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December 10th, 2010
09:12 AM ET
New Alzheimer's clues?Preliminary research on Alzheimer's disease suggests a protein that accumulates in the brain at very high levels in Alzheimer's patients is not being overproduced, it's just not being cleared efficiently from the brain. The study, published in Science, measured beta-amyloid levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of twelve 74-year old patients with late-onset Alzheimer's and twelve without. Researchers looked at how fast beta-amyloid was produced and how quickly it cleared the brain. "These findings may help point us toward better diagnostic tests and effective therapies," said study author Dr. Randall Bateman. "The next question is what is causing the decreased clearance rate." Researchers say the study is significant because it's the first to measure beta-amyloid production and clearance–long thought to be an underlying cause of the disease–and could lead to an easier test–possibly a blood test–that will measure the protein early enough to detect Alzheimer's before symptoms begin. "Abnormal protein deposits within the brain are a hallmark not only of Alzheimer's disease, but of many neurological disorders," said Roderick Corriveau, a program director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at the National Institutes of Health. "With knowledge about how these proteins accumulate, we may be able to slow that process and reduce the damage to the brain." "For years scientists believed that it was the overproduction of beta-amyloid that led to its accumulation in the brain," said Marcelle Morrison-Bogorad, director of the Division of Neuroscience at the NIA. "These new findings shift the emphasis to clearance of beta-amyloid. This may lead to development of a diagnostic test as well as identification of new therapeutic targets." More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. According to the Alzheimer's Association's Dr. Ralph Nixon, Vice Chair, Medical & Scientific Advisory Council, this research adds human validation to the puzzle of how amyloid beta accumulates in the brain. "It is the first data of this kind in a human," and, as such, provides key preliminary validation to studies in animal models, which are incomplete and often give conflicting information." |
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
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Clearance of beta-amyloid may well be impaired by the well-known interruptions to the blood supply to the brain. Loss of capillaries, or capillary rarefaction, has been known since about 1930. More recent studies have shown that rarefaction has commonly started by age 30 and gradually increases throughout life. Since capillary rarefaction can now be reversed easily, at low cost and without risk, this approach should surely be tried to combat Alzheimer's. wward@activesignal.com
WARNING- Do not click his email address!!!
Two words, cattle cookies!
The problem is that the protein is malformed, so that the enzymes that normally break down the precursor protein don't and it forms tangled masses.
Circulation has zero to do with the issue.
But DO continue shaking your rattles and rolling bones around, your witch doctory skills may cure boredom.
I watched someone die from this as many others have. Please cure it. i dont want to see someone's body forget to breathe ever again.
Amen. It's horrible.
@Tony: There is NO WAY your statement is true! There is no recovery from this disease. If you are soliciting emotions then you're successful.
My mom is currently in the late stages. She can't swallow, open eyes or move arms – barely breathing. I can't remember the last time I had a real conversation with her. Don't wish this on anyone. Unfortunately my aunt had early onset in 1978. I saw all this then as well. Back then they thought lecithin may work. Even have the letter from the research findings indicating success. They were wrong.
Yep! Lovely people out there!! Didn't even have enough intelligence to ask simple questions, but instead used ignorant comments to justify their existence and authority. Kind of like Haiti, today with the Cholera epidemic. People rioting and killing people who want to help.
@Tony again. What in the world are you talking about. Gibberish. You're an idiot.
Nothing I state or prove beyond reason will ever change the mindset of ignorant people, for these are people controlled by panic, ignorance, fear and anger, never by reason.
Tony, get a grip on yourself.
mercy killing would solve most of this.. change the law and there will be less suffering
It is a terrible disease. Death by inches.
Well, my 91 yr old grandma still doesn't know me and is looking for her dad so this article doesn't really solve the problem.
becca – True, this will probably not help your grandma, God bless her. The question is – do YOU still want to be looking for her when you are 91?
She lived 91 years. That's a feat in and of itself. Instead of being angry that such a terrible thing happened to her and your family, be happy for others that a possible treatment may come about in the future.
My mom just turned 90. When I last saw her was the first time she did not know me. Her brother died of it and that is when she started the slide down. Her father died of colon cancer while he knew no one and he was scared. My mom's cousin died of it after taking care of her demented husband for years. Her father also had it. It runs in families and my sister, who is taking care of Mom in the town they live in, is scared that she will have it. I was adopted but that does not mean I am okay. So, yeah, it is important that some help may come for all those who are seeing it destroy their loved ones.
