Today I want to share an email I received from Dr Al Sears. I have a lot of respect for Dr Sears willingness to go outside the traditional medical box so to speak in his thinking. This is true especially in his approach to the nutritional aspect of health issues. In this missive he addresses the hazards of sticky proteins which are suspect as a cause of Alzheimer’s disease and a number of other diseases associated with aging. The prevention of Alzheimer’s is the challenge of researchers worldwide and we must take every opportunity to reduce the risks inherent in lifestyle choices that increase our chances of age related dementia. Keep in mind that there is no intention to offer medical advice in the pages of this website. We are just sharing with you information related to the causes, treatment and prevention of the disease in the hope that you will use this info to further educate yourself on the subject. Here is Dr Sears Email:

The Hidden Dangers of Cooking
Dear Member,

Before you cook that chicken breast to a perfect golden brown or caramelize those onions to add to your favorite dish, you may want to heed the latest research.

Browning your food – the cooking term is “caramelizing” – occurs when sugar molecules attach to protein.

Though your taste buds are enjoying the party, the rest of your body is paying the price.
When the sugar attaches to the protein, a series of other reactions occur called glycation that causes proteins to stick together. When proteins stick together, it is called “cross linking”. The official term for these cross-linked proteins is Advanced Glycation End products, or AGEs.

When these “sticky proteins,” or AGEs, build up, that’s when the real trouble begins. These AGEs can gather in any number of tissues in the body, and the basic result is that the tissue gets “stiffer”. When tissues get stiffer, they don’t work as they should.

AGEs have been associated with a number of diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer.

Preventing the build up of AGEs may be an important factor in preventing many age-related diseases. Here are a few things you can do:

Avoid a diet heavy in foods that have been heated for prolonged periods of time, particularly meats, fats, and broiled foods. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat quality meat, just don’t overcook and prevent browning if possible. Cooking with water prevents caramelizing – like steaming or boiling.

AGEs can be inhaled through cigarette smoke.  As if you needed another reason to quit!
Here are some supplements that have been shown to slow down AGE formation:
Carnosine – An excellent overall antioxidant, carnosine hasbeen shown to prevent cross linking. Carnosine levels drop dramaticallywhen we age, so supplementation is a good idea, 100 – 200mg a day.

Pyridoxine (vitamin B6) – Has been shown to reduce AGE formation. Vitamin B6 is also a good antioxidant and helps with metabolism of carbohydrates. 300-500 mg a day.
Thiamine (vitamin B1) – Another good substance to slow down AGE formation. An important part of carbohydrate metabolism, vitamin B1 is also known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. 1.5 mg a day.

An important note, high blood sugar levels can greatly increase cross linking and AGEs. So avoid a high sugar diet, or your sweet tooth may cost you more than an extra trip to the dentist.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears MD

Additional Risk Factors Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease

Here is an excerpt from a New York Times Article Alzheimer’s an in Depth Report which ran a while ago.It gave a good accounting of the disease we call Alzheimer’s disease including the iformation provided here in this segment.. This particular excerpt is in reference to what the article calls other risk factors in the development of Alzheimer’s disease:

"Lower Education and Economic Groups. A number of studies have reported either a higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease in people with less education or a lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease in those who remain mentally active. Some experts speculate that learning itself may stimulate more neurons to grow and thus create a larger reserve in the brain so that it takes longer for brain cells to be destroyed. Some evidence suggests that early malnutrition, which is more likely to occur in lower income and educational groups, has been associated with smaller brains and with Alzheimer’s disease in old age. Low-birth weight can cause problems in growth factors that could affect both mental and physical health later on in adulthood.

Small Head Size. The size of the skull is fixed by age 7. Brain size approximates the head size until old age, when it begins to shrink. Some evidence has reported an association between small head size (and therefore less brain volume) and Alzheimer’s disease, possibly because people who start with larger brains can sustain more injury over time. For example, a 2002 study indicated that it was reduction in overall brain volume, not specific regions, that contributed to mental impairment in older healthy adults. Another study reported that people who had small heads plus the ApoE4 gene had 14 times the risk for Alzheimer’s disease than those without this combination. Nevertheless, other studies have found no association between a small head size and Alzheimer’s disease.

