Finding Alzheimer's Before a Mind Fails

TaliaHoffman
TaliaHoffman
Founding Member

Posted: Dec 26, 07 7:24am

A very interesting piece in today's NYTimes on Alzheimer's. We watched my mother-in-law fall further and further away from us before she died and my husband and I live in fear of this dreaded disease. I'm assuming I'm not the only one on tbd who feels this way.

Take a look at this piece. Excerpts below. The whole piece can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/health/26alzheimers.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin.

“Alzheimer’s disease may be a chronic condition in which changes begin in midlife or even earlier,” said Dr. John C. Morris, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis, where Ms. Kerley volunteers for studies.

But currently, the diagnosis is not made until symptoms develop, and by then it may already be too late to rescue the brain. Drugs now in use temporarily ease symptoms for some, but cannot halt the underlying disease.

Many scientists believe the best hope of progress, maybe the only hope, lies in detecting the disease early and devising treatments to stop it before brain damage becomes extensive. Better still, they would like to intervene even sooner, by identifying risk factors and treating people preventively — the same strategy that has markedly lowered death rates from heart disease, stroke and some cancers.

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3 Comments // 5 Members
vwomack
vwomack
Founding Member

Posted: Jan 2, 08 5:13pm

A very interesting piece in today's NYTimes on Alzheimer's. We watched my mother-in-law fall further and further away f...

My late grandmother and my bf's mother died of it. I'm very interested in some of research I've heard about on NPR that blocks the formation of plaque in the brain.

Has anybody seen any actual research on the value of "brain excercises" like crosswords and Sudoku to help prevent Alzheimer's?

I am worried about my friend, who has increasingly severe OCD. (His mother had it--there were sixty years of instant coffee jars in her house. He's taken up Sudoku, hoping it will prevent his going down the same road.

MichaelCastleman
MichaelCastleman
Staff

Posted: Jan 2, 08 5:31pm

A very interesting piece in today's NYTimes on Alzheimer's. We watched my mother-in-law fall further and further away f...

My mother-in-law died of Alzheimer's. My father currently has it. Before either of them was diagnosed, I wrote a book on the disease, There's Still a Person In There (Putnam). Alzheimer's is fundamentally the neurological manifestation of cardiovascular disease. Everything that increases risk of heart disease increases risk of Alzheimer's. And every lifestyle modification that reduces risk of heart disease also reduces risk of Alzheimer's. So I agree with Talia. Let's publicize this connection and encourage healthy lifestyle. I'm also all for better diagnostic tests that detect incipient brain changes earlier in life. Like a first heart attack, such tests might be a wakeup call encouraging people to embrace a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, most people aren't into a healthy lifestyle. I've never understood why.

tweedledum
tweedledum
Founding Member

Posted: Jan 3, 08 1:05pm

My late grandmother and my bf's mother died of it. I'm very interested in some of research I've heard about on NPR that...

I haven't seen any research on the exercises, but my Mom did it all for several years. Maybe it delayed some of the symptoms of the disease...who knows? But there is no stopping it. So if someone you know is "going down that path", best you can do is educate yourself and hold on tight.