AlzDigest » alzheimer’s dementia

Study Shows Drugs Battling Dementia Can Double Death Rate

paul — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:02:07 +0000

A leading British medical journal has published a study indicating that drugs readily prescribed to combat dementia in Alzheimer’s patients double the risk of death in a three-year period.

The U.K.’s Alzheimer’s Research Trust paid for the study which was published in the most recent issue of The Lancet Neurology. The research was conducted by a team led by Clive Ballard of King’s College in London.

The study focused on 165 patients in Alzheimer’s care homes. All of the subjects had been taking antipsychotic drugs to battle the effects of dementia. For the research, about half the patients kept taking the antipsychotic medication while the other half began receiving a placebo.

After three years, about two-thirds of patients taking the placebo were still alive while only one-third of those taking the medication lived. Specifically, after 24 months, the survival rate for those on medication was 41 percent as opposed to 71 percent for those withdrawn from medication. After 36 months, 30 percent of those on medication survived while 59 percent on the placebo were still alive.

A report compiled for a British Member of Parliament last year showed that about 100,000 Alzheimer’s patients with dementia routinely receive antipsychotic medication. The drugs target the symptoms of dementia such as aggression and delusion.

Ballard said the lesson of the study is that the research and care-giving communities need to seek more benign treatments for dementia symptoms.

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Canadian Research Shows Alzheimer’s Hitting Younger Patients

paul — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:22:48 +0000

Calling Alzheimer’s disease a “rising concern” in Canada, researchers in that country say not only could the number of those suffering from the disease double in a generation, recent data also appears to say people are being affected at a younger age.

Marking the start of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, the Alzheimer Society of Canada released data this month that showed 71,000 of the half-million Canadians living with the disease or dementia related to it are younger than 65.

The data means the impact of the disease won’t be limited to the country’s health care system but will affect business and industry as well as they deal with workers who contract it.

Among the facts revealed by the study are:

Of Canadians over age 65, one in 11 suffer from Alzheimer’s or related dementia.
Of Alzheimer’s sufferers, women comprise 72 per cent.
Another 250,000 people in Canada might develop the disease within five years.
The total number of Canadians with the disease could more than double in 25 years to between 1 million and 1.3 million.

As a result, the Canadian Society called on citizens to donate in January in support of Alzheimer’s research and to make their concerns known to lawmakers.

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Good Knight! Author, Alzheimer’s Activist Gets Knighthood

paul — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:00:13 +0000

Late each December in Britain the “Honours List” announces who will receive knighthoods – among other royal honors – for the coming year. This year, the list included Terry Pratchett, a best-selling science fiction author who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and has become active in raising awareness about the disease.

Pratchett is the creator of the Discworld series with more than 60 million books in print which have been translated into more than three dozen languages. He had received the Order of the British Empire in 1998.

It was just last year that Pratchett went public with the fact that he was seeing signs in himself of Alzheimer’s in its early stages. He promised to continue writing, but he has done more than that.

In addition to raising public awareness of the disease, Pratchett has spoken to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at his Downing Street home to request more funding for research into the effects of Alzheimer’s, such as dementia. He also donated more than $700,000 to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust. Finally, he has become an official celebrity patron of the trust.

Study Shows Drugs Battling Dementia Can Double Death Rate A leading British medical journal has published a study indicating...
Canadian Research Shows Alzheimer’s Hitting Younger Patients Calling Alzheimer’s disease a “rising concern” in Canada, researchers in...

Study Finds No Evidence of Ginkgo’s Effect on Dementia

paul — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:35:09 +0000

A study published in Journal of the American Medical Association found ginkgo biloba, a dietary supplement, was not effective in combating Alzheimer’s-related dementia.

Dr. Richard Hodes, who is the director of the National Institute on Aging, said that scientists have taken great strides in their knowledge of how Alzheimer’s disease works, adding that they are working diligently toward treatments for it. Despite that desire to find answers, however, he said their study showed no preventive effect by the ginkgo supplement on Alzheimer’s disease.

The study and researchers were backed financially by five organizations from the National Institutes of Health, including: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; National Institute on Aging; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the Office of Dietary Supplements.

The study was titled the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) study, and with eight years of work at four sites, it was the largest clinical test of the effects of ginkgo against dementia.

In the study, 3,069 participants were included. Participants had to be 75 or older and have normal cognition or only mild impairment. No patients with dementia were included in the study. After screening, two groups were randomly created with one receiving a ginkgo extract and the other a placebo twice daily.