Some experts suggest that the relationship observed in other research may simply be due to social and economic factors, such as malnutrition or low birth weight, which have been associated with both Alzheimer’s disease and small head size. Small head size independent of other factors, they argue, does not pose a higher risk for either Alzheimer’s disease or low intelligence

Depression. There is a significant overlap between depression and dementia in the elderly. In fact depression itself is often an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. In a 2002 study of Catholic nuns, for each of four depressive symptoms, the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease increased by an additional 19%. For example, for a woman with four depressive symptoms the risk increased by 76%. Some evidence suggests that there may even be common genetic factors in people who have both early depression and Alzheimer’s disease.

Head Injury. Some studies have found an association between serious head injuries in early adulthood and the development of Alzheimer’s. It is not yet known if such injuries directly cause Alzheimer’s or simply accelerate the disease in people who are already susceptible to it.
In-Depth From A.D.A.M. Prevention

Although there is no strong evidence that any lifestyle change can prevent Alzheimer’s disease, studies suggest that certain behaviors may help protect against mental decline. In particular, medications and lifestyle choices that protect the heart may be of specific importance. Various preventive drugs are under investigation, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory therapies.
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) as Prevention

In 2004, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) halted a large clinical trial that was investigating the use of anti-inflammatory drugs in preventing Alzheimer’s disease. While prior data had confirmed that NSAIDs were not effective in treating AD, research continued to explore these drugs’ potential preventive benefits.

The Alzheimer’s Disease Anti-Inflammatory Prevention Trial (ADAPT) was launched in 2001 to investigate whether long-term use of naproxen (Aleve) or celecoxib (Celebrex) could decrease the risk of developing AD. The trial was based on the premise that because inflammation is known to be involved in the process of Alzheimer’s disease, anti-inflammatory drugs may help to prevent it. The NIH suspended this trial due to evidence that the NSAID naproxen was associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events among participants. No adverse effects appeared during this trial for the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib. However, heart safety concerns about this drug had been raised in other trials, and investigators did not believe that celecoxib’s potential benefits outweighed its risks.

Since 2004, the ADAPT investigators have continued to monitor the trial’s participants to see if these treatments had any effect in changing their risk for Alzheimer’s. In an update analysis of ADAPT data published in 2007, the researchers announced that neither naproxen nor celecoxib appear to reduce the risk for Alzheimer’s."

That Ginkgo Might Prevent Age Related Dementia, Alzheimer’s Appears Untrue

Here is a study that first came to my attention in the Healthday News last November I am finally sharing it here:

Gingko had created some high hopes in the botanical medicine area as useful in preventing and treating alzheimer’s disease and other age related dementia.

During the study period, 523 people developed dementia, and 92 percent of those cases were classified as possible or probable Alzheimer’s disease.

Healthday News 11/08

Although commonly taken to improve memory, new research suggests that the herb ginkgo biloba won’t help prevent dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

"We found that giving a standardized dose of ginkgo biloba over a period of time does not slow down the incidence rate of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease," said the study’s lead author, Dr. Steven DeKosky, who was chair of the department of neurology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Medical Center at the time of the study.

The findings were published in the Nov. 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, currently affects about 5 million people in the United States, according to background information in the article. Dementia is a significant cause of age-related disability and the need for long-term nursing home care, the study reported.

There are currently no medications that have been approved for the primary prevention of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. However, previous small, short-term clinical trials have suggested there might be a small benefit from ginkgo for people with dementia. Sales of ginkgo biloba are almost $250 million each year in the United States, according to the study.

The current study included almost 3,100 community-dwelling adults aged 75 or older. Most had normal cognition at the start of the study, while 482 had mild cognitive impairment when the study began.

