Dr. Fortanasce Explains the Alzheimer's Disease Crisis and a
4/2/2010 ·
Q: Doctor, why is Alzheimer’s such a huge concern?
Dr. Fortanasce: Alzheimer’s disease is a big concern because this mind destroying epidemic is a growing national crisis. The toll is personal, financial, and medical.
- The current cost of Alzheimer’s disease is estimated to be $110 billion [each year in the U.S.], and that cost is anticipated to increase in the next 10 years.
- Currently the total Medicare allowance is only $280 billion.
- Seventy percent of patients with Alzheimer’s disease will be in nursing homes within two years of the diagnosis, and then will be there in the nursing home for an average of 7 years.
- Fifty percent of all households will have a close relative or friend suffering from Alzheimer’s.
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Q: Dr. Fortanasce, your breakthrough book offers a science-proven plan to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. In The Anti-Alzheimer’s Prescription, you offer a 4-step plan that can begin at any age. What are the crucial steps we should all take now?
Dr. Fortanasce: First is to understand why we fail. We fail due to a loss of will power. Remember, without will power, there is no power. Will power depends on two neurotransmitters: serotonin and dopamine. The formula to succeeding on any lifestyle plan is simple: increase serotonin and dopamine and you will be on your way to preventing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Fact – The average 50 year old has begun 100 diets and lifestyle changes, while the average 70 year old, 200. Without taking the crucial steps to control stress and sleep, we will begin diet and lifestyle plan 101 at 50 and 201 at 70, and by 80 have a 50% chance of having Alzheimer’s disease.
The second thing is to have a science-proven plan. The Anti-Alzheimer’s Prescription gives the unique yet simple 4-step DEAR plan –
- D for diet,
- E for exercise,
- A for accentuating the brain’s reserve, and
- R for rest & relaxation techniques.
This will prevent Alzheimer’s disease in 70% and delay it in the rest. Finally, never give up, have hope. This is a marathon, not a series of 100-yard dashes.
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Q: Why do you believe that so many are at risk to suffer from Alzheimer’s, to the point you fear 78 million Baby Boomers could become part of an Alzheimer’s epidemic that can cripple families and our healthcare system?
Dr. Fortanasce: First, our health care system has failed us. Though in the past 100 years our life span has increased 35 years, our brain span has not increased a single day, and we have no magic bullet on the medical horizon.
We are given false hope. This has left us with a fate worse than death – Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is a disease of affluent societies. It is a result of a SaD lifestyle.
- S stands for sedentary (1 in 4 after 50 exercise more than once a week), sleeplessness (the average American sleeps 6.5 hours – in 1926 we slept 9.5 hours), and stressful (70% of Americans feel they are overwhelmed at least weekly).
- D is for our diet that is full of transfats (tenfold increase since 1954). [Transfats are created industrially by addition of hydrogen to plant oils, turning them to solid fats. They raise levels of “bad” cholesterol and reduce “good” cholesterol.] The FDA and its titanic food pyramid incorrectly told us, in 1970, to eat carbohydrates and reduce fat and protein when science, even back then, said that was wrong.
A class action suit should be made to help all those with diabetes, insulin resistant diabetes and obesity that is epidemic today and has increased Alzheimer’s disease risk by up to six-fold.
The very governmental department the FDA organized to protect us has given us advice that I believe is at the base of the Alzheimer’s epidemic. It is equivalent to the FDA saying "smoke some cigarettes."
* * * *
Q: Is Alzheimer’s really something individuals have control over in terms of prevention – or is it inevitable with age or genetic predisposition?
Dr. Fortanasce: The real problem is that are we capable of doing something about it but don’t.
- Clearly, Alzheimer’s disease is within our control and can be prevented for 70% of us.
- 30% of us have a genetic predisposition, but can delay its onset by 10 to 15 years.
Remember, Alzheimer’s disease is lifestyle induced and begins in childhood. For the child who is sedentary, sleepless, and has a poor diet, studies show that children and adolescents who are obese at 18 years old have a 70% chance of being obese (with a predisposition to hypertension), diabetes, and suffering vascular disease at 50.
