Of Mice and Men(tal Ability)

A 2012 study suggests cancer drug bexarotene may be useful in treating Alzheimer's.  Recent tests on mice have shown improved mental ability after treatment.  Bexarotene's effect on the human brain will be studied.

Bexarotene is a so-called orphan drug because so few people use it.  Currently, it is only prescribed for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, which is relatively uncommon.

However, it is too soon to get our hopes up. In the past few years, two drugs believed to have the potential to aid Alzheimer's patients were researched.  Both Dimebon, an antihistamine medication, and semagacestat, which was specifically developed for Alzheimer's, initially showed promise but failed in clinical trials.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6075/1503.abstract

 

GPS for Grannies

Two years ago I wrote about GPS technology being available in shoes for Alzheimer’s patients who might wander.  

It seemed like a wonderful idea, despite several issues--

The patient had to be wearing the shoes

Limitations of GPS technology

Expense of the shoes and the monthly monitoring service

Now a new and greater problem has come up:  the shoes  apparently are not being made any more.

A possible alternative is a Keruve wristwatch. I haven't tried them but you can check them out at http://www.keruve.com/

Wandering is a serious problem. The patient is not having a pleasant stroll; he or she is probably agitated and frightened and may become injured or worse.

The Mayo Clinic estimates more than 60% of Alzheimer’s patients wander at some time.

Locking doors may not help unless the lock is a deadbolt with the key removed. Although solving the wandering problem, this increases the danger if there is a fire or other emergency in the home.

 

Artist Records Alzheimer's Battle with Self-Portraits

Artist William Utermohlen was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1995, and from the time of his diagnosis until 2001, he documented his decline with a series of self-portraits.  Utermohlen passed away in 2007.

View some of these amazing and poignant renderings and read about Ultermohlen's life at http://williamutermohlen.org/index.php/homepage

A Huffington Post article with 7 of his self-portraits is here http://huff.to/1wWAZFl

 

NICOTINE PATCHES IMPROVE MEMORY

A six-month study was performed with elderly patients who had mild memory issues.

One half of the group of 74 were given nicotine patches while the other half received placebos. Not only did those using the nicotine patches have improvement, the other group worsened.

The results were enough to encourage researchers to plan further studies.

More information at: http://bit.ly/1nTpbPm

Maternal Alzheimer's Connection

My mother suffered from dementia for the last 20 years of her life, so I was alarmed to read a study published in Neurology  that suggests that if your mother had Alzheimer's disease you have a greater risk of falling victim to the disease.

The study consisted of 53 people over the age of 60. Ten of them had a father with Alzheimer's, 11 had a mother with Alzheimer's, and 32 had no family history of the disease.

Participants whose mothers had Alzheimer's had about one-and-one-half times the annual brain shrinkage of both those with no family history and those whose fathers had the disease.

Previous studies also have linked Alzheimer's with mothers, suggesting a possible mitochondrial DNA cause, because such DNA is only inherited maternally.

Experts warn, however, that this study sample of 53 is too small to draw any firm conclusions. That makes me feel better. And then, too, my grandmother, Mom's mom, lived to 86 without developing dementia!
For more information --

http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20110228/mothers-alzheimers-disease-may-boost-your-risk