Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Friend's letter helps woman with memory loss

Excerpt from: CBS Local (click for full article)

 

 

 

Alzheimer's drug add-on brings some memory improvement

Excerpt from: Los Angeles Times (click for full article)

 

In patients with moderate Alzheimer's disease, an experimental drug that alters the brain's "fight or flight" impulse succeeded in improving memory modestly when it was added to at least one of the medications already in wide use to treat the memory-robbing disease.

Compared with subjects taking the drug memantine and a placebo, subjects supplementing their customary drug regimen for three months with the experimental drug--ORM-12741--scored more highly on two measures of memory. One of those tested the quality of patients' memory overall; the other tested the quality of patients' "episodic memory"--the ability to recall events and experiences from one's own past.

In subjects taking the lower of the two doses tested, researchers at Finnish drug developer Orion Pharmaceuticals found a slight improvement in working memory--the ability to hold several items in memory for a minute or two. But the benefits were too small to be reliably attributed to the drug.

AMERICAN HOMECOMINGS: Big disappointment in brain injury treatment study

Excerpt from: The Oakland Press (click for full article)

 

The hunt for brain injury treatments has suffered a big disappointment in a major study that found zero benefits from a supplement that the U.S. military had hoped would help wounded troops.

The supplement is marketed as a memory booster online and in over-the-counter powders and drinks. It is also widely used by doctors in dozens of countries to treat traumatic brain injuries and strokes, although evidence on whether it works has been mixed.

U.S. scientists had high hopes that in large doses it would help speed recovery in patients with brain injuries from car crashes, falls, sports accidents and other causes. But in the most rigorous test yet, citicoline worked no better than dummy treatments at reducing forgetfulness, attention problems, difficulty concentrating and other symptoms.

Mayo Clinic and Collaborators to Study Use of Electronic Media to Improve Care of Traumatic Brain Injury

Excerpt from: Health Canal (click for full article)

 

For people who are hospitalized for traumatic brain injury, recovery may involve physical and cognitive problems that linger for years.

The road back to health can be even more arduous for those who live in remote rural areas and don't have access to brain rehabilitation specialists. Mayo Clinic and collaborators, including the Departments of Health in Minnesota and Iowa, Regional Health in South Dakota and Sanford Health in North Dakota, have received a $2.2 million federal grant to test new ways to provide specialized TBI care, with a focus on reaching rural areas and underserved urban populations.

"We know early intervention and longitudinal care give people the best chance to minimize or prevent lasting effects of TBI, but that's not always easy or feasible," says Mayo Clinic physiatrist Allen Brown, M.D. , Director of Brain Rehabilitation Research and principal investigator of the five-year study. "Our goal is to test a model of care that delivers specialized brain rehabilitation resources to patients and providers in underserved locations. We believe this is the first study of this scope — four states, three health systems and two state departments of health — using electronic technology to improve care with no face-to-face contact."

The randomized clinical trial, led by Mayo Clinic's Traumatic Brain Injury Model System Center, will test the effectiveness of using modern technologies to create health care networks, using phone consults, eHealth, telehealth, and virtual communication systems. With advanced technologies, specialists may reduce the occurrence of complex medical and psychosocial problems by providing support and education to underserved areas and to community clinicians who see patients there.

Majority of Adults Fear Alzheimer's Disease, Want Greater Effort to Defeat It

Excerpt from: Alzheimer's Reading Room (click for full article)

 

A new survey shows nearly half of U.S. adults have a personal connection to Alzheimer's disease.

According to a national survey for the Banner Alzheimer's Institute, the results also found more than seven in 10 adults, or 218 million Americans, worry about memory loss or the disease for themselves or a loved one.

Most Americans now realize how devastating this disease is for individuals, families and the country," said Eric Reiman, M.D., executive director of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute (BAI). "We need to marshal their awareness and concerns to push forward on the research that holds the greatest promise for stopping Alzheimer's."

As November marks National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, the survey illustrates the disease's increasing impact as the nation ages and the prevalence of Alzheimer's continues to rise, being the only condition among the top 10 causes of death that has no cure or treatment. With 5.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer's today, the Alzheimer's Association projects the number of people living with the disease could exceed 7.7 million by 2030.

Exercise may protect the aging brain, a study shows

Excerpt from:The Washington Post (click for full article)

 

THE QUESTION The brain sometimes shrinks as people age, altering their memory and thinking abilities. Might physical or mental activities help prevent this shrinkage?

THIS STUDY analyzed data on 691 adults in their early 70s, including information on their exercise habits and participation in socially oriented or intellectually challenging activities. MRI brain scans showed less shrinkage in the brains among those who reported the most physical activity, compared with those who were the least physically active. Atrophy, or brain shrinkage, was greatest among physically inactive men. Participating in mentally and socially stimulating activities had no effect on brain shrinkage.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? Older adults. Forgetfulness is a normal part of aging, but serious memory loss and cognitive problems that affect day-to-day life are thought to be related more to brain atrophy.