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Head injuries can age your brain by 5 years and may accelerate development of dementia, 25 March 2015
Excerpts:
"People who have suffered serious head injuries showed changes in brain structure resembling those seen in older people"
"For those with healthy brains, the average difference between predicted age and real age was zero.
But in head injury patients, the difference was significantly higher, with a bigger discrepancy in patients with more severe injuries.
Bigger differences in predicted age were associated with cognitive impairments such as poor memory and slow reaction times.
There was also a correlation between time since injury and predicted age difference.
This suggested these changes in brain structure do not occur during the injury itself, but result from ongoing biological processes, potentially similar to those seen in normal ageing, that progress more quickly after an injury."
"Dr Cole said: “Traumatic brain injury is not a static event.
“It can set off secondary processes, possibly related to inflammation, that can cause more damage in the brain for years afterwards, and may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia."
Article at:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/science/head-injuries-can-age-your-5399563
NATURAL MEDICINE: Heal your brain with omega-3s in Planet Jackson Hole, Dr. Monique Lai on March 25, 2015
Excerpt:
"Traumatic Brain Injuries have two distinct phases. There is the primary phase, whether it is a blow to the head or the sort of blast wave injury seen in troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The initial injury is followed by a secondary phase, which happens minutes, hours, weeks or even months later and is marked by inflammation and swelling. The symptoms of a post-concussive state (the most commonly encountered traumatic brain injury) include difficulty concentrating and remembering new information, headaches, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and sensitivity to noise or light. The Center for Disease Control recommends limiting activities and computer time as well as refraining from alcohol and plane flights after these sorts of injuries.
The military has discovered important information regarding brain injuries. I recently attended a lecture by physician Michael Lewis on the treatment of brain injuries and the prevention of suicide through the use of omega-3 oils. Lewis worked for the U.S. Army for 31 years. During that time, he studied the clinical use of omega-3 fatty acids for the prevention, acute treatment and rehabilitation of brain injuries specifically from physical and psychological trauma that includes traumatic brain injury and concussions, stroke, post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions.
His research points to changes in our brain health, based on our modern diet and food supply. According to Lewis, in the past 50 years or so, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 oils in our diet has changed from one-to-one to 25-to-one. Omega-6 oils create an environment that is inflammatory. While some inflammation is necessary for good health, too much is damaging. In a one-to-one ratio, excess inflammation can be countered by omega-3 fatty acids. At 25-to-one, we have serious problems. The greatest source of the omega-6 overload is soybean oil found in processed foods and in our entire food chain, including animal feed.
Your brain is made up of 60 percent fat. Half of that is eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which are omega-3 fats. Omega-3s affect neuroprotection, neuro-inflammation and neuroregeneration."
Article at:
http://planetjh.com/2015/03/25/natural-medicine-heal-your-brain-with-omega-3s/
This Diet Slashes Alzheimer's Risk by 53% in Newser, Kate Seamons, Newser Staff
Posted Mar 25, 2015
Excerpts:
"This study actually confirmed that the DASH and Mediterranean diets resulted in a reduced Alzheimer's risk of 39% and 54%, respectively. The huge difference was when the diets were followed moderately: Only the MIND diet returned significant results. A press release frames MIND as easier to follow, too: The Mediterranean diet, for instance, requires that fish be eaten daily. With MIND, fish only need be consumed once a week, plus: poultry and berries twice a week, nuts most days, and beans 3-4 times; everyday items include three servings of whole grains, a salad, one additional vegetable, and a glass of wine. But what you don't eat is key, too: You'll need to eat less than a single serving of cheese a week; butter, red meat, sweets, and fried/fast food also make the "almost never" list."
Article at:
http://www.newser.com/story/204506/this-diet-slashes-alzheimers-risk-by-53.html
3 Glasses Of Milk A Day May Keep Dementia Away: Antioxidants In Milk Protect Brain Cells, Mar 26, 2015 03:22 PM By Lecia Bushak
Excerpts:
"A new study out of the University of Kansas Medical Center claims that it does. Drinking three glasses of milk a day, the researchers argue, fights dementia by providing you with higher levels of an antioxidant called glutathione, which protects your brain cells."
"The study examined 60 participants, and asked them to report on their diets in the days leading up to brain scans. The researchers found that the people who had recently drunk more milk actually showed higher levels of glutathione in their brains — which helps fight oxidative stress, something that is often linked to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, or other dementia-related diseases.
Oxidative stress occurs when the balance between free radicals that damage your brain, and the body’s counteractive properties that fight them off, is destabilized. Oxidative stress has been linked to a variety of disorders beyond dementia, including gene mutations, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, heart problems, and inflammatory diseases.
The authors of the milk study explain that oxidative stress causes damage “like the buildup of rust on your car,” Sullivan said in the press release. “If we can find a way to fight this by instituting lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise, it could have major implications for brain health.”
A past study, published in 2014, found that an increased milk and dairy intake had a similar effect on the general Japanese population. The authors found that milk reduced the risk of dementia — particularly Alzheimer’s — among elderly participants."
Article at:
http://www.medicaldaily.com/3-glasses-milk-day-may-keep-dementia-away-antioxidants-milk-protect-brain-cells-327182
From RCPI news release:
"Dr. Mullan continued, "During the first quarter of 2015, we commenced our Phase I trial in the UK and began dosing in Part One of the study. We look forward to providing subsequent updates in the coming months regarding progress of the Phase I trial as we generate the first human clinical data with the prototype drugs being tested under this CTA. As previously announced, under our current development plan and contingent on obtaining sufficient capital resources, we plan on initiating one or more Phase IIa trials during the second half of 2015."
You can read complete release at:
http://investors.rockcreekpharmaceuticals.com/2015-03-12-Rock-Creek-Pharmaceuticals-Files-2014-Annual-Report-and-Provides-Clinical-Development-Update
Mullan with the same dream?
Excerpt from USA Today:
"Robert Duggan, CEO of biotech drugmaker Pharmacyclics PCYC, will pocket over $3.5 billion from the company’s sale to AbbVie ABBV, one of the biggest paydays ever from the buyout of a publicly held company.
Under terms of the deal, Duggan will receive $3.55 billion for his 13.6 million shares, about an 18% stake in the biotech company, according to corporate filings.
Other senior execs are set for big payouts as well, including Chief Operating Officer Mahkam Zanganeh, whose shares are worth nearly $224.6 million, and director David Smith, who will pocket nearly $46.5 million. All told, directors and senior executives could receive nearly $4 billion in merger-related payments, Pharmacyclics says.
Duggan, 70, is a longtime private venture investor and was CEO of surgical systems maker Computer Motion until it was acquired by Intuitive Surgical ISRG in 2003.
Duggan began buying Pharmacyclics stock in 2004, eventually amassing nearly a 25% stake. But by 2008, shares had fallen below $1. The company’s fortunes turned on chronic lymphocytic leukemia treatment Imbruvica and a series of drug industry mergers.
