AAN Study Suggests Concussions May Be Linked to Alzheimer's Disease

A study published in the American Academy of Neurology medical journal Neurology® suggest that there is a link between concussion and Alzheimer's Disease.

The study involved 589 people who were 70 years old or older. 448 of the peole had no signs of memory problems and 141 experience mild cognitive impairment (MCI). They were all given brain scans and asked whether they had ever experienced a brain injury that involved any loss of consciousness or memory.

The study showed that for those who had MCI and experienced a brain injury, their levels of Alzheimer causing amyloid plaques were 18% higher than those with no head trauma history.

Similarities between concussions and Alzheimer's Disease have been observed by scientists before. But no conclusive proof have yet been found relating one to the other. This recent study proves that finding a definitive link between the two may be a bit complicated.

A concussion is a head injury where the brain is shaken inside the skull. These concussions can be caused by injuries to the head that affects the scalp, skull or brain. These injuries can lead to Traumatic Brain Injury (TMI) where patients can experience short term memory loss, disorientation, unconsciousness or even permanent damage to the brain.

In March 2013, the American Academy of Neurology released new guidelines in evaluating and managing athletes with concussions to address the rise of head injuries with concussions being on the top spot.

Slowing Down Aging Process Through Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Molecular Protein Wnt5a

Human Stem Cell

Scientists are studying a signalling pathway that links hematopoietic stem cells and the Wnt5A protein that can slow or even reverse aging. They noted that the WNT pathway that signals the production of Wnt5a leads to the activation of another protein called Cdc42 which results in stem cell aging. By suppressing the pathway, stem cells are rejuvenated and functionally acts younger.

Stem cells are cells in the body that can transform into other higher types of cells, tissue, or even organs. The stem cell observed in this study are hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). HSCs can be found in the bone marrow and also in the umbilical cord blood, embryo or peripheral blood in the human body. They can transform into many different types of blood cells such as erythrocytes, basophils, neutrophils and B-lymphocytes.

By suppressing the Cdc42 protein through the molecular signalling pathway, HSC starts to function younger which can lead to therapies that will boost their immune systems, fight illnesses and enhance overall vitality especially for the elderly.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Show Simple Mental Activities Can Maintain Healthy Brain In Old Age

Researchers collected data using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) to track brain activity and found a link between regular mental activities such as reading, writing, and playing mental games and healthy aging brains.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging is a type of imaging using Magnetic Resonance Imaging that tracks the movement of water molecules in the tissue or blood vessel. It is useful in studying the structural integrity of a tissue or organ. In the brain study, slow movement of water means that the flow is impeded by structures within the organ. A faster flow would mean that there are less structures in the brain.

There are many natural factors that inhibit the health of the brain when it starts to age. Cell senescence (when the brain cells starts to lose the ability to divide), diet, environment, mental and physical stimulation, and regular brain activity are some of these factors.

Cardiovascular Mortality Risk In Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) Increases With Age

Sleep apnea is a disorder where the affected person experiences episodes where breathing stops or becomes shallow while sleeping. Apnea is the term for each pause in breathing. The apnea can vary from a few seconds to a few minutes.

AHI or Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) is a measurement of how many times an apnea episode occurs in one hour. An AHI of 5 below is considered normal. AN AHI of 30 or above is categorized as severe since it would mean that on average, the patient stops breating every two minutes.

There are three forms of sleep apnea; central (CSA), obstructive (OSA), and complex or mixed sleep apnea (a combination of CSA and OSA).

Central sleep apnea occures when breating is interrupted because of lack of effort in breathing. Obstructive sleep apnea involves a physical blockage which causes the airflow to stop, snoring is usually a symptom of OSA.

The goal in treating sleep apnea is to keep the air passage open and allow the patient to breath easily while sleeping. For OSA, a CPAP device is used to assist in breathing. It is a tight fitting face mask that is attached to a machine that assists in breathing. CPAP stands for Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).

OSA increases cardiovascular mortality in the elderly

Untreated severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality in the elderly, and adequate treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) may significantly reduce this risk, according to a new study from researchers in Spain.

"Although the link between OSA and cardiovascular mortality is well established in younger patients, evidence on this relationship in the elderly has been conflicting," said lead author Miguel Ángel Martínez-García, MD, of La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital in Valencia, Spain. "In our study of 939 elderly patients, severe OSA not treated with CPAP was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality especially from stroke and heart failure, and CPAP treatment reduced this excess of cardiovascular mortality to levels similar to those seen in patients without OSA."

The findings were published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

New Physiotherapy Guidelines For Treating Elderly People Released

Physiotherapy is better known as physical therapy in the United States. It is a segment of the health care profession that deals with the physical movement of the human body. Physiotherapy addresses the physical impairments and disabilities of the body and maximizes movement potential through health promotion, preventive healthcare, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of the patient.

Physiotherapists (or physical therapists) are professionally trained to assess and treat movement impairing conditions. Medical subjects that touch on physiotherapy such as physiology, anatomy, and neuroscience aid the physiotherapist understand more and develop the skills needed to carry out the profession. These therapists are also known simply as PTs.