Parents and grandparents can help or hinder their children’s future brain longevity. What you do today will affect their brain tomorrow. We need to start The Anti-Alzheimer’s Prescription with our children. For adults, the prescription is mandatory.
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Q: What are the chief risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s?
Dr. Fortanasce: The chief risk factors are what I call the sentinel risk factors. Sentinel means “watchman.” If we watch our sleep and handle our stress correctly we can maintain a diet, an exercise program, and have time to rest, meditate, and be happy. We simply can’t deal with stress by eating. Stressed spelled backwards is desserts.
* * * *
Q: What events caused you to pursue a cure for Alzheimer’s disease? How did you discover a plan for preventing or delaying the onset of the memory-robbing disease?
Dr. Fortanasce: First, I experienced Alzheimer’s disease with my father. I denied my father had Alzheimer’s disease and rationalized it to be due to a heart valve problem until I returned to his birthplace in Italy. There, in 2005, I found long-lost relatives, three of whom died of Alzheimer’s disease in their 70’s. I could no longer deny my susceptibility.
Secondly, it was my self-realization of the double damage that we in the medical profession cause. First, we give patient’s false hope that the medication will delay the onset or progression of the disease. We make them incur debts that can bring them to bankruptcy. When I realized medicine had no magic bullet, I knew I had to do something.
I then reviewed over 200 studies that clearly showed Alzheimer’s disease could be prevented by a lifestyle change that is included in the 4-step DEAR method.
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Q: Are there any medical treatments showing success for Alzheimer’s?
Dr. Fortanasce: With new drugs or stem cell research, are we on the verge of a cure? People like fairy tales. People want to believe a cure is right around the corner. One of the cruelest tales was told to Nancy Reagan. It said by adding stem cells they could cure Alzheimer’s. Recently, the American Academy of Neurology said there is no cure around the corner after a phase III study on [the "antiamyloid" drug] tramiprosate failed.
To make people believe that we are on the verge of a cure is like believing we can protect our children from life’s hardships. We cannot. We can only prepare them to deal with life’s trials and tribulations. With Alzheimer’s, we cannot hide from it or deny it. It will attack us. We can only learn to prevent it, and that takes determination and a plan. It is a scientifically proven plan that I give in The Anti-Alzheimer’s Prescription.
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Q: As a well-respected neurologist and rehabilitation director in Southern California, you have treated thousands of individuals over several decades, including “celebrities, politicians, high-powered, stress-filled people” such as Pope John Paul II, former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, etc. Are such people more vulnerable to developing Alzheimer’s? Why?
Dr. Fortanasce: Yes. One thing that I realized was those I would least likely believe would get Alzheimer’s disease were doctors, lawyers, and police officers. But I found a higher rate of Alzheimer’s in physicians than any other profession. The same with Ronald Reagan.
All intelligent, determined and constantly using their minds, so what do they all have in common? Why were they vulnerable? Stress and sleeplessness – what I call the sentinel risk factors.
- Stress skyrockets our aging hormones,
- While sleeplessness suppresses our youthful hormones and causes carbohydrate binges that cause insulin to peak.
Why is that bad? Binging on carbs is like smoking cigarettes each time we do it; it leaves a residual “amyloid” deposit on the brain like a cigarette leaves tar on the lungs. This starts 30 years before the first signs of Alzheimer’s.
You know the signs if you are over 50. It’s on the “tip of your tongue” – that name, that word, your keys. You can have a high-profile job and a lot of stress but if you manage it right you can avoid Alzheimer’s disease. The Anti-Alzheimer’s Prescription gives you the tools to do it.
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Q: What exactly is Alzheimer’s, how long can people live with it, and why is it so feared?
Dr. Fortanasce: Alzheimer’s disease is a slow progressive disease of the brain that robs us of our memory, our independence, and makes us a burden on those we love. First it causes memory loss, then behavioral changes including hallucinations, combative behavior, embarrassing sexual behavior, and finally, loss of the ability to control one’s bowels, bladder, and even the ability to walk.
