November is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month

President Ronald Reagan designated November as National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month in 1983. At the time, fewer than 2 million Americans had Alzheimer’s; today, the number of people with the disease has soared to more than 5 million. By 2050, 11 to 16 million people will likely have Alzheimer’s.

Later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s himself, President Reagan died in 2003.

While there is much we don’t yet know about Alzheimer’s disease, tremendous progress has been made since 1983. National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness month to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease and to shed light on the importance of finding breakthroughs in diagnosis, prevention, treatments and, eventually, a cure.

The Healing Project would also like to emphasize that Alzheimer's is only one of several types of dementia and there is a grwoing body of evidence that many patients present with multiple forms of dementia. The cure will not be easy and will require an open mind.

National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month
Alzheimer's Association
225 North Michigan Avenue, 17th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601-7633
(800) 272-3900
(866) 699-1246
info@alz.org
http://www.alz.org/
Materials available
Contact: None designated

Gender Differences Affect the Development of Dementia

The Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry published an article, Risk profiles for mild cognitive impairment and progression to dementia are gender specific, that presents finding that men and women have different risk profiles for the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

French researcher’s conducted a study of approximately 7,000 subjects 65 and over in three French cities. The screening excluded patients presenting dementia but included subjects with mild-Cognitive Impairment (approximately 40% of the sample). The subjects were tested at inclusion and retested in two and four year intervals.

6.5% patients presenting with mild-Cognitive Impairment developed some for of dementia within 4 years. 50% of the sample remained stable and 33% of the sample had their cognitive function return to normal.

The French researchers found:

Subjects that had ApoE 4 marker were more likely to progress from mild-Cogntive Impairment to dementia;

Female subjects with depression and those taking anticholinergic medications were more likely to progress from mild-Cognitive Impairment to dementia;

Female subjects with mild-Cognitive Impairment was a positively associated poor general health, disability and lacking a support network with conversion to dementia;

Female subject who could not perform basic activities of daily living converted at a 3.5x the sample and those with depression converted at 2x the rate.

Male subjects mild-Cognitive Impairment was positively associated with overweight, having diabetes, and having a history of stroke;

Male subjects with mild-Cognitive Impairment was positively associated with being overweight, diabetic, and having a history of stroke converting to dementia;

Male subjects with a history of stroke converted from mild-Cognitive Impairment to dementia at three times the rate of other subjects;

The Healing Project has strongly advocated in the past and still advocates routine screening for cognitive impairment because in many cases it reflects conditions that can be treated and fully reverse the cognitive impairment. Clinical treatment protocols should take into account possible gender differences and seek to reverse where possible mild-Cognitive Impairment.

Cognitive Impairment Identified in 1 in 5 Seniors

Meaningful cognitive impairment afflicts 1 in 5 Seniors reports Joan Arehart-Treichel in Psychiatric News.

American, Canadian and European researchers have estimated that between 17% and 27% present evidence of measurable cognitive impairment without dementia.

The Healing Project has strongly advocated better diagnostic procedures be utilized in meeting the needs of the elderly. Dementia is often misdiagnosed or is failed to be diagnosed. If you or a loved one feels that they are not thinking clearly make sure to see an experienced psychiatrist, gerontologist or neurologist to make a diagnosis.



Common causes of cognitive deficits without dementia include alcohol abuse, depression, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

Given the common nature of this disorder, one should realize in many cases it is reversible. First and foremost as we age we all become somewhat less sharp; don’t be alarmed. In some cases, the decline may be treatable and/or reversible. On the other hand, exercise, better nutrition, lowering cholesterol, and managing blood pressure can only have beneficial effects on one’s mind.

The Healing Project highly recommends the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s Practical Guide to Achieving and Maintaining Cognitive Vitality with Aging. It is cogent and useful. It was authored by Dr. Howard Fillet one our nation’s leading dementia researchers and clinicians.

High Doses of vitamin E in Combination with a Cholinesterase Inhibitor Show a Decrease in Mortality

This study conflicts with recent studies that demonstrated increased mortality associated with high doses of vitamin E. In addition, some studies have demonstrated an increase in Lung Cancer associated with high doses of vitamin E.