No matter what, research over the years is taking steps in the right direction (big steps) and I applaud the efforts. I too have a family member with Alzheimer's and pray for a protocol that will both arrest the advancement of, and the onset of, this very debilitating disease. Dietary controls and exercise are always smart lifestyle choices and offer benefits well beyond Alzhiemer's. Education and awareness at all age levels are the key. I know in my heart that we will beat this, though it may be too late for my dad, it maybe not for yours.
Are you sure it's not a problem with you believing whatever pseudo-science appeals to you?
What do you exactly mean? Which statement sounds like a fake science?
My grandmother developed Alzeheimers' after two decades of being on a diabetic diet, which did effectively control her blood sugar. Please do your research.
Probably, she also used insulin in order to control her BS.High insulin level is a problem in Alzheimer, not only blood sugar levels.
What kind of medicine did she used? Probably, she also used insulin in order to control her BS.High insulin level is a problem in Alzheimer, not only blood sugar levels.
Blood sugar? Maybe the blood supply to your mind has been restricted?
Do you mean that in your opinion blood sugar levels and insulin levels are not related to Alzheimer ? There are a lot of research about that connection.
AmyLynn, here is a less reactionary response.
The case cited may have been another form of dementia, and not Alzheimer's. There are many forms of dementia, and some of them are indeed related to blood sugar regulation, or have blood sugar imbalances as a symptom. However, they are not Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is not caused by blood sugar levels, and unfortunately cannot be treated effectively with a diabetic diet.
Part of the problem with all dementias, including Alzheimer's, is that they are so hard to differentiate. This is why this protein test is so important.
There is a strong correlation between the Alzheimer kind of dementia and the insulin resistance . For example, insulin sprayed into patient's nose temporally improved their symptoms but caused the rise of amyloid proteins in their spinal fluid. Some even proposed to change the name of the Alzheimer into the Diabetes type 3 in order to put more emphasis on the increased insulin sensitivity of the brain which is a substantial part of the disease.
becca – don't be an idiot. This research takes years to determine how to use effectively. Any therapy based on it must be tested for side effects. What if it clears the brain but causes blood clots so they kick over dead? Hardly a valid treatment.
The last I read about beta-amyloid, someone had extracted some from spinal fluid and injected it into the patient's arm. The body began to work hard to remove it from where it didn't belong and the amount building up in the brain was rapidly reduced. I haven't seen any follow-up studies or long term results since though.
Don’t use words like "idiot" when you are answering a blog and trying to possibly educate people with your input. It makes you sound like white trailer trash.
Becca said nothing idiotic, nor did she sound angry, just sad, that she sees no help for her grandmother. It is to entirely natural that she is focussed on her grandmother now, not on herself decades from now. As for just shrugging and saying, "well she had 90 good years", the implication being that a death bereft of dignity is OK if the person is old enough, I hope that isn't what you meant, and that it is just that you just express yourself very well..
Dr. Lon R. White, a neuro-epidemiologist in Hawaii, did a study that showed coorelation between soy consumption and Alzheimer's. People eating at least tofu twice a week had accerlerated brain aging, diminished cognitive ability, and were more likely to develop Alzheimer's. And soy isolfavones can block tyrosine kinase, an enzyme used by the area of the brain responsible for memory and learning.
In the USA we actually eat more soy than Asian countries do. Asian countries eat soy more as a condiment, here we use it for a filler and milk/meat replacer. Also, Asian countries eat more fermented soy, our soy is usually unfermented.
No one in my family eats any soy products and the grandparents and great grandparents would not have even known what it was. As far as I know, Asian countries do not have more Alzheimer's than western countries.
Good Lord, my mother never ate soy in her life and she has Alzheimers. Asians eat plenty of soy and I don't see an epidemic of Alzheimers over there.
Get your facts straight.
Just because you know someone that did or did not eat soy doesn't mean anything. That's like saying "smoking doesn't affect cancer because Uncle Bob smoked his whole life and never got cancer"; you cannot base it on 1 or 2 people.
The study in Hawaii invovled 2000 men and 500 of their wives. Not 1 or 2 people like your examples.
Also, READ before you comment.
I noted a difference between fermented soy and non-fermented soy. And also a difference in consumption (Americans nowadays eat MORE soy than Asians).
@adj, Asians use Tofu as a regular part of their diet. Soy has also been shown to have a protective effect against breast cancer and heart disease, so I guess one could just balance it off.
My mother did eat a diet rich in European traditions including plenty of dairy, meat and eggs. But I'm not saying that THAT caused her Alzheimers either. I don't think a limited study of any kind, including the one you mention, proves that Soy is connected to Alzheimers. It's also been shown that Asians who come here and adopt an American diet tend to have a higher rate of heart disease and cancer than those in Asia.