It is of epidemic proportions with 5.4 million with it today in the USA. The question to ask is, “Why has it increased 10-fold in those over 65 and 24-fold in those under 65 in the past 50 years, despite our standard of living tripling over the same time?”
It is feared because people live an average of nine years with it. Most horrifying is that 30% are placed in nursing homes within one year, 70% in two years, where they are imprisoned for another 7 years alone, separated from family, friends, and home.
Don’t tell me they don’t know what is happening to them, because many do. It is The Great American Tragedy.
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Q: How are you promoting an Anti-Alzheimer’s Diet?
Dr. Fortanasce: By the Harmonic Diet. It tells you what to eat, in what order, and in what proportions.
Foods to have include:
- Fish, an anti-inflammatory, such as salmon;
- Nuts and berries - the darker the better;
- Vegetables;
- Carbs - whole grains; and snack pack with almonds.
Foods to avoid:
- “Jet-Carbs” - pastas, and refined breads;
- Transfats - especially in cookies, cakes, hamburgers.
- You must avoid “Brain-Busting” snacks: chocolate and candy.
We need to understand the Hormonal Symphony and its conductor – insulin. Insulin-peaking occurs with the “Jet-Carbs.”
Cigarettes are to the lungs as insulin is to the brain. Cigarettes leave tar and increases lung disease. High insulin leaves amyloids and Alzheimer’s disease. To avoid this, eat protein and fats first.
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Q: What role does sleep play?
Dr. Fortanasce: What electricity is to keeping our world going, sleep is to keeping our brain going. What electricity is to lighten up our home, sleep is to brightening our mind. Sleep, especially during stage 3-4 and REM sleep, is when we replenish dopamine and serotonin, the 2 neurotransmitters responsible for feelings of well-being and giving us self control.
Sleep increases growth hormone (GH) and testosterone and estrogen; dopamine decreases ghrelin and increases leptin, turns off cortisol and so decreases our appetite and decreases anxiety.
* * * *
Q: What are some sleep myths?
Dr. Fortanasce:
1. “We don’t need that much sleep. The smartest people need less than 6 hours.” Wrong - the major reason for carb craving, anxiety disorders, obesity, DM is a lack of sleep.
2. “Losing sleep never hurt anyone.” Wrong – it does.
3. “Snoring means you’re deep-sleeping.” Wrong – it is a clear sign of sleep apnea, a major cause of Alzheimer’s disease. It is often associated with obesity, hypertension, and dementia. It is epidemic in male and females over 50 who are overweight and who snore. If you have sleep apnea, you are at very high risk for Alzheimer’s disease, heart attacks, and cancer. Sleep apnea is as treatable as high blood pressure.
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Q: What types of mental exercises are proven as brain boosters?
Dr. Fortanasce: Brain Boosters are the mind of The Anti-Alzheimer’s Prescription. Remember, the brain is an interest-baring account. To get that interest, three elements are needed – novelty, earning it, and depositing it.
Novel – something new or not often done.
Earning it – active participation, not just listening but singing, not just reading, but speaking.
Retrieval – practice bears interest.
To build brain reserve, you must open new bank accounts, not keep filling the same one.
What you can do now:
- Eat or write with your non-dominant hand.
- Change your routines – taxi cab drivers have a low incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Learn new words or another language and use them.
- Memorize the streets on your way to work or your credit card numbers, the extension numbers of your fellow workers or commonly called customers, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Your boss will be impressed and your spouse will be amazed!
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Q: What part does exercise play in preventing Alzheimer’s disease?
Dr. Fortanasce: Exercise is the heart of The Anti-Alzheimer’s Prescription. It is essential for many reasons.
- First, exercise reduces stress and balances one’s hormones. It puts the hormonal symphony back in balance by increasing growth hormone, testosterone, thyroid and estrogen which plummet as we age. Next, it reduces the aging and fat-producing stress hormone cortisol. It stimulates dopamine, providing a runner’s high.
