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July 11th, 2012
06:27 PM ET
Rare genetic mutation protects against Alzheimer'sWith more than 5 million Americans suffering from Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, the race is on to surface clues about causes and prevention. An important breakthrough for the research field comes in the journal Nature this week. Researchers say they found a rare genetic mutation in Iceland that appears to protect against Alzheimer's disease. The mutation appears to slow the production of the beta-amyloid protein, long considered to be a cause of Alzheimer's. This mechanism helps validate the theory that beta-amyloid plaques - an accumulation of the protein - cause this form of dementia for which no cure has been found. The research team was led by Dr. Kari Stefansson, chief executive of the Icelandic company DeCode Genetics. They studied data from the genomes of nearly 1,800 Icelandic people. A genetic test for the protective mutation wouldn't make sense, since it's so rare, experts said. If you really wanted to know if you have it, your doctor probably couldn't tell you; it would require a specialized research lab, says Dr. Sam Gandy, director of the Mount Sinai Center for Cognitive Health. Mutations like this are "not so good for screening as they are for teaching what’s going on," said Rudolph Tanzi, a Harvard Medical School neurologist who was not involved in this study. Drugs attempting to clear some of those plaques out have so far failed to reverse the effects of dementia in clinical trials, but this new study drives home that targeting beta-amyloid is still correct, Tanzi said. There are going to be more failures before a successful treatment is found, Tanzi said. Drugs that have failed so far weren't getting into the brain, had harmful side effects or were just defective. A new wave of clinical trial results will come this fall - if they too fall short, this study reinforces that researchers should still go after beta-amyloid, Tanzi said. It might be another four or five years before drugs under development start showing more promising results, he said. "These are just not yet the right drugs, and I think the right ones are yet to come," he said. A successful protective drug against Alzheimer's would probably have to be taken for decades, like a statin to reduce risk of heart problems, said Dr. Robert Green, associate director of medicine in the division of genetics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. It could be something everyone takes, and perhaps the people most at risk of Alzheimer's would start on it earlier. This study suggests that when someone has this specific mutation, the amount of beta-amyloid protein released into his or her brain, which contributes to Alzheimer's, might be reduced by as much as 40%. This could explain lower rates of dementia. For most of us, who do not have this mutation, beta-amyloid protein gets released when the amyloid precursor protein (APP) on a brain cell is cut by two enzymes: Beta-secretase and gamma-secretase. (A third enzyme that snips it, alpha-secretase, actually prevents Alzheimer's-related plaques from forming). Drug developers have tried inhibiting gamma-secretase, but because that enzyme is responsible for so many other important things, these drugs were toxic. "You can't just hit it with a sledgehammer," Tanzi explains. The same goes for beta-secretase. "You need an enzyme that will block beta-secretase or gamma-secretase from clipping just APP, but you need to allow it to do its other jobs," Tanzi said. He and colleagues received a grant from the National Institute of Health to develop drugs along these lines. The Nature study suggests when people have the newly discovered mutation on the APP gene, they naturally experience less cutting from beta-secretase, resulting in lower amounts of beta-amyloid getting into the brain from birth. This seems to be a protection against Alzheimer's. In 1987, Tanzi led a group that discovered the APP gene, on which the protective mutation was found. This gene is associated with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. In 2009, his research team found two different rare mutations on this gene that raise the risk of Alzheimer's. Early symptoms of Alzheimer's include difficulty remembering names and recent events, apathy and depression. As the disease progresses, patients often exhibit disorientation, confusion and severe impairments in walking, speaking and swallowing. Lifestyle changes such as increased physical activity, lowered stress and healthy diet have found to be associated with staving off dementia, but there has been no definitive proof or treatment developed.
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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. Recent Comments
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If you search for "brown rice alzheimers" you'll find that brown rice may help prevent the disease.
Yeah... And giving your kid B12 treats autism. Seems legit.