The study volunteers were randomly assigned to receive either a twice-daily dose of 120 milligrams of ginkgo biloba extract or a twice-daily placebo. The study participants were assessed for signs of dementia every six months, and the average length of study participation was just over six years.

During the study period, 523 people developed dementia, and 92 percent of those cases were classified as possible or probable Alzheimer’s disease.

Overall, the dementia rate for those taking ginkgo was 3.3 per 100 person-years of follow-up versus 2.9 per 100 person-years for the placebo group.

"If you’re in your 70s or 80s, and you’re contemplating taking ginkgo to prevent Alzheimer’s or dementia, the idea that it can prevent these is not true," said DeKosky, who is vice president and dean of the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville.

But, said DeKosky, the good news from this study is that there appear to be "no major problems for safety" where ginkgo is concerned.

One representative of the botanicals industry took issue with the findings.

"There is an significant body of scientific and clinical evidence supporting the safety and efficacy of ginkgo extract for both cognitive function and improved circulation," said Mark Blumenthal, the founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council.

He also cited what he considered shortcomings with the Pittsburgh study, including a relatively short follow-up period, and the lack of a comparison treatment (there is currently no treatment that prevents or curbs dementia). Blumenthal also noted that 60 percent of participants stopped taking gingko by the end of the study, potentially lending uncertainty to the results.

However, the author of an accompanying editorial in the same issue of the journal, Dr. Lon Schneider, director of the State of California Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Clinical Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, pointed out that for people with a history of cardiovascular disease, there was an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke in the group taking ginkgo, though the difference didn’t reach statistical significance. Eight people in the placebo compared to 16 in the ginkgo group had a hemorrhagic stroke, Schneider noted.

He also pointed out that at least one smaller trial found an increased risk of the more common type of stroke, ischemic stroke, and transient ischemic attacks, in people taking ginkgo.

"In the absence of efficacy, people should be fairly careful about taking a drug anyway, and here, we’ve seen no evidence for potential gain, and there’s some reason to be concerned about its use in the long term," said Schneider.

SOURCES: Steven T. DeKosky, M.D., vice president and dean, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Va.; Lon S. Schneider, M.D., director, State of California Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Clinical Center at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; news release, Nov. 18. 2008, American Botanical Council; Nov. 19, 2008, Journal of the American Medical Association

Publish Date: November 18, 2008

Alzheimer’s Symptoms in Brief

A first sign of Alzheimer disease is a continuous pattern of forgetting things like trouble to remembering recent events, activities, or the names of familiar people or things. They may not be able to solve simple math problems. This starts to affect a person’s daily life. Symptoms of the disease include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, personality changes, disorientation, and loss of language skills. Always fatal, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of irreversible dementia.

Other symptoms can include:

* Lack of concentration
* Confusion about time and place
* Self-neglect
* Restlessness
* A tendency to wander aimlessly
* Sometimes saying or doing outrageous things
* Mood can be depressed, anxious or agitated
* Reasoning can be come slow and muddled
* Some people may experience hallucinations or delusions

 Age Related Dementia and Vitamin D

From the New York Times an article those with interest in the subject of age related dementia with find confirming to previous articles in this blog.

Aging: Vitamin D Levels Tied to Dementia Risk

By NICHOLAS BAKALAR

Low blood levels of vitamin D may be associated with an increased risk for age related dementia, a British study has found.

Scientists measured blood levels of the vitamin in a representative sample of 1,766 people over 65 and assessed their mental functioning with a widely used questionnaire. About 12 percent were cognitively impaired, and the lower their vitamin D level, the more likely they were to be in that group. Compared with those in the highest one-quarter for serum vitamin D, those in the lowest were 2.3 times as likely to be impaired, even after statistically adjusting for age, sex, education and ethnicity. Men showed the effect more strongly than women.