Pharmacyclics shares currently trade at about $258. Takeover speculation – including interest from Imbruvica partner Johnson & Johnson JNJ – have boosted Pharmacyclics 119% this year alone, based on Tuesday’s $257.75 close.
Duggan has declined compensation from the company since becoming CEO in 2008."
Article at:
http://americasmarkets.usatoday.com/2015/03/24/the-3-55-billion-man/
Zinc status linked to immune responses and chronic disease, researchers suggest
By Nathan Gray+, 24-Mar-2015
Excerpt:
"Zinc deficiency could play a role in chronic diseases that involve inflammation, especially in older adults, says new research."
Article at:
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Zinc-status-linked-to-immune-responses-and-chronic-disease-researchers-suggest
Alzheimer's By The Numbers in 10Wilx.com, March 24, 2015
Post:
"The latest statistics on Alzheimer's disease show five-point-three million Americans currently have the condition.
One in nine people age 65 or older has Alzheimer's ... and about one-third of those over 85 have the disease.
Almost two-thirds of Alzheimer's patients are women ... but this may be because women tend to live longer than men.
An estimated 700-thousand people in the US will die with Alzheimer's this year ... and by 2025, the disease is expected to reach more than seven million Americans.
The study was led by researchers at the Alzheimer's Association. "
Post at:
http://www.wilx.com/home/headlines/Alzheimers-By-The-Numbers-297345661.html
Some journalists fire another “silver bullet” at Alzheimer’s amyloid target
Posted by cassels@uvic.ca in biotech, Business of health, Drug industry, Health care journalism, 24 March 2015
Excerpts:
"A March 20th story in the Boston Globe. “Biogen drug offers hope for patients with Alzheimer’s,” was one of many stories last week that cast a glimmer of hope on new drug treatment to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease, which affects as many as 5 million Americans."
"The New York Times reported that Biogen’s aducanumab or BIIB037, is “designed to get rid of amyloid plaque in the brain, which is widely believed to be a cause of the dementia characteristic of the disease.” Really, “Widely believed?” That’s a nose-stretcher for sure unless maybe I’ve been asleep for the last 20 years. I thought the amyloid hypothesis was soundly discredited, a perennial and embarrassing, non-starter relegated to the graveyard of potential Alzheimer’s cures. "
" “I’ve seen this stuff for 25 years and they should stop misinforming people about amyloid plaque,” she said, adding, “We don’t know if amyloid plaque is a precursor or an after-effect of the disease. Testing to get rid of it hasn’t worked for decades—so we’re beating a dead horse. We need more basic science.” That viewpoint is also reflected in a Forbes Magazine article from 2012 around the failure of another amyloid-attacking drug. It said that by the end of 2012 “we will have data from six major Phase III trials without even a shred of support for the amyloid hypothesis.” Saying that these facts are “hard to ignore,” the commentatory goes on to say that “amyloid optimism has required dismissing or minimizing the lessons of history.”"
Article at:
http://www.healthnewsreview.org/2015/03/journalists-fire-another-silver-bullet-at-alzheimers/
Researchers Pinpoint Possible Alzheimer's Culprit in Web MD, Robert Preidt, March 24, 2015
Excerpts:
"Postmortem analysis of almost 1,400 brains implicates tau, not amyloid, buildup driving memory loss"
"Another protein called amyloid accumulates as Alzheimer's progresses, but is not the primary culprit behind the devastating memory loss that is the hallmark of the disease, Mayo Clinic researchers report.
They said their findings suggest that targeting tau should be the new focus of efforts to find treatments for Alzheimer's.
"The majority of the Alzheimer's research field has really focused on amyloid over the last 25 years," study author Melissa Murray, a neuroscientist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., said in a Mayo news release.
The researchers analyzed 1,375 brains of deceased Alzheimer's patients in the Mayo Clinic's brain bank. The patients died at different ages and at different stages of Alzheimer's, providing a timeline for disease progression."
""Tau can be compared to railroad ties that stabilize a train track that brain cells use to transport food, messages and other vital cargo throughout neurons. In Alzheimer's, changes in the tau protein cause the tracks to become unstable in neurons of the hippocampus, the center of memory," Murray said.
"Evidence suggests that abnormal tau then spreads from cell to cell, disseminating pathological tau in the brain's cortex. The cortex is the outer part of the brain that is involved in higher levels of thinking, planning, behavior and attention -- mirroring later behavioral changes in Alzheimer's patients," she continued.
"Amyloid, on the other hand, starts accumulating in the outer parts of the cortex and then spreads down to the hippocampus and eventually to other areas... . When you account for the severity of tau pathology, however, the relationship between amyloid and cognition disappears -- which indicates tau is the driver of Alzheimer's," Murray concluded."
Article at:
http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20150324/researchers-pinpoint-possible-protein-culprit-behind-alzheimers
Anatabine Attenuates Tau Phosphorylation and Oligomerization in P301S Tau Transgenic Mice
Daniel Paris1*, David Beaulieu-Abdelahad1, Ghania Ait-Ghezala1, Venkat Mathura1, Megha Verma1, Alex E Roher3, Jon Reed1,Fiona Crawford1 and Michael Mullan1,2
1Roskamp Institute, Sarasota, Florida, USA
2Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA
Abstract:
"We have previously shown that the natural alkaloid anatabine displays some anti-inflammatory and Alzheimer amyloid (Aß) lowering properties in the central nervous system associated with reduced STAT3 and NFkB activation. We investigated here the impact of a chronic oral treatment with anatabine in a model of tauopathy. We found that anatabine reduces the incidence of paralysis and abnormal hind limb extension reflex while improving rotarod performances in P301S mutant human Tau transgenic mice (Tg Tau P301S) suggesting that anatabine delays the disease progression in this model of tauopathy. Analyzes of brain and spinal cord homogenates reveal that anatabine reduces tau phosphorylation at multiple pertinent Alzheimer’s disease (AD) epitopes and decreases the levels of pathological tau conformers/oligomers in both detergent soluble and insoluble fractions. Pathological tau species reduction induced by anatabine was accompanied by decreased Iba1 expression suggesting a diminution of microgliosis in the brain and spinal cord of Tg Tau P301S mice. In addition, we found that anatabine administration increases phosphorylation of the inhibitory residue (Ser9) of glycogen synthase kinase-3ß, a primary tau kinase, associated with AD pathology, providing a possible mechanism for the observed reduction of tau phosphorylation. These data support further exploration of anatabine as a possible disease modifying agent for neurodegenerative tauopathies and, in particular AD, since anatabine also displays Aß lowering properties."
Article/Abstract at:
http://omicsgroup.org/journals/anatabine-attenuates-tau-phosphorylation-and-oligomerization-in-ps-tau-transgenic-mice-2168-975X.1000126.php?aid=26406
Alzheimer's breakthrough: ultrasound successfully treats disease in mice in the Guardian,
ExcerptP
"Scientists believe they may have found a new weapon in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease – not in the form of a drug but in focused beams of ultrasound.