Marijuana...
The deposits in the brain that form from Alzheimer's can be slowed down and even reversed by using marijuana.
Your ant-intellectual sentiments suck.
I was going to comment but I forgot what I was going to say.
In response to all those postings of people losing their life savings before financia lhelp could occur. Many do not know that parents can place all their belongings into a trust with their children as owners of the trust. This essentially leaves them in poverty and then they would qualify for help. Many do this so they can place a loved one into a nursing home.
The key to reversing Alzheimer's is to use a specialized diabetes diet, A specialized diabetes diet removes the plaques from Alzheimer's was shown to restore the memory, Researchers in London showed that the key to reversing dementia and heart disease is to use a speciialized diabetes diet.
Alzheimer’s can be reversed in many people by using a specialized diabetes diet.
This was proven in Scandinavia News. You may not have diabetes but Alzheimer’s is related to blood sugar. Alzheimer’s and diabetes has risen at the same exact level over the last 30 years. A specialized diabetes diet in Denmark was shown to improve memory in Dementia and Alzheimer’s sufferers.
Just google SPIRIT HAPPY DIET
We need to do anything and everything we can about this disastrous disease. Even a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer offers some hope; with Alzheimer's there is (currently) no hope whatsoever.
My father died from the disease, it was devastating to him and the family to see him slowly waste away. what was worse, a man who saved his nickles and dimes all his life went through my parents life savings in nursing care in just over three years before he qualified for Medicaid. My fahter never went on vacation, kept cars for 15 years and lived well below his means saving for his retirement that never came. My nother now lives on $980 in social security and what I can afford to give her. I guess if you are irresponsible, spend what you make or more than you make and enjoy your years while you can is the best course of action.
I am so sorry to hear about your dad and that he never got to retire. Neither did mine. My dad died of emphysema when he was 64 and was in the process of quitting his job and getting disability. I had to quit my job so that I can take care of my mother full time, and we are surviving on her social security and what little I have saved up.
Sorry for your loss. It took twenty years for the disease to kill my mother. My dad went straight from retirement of forty years in the steel mills to be her 24/7 caregiver for the first ten of those years. They also had to spend down to poverty levels before the state partially kicked in for nursing care. There should be more outreach to the 5 million families to help them plan for the one of the only areas they have some control, and that is the family's finances via a living trust. Hang in there.
Nice article, it is great pleasure for me to finally find million worth info online, I am honestly surprised to encounter a blog that is not full of the usual garbage, bless you.Learn more more about heart disease by visiting Alzheimer’s Disease Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment
CNN achieved their worst rating in history. Keep it up guys – love seeing liberal media take it up their shoots.
You really need a life. I'd say you really need to get laid, but I don't want to push the boundaries of possibility that far.
Go crawl back into your cave you fool. Ths article is about a disease that affects liberals, conservatives and middle of tthe road. I am not sure it affects apes, so you're safe.
So Alzheimer's isn't worth reporting about?? How sick are you??? This is a very devastating disease with no cure. You obviously don't know anyone who has it. Consider yourself very blessed. I have known people who had it and it now my mother has it. This terrible disease does not care who it inflicts...rich, poor, black, white, liberal, conservative, etc. More and more people are getting it and we need to find a cure. Since you have no interest, guess you don't care if you come down with it someday. If you are fortunate, maybe there will be a cure by then.
I see you are mid-term with your Alzheimer's
Are you a troll, a fool, an imbecile, or...........a combination of all three?
sorry, cnn is not liberal news. just because fox news fell off a cliff to the right doesn't mean everything else is liberal. CNN is moderate.
No...Obviously you are here to stir a response or you are 12 and bored. Otherwise, you would be someone who cares little for knowledge and factual information. You learn more by listening than talking and by hearing those who do not share your opinion.
Hip hip Hurray!!! For a successful Trolling my troll friend 😉
You are a ignorant ass. Just like the rest of the tea baggers.