“The cause of dementia is not vitamin D deficiency,” said David Llewellyn, a research associate at Cambridge University and the study’s lead author. “It’s a very complicated disease. But while further research is needed, vitamin D supplementation is cheap, safe and convenient, and may therefore play an important role in prevention.”(of age related dementia)

According to background information in the study, which appears online in The Journal of Geriatric Psychology and Neurology, vitamin D receptors are present in a variety of cells, including neurons and the glial cells associated with them. That suggests that the vitamin may play a role in brain development and the protection of neurons.

Don’t Wait for Bad News to Change Bad Habits.

Guest article writer today reprots on a part of human nature that often defies our giving ourselves the best chance for the best health:

 (HealthDay News) — Being diagnosed with a serious condition such as heart disease or diabetes can prompt middle-aged and older adults to make health behavior changes, such as quitting smoking or losing weight, a Yale University study shows.

The researchers analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study, which included middle-aged and older adults who were surveyed at least twice between 1992 and 2000. The surveys included 20,221 overweight or obese people younger than 75, and 7,764 smokers.

During the survey period, 18 percent of the smokers quit, and the average body-mass index (BMI) of overweight and obese respondents increased by 0.04 units. About 13 percent of the smokers were diagnosed with stroke, cancer, lung disease, heart disease or diabetes. About 8 percent of the overweight/obese people were diagnosed with lung disease, heart disease or diabetes.

The Yale researchers found that people newly diagnosed with health problems were more likely to change their health habits than those without a new diagnosis. Smokers newly diagnosed with at least one condition were 3.2 times more likely to quit than those without a new diagnosis. Overweight or obese people diagnosed with at least one condition lost an average of 2 to 3 pounds more than those without a new diagnosis.

Multiple diagnoses increased the likelihood of health behavior changes. Smokers with multiple diagnoses were 6.1 times more likely to quit than those with no new diagnoses. Overweight/obese people with one diagnosis lost an average of 0.34 BMI units, while those with more than one diagnosis lost an average of 0.64 BMI units.

The findings were published in the Feb. 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"Targeting individuals with recent new diagnoses may be particularly effective in middle-aged and older individuals, who are increasingly likely to receive a major diagnosis or to be hospitalized as they age," wrote study author Patricia S. Keenan, of Yale School of Medicine and Yale School of Public Health.

"Individuals with new adverse health events are accessible through contact with the health-care system or through the Internet or other written information about their disease, and this study suggests that they are more motivated to change health habits."

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about healthy habits.
— Robert Preidt

SOURCE: JAMA/Archives journals, news release, Feb. 9, 2009

Phosphatidylserine Brain Nutrient

According to several blue ribbon studies, phosphatidylserine is one of the single best nutrients for rejuvenating your mind and memory. This soy-based nutrient is the key building block for billions of cells in your brain. It acts like brain food.

Volumes of scientific literature have proven the effectiveness of this remarkable ingredient. In a multi-university study, subjects who took PS (phosphatidylserine) achieved a 30 percent improvement in cognitive function, including learning, memory, and recalling numbers, names and faces. In fact, the study found that PS can roll back up to 12 years of mental decline.

In another research study performed in Italy, phosphatidylserine was documented to give you up to 44 percent better memory. In another study at a world-famous memory clinic, PS was found to actually make you smarter. People who took PS showed a 33 percent improvement in learning and remembering written information compared to the subjects who took placebos.

Can you get this brain nutrient in your diet naturally ?  Well yes but and really no.

There are two major sources for phosphatidylserine: cow brains and soy lecithin. As a supplement, the phosphatidylserine derived from cow brains (BC-PS) is banned in the US due to fears about mad cow disease.

While phosphatidylserine occurs in soy lecithin, it does differ in molecular structure from the phosphatidylserine found in cow brains. It is important to note that the studies about human cognitive improvement were done with phosphatidylserine derive from cow brains.

Your body actually produces phosphatidylserine. However, theraputic doses for memory improvement are 100 mg two-three times a day.

 What we are left with is the necessity to go for supplementation to be able to put this brain aid to work for us.