While the approach has only been tested in mice, researchers said on Wednesday it proved surprisingly good at clearing tangles of plaques linked to Alzheimer’s in the animals’ brains and improving their memory, as measured by tests such as navigating a maze."
Article at:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/12/alzheimers-breakthrough-as-ultrasound-successfully-treats-disease-in-mice
Did you notice the dosage?
"The dosage will be either 3 or 4 mg oral tablet based on body weight taken with 240 ml water. If the subject weighs less than or equal to 81.4 kg the dose given will be 3 mg. If the subject weighs 81.5 kg or above they will receive 4 mg."
Current Anatabloc is 1 mg/tablet. I wonder if this is the 'time released' version?
Stress, Depression a 'Perfect Storm' of Trouble for Heart Patients in Drugs.com, March 10, 2015
Excerpts:
"Heart disease, depression and stress can be a deadly combination, a new study finds.
Researchers looking at the effect of significant stress and deep depression on nearly 4,500 patients with heart disease called the pairing a "psychosocial perfect storm."
"The combination of high stress and high depression symptoms may be particularly harmful for adults with heart disease during an early vulnerability period," said lead researcher Carmela Alcantara, an associate research scientist at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.
"We found that those who reported both high stress and high depression were 48 percent more likely than those with low stress and low depression to have another heart attack or die in the first 2.5 years of follow-up," she said."
"High stress alone, or depression alone, did not increase the risk of another heart attack or death, she said."
Article at:
http://www.drugs.com/news/stress-depression-perfect-storm-trouble-heart-patients-55971.html?utm_source=ddc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Today%27s+news+summary+-+March+10%2C+2015&utm_content=Stress%2C+Depression+a+%27Perfect+Storm%27+of+Trouble+for+Heart+Patients
Good Heart Health May Help Stave Off Dementia, Study Says in Drugs.com, March 10, 2015
Excerpts:
"Good heart health may help protect you against Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia, a new study suggests.
Vanderbilt University researchers analyzed data from just over 1,000 people who were followed for 11 years. During that time, 32 participants developed dementia, including 26 with Alzheimer's.
People with poorer heart function were two to three times more likely to develop dementia than those with healthy hearts, according to the study recently published online in the journal Circulation.
"Heart function could prove to be a major risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer's disease," principal investigator Angela Jefferson, director of the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, said in a university news release."
""For the average adult, the brain accounts for 2 percent of overall body weight but receives as much as 15 percent of blood leaving the heart,""
""At present, there is no proven method for preventing dementia or Alzheimer's disease. But leading a heart healthy lifestyle could help,"
Article at:
http://www.drugs.com/news/good-heart-health-may-help-stave-off-dementia-study-says-55961.html?utm_source=ddc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Today%27s+news+summary+-+March+10%2C+2015&utm_content=Good+Heart+Health+May+Help+Stave+Off+Dementia%2C+Study+Says
Is Your Fat Making You Inflammed? in the Gleaner, March 10, 2015
Excerpts:
"There is a lot of talk about reducing body fat. Known to doctors as adipose tissue, body fat comes in different forms. The different types of fat have different functions and can affect your health in different ways.
Fat, for example, comes in different colours: brown adipose tissue (BAT) and white adipose tissue (WAT). BAT is a very healthy form of fat found mostly in the neck, chest and back areas. It burns fat cells to produce heat even without exercise, and helps to control body temperature. Excess WAT, on the other hand, is less healthy, angry fat and is associated with inflammation and many common diseases."
"Belly Fat And Inflammation
The key underlying issue when it comes to body fat and health is inflammation. Inflammation is the body's first defence system, and most of the time it protects us from harmful germs, abnormal cells while promoting healing after injury. The main features of inflammation are heat, swelling, redness and loss of normal function. But when out of control, inflammation can lead to heart attacks, stroke, cancer, allergies, auto-immune illnesses like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease and aggravate a long list of other problems, including diabetes and high blood pressure. Almost all painful conditions are associated with inflammation.
So temporary inflammation is a good and necessary part of the body's response to damage and disease, but chronic, ongoing inflammation promotes these illnesses and even accelerates ageing.
For a long time, the blockage to blood vessels that cause heart attacks and strokes was blamed on the deposit of cholesterol in the arteries. Despite the continuing 'cholesterol hype', we know that these problems are the result of inflammation, often fuelled by too much belly fat."
"The good news is that weight loss, of even a few pounds, can significantly reduce inflammation. As weight is lost, fat cells shrink and release less inflammatory chemicals. The actual number of immune system cells in the fatty tissues is reduced and their inflammatory actions restricted. As belly fat is lost, inflammation in your body decreases."
Article at:
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lifestyle/20150310/your-fat-making-you-inflammed
Viagra can have anti-cancer, anti-Alzheimer's disease effects if used with new drugs in News Medical, March 10, 2015
Excerpts:
"Chaperone proteins play an important role in protein folding in human cells and in bacteria and are promising new targets for drugs to treat cancer and Alzheimer's disease and for novel antiviral drugs and antibiotics. How existing drugs such as Viagra or Cialis and a derivative of the drug Celebrex, for example, can reduce the activity of a specific chaperone protein, with the potential for anti-tumor and anti-Alzheimer's disease effects, is described in a Review article in DNA and Cell Biology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the DNA and Cell Biology website until April 9, 2015."
"The authors describe how OSU-03012, an experimental compound derived from the drug celecoxib (Celebrex) interacts with Viagra or Cialis to reduce levels of chaperone proteins. Reduced levels of HSPA5 and Dna K can interfere with virus replication, promote bacterial cell death, and even make drug-resistant "superbugs" susceptible to existing antibiotics"
Article at:
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20150310/Viagra-can-have-anti-cancer-anti-Alzheimers-disease-effects-if-used-with-new-drugs.aspx
Finding appears to support the hypothesis that Alzheimer's is an autoimmune disease in News Medical, March 10, 2015
Excerpts:
"Brain levels of the lipid ceramide are high in Alzheimer's disease, and now scientists have found increased levels of an antibody to the lipid in their disease model.
While some members of this lipid family are a plus in skin cream, inside the brain, ceramide appears to increase beta amyloid production and help the iconic plaque kill brain cells in Alzheimer's, said Dr. Erhard Bieberich, neuroscientist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University."
"The surprising science, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, appears to support the theory that Alzheimer's is an autoimmune disease, which tends to be more common in women and is characterized by the immune system producing antibodies against a patient's tissue, said Bieberich, corresponding author."
Article at:
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20150310/Finding-appears-to-support-the-hypothesis-that-Alzheimers-is-an-autoimmune-disease.aspx
Catabasis Pharmaceuticals to Present at Muscular Dystrophy Association Scientific Conference in Business Wire, March 10, 2015
Excerpts:
"Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage drug development company built on a pathway pharmacology technology platform, today announced that CAT-1004 will be featured in an oral presentation and a poster presentation at the upcoming Muscular Dystrophy Association Scientific Conference. The Muscular Dystrophy Association Scientific Conference will be held March 11-14, 2015, in Washington, DC."