- Second, brawn increases brain cells. Memory is stored in the cell connections called dendrites. An important nerve growth factor is produced when we exercise; that increases the number of cells and connections in the hippocampus, where the memory and learning in the brain take place.
- Third, exercise increases lean muscle mass and decreases fat mass. Lean muscle burns three-five times the calories that fat does. Yes, those good-looking muscular men and women burn calories just by looking good to the chagrin of the couch potatoes. An increase in abdominal fat causes a vicious fat cycle. Fat cells stimulate insulin production that stimulates carbohydrate craving. Fat cells give off inflammatories that injure the brain and blood vessels, a reason why obese women are especially susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease.
* * * *
Q: When is the best and worst time to exercise?
Dr. Fortanasce:
Heavy strengthening exercises and moderate aerobic exercises are best to be done before dinner. This decreases carbohydrate cravings and one’s appetite by stimulating leptin, a satiating hormone, and turning off the stress hormone cortisol.
After dinner, lunch, or breakfast, do a light workout (i.e., brisk walk after eating burns carbs and prevents insulin-peaking).
The worst time to exercise is before going to sleep. It interferes with the sleep cycle and the hormones and neurotransmitters needed to initiate sleep.
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Q: How can we encourage parents to realize they can help their children develop healthy habits that will help delay or prevent Alzheimer’s 60, 70 or 80 years from now?
Dr. Fortanasce: The flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds we plant today. Our parents must take charge and recognize what they do with their children today will affect the rest of their lives. While the parents are learning their new lifestyle… they must establish a healthy lifestyle for their children. Take these steps.
- Diet – Only healthy foods should be stored at home. Take time to eat with your children and do not overfeed. For dessert, try berries and nuts.
- Exercise – Let them be your partners, they love it. Remember, from ages 5 to 12, the sun rises and sets on you the parent. Once they become teenagers, you’re nothing but a dark cloud over their head. In these pre-adolescent years you can teach them to love to exercise. Take them on walks. Take them to the gym. Make exercise a bonding experience and part of their lifestyle, one that includes you.
- Limit passive and stressful activity - Limit TV, telephone time and computer game time. Don’t put TV’s in their rooms. Make cell phones off-limits at home. Make sure video games are not played two hours prior to bedtime. They are major stressors. Encourage learning, music, a new language. Watch things like National Geographic and the History Channel with them. Make dinner a family time to talk.
- Sleep and stress – You can’t hide your child from stress; you can only prepare them to deal with it. Make sure they set up a homework schedule and check to see if it is done. Don’t do homework prior to bedtime. Best is a scheduled regular time after school or one hour after dinner. Demand a “light’s out” policy and keep it even on the weekends. Also demand a wake-up policy.
- Make your children feel needed - Give them chores and be consistent. Make sure they finish the job. Don’t go for the “other parents” trick. (“My friend’s parents don’t make them do that.”)
- Reward them with positive regard when they behave - Do not give them praise when they don’t deserve it. Don’t reinforce poor work, diet, and exercise habits. Don’t be afraid to be a pest. It is a parent’s job to be one. (See the chapter “Life Lessons from Little League.”)
By doing this, you make a confident, self-reliant, successful, and most important, happy child who will be Alzheimer’s-free.
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Q: How is the obesity epidemic amongst teenagers going to impact their ability to stave off Alzheimer’s?
Dr. Fortanasce: It is estimated that 50% of children and teenagers are overweight or obese. The number of overweight and obese children has doubled since 1980. 70% of obese teenagers will be obese as adults.
Obesity is a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Obese women have three times the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. At 70 years old, 20% of women have significant memory loss. This may be 60% in those who are obese at the same age. Fat begets fat. Fat cells in the abdomen omentum are alive. [The omentum is a layer of tissue under the stomach muscles that stores fat.] They stimulate insulin production; insulin stimulates glucose conversion to fat and turns off two longevity genes, causing ageing. Fat causes inflammation and destroys brain cells.