Some methods in physiotherapy include:

• Physical movement and exercise
• Manual therapy Techniques
• Water (Aquatic) Therapy
• Acupuncture

New physio guidelines for the elderly at risk of falls

Taking a fall in older life can not only result in injury, but also a potentially debilitating loss of confidence. But new guidelines for physiotherapists, co-compiled by a leading academic in the field from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD), University of Exeter, aim to refresh out-dated guidelines and introduce better direction for physiotherapists who work with elderly people at risk of falling.

As we get older our risk of falling increases, regardless of environment and social background – King Juan Carlos of Spain is a high profile example. As well as the physical and psychological impact of falls on the individual, they also have impact on a pressed NHS – according to Age UK some 3.5m people aged 65 and over take a fall each year, at an estimated cost to the NHS of £4.6m a day.

The new guidelines have been developed with the help of academics by Agile, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy's professional network for those working with older people. Physiotherapists play a key role in the care of older people at risk of or who have had a fall, both in hospitals and in primary care and community health environments.

The last guidelines were published in 1998 and since then there have been significant advances in policy, practice and technology.

Caffeine Can Aid Elder People Maintain Strength and Enhance Muscle Performance

Caffeine is a chemical stimulant that is found in seeds, leaves, and fruits of some plants. The majority of caffeine is derived from coffee beans. It is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid. As a central nervous system stimulant, caffeine is the most consumed psychoactive drug.

Caffeine stimulates the brain by blocking adenosine from binding to neural receptors in the brain. Adenosine has a calming effect on the body and is responsible for the feeling of sleepiness. Since caffeine is similar in structure to adenosine, it binds to the neural receptors and does the opposite. It stimulates the receptors making the person more alert and active.

90% of the world's population consume caffeine in one form or another. 80% of US adults consume an average of 200mg of caffeine every day. Doctors recommend the daily consumption of caffeine be limited to under 300mg per day. The US FDA treats caffeine both as a drug and a food additive. It is legal and unregulated in nearly all parts of the world

Caffeine boosts power for elderly muscles

A new study to be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting on 30th June has shown that caffeine boosts power in older muscles, suggesting the stimulant could aid elderly people to maintain their strength, reducing the incidence of falls and injuries.

For adults in their prime, caffeine helps muscles to produce more force. But as we age, our muscles naturally change and become weaker.

Sports scientists at Coventry University looked for the first time at whether these age-related changes in muscle would alter the effect of caffeine. They found that caffeine continued to enhance muscle performance in two different muscles from mice, although it was less effective in older muscles.

Eating Food Rich In Omega-3 Fatty Acids Such As Fish, Chicken, and Nuts Lowers Risk of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's Disease is a condition where the normal and healthy functions of the human brain is damaged. It is a form of dementia (a loss of brain function).

Alzheimer's disease affects memory, thinking, cognition, and psychological behavior. It is incurable.

The disease slowly progresses throughout the brain destroying brain cells. It is caused when protein fragments called plaques and tangles stick together to form the Alzheimer's protein. This protein then starts to kill brain cells starting at the hippocampus and ultimately destroying the whole brain. Brain shrinkage is typical for people with Alzheimer's disease.

The disease usually affects the elderly but there are cases where people under the age of 65 contract Alzheimer's. According to the National Institute on Aging, as many as 5.1 million Americans may have Alzheimer's disease.

Eating fish, chicken, nuts may lower risk of Alzheimer's disease

A new study suggests that eating foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish, chicken, salad dressing and nuts, may be associated with lower blood levels of a protein related to Alzheimer's disease and memory problems. The research is published in the May 2, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"While it's not easy to measure the level of beta-amyloid deposits in the brain in this type of study, it is relatively easy to measure the levels of beta-amyloid in the blood, which, to a certain degree, relates to the level in the brain," said study author Nikolaos Scarmeas, MD, MS, with Columbia University Medical Center in New York and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

Spin Labeled Fluorene Compounds - Molecules That Can Aid In Prevention And Delay of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's is a brain disease that damages the normal, healthy functions of the brain. It is caused when protein fragments called plaques and tangles stick together to form the Alzheimer's protein. This protein then starts to kill brain cells starting at the hippocampus and ultimately destroying the whole brain.

Alzheimer's disease affects around 5.1 million people in the United States. It is usually a disease affecting the elderly. The disease starts by affecting memory functions then killing cells that affect various brain functions.

After destroying the part of the brain that affects balance and mobility, the disease finally affects the area where breathing and heart functions are controlled. The disease is slow usually taking eight to ten years from start to finish. Currently, there is no cure for this progressive and deadly brain disease.

UC Davis researchers create molecule that blocks pathway leading to Alzheimer's disease

UC Davis researchers have found novel compounds that disrupt the formation of amyloid, the clumps of protein in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease believed to be important in causing the disease's characteristic mental decline. The so-called "spin-labeled fluorene compounds" are an important new target for researchers and physicians focused on diagnosing, treating and studying the disease.