"CAT-1004 is a new chemical entity that inhibits activated NF-kB, a protein that coordinates cellular response to muscular damage, stress and inflammation and plays an important role in muscle health. In skeletal muscle, activated NF-kB drives muscle degeneration and suppresses muscle regeneration. In animal models of DMD, CAT-1004 inhibited activated NF-kB, reduced muscle inflammation and degeneration and increased muscle regeneration. In Phase 1 clinical trials, CAT-1004 inhibited NF-kB and was well tolerated with no observed safety concerns. Catabasis Pharmaceuticals plans to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of CAT-1004 for the treatment of DMD in the first half of 2015."
Article at:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150310005110/en/Catabasis-Pharmaceuticals-Present-Muscular-Dystrophy-Association-Scientific#.VP93EfmUcrV
Food Additives Linked to Inflammation in The Scientist Magazine,
Commonly added to processed foods, emulsifiers are associated with changes in gut microbiome composition and increased inflammation in mice., By Jenny Rood | February 27, 2015
Excerpts:
"Two of the 15 most common emulsifiers that bind the oily and watery components of processed foods can alter the gut microbiome and reduce the barrier layer of mucus between immune cells and bacteria, according to a mouse study published this week (February 25) in Nature. As a result, mice that consumed the emulsifiers were more prone to a range of symptoms that are hallmarks of inflammatory disease and metabolic syndrome, researchers reported"
"In the emulsifier-fed mice, the scientists found that the average width of the protective layer of mucus in the gut that keeps the microbiome from coming in contact with immune cells and triggering inflammatory responses was reduced by half. At the same time, the relative populations of bacterial species in the microbiome changed. Bacteria that can eat through mucus became more populous, while there were fewer representatives of species that produce anti-inflammatory chemicals. The inflammation and metabolic symptoms were not present in germ-free mice fed the emulsifiers, suggesting a critical role for the bacteria in causing the inflammatory symptoms."
"Emulsifiers are common in ice cream, salad dressing, and many other packaged foods, but it is not yet known how they may affect the human gut. “When it comes to people making their own decisions, between our studies and others out there, it’s better to eat less processed food,” Gerwitz told Nature News."
Article at:
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/42301/title/Food-Additives-Linked-to-Inflammation/
How We Age in The Scientist Magazine, From DNA damage to cellular miscommunication, aging is a mysterious and multifarious process.,
By The Scientist Staff | March 1, 2015
Excerpts:
"“We age so completely and in so many different ways,” says stem cell biologist Derrick Rossi of Harvard University. “We are programmed to die.”"
"Other scientists are focusing on the transcription factor NF-?B, a central activator of inflammation, as a driver of aging. Overactivation of NF-?B may cause senescent cells to release cytokines that stimulate inflammation and lead to further degeneration, even in far-flung parts of the body. “It seems that with almost anything that activates NF-?B, if you reduce it, it improves aging,” says Robbins. He and his colleagues have demonstrated that inhibiting NF-?B can stave off cell senescence in mice that age prematurely due to DNA repair defects (J Clin Invest, 122:2601-12, 2012). “[We want] to see if we can understand the contribution of what goes on within a cell versus the contribution of what that cell secretes that affects cells at a distance,” he says. —Molly Sharlach"
Article at:
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/42280/title/How-We-Age/
Alzheimer’s Research UK report reveals dementia hits women hardest in Alzheimer's Research UK, 8th March 2015
Excerpt:
"Alzheimer’s Research UK’s report highlights the huge toll of dementia on women in the UK, showing:
Over 500,000 people with dementia – 61% – are women
Women in their 60s are almost twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease over the rest of their lives as they are to develop breast cancer
Dementia is the leading cause of death for women in the UK, accounting for 12% of women’s deaths in 2013
Between 60 and 70% of all unpaid dementia carers are women, and women are more than twice as likely to provide intensive, 24-hour care than men
Female carers report feeling less supported than their male counterparts."
Article at:
http://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/dementia-hits-women-hardest/
Breakthroughs in Anti-Aging Science Appear in The Scientist in Patrick Cox's Tech Digest, PATRICK COX MARCH 6, 2015
Article:
"It’s been an eventful week. On Monday, people started forwarding me the link for the new issue of The Scientist. The reason is that the issue delves into some of the most important breakthroughs in anti-aging science, which I’ve been talking about for the last several years.
I’ll talk about these biotechnologies in depth this week and next, but I’d like to point out that the simple fact that The Scientist has devoted this issue to the subject of increasing health spans (anti-aging) is, in itself, important. The healthcare industry is in the midst of a transition from the old model of medicine (treating diseases) to the new (delaying or preventing the age-related conditions that cause diseases).
This issue of the magazine is not just making the case for that approach to medicine, it’s highlighting some of the most important new discoveries into the causes of accelerated aging and their solutions. Moreover, it’s quite good.
This transition to “wellness” from traditional reactive healthcare is not simply the logical humane approach to medicine in the 21st century; it is the only way we can possibly deal with the financial problems created by below-replacement birth rates and continually lengthening lifespans.
As I’ve pointed out in several previous articles here, a projection of future tax revenues and expenditures leads to the inevitable conclusion that, within a few decades, government programs that support the aged population will begin to fail badly. As a society, in fact, we won’t be able to pay the costs associated with aging—unless the healthcare model is substantially transformed.
The new model of healthcare, recognized in this issue of The Scientist, proposes to deliver all the benefits enjoyed by the super-agers to the general population. Super-agers are the small minority of the population who have an unusual version of the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), which controls the makeup of cholesterol.
Somehow, those with homozygous G alleles of the CETP gene tend to avoid all the major killers until the end of their longer-than-normal lives. Then, somewhere around a hundred years old, all at once, they seem to get all of the diseases they previously avoided. They go out quickly and cheaply. If the entire population lived and died this way, we would not have a healthcare crisis, which is the largest component of our budgetary crisis.
In truth, we have to solve this problem. Remember, the American government and many other governments as well are not just broke; though deficit spending is already at historic levels internationally, most governments, including America, are massively in debt.
This would be bad enough, but the underlying demographic transition that created this situation is worsening. More and more people are getting older, while fewer and fewer are born. This means that we can’t simply raise taxes to cover the additional expenses that come with a population that has demographically inverted. Alzheimer’s alone presents an existential threat to Western societies.
Unlike the other major killers, we have thus far made no progress in slowing the rate of increase in AD, our most expensive disease. If you look at the numbers, one thing is clear. If we don’t get a handle on AD and the other major diseases, we are well and truly hosed. By 2050, current trends show spending on Alzheimer’s in the US rising from less than $200 billion a year today to over $1 trillion annually, but there will be far fewer younger workers to pick up the tab. Other medical costs associated with a rapidly aging population will also skyrocket.