At one time, researchers thought that taking NSAIDS helped prevent Alzheimer's disease. Researchers also thought that Vitamin E helped stave off the disease. Soy, NSAIDS, vitamin E – I take all this research with a grain of salt, as it were. I hope a cure can be found but I am skeptical about suggestions that this or that (exercise has been touted often as well) will ward off Alzheimer's disease.
Why is the beta-amyloid protein in the brain in the first place? Do we really need it or does it develop as a side effect from the environment.
beta amyloid is a byproduct, or metabolite, of amyloid precursor protein (APP). APP is found in everyone, young and old, but its function is not clearly known. Patients with Alzheimer's seem to have a problem regulating APP's metabolites (a few forms of beta-amyloid), and the net buildup can cause the protein to clump as plaques which are even harder for the body to breakdown.
Beta amyloid's association with Alzheimer's disease is clear, but whether it is the primary cause, a secondary cause or an effect of something else is still unclear. New research from this past decade has suggested alternative mechanisms as to the cause of the disease.
I have seen many theories as to what causes Alzheimer's disease: Everything from fluoride in water to aluminum. All of the Alzheimer's patients I have seen were hard core church ladies. Maybe religion causes Alzheimer's?
There is also a strong correlation between metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure and other illnesses of Western civilization.Since it is not fusible to became a hunter-gatherer, I just try not to eat sugars and starches and limit fruits.
I believe I have an explanation about the correlation between going to church regularly and Alzheimer. It was observed that people with good thinking abilities usually have later offset of dementia because their brains compensate better. It is difficult to imagine that avid churchgoers may have good critical thinking skills.
Remember the study on nuns? The study looked at the bios nuns wrote when they were novices - that is, young women - and compared the complexity of the sentences a nun's bio with whether she developed Alzheimer's as an elderly woman.
Nuns who wrote simple sentences were much more likely to develop Alzheimer's. The correlation was high; this seemed like a tool that prediicted the liklihood that a young woman would get Alzheimer's 50 to 60 years later. I have not heard of any followup, or whether this conclusion is still considered valid.
My mother got Alzheimers in her late 50's. Never went to church a day in her life.
I wonder if they couldn't come up with a sort of dialysis like method that could purge the bad proteins from the spinal fluid until they come up with a real cure?
That sounds really promising. Maybe they'll be able to figure out how to do that, and at least buy some time until a cure is found.
@Kraznodar
Funny you should mention blood clots. As a matter of fact, one of the proteins that is involved in removing Beta Amyloid called ApoE exists in three major alleles(E2, E3, and E4). There's a common one that most people (~64%) have (E3), a form that is the largest known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (E4), and a third form that seems to be protective against Alzheimer's disease, but also leads to a much greater risk of atherosclerosis and elevated levels of fat in the blood (E2).
This is an interesting study because it helps rule out overproduction as the cause of beta amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease, but its still not clear whether these plaques are the cause of Alzheimer's or just a side-effect. Furthermore, we see similar plaques in adults with Down Syndrome, and there is some evidence that these are actually due to increased production of Beta Amyloid. I'd love to see the techniques in this study used to examine Beta Amyloid in Downs Syndrome as well.
Do you know by chance genetically whether Down's Syndrome and Alzheimer's disease share enough markers that they are in the same genetic family or is the code completely different? I wonder because perhaps whole groups of diseases such of these share traits and that may help provide answers. I have a poor science background (I'm a US American and frankly I hated science) so forgive me if I sound like a complete idiot, folks, I am.
My 8 year old son has Down Syndrome. All the resesarch I've done show that early onset of Alzheimer's begins for people with Down's early in adulthood and by the age of 60-ish nearly 100% of people with Down's suffer from some form of dementia. My hope is that the research being done now trying to link the two problems can find a cure before my son shows signs. I might not be around to see this happen to him, but I will worry about it the rest of my life.
Could the high amount of beta amyloid in some people's brains be a lack of enzyme that breaks it down? Sort of like people with PKU (phenylketonuria) who are lacking most of the enzyme that metabolizes amino acids found in all proteins? If a person w/untreated pku eats protein, without the enzyme to turn it into tyrosine in the liver, it builds up as a toxin called phenylpyruvic acid and damages the brain and cns....they then become severely compromised mentally and sometimes physically. PKU is totally treatable and manageable with a special diet nowadays. Kids drink a formula with all nutrients except for the amino acid phenylalanine. My daughter has it and graduated from college with honors. she is 24 and still is on the special diet. That is how manageable it is. Could we do the same for alzheimer's? Diet/enzyme therapy???
