Articles About Alzheimers Disease
As we mentioned in previous articles, Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder named after German physician Alois Alzheimer. Alzheimer’s destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior severe enough to affect language communication, memory, lifelong hobbies or social life. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, and it is fatal. In this article, we will discuss how you can prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease.Since Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the formation of plaques and tangles that destroy brain cells. Strengthening immune system fights against inflammation, heart disease, stroke, reduce high blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels and healthy diet will help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
1. Inflammation
Strengthening immune system will help to fight off foreign substances, molecules as well as forming of free radicals that help to decrease or prevent any degree of inflammation in joints, skin, and the brain resulting in skin wrinkle, arthritis and memory problems. Cinnamon powder contain high amounts of antioxidant beta carotene that can help to strengthen your immune system and fight against any inflammation.
2. Mini-Stroke
Mini stoke may not have any impact in brain cells but hundreds or thousands of mini strokes may cause the blockage of brain vessels resulting in accumulation of plagues and tangles. Therefore taking life style changes to protect overall health may help to to prevent or delay any other memory loss and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Garlic contains high amounts of iron that help to reproduce blood cells as well improve oxygen levels resulting in better circulation of blood to brain cells.
3. Control high blood pressure
High blood pressure causes the heart to work harder to provide oxygen to brain cells resulting in plague building up in the arterial wall and hardening of arteries. Chlorella contains chlorophyll that help not only to remove plague from the arterial wall but also heavy metals accumulated in our brain.
4. Control levels of cholesterol
Cholesterol causes the clogging up of brain vessels. Fish contains high amounts of fatty acid Omega 3 and 6 that helps to inhibit blood clotting causing a serious blockage in the vessels of the brain.
5. Eating more vegetable and fruitsVegetable and fruits contain antioxidant vitamins and other photochemicals that can help to protect brain cells from damage from free radicals and stop the progressing of brain cells dying off due to Alzheimer’s disease.Others such as reducing intake of alcohol, stop smoking, get regular exercise and staying mentally active also help as well.
I hope this information will help. If you want to more information of the above subject, you can follow my series of articles and visit my home page at:
A Melbourne study into the role of the zinc transport protein ZnT3 is shedding new light on the cause of Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers from the Parkville-based Mental Health Research Institute believe that the toxicity of amyloid plaques found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s is related to trapping essential zinc, which is needed for communication between brain cells.
First author Dr Paul Adlard said: “What appears to be happening in Alzheimer’s disease is that not only is there a drop in the level of ZnT3 but amyloid is also soaking up the zinc.”
“Amyloid is a big zinc fly trap”, said group Leader Professor Ashley Bush.
The study, published recently in Journal of Neuroscience, investigated the role of zinc and its transport protein ZnT3 in mice aged three months and six months.
By putting mice through the Morris water maze, which gauges spatial learning and memory, researchers found that there were obvious losses in learning and memory in the older mice accompanied by neurological and cognitive changes similar to Alzheimer’s disease. This was not the case in the younger mice.
“The list of what can go wrong is impressive,” said Dr Adlard.
The research showed that at any age mice without ZnT3 had about one third less brain zinc than mice with the transport protein. However even those mice had a 12 per cent drop in brain zinc levels between three and six months, indicating some zinc loss occurs with age.
“We found that the decrease in the zinc transporter (ZnT3) occurred in both mice and people (48 – 91 years), which was a surprise given that ZnT3 regulates brain zinc levels and hence might be expected to rise to counteract age-associated cognitive slow-down,” added Professor Bush.
These findings end more than 10 years’ of controversy about the role of zinc and its transport protein that was fuelled by a 1999 study which, despite expectation, did not show any signs of cognitive decline in mice at six to ten weeks old. “This seemed at odds with what was known about zinc and its role in brain health, learning and memory,” said research leader Dr Paul Adlard.
Dr Paul Adlard, said, “However, we now recognise that the original research did not look for cognitive impairments in old enough mice”.
The implications of this recent Melbourne finding are of great importance given the huge numbers of people affected by age-related cognitive loss and Alzheimer’s disease.
Of particular importance is the impact of amyloid upon the zinc system within the brain, and drugs being developed that target that abnormality.
“This mechanism could relate to the action of the zinc/copper regulating drug PBT2, which boosts cognition in mice with Alzheimer’s disease,” said Professor Bush.
The compound has shown promise in the clinic, improving certain cognitive measures in a Phase 2a trial of patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease. The drug appears to be taking the zinc out of amyloid and returns it to the cell. Further clinical trials are expected this year.
The Mental Health Research Institute researchers have now started work investigating potential therapies based on the results of this latest study into zinc and its effect on the brain.
“With these results, we are now able to target this loss of zinc and ZnT3 by using compounds that help shuttle metals into the cells that need them” said Dr Adlard.
The investigation was undertaken by Paul Adlard, Jacqui Parncutt, David Finkelstein and Ashley Bush.
The Mental Health Research Institute is a leader in research that improves the lives of people affected by mental illnesses and dementia. It undertakes sustainable, high quality, basic scientific, clinical and public health research.
The Institute’s Alzheimer’s disease research group led by Professor Colin Masters and Professor Ashley Bush is internationally recognised as a world leader in Alzheimer’s disease research.
Contact: Ross Johnstone, MHRI, Tel: 03 93892906
Source: The Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria (MHRI)