The Affordable Health Care Act, even if it stands up to legal and political challenges, has failed to bring enough younger, healthier people into the program to fund healthcare for the aged. This dynamic will continue to worsen.
The good news—spectacularly good news actually—is that the science needed to solve these problems has already yielded remarkable and unexpected breakthroughs. The obstacles to their deployment are significant but they aren’t scientific. They are primarily in the area of institutional and government practices based on the old disease treatment model. In many cases, we see open hostility toward anti-aging strategies of the sort laid out in the current issue of The Scientist.
Regardless, let’s move on and briefly review one of the major topics covered in the current issue. Next week, I’ll discuss several more.
Reducing NF-?B Activation Improves Aging
“It seems that with almost anything that activates NF-?B, if you reduce it, it improves aging,” says Paul Robbins of the Scripps Research Institute in this feature article “How We Age.” I’m personally glad to see this new area of research hitting a more mainstream audience, because I’ve been alone reporting these developments for too long. There have been lots of journal articles supporting this view that NF-?B accelerates aging, but for some reason, nothing in the journals seems to penetrate the public consciousness. The article in The Scientist, by the way, cites this great journal piece.
The reality is that NF-?B over-activation, which is autoimmune syndrome, is a major accelerator of the aging processes. Essentially, the body recognizes normal aging as signs of injury and invasion, prompting an emergency innate immune response. A cytokine storm ensues and aging accelerates.
One alkaloid, which I’ve talked about incessantly here, has been shown in animal as well as human studies to moderate NF-?B and the associated accelerated aging. It’s not on the market at present, but I’m confident that others will be soon simply because the gene target is now known.
My confidence is based on the increased pace of discovery resulting from Moore’s Law and its impact on biological tools. It is orders of magnitude easier today to screen potential molecules for therapeutic activities. If I were a young, smart molecular biologist, like my son, I’d be looking for molecules in nature that mimic the alkaloid known to moderate NF-?B. Another likely target for researchers, which may actually work via a similar mechanism of action, is a widely prescribed drug used to prevent transplant rejection: rapamycin. It also, however, has significant anti-aging impacts.
Pharmaceutical giant Novartis is studying rapamycin at its enormous cutting-edge Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research with an eye to applying for the first anti-aging drug. This would be historic if the company does, in fact, seek approval of rapamycin or a similar molecule for anti-aging, as opposed to a disease-specific therapy.
The rapamycin molecule, by the way, is naturally occurring in the soil of Easter Island. The name of the drug, in fact, comes from the Polynesian name of the island, Rapa Nui. I find it unlikely that other compounds similar to rapamycin, an antifungal produced by bacteria, won’t be discovered.
It’s possible, however, that rapamycin may work as a true immune suppressant, which could suppress immune reactions even when they’re needed. That’s not optimal, and it means that a compound that prevents over activation of NF-?B, preventing autoimmune inflammation but allowing proper immune responses, would actually be more effective as an anti-aging therapy. We’ll see, and probably pretty soon now that so many people are studying these molecules.
A Last Word from Mister Spock
It was sad to lose Leonard Nimoy. He was a fascinating man who first rejected his Star Trek typecasting and then embraced it. I remember as a teenager when Star Trek first appeared on my family’s black-and-white television. I was already reading science fiction, ranging from the classics like H. G. Wells and Jules Verne to the hard science writers like Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov. So Star Trek was somewhat pedestrian. It was, however, science fiction and I was thrilled. For a lot us with mathematical predispositions, Spock’s insistence on logic was liberating and probably had more influence on us than most would admit.
Anyway, I stumbled across a very clever piece written as a kind of tribute to Nimoy by Brett Arends, titled “How to Invest Like Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock.” He did a great job of applying pure Vulcan logic to investing. You can read the whole thing here, but I’ll excerpt a bit below. It’s seriously good advice.
There are no bubbles or crashes on the Vulcan Stock Exchange, because investors never try to run with the herd. Vulcans believe that such an instinct, which once saved primitive man from lions, is a poor guide to sensible behavior in a financial market.
There are no fads on the Vulcan stock market.
Vulcans pay hardly any attention to quarterly earnings statements. Vulcans know that most of the value of a stock is based on the long term, and the last three months, or the next three months, is basically irrelevant.
Vulcans don’t trade stocks often. They know that, the more often they trade, the more likely it is that their emotions will overtake their reason.
And Vulcans never buy stocks because they have already gone up. Nor do they sell them just because they have fallen in price. Vulcans try to buy low and sell high. Anything else, as they say, would be ... highly illogical.
Brilliant.
Sincerely,
Patrick Cox
Patrick Cox
Editor, Transformational Technology Alert
Mauldin Economics"
Article at:
http://www.mauldineconomics.com/tech/tech-digest/breakthroughs-in-anti-aging-science-appear-in-the-scientist
FDA comments:
"What are Biosimilars?
Christl explains that a biosimilar is a type of biologic that is highly similar to another, already FDA-approved biologic (known as the reference product).
“It is important to note that a biosimilar is not just like a generic drug,” she adds. “Because of the differences in complexity of the structure of the biologic and the process used to make a biologic, biosimilars are not as easy to produce as generics, which are copies of brand name drugs. A biosimilar is not an exact duplicate of another biologic; rather, a biosimilar is highly similar to the reference product.
Before approving a biosimilar, FDA experts must also first verify that there are no clinically meaningful differences between the biosimilar and its reference product. In other words, it will work the same way as the reference product for its approved indications.
Also, the biosimilar must have the same strength and dosage form (injectable, for example) and route of administration as the reference product. The biosimilar must be manufactured following Current Good Manufacturing Practices.
“Patients can rest assured that they’ll be able to rely upon the safety and effectiveness of an FDA-approved biosimilar, just as they can rely on the reference product that the biosimilar was compared to,” Christl says. Like other biologics, biosimilars generally must be prescribed by a physician.
Zarxio, which is biosimilar to Neupogen, is a medication that boosts the production of white blood cells and helps to ward off infection in patients receiving strong chemotherapy for some tumors. The most common expected side effects of Zarxio are aching in the bones or muscles and redness, swelling or itching at injection site. Serious side effects include spleen rupture; serious allergic reactions and acute respiratory distress."
So, Anatabine Citrate would be the reference biologic and anything mimicing it in function would be considered a biosimilar.
Article at:
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm436399.htm
I didn't say that. The article says that biosimilar agents get around the patent issue of patented drugs if they work in a similar way but are molecularly different. So, for Anatabine Citrate, if another small molecule drug mimics the capabilities of Anatabine Citrate, it could be considered a biosimilar drug. The jist of the article is that there may be more than one solution. You might want to look up Boston University's list of anti-imflammatory molecules and who knows, there might be a biosimilar for Anatabine Citrate. If Anatabine Citrate turns out to be what many of us want it to be, the race will be on to either partner or buy RCPI or develop a biosimilar drug.
FDA Okays First Type of a New Generic in NBC Health News, Maggie Fox, March 7th 2015,
Article:
"The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first so-called biosimilar — that's a generic version of a biologic as opposed to a chemically synthesized drug.