This is the beginning of the end. This is the mutation that will cause apes to become more intelligent than humans. Unfortunately for most of the world, this is already the case.
Humans are apes
gracko – humans ARE NOT, nor ever were, apes. Both were created by God separately, with humans having something that no animal has...a soul.
Sorry Janey33, but your imaginary friend did not make either one. This is a serious discussion and religious wackery just gets in the way of any intelligent conversation.
apes have soles too... they have 2 feet so they have too...
unless u were talking about some fairy tale story written by dudes high on opiates.
Janey, up until you went off the bend talking about fictional characters, you were correct. Humans are not apes, and are not descended from apes. We share a common ancestor.
Humans most certainly ARE apes. We are members of the Great Ape family along with gorillas, orangatans, and chimps/bonobos.
We share common ancestry. Most recently with chimps, having a common ancestor some 5 million years ago. We share common ancestry with the other great apes earlier. We share an ancestor with the monkey family dating back some 20 million years ago.
Sorry Janey, but the facts are in and we share ancestry with apes. This mutation is a prime example of evolution.
Janey – we're primates. In scientific literature, when discussing monkeys and apes as primates, you will typically see the phrase "nonhuman primates." I'm not even going to touch your soul comment.
@janey...Of course humans are apes; have you seen how humans act?
More correctly... Humans were apes.
This is a question for Dr. Gupta:
What are the five most important lifestyle changes you have incorporated into your daily routines to reduce your changes for getting Alzheimer's?
I ain't a doctor but I am in med-school. At this point in time, if you want to avoid the symptoms of Alzheimer's syndrome, suicide at the age of 60 will be your best bet. Ok, maybe you should try bexarotene before offing yourself if you've got the 'heimers, but I'm waiting to see how the research works out before I proclaim it a miracle like so many people seem to do around here.
From reading comments, three are: drink coffee, eat brown rice ans smoke pot.
I am not Dr. G, far from it. I have tried to read all I can find on this disease from hell. On the diet side, I have read that Omega 3 Fatty Acids may help, probably with its very good anti inflammatory properties. Choline, which we convert into acetyocholine, a neurotransmitter, may help. Uridine is another substance that may help. Please do a search of the above 3 and see for yourself if you think it may help.
I think we need to ... oh, heck, I forgot what I was going to say.
Great minds, your post wasn't there when I was typing mine.
You may have copied Patriot Actor....but at least you didn't copy Patriot Actor.
I forgot what I was going to say.
Check out the recent studies on turmeric. There is a strong correlation between the Indian herb and warding off Alzheimer's.
It's wonderful that there's a natural prevention for Alzheimer's. If this article is true, as people live longer (and prosper) there will be a selective advantage for people who have this gene. Don't whine about your relatives, or their money or insurance, who died from Alzheimer's, we are all just tools for our genes and natural selection to find the best way. Don't tell me about herbs, electromagnetism, aliens, or any of that. The key to the universe is within ourselves. You and I are just a step. The is no end to the stairway.
Uh – no. Alzheimer's strikes long after the age at which people have children, or even rear children. There's no selective advantage or disadvantage for evolution to operate on with Alzheimer's.
Yep, Six is right. This trait would only be selected for if it increased the number/survival of your kids. Unfortunately, Mother Nature doesn't care about you after breeding age is over.
I think... hmm forgot what I was going to post.
Alzheimer's is NOT a joke. It is a horrible, cruel disease and it tears your heart out to watch people you love suffer through the stages. I guess the people not taking it seriously have never seen the damage it causes. They should consider themselves lucky for now......eventually, everyone will know how bad this disease is, unless they live under a rock and only care about themselves.
Thank you for your comments. Both my mother and younger sister(56) died of this illness. I'ts horrible and not at fair. You people who are making jokes about this, have no idea how horrible it is to lose your mind...............