So is this a metabolic disorder that could be treated? Just wondering because I seen any data discussing the enzyme/metabolic connection.
If so, these metabolic disorders are nearly 100% genetic, so if your parents or relatives have dementia, it does not bode well for you.
I am a Speech-Language Pathologist working with the geriatric population. I find this article interesting-I recently attended a continuing education class on aging and dementia, and one of the things the presenter suggested was, in the near future, scientists and researchers may discover that Alzheimer's Disease is another type of Diabetes. At this moment, according to the presenter, there is a substantial amount of evidence pointing in that direction. Readers should also know some patients have a genetic predisposition to develop this disease, and is unrelated to blood sugar. Additionally, there are many forms of dementia, but Alzheimers is a true disease process causing the patient to have dementia. Drug toxicity and Parkinsons Disease will also cause dementia. I witness the devistating effects of Alzheimers every day, watching the families and friends of my patients suffer as they watch their loved ones vanish right before their eyes. My Grandmother also died from Alzheimers. This is one of the most horrorific diseases one could endure. Unfortunately, there is no cure, but I am confident that I will see one in my lifetime. I applaud the efforts of researchers and scientists, as well as the patients who donate their bodies to science, to help find a cure.
All the flip; sarcastic remarks here are sad. Apparently those making them have never watched a loved one deteriorate slowly; month by month; year by year. It is a long sad journey. Death is almost welcomed at the end. Those who lose a loved one to Alzheimers lose them twice. My prayer is that this disease can be cured one day and that you never have to deal with it in your own family.
Well said mj. I lost my mother to fronto-temporal lobe dementia, when she developed complications from pneumonia. FTD is not the same as Alzheimer's, but just as devastating with many of the same traits. You do lose them twice, and no one, except one who watched them deteriorate, can understand how horrific this is. To see the fear in their eyes when they know something is wrong, but don't know what it is, is something you will never forget. Yes, I was devastated, but did breathe a sigh of relief when she passed, because I knew she wasn't suffering anymore. Dementia is a horrific disease and it takes away so much dignity from it's victims before it takes their lives. No one should have to suffer in that manner, and I continue to hope and pray for a cure so others don't have to go through what we did.
I have to admit I am more than curious about the other comments related to non-Alzheimer's dementia and blood sugar. My mother struggled with hypoglycemia for years.
I agree. They don't call it "the long goodbye" for nothing. It is a tragic grind every day for an indefinite period of time. We caregivers are more affected than anyone could imagine. Contrary to what is frequently said, the patient isn't luckier than those of us without the disease because he/she can't remember. That is an uneducated position and an insensitive thing to say. I can't imagine feeling trapped in one's own mind with no way out. Frustration is commonly the cause of their anger and violent behavior.
My father died last year with dementia. One time, with a look of concern on his face, he asked if he had been in an accident; he knew something was wrong, but didn't know what or why. He was the sweetest guy in the world. Watching him deteriorate over five years really changed my beliefs in many ways. There's got to be a reason – and if there's a reason, there's got to be a remedy. The sooner, the better.
Amen to that, mj houston. You expressed my same feelings with your post.
Interesting
Prolonging life with medicine is contrary to God's laws. Our bodies are not designed to live this long and doing so just causes stress on the economy and the family. Let people die naturally.
If there is any justice you will die naturally. Have some compassion for the loved ones watching it. That is what a loving God would tell you to do.
And another thing: St. Luke was a physician.
Obviously you missed that class Christ taught on compassion. Go read ALL of His word.
Try telling that to Methuselah.
Hey Toe, you are a lying jack@ss. F|_|CK OFF.
I was going to comment on this article but I forgot what it was about.
heifer dust - that's cowboy for b.s. shame on you.
@The Prophet- the human body initially was designed to live quite a long time, infinately perhaps. Humans were living 900, 800, 500 years digressing over time until where we are now. That's biblical.
Since when the Bible is a souse of actual facts? I am afraid that you are in danger of getting dementia himself/herself. As it was said in previous post, there is a correlation between avid church going and the Alzheimer .
@Prophet-That just may be the most ignorant thing I have heard. So if I'm 22 and develop cancer that is treatable, I shouldn't try to save myself? That's essentially your argument, which is the most incoherent pile of cow mess ever conceived.
It seems like it should be relatively easy to conduct studies on dementia. After all, you just need a bunch of demented people to study. Round up a bunch of liberals, and you are good to go. It seems we should be making faster progress.