It's called Zarxio and it's adjunct medication for people getting certain cancer treatments.
It's a near-copy of Neupogen, a lab-made version of a natural protein called granulocyte-colony stimulating factor. It boosts the production of immune system cells and helps to ward off infection in patients receiving strong chemotherapy .
"Biosimilars are likely to create greater competition in the medical marketplace," FDA's Leah Christl said in a statement.
That means cheaper prices. Pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts says Neupogen cost, on average, $3,500 a month. The new biosimilar should cost at least 30 percent less, it says.
"We have forecasted that this particular biosimilar will save the U.S. healthcare system $5.7 billion over the next decade," Express Scripts said in a statement.
The 2010 Affordable Care Act directs FDA to quickly approve certain biosimilars.
It's not necessarily easy to make a biosimilar. "Biologics are different from conventional medications. Conventional medications—drugs—are generally made from chemicals, or chemically synthesized, and therefore their structure can be relatively easily defined," Christl said.
"A biosimilar is not an exact duplicate of another biologic; rather, a biosimilar is highly similar to the reference product."
Nonetheless, more are coming. Consulting firm Avalere Health says the FDA has received four other applications from companies making biosimilars and expects to get 10 this year."
Article at:
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fda-okays-first-type-new-generic-n318681
Skin test could vastly simplify diagnosis of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's in Fierce Diagnostics, March 2, 2015 | By Varun Saxena
Excerpts:
"Evidence of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease could lie right behind your ear.
A team of researchers discovered that a skin sample taken from behind the ear of patients with either disease had levels of the tau protein 7 times higher than those without the condition. Those with Parkinson's showed levels of alpha-synuclein protein 8 times higher than those in the control group.
Ildefonso Rodriguez-Leyva
"Until now, pathological confirmation was not possible without a brain biopsy, so these diseases often go unrecognized until after the disease has progressed," said study author Dr. Ildefonso Rodriguez-Leyva of Central Hospital at Mexico's University of San Luis Potosi, in a release. "We hypothesized that since skin has the same origin as brain tissue while in the embryo that they might also show the same abnormal proteins. This new test offers a potential biomarker that may allow doctors to identify and diagnose these diseases earlier on.""
Article at:
http://www.fiercediagnostics.com/story/skin-test-could-vastly-simplify-diagnosis-alzheimers-and-parkinsons/2015-03-02?spMailingID=11682764&spUserID=NzczNzQyMjg0MDgS1&spJobID=463229527&spReportId=NDYzMjI5NTI3S0
Mount Sinai preclinical program flags a potential drug strategy for MS in Fierce Biotech Research, March 2, 2015 | By John Carroll
Excerpts:
"Testing a theory that the molecule that transports proteins from the nucleus of a cell to the cytoplasm is altered in neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis, a group of investigators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai say that they have successfully completed an animal study that tested drugs that could block the molecule and perhaps repair nerve cell damage that occurs in MS.
That molecule is called XPO1, or CRM1. Using money from the NIH and the National Multiple Sclerosis initiative Fast-Forward, the researchers tested two chemicals--KPT-276 and KPT-350, from Karyopharm Therapeutics ($KPTI)--and found that it prevented the target protein from carrying "cargo" out of the nucleus of nerve cells in a mouse model. The shutdown helped prevent the structural damage of the key cells, which are damaged by MS when an autoinflammatory process attacks the myelin sheaths that protect nerve cells.
The compounds also stopped inflammatory cells from multiplying, according to a statement on the work, thereby reducing inflammation. Mice with hindlimb paralysis demonstrated signs of recovery in the study, though as with all mouse studies it should be noted that rodents can have amazing recoveries that never apply to humans. The results were published online in Nature Neuroscience on Feb. 23."
Article at:
http://www.fiercebiotechresearch.com/story/mount-sinai-preclinical-program-flags-potential-drug-strategy-ms/2015-03-02?spMailingID=11682764&spUserID=NzczNzQyMjg0MDgS1&spJobID=463229527&spReportId=NDYzMjI5NTI3S0
Singapore's TauRx notes Alzheimer's candidate journal publication, but buzz eludes in Fierce Pharma Asia, March 2, 2015 | By EJ Lane
Excerpts:
"
Phase II results of the first clinical trial of a tau aggregation inhibitor (TAI) for Alzheimer's disease were published last month in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, with Singapore-based TauRx Pharmaceuticals saying it was an important milestone as it moves to report top line results from a Phase III study in 2016.
The Phase II work "provided the basis and rationale for subsequent Phase III clinical trials of a TAI in AD currently in progress" and showed "evidence of arrest of decline."
Claude Wischik
In a research field littered with failure, the release shows the determination of company founder Claude Wischik to insist that more than a decade working on a drug that would inhibit the aggregation of tau tangles in the brain will pay off in a way that major drug companies have missed repeatedly and spectacularly."
"Of course the stakes are high. A treatment for Alzheimer's disease to delay onset has not only been elusive, but even understanding disease progression and diagnosing it correctly remains a hurdle as demand for acute care is surging as many countries face a steady increase in aging populations.
Wischik said his focus is on the tangle pathology originally discovered by Alois Alzheimer, not on beta amyloid that firms such as Eli Lilly ($LLY) and Pfizer ($PFE) have explored aggressively. His research suggests one way to treat the symptoms is by dissolving paired helical filaments with pharmaceutically viable compounds acting as TAIs, to delay disease onset.
Indeed, he reported in 1996 that the chemical substance methylthioninium (MT), and commonly known as "methylene blue", used in medicine for the last 100 years, dissolves tangle filaments isolated from the human brain by selectively blocking a critical step in the process required to form the rogue filaments."
Article at:
http://www.fiercepharmaasia.com/story/singapores-taurx-notes-alzheimers-candidate-journal-publication-buzz-eludes/2015-03-02
Maybe yes, maybe no, but certainly possible to do
Excerot from the book: Inorganic Carbon Compounds—Advances in Research and Application: 2013 ...beginning page 347 thru 350
Excerpt at:
https://books.google.com/books?id=gDUwPoty4zQC&pg=PA349&lpg=PA349&dq=Anatabine+smokeless+tobacco&source=bl&ots=rfR84lWigK&sig=J52-2ANnXnqnpyCi78NiFt4N9Lo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Rlr6VIi7F7X8sASph4H4BQ&ved=0CEsQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Anatabine%20smokeless%20tobacco&f=false
FDA Expands Advice on Statin Risks in FDA Consumer Update,
Excerpt:
"FDA is advising consumers and health care professionals that:
Routine monitoring of liver enzymes in the blood, once considered standard procedure for statin users, is no longer needed. Such monitoring has not been found to be effective in predicting or preventing the rare occurrences of serious liver injury associated with statin use.
Cognitive (brain-related) impairment, such as memory loss, forgetfulness and confusion, has been reported by some statin users.