Evaluation of the results of up to seven years of testing showed no difference in the number from each group who developed more serious cognitive impairment.

According to Dr. Stephen DeKosky, the lead researcher for GEM study, the results confirmed the value of trials and tests such as those conducted. But, he added, older patients who are using dietary supplements like ginkgo and hoping they will prevent dementia should get with their health care providers to look for the best plan of treatment.

Image: Stanford University

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Donated Bracelets Help Track Wandering Patients

paul — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:39:54 +0000

Funded by a $6,000 anonymous donation, residents of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, who suffer from illnesses that produce dementia will be able to have tracking bracelets that allow emergency personnel to find them if they wander.

“Our department is thrilled to be able to implement this vital program,” Portsmouth Fire Chief Jeffrey Lynch told the East Bay Newspapers. “Last year, we were involved in a search and rescue effort to locate a man from Prudence Island who suffered from Alzheimer’s and wandered from his home. We were able to locate him the following day, but he later succumbed to his injuries. Had he been wearing a wristband, we would have found him almost immediately and his tragic death could have been prevented.”

A benefactor from out of state donated the money for the program that funds equipment and training for using the bracelets. Portsmouth firefighters are the first officials in Rhode Island to receive the system, which is provided by the FOUND Program of the National Autism Association.

The money will provide five of the $300 tracking wristbands to families with demonstrated financial need, plus one year of the $25 annual maintenance fee.

Wendy Fournier, who is president of the National Autism Association, told the newspaper that people receiving the equipment can gain peace of mind for their loved ones who suffer from a cognitive impairment and are prone to wander.

“Many are non-verbal and do not respond to a searcher calling for them,” she said.

The bracelet’s broadcast range is about a mile, and once reported as misssing, the average wandering patient is found within 30 minutes, Fournier said.

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Suspecting Dementia? Holidays Offer Time to Observe

paul — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:00:49 +0000

Holidays offer a time to enjoy being with our loved ones, but they also create an opportunity to connect with aging relatives and, perhaps, take note whether signs of physical or mental impairment are beginning to emerge.

Mild impairment such as memory loss was once regarded as simply a sign of advancing age, however, now such signs are seen as a possible early warning of a more serious problems such as Alzheimer’s-related dementia.

“Some change in memory is normal as we grow older, but the warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease are more than simple lapses in memory,” according to the American Alzheimer’s Association.

For example:

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, it’s normal for someone to forget a particular part of a memory of an occasion, but forgetting everything concerning an event is one indication.
Anyone can forget where a car is parked in a crowded lot during the holidays. But watch for signs such as someone forgetting how to start their car or turn on devices in the car (radio, lights).
Similarly, anyone can forget a name of someone they’ve met. Cause for concern is when someone forgets the meeting ever having taken place.
Finally, forgetfully losing track of items such as car keys or glasses can happen to us all. What doesn’t happen to an unimpaired mind is to find the items in incorrect places such as the refridgerator of a cookie tin.

This is a sample of the signs available from the Alzheimer’s Association, for a complete list visit the organization’s web site.

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Silver Alerts Help When Dementia Patients Wander

paul — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:08:09 +0000

Florida recently joined 12 other states in implementing a Silver Alert program designed to help law enforcement officials locate a patient with dementia who has wandered from home.

“It is common for a person with dementia to wander and become lost, many repeatedly,” according to the Alzheimer’s Association. “In fact, over 60 percent of those with dementia will wander at some point.”

While the programs vary from state to state, all share the general concept of the Amber Alert that is used to find missing children. When a patient suffering from dementia wanders off, authorities are notified and the Silver Alert goes into effect.
According to the National Association of State Units on Aging and MSNBC, among states participating in the Silver Alert program now are:

California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Texas
Virginia

As an example of how the plan works, when a Florida man went missing recently, the Silver Alert placed an automated phone call to everyone in multi-square-mile area around his home, and he was quickly found. The man was trying to get to Alabama, and trying to go such an improbable distance is a common problem.

“They don’t understand how far they are from home,” Christa Ksiezopolski of the Alzheimer and Parkinson Association of Indian River County, Florida, told The New York Times.

But implementing the program has not been without controversy. New York state officials determined not to set up a Silver Alert, fearing it would dilute the impact of the Amber Alert program, the NASUA said in a May 2008 survey of states.

That survey gives details on seven state programs. Other states fear privacy concerns with senior citizens, who, unlike missing children, have the righs of an adult.

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