On the contrary, lean muscle burns three to six times the calories as fat. Muscle use stimulates growth hormone and testosterone. Yes, couch potatoes; there is another reason to be one of those lean, good-looking people. They lose weight just by looking good. In case you’re wondering how doctors add up in the obesity department, a recent AMA survey shows that more than 50% of physicians are overweight. Too much stress, too little sleep. Too much carbohydrate binging.
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Q: What should one consider when seeking a doctor to confirm an Alzheimer’s diagnosis?
Dr. Fortanasce:
First, determine: Is he/she qualified in this area? Neurologists specialize in Alzheimer’s disease. If you have a loved one who has increasing mental deterioration more than three months, a consultation with a neurologist is highly recommended.
Though some other doctors can treat Alzheimer’s disease, I will assure you that if anyone in their family or they themselves have a problem, they will visit a board certified neurologist and no one else.
Second, does he/she order tests or evaluate your medications?
Third, if you see a doctor and complain of memory problems:
- Does the doctor do a complete mental status exam? It takes 5 minutes or more.
- Does the doctor take your complaints seriously?
- Does the doctor spend adequate time with you?
- Does the doctor or his/her staff return your call when you call them?
- Does the doctor make you feel you’re important?
- Does your doctor resent your request to see a specialist?
Fourth, does the doctor check your vibratory function in your legs?
Fifth, does the doctor test for frontal lobe release signs? Does he do lab tests? At a minimum, get these tests done: TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone), CRP (measure of c-reactive protein), B12, & Folic Acid.
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Q: Before seeing your doctor, if you are worried about your memory, what are some things you can do?
Dr. Fortanasce:
- Write down your concerns.
- Always bring in a close friend or family member. Remember you’re complaining about your memory.
- Never forget to bring in a list of your medications and supplements. Many can cause memory problems, like the STATINS used for cholesterol, sleep aides, anxiety meds. Some sleep supplements can be dangerous – ginkgo biloba and others cause bleeding. Chondroitin sulfate for joints can cause insulin-resistant diabetes.
- Never forget to tell them if you snore or have sleep difficulties.
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Q: Are there some spices that are particularly important for the brain? What are some brain foods?
Dr. Fortanasce: Yes, turmeric, rosemary, and ginger. I’d like to see, along with the heart symbol on restaurant menus, a brain symbol to advise of brain-healthy selections.
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Q: What lab test(s) should your doctor order regarding detection or predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease?
Dr. Fortanasce: CRP [C-reactive protein]; Homocysteine 4.7x; Thyroid; and B12 & folate levels.
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Q: What supplements should you use?
Dr. Fortanasce: Fish oil; Folic acid; B1-6 & B12, Vitamin E; and BriteShield (which contains resveratrol & turmeric).
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Q: What advice do you have for those about to retire or who are already retired?
Dr. Fortanasce: When you leave your place of employment you must find a new job at the gym, lifting weights, and making new friends and finding new interests.
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Overactive protein identified in Alzheimers
4/2/2010 ·
Scientists have identified a key player in the central nervous system, which when defective,contributes to many brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s. The discovery of the neurotransmitter glutamate opens up a vast field of potential therapy, according to the researchers at UC San Francisco.
Glutamate transmits critical instructions between nerve cells and carries out fundamental processes such as sensory perception, learning and memory. The release of too much glutamate causes excessive excitation in the nervous system. This in turn causes serious results such as the destruction of nerve cells associated with neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease.
"The discovery of the glutamate transporter represents a major missing component that people have sought for a long time," says the senior author of the study, Robert H. Edwards, MD, UCSF professor of neurology and physiology. "It is one of the final things that will enable us to study the basic function of how synapses work." Synapses are the place where a message, or nerve impulse, is passed from one brain cell to another.
Potential treatments could include a drug that blocks the release of excessive glutamate. "We've never had a drug that inhibits the release of glutamate, but we presume it would have dramatic effects," says Edwards.
Alternatively, increasing the amount of glutamate released from certain nerve cells could improve learning, memory skills and overall cognitive function. In this case, therapy might simply involve taking a drug that increases the production of the protein-transporting gene. The resulting increase in this protein would enable nerve cells to store and release more glutamate.