People being treated with statins may have an increased risk of raised blood sugar levels and the development of Type 2 diabetes.
Some medications interact with lovastatin (brand names include Mevacor) and can increase the risk of muscle damage."
Report at:
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm293330.htm
Statins May Seriously Increase Diabetes Risk in Time Magazine, Alice Park March 4, 2015
Excerpt:
"Statins can lower cholesterol and even tamp down inflammation to keep the risk of heart disease down. But these commonly prescribed drugs may increase the risk of diabetes, and by a considerable amount
Doctors may have to weigh a serious potential risk before prescribing statins, the cholesterol-lowering drugs that are among most prescribed drugs in America. In a study published in Diabetologia, scientists from Finland found that men prescribed statins to lower their cholesterol had a 46% greater chance of developing diabetes after six years compared to those who weren’t taking the drug. What’s more, the statins seemed to make people more resistant to the effects of insulin—which breaks down sugar—and to secrete less insulin. The impact on insulin seemed to be greatest among those who started out with the lowest, and closest to normal, levels of blood glucose. And the higher the dose of the statin, and the longer the patients took them, the greater their risk of diabetes."
Article at:
http://time.com/3732605/statins-may-seriously-increase-diabetes-risk/
Reduced heart function tied to raised risk of dementia, Alzheimer's in Medical News Today, Catharine Paddock PhD, 4 March 2015
Excerpt:
"A ew study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, suggests that having a healthy heart may protect against Alzheimer's disease. In the journal Circulation, the researchers report how they found people with decreased heart function were two to three times more likely to develop significant memory loss over a decade of study."
Article at:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/290297.php
NIH-led effort launches Big Data portal for Alzheimer’s drug discovery in NIH News and Events, March 4, 2015
Excerpt:
"A National Institutes of Health-led public-private partnership to transform and accelerate drug development achieved a significant milestone today with the launch of a new Alzheimer’s Big Data portal — including delivery of the first wave of data — for use by the research community. The new data sharing and analysis resource is part of the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP), an unprecedented venture bringing together NIH, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, industry and academic scientists from a variety of disciplines to translate knowledge faster and more successfully into new therapies.
The opening of the AMP-AD Knowledge Portal External Web Site Policy and release of the first wave of data will enable sharing and analyses of large and complex biomedical datasets. Researchers believe this approach will ramp up the development of predictive models of Alzheimer’s disease and enable the selection of novel targets that drive the changes in molecular networks leading to the clinical signs and symptoms of the disease."
Article at:
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/mar2015/nia-04.htm
AbbVie to buy Pharmacyclics for $21 billion to boost cancer drugs pipeline in Reuters, Mar 5, 2015
Excerpts:
"(Reuters) - Drugmaker AbbVie Inc (ABBV.N) said it will buy Pharmacyclics Inc (PCYC.O), the maker of blockbuster cancer drug Imbruvica, for about $21 billion to broaden its oncology drugs pipeline.
The deal gives AbbVie access to Pharmacyclics' cancer drugs portfolio, lessening the Chicago-based company's dependence on its rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira that accounts for most of its sales."
"The acquisition is the latest in a spate of big pharma deals this year as many companies are strengthening their product offerings as old blockbuster drugs go generic. The pace of M&A is expected to continue as companies take advantage of strong capital markets.
Last month, Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) agreed to buy Hospira Inc (HSP.N) for about $15 billion, and Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (VRX.TO) (VRX.N) agreed to buy Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (SLXP.O) for about $10.1 billion."
Article at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/05/us-pharmacyclics-m-a-abbvie-idUSKBN0M109920150305
May be worth looking at:
http://www.investorvillage.com/mbthread.asp?mb=2013&tid=11154476&showall=1
http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/377272-nuke-john/1935502-star-scientific-and-anatabloc-does-anatabloc-really-work
http://www.erheumatoidarthritissymptoms.com/anatabloc-side-effects
http://www.inspire.com/groups/arthritis-foundation/discussion/my-experience-with-anatabloc/
http://john000.hubpages.com/hub/Anatabloc-with-its-Ingredients-May-Become-a-Promising-Natural-Arthritis-Treatment
Early Signs Of Alzheimer's Disease Found In Patients As Young As 20 in Yahoo News, Cassie Shortsleeve, March 3, 2015
Excerpts:
"Alzheimer’s disease may not be just for grandparents to worry about: New groundbreaking new research from Northwestern University has found that amyloid protein — a hallmark of the devastating disease — starts accumulating in brain neurons of people as young as 20 years old."
"But there are susceptibility factors (that science knows a lot about) — and protective factors (that science doesn’t know as much about) — when it comes to Alzheimer’s, Geula says. “We have known for a while that if we want effective therapy for Alzheimer’s, we have to start early. What these findings suggest is the earlier the better.”
So start today and protect yourself — and your brain —with these techniques, no matter your age.
1. Kick bad habits—stat. “We know that general cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s aging can be enhanced by many things — most importantly, general health,” says Geula. In fact, many health factors — diabetes, heart disease, pulmonary function, and obesity — can increase your risk of the disease.
2. Clean up your diet. Healthy habits like eating a Mediterranean diet (rich in nuts, greens, whole grains, fruits and veggies, poultry, and olive oil) have been linked to better cognitive function and a lower risk of Alzheimer’s.
Related: What ‘Still Alice’ Gets Right About Alzheimer’s
3. Work it out. Exercise has been shown to enhance cognitive abilities in everyone, including the old and even the Alzheimer’s population. “Some animal studies show that the total amount of amyloid can be reduced in animals through enhanced exercise and enriched environment,” says Geula. And not only can exercise keep Alzheimer’s and dementia at bay, some research suggests it can even turn it around. When people with mild cognitive impairment walked on a treadmill for 30 minutes a day, four days a week for 12 weeks, people improved their neural efficiency using fewer mental resources to perform the same task.
4. Better your brain. Mental exercise — keeping your mind engaged and challenged through a variety of exercises — can also help. Research suggests that people who play cards, do crossword puzzles, and challenge themselves mentally on a regular basis are at a lower risk for developing the disease than those who don’t. And thinking on the bright side actually does matter: Negative thoughts can hinder your brain’s ability to think straight and form memories, according to research from King’s College in London."
Article at:
https://www.yahoo.com/health/early-signs-of-alzheimers-disease-found-in-112519622602.html
These 5 Supplements Do Nothing for Alzheimer's, Despite Claims in Yahoo.com news, (Op-Ed), LiveScience.com By Dr. Gisele Wolf-Klein, North Shore-LIJ Health System and Dr. Liron Sinvani, North Shore University Hospital' 2 March 2015
My comments: Obviously there is a lots of controversy (read the comments section) and I wonder about article's correctness as it relates to claims, but makes one wonder who is doing what to whom?