This study was conducted over 15 years tracking survival rates among 847 men and women already diagnosed with various stages of Alzheimer's by Valory Pavlik of Baylor College of Medicine's Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center in Houston, Texas. Patients were prescribed two daily doses of 1000 IUs of vitamin E. The researchers found that patients who consumed the prescribed daily dosage of vitamin E appeared to extend their life span by 26 percent, compared with those not taking vitamin E. The study controlled for age, gender, years of education, race, ethnicity, co-morbidities and severity of dementia at the point of inclusion in the study.

These results would argue additional research is required.

Long-term use of Hormone Therapy Does not Influence the Incidence of Dementia

The long-term use of estrogen or estrogen plus progestin hormone therapy does not reduce the risk of dementia, according to findings published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The study was by led Dr. Valerie Crooks, of Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena. The study included 2,900 dementia free women at baseline with 1500 on hormone therapy. The subjects were at least 75 years of age. Tests were conducted annually to measure cognitive ability.

Of the 1500 of the women in the study were hormone users, the average age at the start of hormone therapy was 48.3 years for those who used estrogen alone and 54.9 years for those who used estrogen/progestin. The average duration of hormone use was 30.5 years and 23.2 years for estrogen and estrogen/progestin users, respectively.

283 women developed dementia during over the course of the study. The study controlled for age, education, and medical history. The conclusion is that hormone use did not affect the risk of dementia when the intervention begins near or around post-menopause.

Hormone therapy cannot be fully dismissed as the types of hormones, levels of hormones, and the time of first administration has not been fully examined. Further, the identification of subsets of patients that might benefit from a hormone intervention has not been identified. More work is needed.

Less than 2% of Early-Onset Dementia is Alzheimer’s

A great deal of press was generated a few years ago when The U.S. Administration on Aging highlights 2006 estimates released by the Alzheimer's Association, which indicate that between 220,000 and 640,000 American men and women currently suffer from early-onset dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association specifically defined early-onset dementia as Alzheimer’s developed at an age below 65. Many in the research community rolled their eyes as this was unlikely to be the case and was unnecessarily alarmist and not based on scientific evidence.

Dr. Brendan J. Kelley, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota has conducted a study focused exclusively on 235 patients diagnosed with a form of dementia diagnosed between the ages of 17 and 45 -- citing statistics suggesting that 12 in 100,000 people develop some form of early-onset dementia before the age of 45. The results of the study is that early onset dementia is the result of inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Huntington's, lupus or HIV infection.

The study’s data indicated that approximately:

33% of the cases were classified as frontotemporal dementia
20% of the cases of dementia were resulting from autoimmune and inflammatory disorders
10% of the cases of dementia resulted from metabolic disorders
20% could not be directly attributed to any cause.

Dr. Kelley is attempting to identify markers that would offer better diagnostic methods for early-onset dementia. He rightly believes that these types of dementia may be treated by combating the underlying disease mechanism.

Regrettably, this is just further evidence that dementia research has taken a back seat to Alzheimer’s research. Of the 5,5MM so-called Alzheimer’s patients in the United States, epidemiological evidence would argue a population that includes misclassified cases of vascular dementia, pharmaceutical dementia, Lewy Body Dementia, frontotemporal dementia, as well as, depression. Complicating matters is that many patients present with overlapping and co-morbid conditions. Research indicates that only 60% have Alzheimer’s involvement and only approximately 30% of patients present with Alzheimer’s solely. The tragedy is that many misclassified patients could benefit through known clinical interventions and that much of the research that has been conducted over the last two decades does not account for the true nature of dementia in the elderly.

The Healing Projects Invites Caregivers, Patients, Professionals and Family Members to Join Its Social Network

New Social Networking Website Connects Patients and Caregivers

The Healing Project is launching today Voices Who Care, an innovative social networking website for individuals dealing with life-threatening or chronic illnesses. This website is designed to connect the patient and caregiver communities by providing individuals with a forum where they can meet online.

Key features of the website include:
* Person-to-person search by disease category
* Individual pages including bios, blogs, photo galleries
* Email capabilities
* Community bulletin boards

As the site grows, additional functionality will be added to expand the utility of the site.

Please join its free. Sections and resources have been developed for ALCOHOLISM, ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, AUTISM, BREAST CANCER, CANCER, CEREBRAL PALSY, DIABETES, DOWN SYNDROME, EPILEPSY, FRAGILEX, LEUKEMIA, LUNG CANCER, LYMPHOMA, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, PARKINSON'S DISEASE, SENIOR SERVICES AND AGING ISSUES, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, VETERANS SERVICES

It is Free and tailored to your needs.