Both my grandmothers had Alzheimer's. 1 died of a stroke in her mid 70's (she cooked with bacon drippings & lived in a house where everyone smoked) the other actually died OF the disease (her caretakers said that this is rare that they die of the disease, they usually die of something else, even though they have Alzheimer's). The grandma who died of Alzheimer's always tried to watch her weight & live healthy (no smoking or unhealthy cooking), was diagnosed at about 10 years older than the other and died in her early 90's. Lifestyle probably has something to do with onset, but with the average age of death at around 76, most mortalities occur after that age- maybe it's just part of the natural process of aging that we've made a "disease". The grandma who died in her 90's died peacefully. The hardest part of this disease is the decline. I think the best, least stressful thing any family member can do is not to worry about weather or not they're remembered & accept things as they are, allowing the person with Alzheimer's to simply live in the moment- it's less stressful for them too, not to be constantly reminded of their decline.
If only living wills could be made legal for a person to request that his or her life be terminated after certain conditions are met. I suspect that the majority of people would prefer their life be ended after the mind is gone. In any event the option should be there for those who would want it. We do not let our pets suffer when they get old. Why can't humans have the option of the kindness we extend to pets. Again it would be an individual choice, not forced on any one.
I completely agree
I agree – until that is an option for those of us who feel that way, we will have to set up our own "solution" of how to go out on our own terms.
A mutation that protects against is disease is an example of evolution right in front of you.
Ken, I disagree that this mutation is an example of evolution at work. Almost no one is at child-bearing/rearing age when they come down with Alzheimer's. The only way that this mutation would give someone an advantage in their sexual fitness is if that gene affected them before they were finished having children.
Thank goodness for science and our understanding of evolutionary genetics that will lead to a cure for Alzheimer's.
2 cups of Coffee (with caffeine please) will do the trick. Moderation is the key – Remember I SAID 2 cups only not 10 ok? Good then
Just in case
http://www.sciencedaily.com/search/?keyword=Coffee
Hey republicans, cut the NIH. Just eliminate it by putting Rick Perry in charge when Bishop Romney,CEO, gets elected to destroy the country. Science based medicine is a taxpayer waste of money because faith based medicine is good enough, and the real reason for not needing national health care, same reason for getting rid of NSF & NASA.
I am an Independent. Your posting has no relevance to this blog, has no basis, and is repugnant. Suggest you grow up, and post practical, helpful solutions instead of attacking/criticizing others for their political, scientific, or religious affiliations.
1 word:
Retrovirus
My mother is in the 1st. Stage she is 77 is ther any thing we can do? TKU
Unfortunately, the only thing you can do, is to start looking for a nice nursing home.
I listed 3 things that MAY help, above. Speaking of nursing homes, asap, get all houses, property and money out of her name. Cold as it sounds, she has to be flat broke for any gment assistance. And she will need it. Please give your Mommy a big hug for me. ;(
Listen to Gene. My mother is broke after a life of savings paying for a nursing home for my father for three years at over $11,000 a month.
Die slow
Can't they just remove the brain from those affected?
That's typical of how "modern" medicine goes about curing illness.
Just like finding a cure for cancer ... "failures" will continue forever.
There's actually more hope for Alzheimers where you talking about one specific condition caused by a very finite number of factors. "Cancer" is actually hundreds of different diseases with myriad causes. They're making a lot of progress in a few types of cancer but we will be fighting different and ever more rare forms of it for the forseeable future.
"Just like finding a cure for cancer ... "failures" will continue forever."
Breast cancer, once diagnosed, used to have a 5 year survival rate of around 5%. Now it is about 50% (this is for the aggressive kinds of breast cancer). Prostate cancer, leukemia, stomach cancer and colon cancer have all shown dramatic increases in survival rate. In fact, if it doesn't kill you in 5 years, most kinds of cancer will never kill you (you will die of something else first). But I guess 10-fold or greater increases in survival rates do not impress you.