Article:
"Dr. Gisele Wolf-Klein is program director for the geriatric fellowship and director of geriatric education for the North Shore-LIJ Health System, where for more than 30 years she has guided seniors on falls, healthy aging, and memory and medication challenges. Dr. Liron Sinvani is a geriatric hospitalist at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y., where she is conducting a study on improving geriatric care. She has published widely on the dietary supplement controversy. The authors contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
The Latin axiom "caveat emptor," let the buyer beware, applies to people of all ages. But in our medical practices, we have witnessed the incredible dependence elderly patients have on herbal supplements to help them (in their minds, at least) prevent and manage chronic illness.
That is why we breathed a sigh of relief at recent action that may spur consumers, especially those in vulnerable age groups, to exercise more caution in purchasing products with no proven health benefits. On Feb. 3, the New York State attorney general's office demanded that four major retailers — GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreens — remove certain store-brand herbal supplements from their shelves pending further quality-control measures. DNA testing on the supplements showed that a whopping 79 percent contained none of the herbs listed on their labels. Just as bad, the tests indicated the supplements often contained cheap fillers such as powdered rice, pine, citrus, houseplants and wheat — the latter despite claims on some labels that a product was wheat- and gluten-free.
Old story, new ending
Were we surprised to hear about these allegedly fraudulent and potentially dangerous supplements? Sadly, no. Copious research has delved into the dietary supplement industry, which boasts a global market of $68 billion, showing either fraudulent ingredients or tainted supplements packed with hidden ingredients. Recent research by Dr. Sinvani and colleagues also details how the vitamin and dietary supplement industry is a poorly regulated multibillion-dollar business, with the widespread use of supplements raising medical, social and ethical concerns, given the unclear benefits and the associations with health risks.
But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't regulate supplements, since these products are not "drugs." So the New York State action marks the first time a law enforcement agency has cracked down on retailers for selling what appear to be deliberately deceptive products.
When we see patients, we ask them to bring along all their medications and supplements. Too often, we note that these seniors are taking up to 20 pills each day, but only a handful of these pills are actually prescribed drugs. Why are seniors spending so steeply on herbal supplements, often hundreds of dollars each month, despite living on limited budgets? For most, the main reason is fear — not just of becoming ill, but of losing their minds.
Can supplements save your mind?
Dementia is the biggest specter among the elderly. Seniors can accept heart disease, diabetes or slowly diminishing mobility, but they cannot accept the idea of developing Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, modern medicine has yet to come up with an effective treatment to truly alter the course of this scourge, which affects more than 5 million Americans. Given that void, the herbal supplement industry has attempted to prey on seniors hoping and banking on the idea that readily available products containing "natural" substances such as seaweed, coral or coconut oil can help them dodge dementia. [What's the Difference Between Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia?]
Here are some of the worst offenders among herbal supplements purporting to prevent or treat dementia:
Gingko biloba: This Chinese plant, long promoted as a memory booster, is so popular that the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) analyzed the supplement's effectiveness in a large clinical trial. Known as the GEM (Ginkgo biloba for the Evaluation of Memory) study, 3,000 participants over age 75 were randomly assigned to receive two daily doses of either the extract or a placebo, and were tracked every six months for six years. The results? A slightly higher percentage of Ginkgorecipients actually developed dementia over time, and the supplement was proven ineffective at reducing the overall rate of Alzheimer's.
Coconut oil: Also wildly popular as a food additive and skin balm, coconut oil has been touted as a less-expensive, over-the-counter source of caprylic acid, which is claimed to treat Alzheimer's disease. The catch? There has never been any clinical testing of coconut oil for Alzheimer's and no scientific evidence supporting positive outcomes. Caprylic acid itself would be ineffective in treating the disease, anyway, since the organic compounds called ketones that comprise this fatty acid could never cross the blood-brain barrier — glucose is the only energy the brain can use.
Tramiprostate: This modified form of taurine, an amino acid found naturally in seaweed, is marketed as a "medical food" known as ViviMind. Tramiprostate was tested in a large clinical trial as a possible Alzheimer's treatment, but after results proved inconclusive, the manufacturer decided to market the product as a "medical food." This "food," however, offers no proven benefits.
Coenzyme Q10: This is an antioxidant occurring naturally in the body. A synthetic version of coenzyme Q10 was tested for Alzheimer's disease use but showed no benefit in a clinical trial. Beyond that, little is known about what dosage of this compound is safe.
Coral calcium: A form of calcium carbonate claimed to be derived from the shells of formerly living organisms in coral reefs — which are illegal to harvest — these supplements have been heavily marketed as a cure for not only Alzheimer's, but also cancer and other serious illnesses. Both the FDA and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which have filed formal complaints against the distributors of coral calcium, have stated they are unaware of competent or reliable scientific evidence supporting the exaggerated health claims.
Unlisted ingredients
It's one thing to lure consumers into buying dietary supplements with false promises of preventing or managing illness. It's quite another to include ingredients in these supplements that aren't even listed on the labels.
Because seniors often take multiple prescribed medications for chronic conditions, they are most prone to dangerous drug interactions with, and allergies to, these unmentioned ingredients in supplements. We truly hope the actions of the New York State attorney general's office lead seniors, and those who care for them, to abandon the use of all supplements unless specifically directed to use supplements by their doctors.
"It's fairly outrageous that little can be done to impede the exploitative marketing of unproven and unlikely [to be beneficial] substances to vulnerable Alzheimer's patients and their desperate caregivers." That decade-old statement by Dr. Sam Gandy, chair of Alzheimer's research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, has remained true — until now. Finally, something has been done to help protect the most vulnerable members of society."
Article at:
http://news.yahoo.com/5-supplements-nothing-alzheimers-despite-claims-op-ed-163449973.html
High cholesterol? Better target the real enemy: Chronic Inflammation video at:
Reducing Glycotoxin Intake to Prevent Alzheimers video in NutritionFacts.org, Dr. Greger, Feb 2, 2015
Reducing AGE may prevent Alzheimers
Video at:
Risk for Stroke is Greater in People Who Oversleep in Time.com, Alexandra Sifferlin, Feb. 26, 2015
Excerpts:
"Oversleeping feels like a treat on the weekend, but regularly sleeping too much is actually a sign that there may be a medical problem at play. According to a new study, people who sleep more than eight hours a day have a higher risk for a stroke compared to people who sleep between six and eight hours.
In the new study, published in the journal Neurology, researchers followed nearly 10,000 people between the ages of 42 and 81 for almost 10 years. They recorded both the amount of sleep they typically got each night, as well as whether they had a stroke.
Around seven out of 10 of the men and women slept between six and eight hours, and about one in 10 slept more than eight hours a night on average. The people who slept the most had a 46% higher than average risk of stroke when the researchers accounted for other variables that could contribute to risk. Their risk was about double that of people who reported getting a typical amount of shut eye each night.
Though the study only shows an association, but it’s fairly surprising since in the past, sleep deprivation has been linked to a greater stroke risk, too. The researchers speculate that long nights of sleep may be linked to increased inflammation, which can eventually lead to cardiovascular problems."
Article at:
http://time.com/3723802/risks-sleeping-too-much/?xid=newsletter-brief