Glutamate, like all neurotransmitters, is a chemical message released by one nerve cell and targeted at another. Thousands of glutamate molecules are released from a single cell, prompting a response in a neighboring cell, which prompts a response in yet another cell. Glutamate causes a high level of activity, nudging the brain into alert and enabling it to carry out the computations that underlie cognition and most other fundamental aspects of brain function.
The finding's importance resembles that of the discovery of glutamate receptors, the proteins that respond to glutamate on target cells, says Edwards. "Our finding represents the flip side - the release of glutamate."
The study was published in the August 11, 2000 issue of Science. The researchers will continue to investigate the characteristics of the glutamate protein and to try to determine how far-reaching its effects are on function.
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The Rights Of The Person With Alzheimers Disease
3/2/2010 ·
Every person diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or related disorders deserves the following rights.
To be informed of one's diagnosis
Typically, a patient is informed of a serious medical diagnosis, even against his or her family's wishes. For example, it is highly unusual for a physician not to inform a patient of a diagnosis of terminal cancer. When the person inquires, "What is wrong with me?," he or she should be told that he or she has a medical problem affecting the thinking process, memory, and judgment. if the person asks, "Is it Alzheimer's disease?," he or she should be told the truth, Withholding the truth and the reasons for a person's medical and psychological condition can be crueler than the effects of this disease.
To have appropriate, ongoing medical care
Great strides have been made in educating the public about the importance of receiving a thorough medical evaluation when symptoms of dementia appear. Some dementias are treatable. Yet, after an Alzheimer's disease diagnosis, families struggle to find appropriate, on-going care from physicians with geriatric experience. Just as women have successfully fought for medical care that is sensitive to their special concerns and needs, we must now fight for improved geriatric care.
To be productive in work and play for as tons as possible
All of us have a need to contribute to, and be a part of, the world around us-whether through work, recreation, or even helping with a simple chore. Persons with emerging Alzheimer's disease should be encouraged to maintain their vocational interests for as long as possible. Individuals in middle or late Alzheimer's disease benefit from meaningful activities each day.
To be treated like an adult, not like a child
The person has led a full life, rich in experiences. Even late into the illness, the person will retain a sense of his or her personal history, achievements, and values, given cues. Activities and language should be age appropriate and meaningful. A former federal judge should not be asked to cut out paper dolls. People in their 70s should not be spoken to as if they were 7 years old.
To have expressed feelings taken seriously
Care providers, family members, and others know that many individuals with dementia want to discuss their feelings and sense of loss even if they cannot always fully articulate their concerns. Family members and professionals should be willing to listen and empathize. The authors hope that the growing trend of forming support groups for individuals with emerging Alzheimer's disease will continue. They are a valuable service for the individual with dementia.
To be free from psychotropic medications, if possible
Mood-altering or psychotropic medications can be used to combat sleeplessness, anxiety, wandering, and aggression or other challenging behaviors. Although these medications can be helpful, they can also increase confusion. Most problems can be better managed by behavioral interventions or prevented altogether through improved education about the disease, better staff training in facilities, and use of the Best Friends model of care. Hugs are usually better than drugs.
To live in a safe, structured, and predictable environment
Whether it is a home or a long-term care facility, the living environment should be designed around the needs of the person. It should be safe and well lit, offer areas for walking or wandering, be uncluttered, and be pleasant. it should provide a structured schedule of activities and meals. Being structured and predictable does not mean boring- a rich environment that stimulates the senses (e.g., fresh flowers on the table, the smell of baking bread) can still provide the person with a sense of security.
To enjoy meaningful activities that fill each day
Activities should be individualized whenever possible to take into account the person's abilities and interests. The person should be given a job to do. Activities that stimulate the senses with colors, fragrances, textures, music, and the tastes of healthy foods are ideal. Exercises such as walking, dancing, ball tossing, or stretching should be part of everyday life, if possible. Above all, positive, upbeat, and life-affirming activities are encouraged.