You can be sure the drug companies won't actually find a miricle drug to cure Alzheimer's. Instead they will look for a drug that will keep it at bay yet still hold the patient dependant on the drug for life. Sad but true as they are mostly concerned about their bottom line.
Not to be negative, but these false hope articles annoy me. They come out all the time and then you never hear of a cure. What happened to the all the hyped cures that were supposed to come as a result of the mapping of the genome; the cancer cure that would starve cancer cells of their oxygen supply; etc. etc. etc.
The cures/treatments cost billions to R/D. The government spends TRILLIONS going around the world killing folks to test new toys. Development and testing of weapons is much more important than protecting Americans.
"A genetic test for the protective mutation wouldn't make sense, since it's so rare, experts said. If you really wanted to know if you have it, your doctor probably couldn't tell you; it would require a specialized research lab, says Dr. Sam Gandy, director of the Mount Sinai Center for Cognitive Health."
If you can't test for it or tell people if they have it, why tell us about it at all? The headline implies there's some breakthrough discovery that will protect against Alzheimers.
I lost my Mother to Alzheimers 3 years ago. And the worst of it was seeing her lost of simple freedom, living arrangements, confinement, etc. But if you discount the excesses amounts of pollution we do to day as a cause of this, we may indeed fine it the quality of our food we eat that causes Alzheimers and a varity of other diseases too. Which would lead us back to the simplest of cures. Atuism and B12 because we do not get enough/kind of B12 that we are shopper to get. I think we forget just how badly we have screwed up this planet. Even just compared to a 100 years ago. I'm not saying everything was Roses back then, I'm saying that we have degraded are water, food and air so bad, that were bound to have bad effects on use all. And may find that some of the cures may be very simple.
Also my grandson has Autism also. Probably caused becaused he suffered from Siliact's disease which the Doctors would Not test for. (not sure about spelling of that). All I'm saying is in some cases the cures may be very simple ones. Hope & still Praying
If grandparents contribute to the survival and procreation of their children and grandchildren, their longevity can be selected for in evolution. We have already evolved a lifespan about twice that of our nearest primate ape relatives. The type of fundamental genetic discovery in this article offers great hope, but it may be a long journey to the ultimate cure and prevention of this scourge. Catastrophic diseases like Alzheimers that can wipe out entire families' life savings is why we need health insurance and healtcare reform. And if you want this type of research to continue, tell your congressmen to support the NIH instead of cutting its budget.
I want a cure or a preventative drug as bad a as anyone but I worry about the whole process of research and bringing
drugs to market. There is so much more money in it for a company to develop a never ending preventative rather than an
cure. Imagine everyone on the planet needing to take a drug once a day to preserve their sanity! I see the potential for a snake oil scam of legendary proportions. You'd need to use it for 30 years to see if it's effective...yikes!
sounds promising.
As long as the profession that is charged with finding cures is the same profession that stands to make more money by not finding the cures, don't expect a cure for anything. You can expect them to sell you as many pills as the FDA will approve.
All of you are ignorants! Let's says there is a 50% chance God exists and 50% he doesn't. Now lets say you are right and he doesn't. Some day we will die because thats how life works. Now let me ask you, what will I lose? Nothing becuase we die and thats it, thats it for you that don't believe in God. Now lets say He does exists, which is the other 50% chance. Now, if we die I know I will go to heaven, and all of you will be doomed! Even if you use logic or common sense it is better to believe in God.
What does this have to do with the Alzheimers article everyone else is commenting on?
So...use turmeric, caffeine, Bexarotene, blueberrys, brown rice, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, choline. Do brainwork like math and copying interesting information (NOT a will or transfer) on paper, by longhand penmanship (who knows what that is anymore?) to pattern the mind and help focus while one still can. Help is whatever works for you. Prosper on the path to a star.