@The Prophet- the human body initially was designed to live quite a long time, infinately perhaps. Humans were living 900, 800, 500 years digressing over time until where we are now. That's biblical. I have an odd hypothesis that MSG is a major cause to the leading of Altzheimer's.
One sign of a delusional person is when the person will try and make everyone around them believe that the same rules and regulation's at work are the same rules and regulations that apply to you outside of your job. Another sign that a person is delusional is when they will try to say that what you post on the internet may not be be allowed under their corporation regulations because even though you are at home you should consider yourself the property of the company that you work for.
Even more delusional than the people whom are delusional theirself and may be in a nursing home are those in the nursing that script out how the delusional people in the nursing talk over the radio, internet or T.V. just so they can make a certain group of people think that some all seeing eye is watching them all the time.
Sound like a method that you are familar with using? Then you are delusional and need to seek serious psychiatric help or put away your Lord of the Rings book turn the t,v. off and leave people alone.
I don't think I have ever read an angrier string of responses to a serious report. I am puzzled and dismayed by this.
The information linking Alzheimer's and a form of diabetes is interesting to me. My father, who suffered from Alzheimer's for years actually made that comment himself. His body showed the signs of diabetes: wasting, thirst, hunger. Diabetes is not just blood sugar: it is the kidney, and protein as well. It makes sense to me that a disease that affects the foundation of life itself would show up in the mind also. As Laura mentioned, it's unrelated to blood sugar; there is a deeper issue going on.
There are some theories that diabetes is related to Alzheimers, but they are just that – theories. And those theories have just started being discussed within the past year or two.
To Kfox.
Please,read "Good calories, Bad calories" by Garry Taubes. There is a lot of informed about the correlation between the modern diet and modern diseases in the book. Unfortunately, the Alzheimer is a modern disease.
Yep! Lovely people out there!! Didn't even have enough intelligence to ask simple questions, but instead used ignorant comments to justify their existence and authority. Kind of like Haiti, today with the Cholera epidemic. People rioting and killing people who want to help.
Tony, you're a half-wit and a j3rk0ff. Kill yourself now.
Care to share the sleep method with the rest of us?
@Se777en: Yeah, about Tony...he has the same post above. I already told him that he is an idiot.
My Mother just passed away from a combination of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, it is sad to read people being so callous regarding these diseases. It is incredibly painful to help a loved one through this very slow death. It is like wathcing many slow deaths – you lose a part of that person every day and it doesn't make the end any easier. If even one person is saved from to total indignity of a death from Alzheimer's the research is worth it. Don't bash each other for belief's or liberalism. Accept that we are all a little different and we each have different gifts to offer each other and share with the world. Until we are all willing to help each other and not fight each other – we will continue to fail at peace. We are each only given a certain number of days on Earth – use them wisely – use them to do good for others.
please enlighten the ignorant observers of this article on dementia and this sleep method you speak of.
Checkout my health and fitness blog http://razzlea.blogspot.com/
I think both the increase in Alzheimers and Autism may be related to our increased use of artificial sweetners like aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, etc.
Borrelia infection = Alzheimer's
Med Hypotheses. 2006;67(3):592-600. Epub 2006 May 3.
Plaques of Alzheimer's disease originate from cysts of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease spirochete.
MacDonald AB.
St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, Department of Pathology, 50 Rte 25 A, Smithtown, NY 11787, USA.
Check out more of his work.
It is another step forward; I’d suggest to use a more representative sample size, twelve (12) is a very low number for these purposes.
what?.. where am I?.. what's this thing with the thing with letters on it doing in front of me?
I'm sorry but GOD has nothing to do with this disease or any other. This is a disease that affects mankind, not an invisible "being" that so many are convinced is "real". IT IS sad to see such a great discussion (or what could have been) on this disease take such a turn, into religion, hate, and lack of compassion. This is a horrible disease to watch a loved one die from. We put our pets to sleep to end their suffering, but cannot find the empathy and compassion to do the same for ourselves?
Something wrong with that picture. Totally.
And how this epiphany came to be? Alzheimer's has been with us since the beginning of times and now they found a possible cure? I want a second opinion. Maybe some one wants to sell another wonder drug like thalidomide and we will have another catastrophe. Buyer beware!
cannabis for alzheimers?
http://www.facebook.com/free.the.leaf
cannabis=industry.medicine.peace.
This is a huge step in the process to finding a cure for this tragic condition.
– A
Check out my health and fitness blog http://razzlea.blogspot.com/
That is encouraging news... Alzheimer's is a challenging health issue that affects individuals, families and takes ++ resources to manage. Research is the key to prevention and possible cure.
http://www.caring-for-aging-parents.com
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