To be outdoors on a regular basis
Individuals with dementia should have fresh air and sunshine on a regular basis. Being outdoors can also lead to enjoyable activities such as observing flowers and birds or "people watching." Just feeling warm sunshine can boost morale and stimulate the senses. Outdoor activity is particularly important for people in facilities where most activities occur indoors.
To have physical contact, including hugging, caressing, and hand-holding
Something as simple as a touch can reassure anxious individuals and bring great joy. A bear hug can distract someone about to have an outburst. if sexual intimacy is lost, hand-holding and caresses can help individuals with dementia and their loved one still feel close.
To be with individuals who know one’s lifestory, including cultural and religious traditions
Knowing a person's life story and traditions enhances all aspects of Alzheimer's care. Communication is improved when caregivers can provide verbal cues. Likes and dislikes can be acknowledged. Also, appropriate activities that take into account the individual's interests and traditions can be planned. For example, it would be inappropriate to encourage someone to dance the polka if he or she belonged to a religion that prohibits dancing.
To be cared for by individuals who are well trained in dementia care
Although family caregivers should learn as much as possible about dementia care, they have the right to demand competent care from professionals. Reading books on dementia care, participating in sup- port groups, and attending workshops and conferences give families and professionals more tools for providing good care and improving quality of life for the person.
Conclusion
Like the U.S. Bill of Rights, the Alzheimer's Disease Bill of Rights is not absolute. To cite a famous example from constitutional law, the right of free speech does not allow someone to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theatre when there is no fire. Likewise, the Alzheimer's Disease Bill of Rights must take into consideration each person's cognitive abilities and medical situation.
Yet, individuals, families, and professionals who adopt these rights will find that the result will be an improved plan of care and improved sensitivity to the person's needs. Facilities that adopt these rights will be informing families of their commitment to offer the highest quality of care for persons with dementia.
Finally, it is the authors' hope that, until a cure for Alzheimer's disease is found, these rights may give comfort to people with emerging Alzheimer's disease. They can use this bill of rights as a tool to discuss their concerns and fears and to participate as much as possible in decision making regarding their future.
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Vitamin D and mood disorders among women: An integrative review
3/2/2010 ·
This integrative review evaluates research studies that investigated the association between vitamin D and mood disorders affecting women to determine whether further research comparing these variables is warranted. A literature search using CINAHL, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and PubMed databases was conducted to locate peer-reviewed mood disorder research studies that measured serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels.
Four of six studies reviewed imparted significant results, with all four showing an association between low 25(OH)D levels and higher incidences of four mood disorders:
• Premenstrual syndrome,
• Seasonal affective disorder,
• Non-specified mood disorder,
• And major depressive disorder.
This review indicates a possible biochemical mechanism occurring between vitamin D and mood disorders affecting women, warranting further studies of these variables using rigorous methodologies.
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Midlife Coffee and Tea Drinking and the Risk of Late-Life Dement
2/2/2010 ·
Caffeine stimulates central nervous system on a short term. However, the long-term impact of caffeine on cognition remains unclear. We aimed to study the association between coffee and/or tea consumption at midlife and dementia/Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk in late-life.
Participants of the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging and Dementia (CAIDE) study were randomly selected from the survivors of a population-based cohorts previously surveyed within the North Karelia Project and the FINMONICA study in 1972, 1977, 1982 or 1987 (midlife visit).
After an average follow-up of 21 years, 1,409 individuals (71%) aged 65 to 79 completed the re-examination in 1998. A total of 61 cases were identified as demented (48 with AD).
Coffee drinkers at midlife had lower risk of dementia and AD later in life compared with those drinking no or only little coffee adjusted for demographic, lifestyle and vascular factors, apolipoprotein E ?4 allele and depressive symptoms.
The lowest risk (65% decreased) was found in people who drank 3-5 cups per day.
Tea drinking was relatively uncommon and was not associated with dementia/AD.
Coffee drinking at midlife is associated with a decreased risk of dementia/AD later in life. This finding might open possibilities for prevention of dementia/AD.
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