My grandmother is 87 years old and in the 2nd stage of Alzheimers. This is about the worst thing possible to have to see a love one go through. She has her ups and downs.. but mainly downs compared on how she use to be. She helped raise about all her grandchildren, which well over 20. She has 9 children and a huge family. She does now reside in a nursing home which I thought I'd never see. It's amazing how many of us fly down to see her. She has a loving daughter who visits her everyday. I really feel that this entire disease has brought our entire family together. I miss my grandmother so much. She is my best friend and always will be.. I'd never thought I would be at this stage where I would be okay with the passing of my grandmother. I'm so ready for it.. I hate seeing her in pain and half the time they sedate her because she does nothing but cry. I hope one day we can all figure this out because right now, us effected, especially family members.. we feel so alone.
It might help to get born to parents whose parents and direct kin lived to active, alert, accomplishment filled older (like 95 to 105) age. But, how could one chose what genetic parents one would be born to? If you understand the life of the spirit God shared with us you'll understand the question. Thinking outside the "denomination box" is refreshing. Ooops, look out that frozen thoughted priests, clerics and "spiritless shockers" don't catch you thinking freely to run your own life, purely.
We think it is good that people can put their life experiences into words on these blogs. The community of kindness is strengthened thereby. We have seen what Alzheimers disease causes and know the grief and stress that follow it. The knowledge gained from genome studies should be near or at where the good mutation could be spliced to eliminate Alzheimers disease. That would need to be guided by rules of truth, wisdom, benign kindness and no splintering partisan politics. Ooops, those rules are what all GOOD religions have been guided by in the beginning. Truth is simple.
This is the most important work, I have ever completed. Please help me make this link below go viral. Please add it to twitter, Facebook, your web site and place it on other websites in comments sections. If this can become viral, this will definitely have a huge impact on Alzheimer’s perception.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXKO1Qr5qf0&w=640&h=360]
Thanks for your support,
Michael Ellenbogen
I have several clients with Alzheimer's. I advise their caregivers to Keep It Simple. In the early stages of the disease visual cues and helpful reminders can be EXTREMELY beneficial to concerving the brain's energy for doing daily tasks or enjoying a card game or movie.
Helpful resource for Caregivers:
http://www.zazzle.com/artnip
Saw the show in Charlotte, NC last night and there were times when the glaring white light benldid me and the sound was potted way too high. But those amazing dancers blew me away none the less and I didn't want it to end. They deserve better production values than they are getting on this tour.
Brown rice? Omega 3's? Give me a break. It's 90% genetics, 10% lifestyle. The biggest lifestyle changes that appear to help are: remaining active, seriously playing/studying a musical instrument, and smoking pot. Luckily 2 & 3 go well together, but #3 tends to inhibit #1. Regardless, if you turn off the TV, get your butt off the couch and use your brain and body, whether or not it helps you stave off altzheimers or not, at least you will have lived a full life while you were mentally alive. Pets help, too, just so long as you can remember to feed them (and, don't buy a chimpanzee, of course).
Visiting Angels is indeed a blessing. I needed someone to care for my mom who lives in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. She suffers from Alzheimer’s and I live in England. I was able to choose the right caregiver for my Mom. The person was experienced and had excellent credentials. I have peace of mind knowing that Mom is in capable hands. You should check them out at http://www.visitingangels.com/palmbeaches (561-328-7611) if you need senior care services.
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Thanks for writing this informative article. For those that are searching for help or caregiver services for their loved ones stricken with Alzheimer, the process can be nerve-racking to say the least. In my research I came across this great "How to" packed with tips and insight into how to know when it's time to pick a home based caregiver. You can find it here http://www.homecarepbc.com/caregiver-philosophy/tips-for-picking-a-caregiver and they can be contacted at 561.537.5712 if you have further questions.
Thanks again for this great article.
This is an amazing find! If they find a way to harness and produce this mutation and give it to people, then we could have our loved ones for that much longer!
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