The study, published today in the online journal PLoS ONE, is entitled "The influence of spin-labeled fluorene compounds on the assembly and toxicity of the Aβ peptide."

"We have found these small molecules to have significant beneficial effects on cultured neurons, from protecting against toxic compounds that form in neurons to reducing inflammatory factors," said John C. Voss, professor of biochemistry and molecular medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine and the principal investigator of the study. "As a result, they have great potential as a therapeutic agent to prevent or delay injury in individuals in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease, before significant damage to the brain occurs."

Mental and Physical Stimulation During Old Age Show Better Cognitive Performance And A Younger Brain

When a person ages, there is a decline in memory functions. This is called Age Related Memory Impairment (AMI) or Age Associated Memory Impairment (AAMI). There is difficulty in making new memories and working memory declines.

There are two major kinds of memory. Declarative memory and Procedural Memory.

Declarative memory refers to memories which can be consciously recalled such as facts and knowledge (country of birth, name of school). Procedural memory is memory for how to do things like driving a car.

The types of memories most likely to be affected are:

• Episodic memory - memory of experienced events (times, places, associated emotions, and other contextual knowledge) that can be explicitly stated (ex.the first kiss).
• Semantic memory - Memory derived from meanings, understandings, and other concept-based knowledge unrelated to specific experiences (ex. Knowing that rocks are not edible).
• Short term memory - Memory that holds a small amount of information readily available for a short period of time (ex. a dictated phone number).
• Priming - an effect on implicit memory which is a type of memory in which previous experiences aid in the performance of a task without conscious awareness of these previous experiences. Priming is similar to conditioning the brain to associate a word or image through subconscious or indirect means.

Out of these types, episodic memory is the most impaired in normal aging as well as short term memory. These impairments may be related to the brains decreased ability to gather information together during the encoding of the memory as well as its retrieving the associations later.

With old age, source information also declines. Source information is knowledge that includes where and when the information is learned. The ability to recollect the source and context of information is very important in daily decision-making. An example is the ability to recollect why one product or brand is more preferred than the other, why it is preferred, and how that information came to be.

Maintain your brain: The secrets to aging success

Aging may seem unavoidable, but that's not necessarily so when it comes to the brain. So say researchers in the April 27th issue of the Cell Press journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences explaining that it is what you do in old age that matters more when it comes to maintaining a youthful brain not what you did earlier in life.

"Although some memory functions do tend to decline as we get older, several elderly show well preserved functioning and this is related to a well-preserved, youth-like brain," says Lars Nyberg of Umeå University in Sweden.

Vitamin D Deficiency Linked To High Mortality Rates in Nursing Home Residents

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in very few foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. It is also produced endogenously (originate from within an organism, tissue, or cell.) when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger the synthesis of vitamin D.

Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and maintains adequate serum calcium and phosphate concentrations to enable normal mineralization of bone and to prevent hypocalcemic tetany. It is also needed for bone growth and bone remodeling by osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Without sufficient vitamin D, bones can become thin, brittle, or misshapen. Vitamin D sufficiency prevents rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Together with calcium, vitamin D also helps protect older adults from osteoporosis.

Vitamin D has other roles in the body, including modulation of cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and reduction of inflammation. Many genes encoding proteins that regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis are modulated in part by vitamin D.

A new study has shown that there is a connection between vitamin D deficiency and a higher mortality in female nursing home residents. It underscores a need for effective strategy for preventing and treating vitamin D deficiency

The majority of institutionalized elderly female patients are vitamin D deficient and there is an inverse association of vitamin D deficiency and mortality, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM).

Recommendations for dietary vitamin D intake in the elderly are higher than any other age group because vitamin D deficiency is extraordinarily prevalent in this population and is considered a causal risk factor for skeletal diseases. Treatment involves the daily ingestion of up to 800 IU of vitamin D. The current study examined whether vitamin D deficiency is an independent risk factor for mortality in institutionalized elderly patients.

New Technologies Can Make Caregiving Easier

According to a study published by the National Alliance for Caregiving and UnitedHealthcare, those who care for elderly family members or friends think technology could make their responsibility easier.

The study found that over 70 percent of caregivers think technology could save them time, manage the logistics of caregiving more easily, increase feelings of effectiveness as a caregiver, reduce stress and make the person for whom they care for feel safer.

These technologies could help caregivers ensure that they are giving their loved ones the best possible care. Through the use of digital tools, caregivers and doctors can properly coordinate the patient’s care, confirm that medication is being taken correctly and help caregivers monitor their loved ones from
remote locations.

According to the study, 77 percent of caregivers want access to electronic medical records. This will give them the information they need to make better-informed decisions on patient care. Many patients see more than one physician, which can make keeping up with appointments, lab results, previous care and health history very difficult on the caregiver.

Having online access to their loved ones health records would decrease the chance of missed appointments and errors in care. However, coordination of care for a patient between the doctor and the caregiver can be tricky, because doctors must first obtain permission from the patient that their caregiver can have access to their medical records. However, if the caregiver has power of attorney, this permission is not n needed.