memory loss – those ‘senior moments’ – can develop into a genuine worry about the development of the disease. Part of the problem has been that there is no foolproof way of predicting who is vulnerable, no reliable test, or how to spot the disease in its very early stages. Now there may be a way to overcome this through a simple blood test.

Scientists at a California biotech company claim that the test is about 90% accurate and can detect Alzheimer’s two to six years before the onset of symptoms. It works through the signals the brain sends to the body’s immune system. These signals pick up changes in the blood proteins in the brain and certain changes in these proteins produce a pattern that’s characteristic to Alzheimer’s.

There are more than 100 different types of dementia, but Alzheimer’s is the most common and there are 417,000 people diagnosed with it in the UK – predicted to rise to over 1 million by 2025.

It will be a few years before this test is available for use by doctors and it would be offered first to those whose close relatives have the disease and who may be suffering memory loss themselves. It may be that you don’t want to know in advance if you have this disease, but an early diagnosis can give patients a chance to make changes to their diet and exercise more in an effort of slowing or staving off chances of getting the disease.

SELF HELP PROGRAMME
Despite common belief, heredity only plays a part in getting Alzheimer’s and it is more likely that environmental factors play a part – particularly the role of free radicals as they cause damage to cells. Cortisol, a stress hormone, may be a causative factor, particularly when produced over a long period of time and good nutrition and herbal treatments prevent and fight damage from free radicals and reduce stress. Toxins such as aluminium and mercury are also a problem since they can be taken into the body and remain in the tissues.

There are a number of things you can do to help lessen some of the symptoms, or the onset, of Alzheimer’s and these are just a few of the supplements that have been found to be effective in many cases:

*Ginkgo biloba for improved memory, attention and mood.

*B vitamins, particularly Folate, which is important to the nervous system and helps eliminate homocysteine from the blood.

*Vitamin E is a scavenger of free radicals and it is fat soluble so readily enters the brain where it is thought to slow cell damage.

*The Ayuredic herb Ashwagandha (Withania somniferum) is used as a brain tonic and reduces stress hormone levels

*DHEA is a hormone used to help cognitive function

*Chlorella aids in the detoxification process of heavy metals.

For more information on Alzheimer’s and dementia, visit www.alzheimers.org.uk

Brain probes could help alzheimer patients

One of the most lucrative markets these days is for anything that help people lose weight, and much of that research is in the field of appetite suppression – and there is a large pot of gold for anyone who finds one with no side effects. However, a startling by product of such research being done at Toronto Western Hospital in Ontario, Canada, has accidentally discovered a way to trigger vivid memories.

The hero of the piece is an obese man who had volunteered to help scientists as they attempt to find a part of the brain that could suppress the appetite when stimulated electrically.

When the scientists stimulated the hypothalamus, which has been associated with hunger, the man suddenly experienced a vivid memory from 30 years before. It was complete in all details, the people, the place, the colours exactly as if he were back there. While the hypothalamus has not previously been associated with memory, it borders a part of the brain that is known to influence memory and emotion so it seemed like a logical area to explore.

The researchers then implanted a device in his brain that would constantly stimulate that section of the hypothalamus. The device is similar to ones that have been implanted in other parts of the brain to control tremor in Parkinson’s disease.

After three weeks of stimulation at a low level, the man’s performance on two memory tests improved significantly and this leads researchers to hope that they can develop the technique into a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. They are now testing the device to see if it can stem the memory loss that can be such a distressing part of Alzheimer’s disease.

Mobile phones and children

There has been plenty of media coverage about the over use of mobile phones, particularly in adults, and the potential health hazards. It is the radiation emissions from the phones that could place users at risk of brain conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, and they have also been linked to cellular DNA damage, and children and teenagers are particularly vulnerable. Nor does the phone have to be switched on to cause a problem: even on standby mobile phones (and cordless phones) create a magnetic field.

It was in 2005 that research by the Irish Doctors Environmental Association (IDEA) first claimed to have found the first proof of health problems caused by mobile phones. They estimated that up to five per cent of the population could be suffering headaches, mood swings and hearing problems caused by radiation from handsets. At that time too, experts advising the Government warned that children under eight should not be given mobile phones because of the potential health risks. Now news is in from Canada where the Toronto department of public health has announced that children under the age of eight should not use a mobile, or cell, phone only in an emergency and young teenagers should restrict their use to just 10 minutes a day. Loren Vanderlinden, a health department supervisor and author of the report, has said that new studies are starting to suggest that long-term mobile phone usage may increase the risk of brain tumours, and this goes much further than the more tentative position of the UK health officials a few years ago when they also warned parents not to let children use a mobile.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

It may be hard, if not impossible to wean a teenager from their mobile phone or to restrict the time they are on it. However, there are some options for reducing the radiation that can help anyone who has prolonged use of a mobile. First it might be helpful to know what are the symptoms of over use:

** “Hot ear” effect / feel your brain is heated up
** Headache Fatigue / tiredness
** Nausea
** General discomfort
** Blurred vision

One of the ways to counteract the radiation is to have a device attached to the phone to affect how cells “receive / react” to wave radiations and usually this is done through some form of magnet. There is a website that offers Biophone and Bioguard – a unique technology that they claim is scientifically proven and works with a number of phones including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Samsung, and others – so if you want to know more visit them at www.biofona.co.uk and browse through the site.

Microsoft develop camera to help with memory loss

Microsoft is collaborating with a number of UK and worldwide studies in developing the use of an automatic wearable camera that takes photos continuously through the day. Researchers claim it can transform the life of patients with memory loss, and they are developing the ‘SenseCam’ camera at Microsft’s Cambridge laboratory.

SenseCam is a wearable digital camera that is designed to take photographs passively, without user intervention, while it is being worn. Unlike a regular digital camera or a cameraphone, SenseCam does not have a viewfinder or a display that can be used to frame photos. Instead, it is fitted with a wide-angle (fish-eye) lens that maximizes its field-of-view which ensures that nearly everything in the wearer’s view is captured by the camera.

It was in 2005 that Microsoft first started a trial with a 63-year -old patient from the Memory Clinic and Memory Aids Clinic at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, in Cambridge. This patient had amnesia resulting from a brain infection and typically would forget everything about an event within five days or less of it happening.

The patient was given a SenseCam and asked to wear it whenever the sort of event that she would like to remember was happening. After wearing SenseCam for the duration of such an event, she would spend around one hour reviewing the images every two days, for a two-week period. During the course of this period of assisted recall using SenseCam, her memory for the event steadily increased, and after two weeks she could recall around 80 percent of the event in question. What is perhaps more remarkable is that following the two-week period of aided recall, Mrs. B appears to have a lasting ability to recall the event even without reviewing the images.

Following the success of this first trial and the excitement it generated in both the research and clinical rehabilitation communities, Microsoft initiated a number of additional trials and are currently working with over half-a-dozen patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, and while these trials are ongoing the results to date are promising.

The programme has been funded with grants worth £220,000 for academics to investigate its health and medical applications. Among others, the money is going to the University of Exeter for a study of memory in Transient Epileptic Amnesia and to the Medical Research Council in Cambridge and the University of Bangor, Wales to study facilitated recollection in patients with dementia. Overseas, the University of Toronto and Columbia Medical School are collaborating on a trial with Sensecam to see if it could enhance quality of life in Alzheimer’s patients and the Centre for Mental Health and Brain Injury in Alberta, Canada is studying if it could help with Memory recovery in brain injury patients.