Author Archive

Blood Test for Alzheimer’s May Be on the Horizon

Blood Test for Alzheimer's May Be on the Horizon | Alzheimeric.comCollaborating scientists from Emory University School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Washington University have identified variations in the levels of 4 blood proteins that may enable early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.

In the study just published in Neurology, the researchers looked at variations of 190 proteins in the blood in 600 individuals that were either healthy, had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, or showed signs of mild cognitive impairment. In this part of the study, they found 17 proteins that often displayed variant levels between the healthy patients and those diagnosed Alzheimer’s or cognitive impairment.

The Alzheimer’s pipeline: What’s next?

Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease: Victims lose their memories, personalities, sense of time, and grip on reality as friends and families watch their loved ones slowly lose their identities, and eventually their lives.

The disease afflicts an estimated 5.4 million people in the U.S., where the memory-robbing illness is the 6th-leading killer of Americans, according to Alzheimer’s Association. The association estimates that more than $200 billion will be spent between drugmakers and patients for research, medication and caregivers this year.

‘My mother got excellent care when she had cancer. Why is elderly mental health different?’

'My mother got excellent care when she had cancer. Why is elderly mental health different?'  | #alzheimericBoth Fiona Phillips’ parents struggled with Alzheimer’s before succumbing to the disease. In the last part of our series, the TV presenter talks about her loss and calls for more action. Arifa Akbar reports

Fiona Phillips was one of the first women to speak out about dementia, long before the days of high-profile campaigns. She broke the silence that had cloaked the “elderly illness” after her mother Amy began suffering from Alzheimer’s. She died in 2006 – only a few weeks before her husband, Neville, was diagnosed with the same disease.

What a Wonderful World with Dementia – Video

What a Wonderful World with Dementia  - Video | #AlzheimericThe majority of us in this video have dementia including Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body Dementia.We all attend Reflections in Cornwall for day care and activities including Cognitive Stimulation Therapy. We have made this short film to show that we are just normal people and we all thoroughly enjoyed the making of this film. If this film makes you smile please would you donate a little of your money to the Lewy Body Society which is the chosen charity of Dementia Awareness Day, Sept 15th 2012.

Resistance to Dementia, Alzheimer’s May Run in Family

Resistance to Dementia, Alzheimer’s May Run in Family | Alzheimeric.comA resistance to dementia may be a family legacy, according to new research.

“In very elderly people with good cognition, higher levels of C-reactive protein, which is related to inflammation, are associated with better memory,” said study author Jeremy M. Silverman, Ph.D., with Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

“Our results found that the higher the level of this protein in the study participant, the lower the risk for dementia in their parents and siblings.”

Grappling With The Uncertainty Of Alzheimer’s Testing

Grappling With The Uncertainty Of Alzheimer's Testing | Alzheimeric.comCounselors have long cautioned about the downsides of genetic testing for Alzheimer’s disease.

For one thing, the current genetic tests for late-onset Alzheimer’s — the type that develops after age 60 and is responsible for more than 90 percent of cases — only indicate a probability of getting the disease. It’s not definitive. And consumers’ ability to buy life insurance or long-term care coverage could be jeopardized by the results.