Alzheimer’s Trade-Off for Mentally Active Seniors

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100 Million people have been touched by Alzheimer's disease, and 35 million are worried about Alzheimer's.
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Bob DeMarco of FL 11:19PM September 02, 2010

Alzheimers is related to blood sugar even in NON Diabetics. The filmmaker who has been reversing diabetes WITHOUT medications has shown proof of the Alzheimers link to diabetes...even in non diabetics
just google SPIRIT HAPPY DIET

Mary of CA 9:14PM September 02, 2010

Do not drink the water in that town!
Scientists who study the genetics of Alzheimer’s distinguish between “familial Alzheimer’s disease,” which runs in families, and “sporadic Alzheimer’s disease”, where no obvious inheritance pattern is seen. True familial Alzheimer’s disease accounts for less than 5% of Alzheimer’s cases. Sporadic Alzheimer’s is much more common.
Familial Alzheimer’s Disease
All Familial Alzheimer’s disease known so far has an early onset, and as many as 50 percent of the cases are now known to be caused by defects in three genes located on three different chromosomes, the structures inside cells that house the genetic code. Some families have mutations in a gene called amyloid precurser protein (APP), which causes an abnormal form of the amyloid protein to be produced. Other families have mutations in a gene called presenilin 1, which causes an abnormal presenilin 1 protein to be produced. Still others have mutations in a very similar gene called presenilin 2, which causes an abnormal presenilin 2 protein to be produced.
Even if one of these mutations is present in only one of the two copies of a gene inherited from a person’s parents, the person will inevitably develop that form of early-onset Alzheimer’s (this is called autosomal dominant inheritance). However, the total known number of these cases is small (between 100 and 200 worldwide), and there is as yet no evidence that any of these mutations play a major role in the more common, sporadic or non-familial form of late-onset Alzheimer’s. Scientists are working to reveal the normal function of APP and presenilins and to determine how mutations of these genes cause the onset of familial Alzheimer’s disease.

Marcus of IL 5:19PM September 02, 2010

My mother will soon turn 80. She raised 6 kids, owned and taught at a private preschool for 10 years and then was a bilingual special education teacher for public school for 20 years. She loved working with kids.
When my father passed away in 2003 we knew my mother had some difficulties, we had no idea that he was covering up so much of what they were going through.
My mother has 18 grandchildren and 26 great grandchildren. She doesn’t remember that some of her grandchildren are married or some of her great grandchildren exists or their names. She sometimes doesn't like being around them...
She doesn’t remember so many things; it just breaks your heart. I am losing my mother… one day at a time.

Laura of AK 4:57PM September 02, 2010

This result fits a model in which human memory and other (mostly) brain functionality is a result partly of neural connection and reconnection and partly of cell death.
The human brain loses cells throughout life. Mental activity requires some flexibility in connectivity and some cell death to create permanent memories and fixed habits.
If intellectual activity is increased, so does cell death rate because of it. Concurrently, Altzheimer's or other senility is causing cell death or dysfunction more or less unrelated to learning or memory. Thus, when the senility uses up the cells which have to die to sustain mental activity, learning slows or ceases and dementia sets in.
Even if this is true, mentally active adults STILL enjoy a few years of extra alertness by engaging in intellectually challenging activities.

John Michael Williams of CA 3:02PM September 02, 2010

Perhaps the researches should step back a few feet and look at the data again.
Could it be that those with a lower IQ, less mental use, have a shorter distance to fall and so the decline seems less than the brilliant and other people who actually use their brain?
Can it be that the ones who are really trying to hold on to their abilities actually are but the disease is un-stoppable and when the tipping point of too much entanglement and voids is reached the collapse is like a dam bursting?

Kerry 1:56PM September 02, 2010

Ronnie, correlation does not equal causation. What's happened is two things. First, diagnoses is becoming more common as well as better. Before, they would just put crazy granny in a chair and leave her there. She wasn't diagnosed and without medicine, the disease progress rapidly and they die. Secondly, people are living longer. This means that the number of cases has gone up because more people reach the age where they begin to show signs of it.
Furthermore, we know what causes it. It's genetic. In other words, if you have a family history of it, you're going to get it (that includes those people who get it in their 40's, those groups are related to each other. There's an entire town who all get it when they are in their 20's and 30's and all of them are related to each other. Descended from a small population that settled there).
You know people like you like to blame food/medicine on EVERY problem. Cancer, AIDS, ADHD, the flu, ect. It's really funny, imo, when all of these things have known causes and known solutions. If eating right and not taking any meds was the solution, then it would be found out, very quickly. No world wide conspiracy among doctors and pharmacy.
And it's all been tested, even the natural remedies (some of which, like aspirin, work). The stuff that didn't work was thrown out. The stuff that did, was kept and it was called... medicine.

The Raptor of CA 1:30PM September 02, 2010

My late husband was terrified at the prospect of Alzheimer's. He had an I.Q. of over 156, was a member of Mensa, an engineer, musician, artist, etc... Every day he did mental exercises designed to keep his mind sharp, filling notebooks and sketchbooks with diagrams and equations - especially concerning nuclear physics.
I am in agreement that depression can contribute to the onset of this disease. He spent the last 2-1/2 years of his life mostly alone due to our horrendous work schedules, and would frequently squirrel himself away in his music room alone. I believe he actually caused the damage to his beloved hotrod truck, but didn't realize he had done so.
He became increasingly unable or unwilling to leave the house except for work, lost almost 50 pounds and hid it under layers of clothing, began to experience digestive ailments, and trouble walking. He became bitter and argumentative in his loneliness and despair, his canvas and paints lay untouched. I believe, had he not passed away in his sleep from a heart attack, his conditioned would have worsened to the point where my brilliant man would have been only a poor shadow of himself.

Andrea of KY 1:20PM September 02, 2010

When my mom got Alzheimer's about 10 years ago this month, she seemed to become alone and scared. She left things on the stove and the usual things that people with Alzheimer's do, but when we took her out to eat or out for an ice cream, when we brought her back, she would say "I don't live here." Take me home. We have since put her in a rehailitation center not far from us, but she remembers nothing most of the time, not even her early childhood. This Alzheimer's is a rotten devil of a disease. Pray you never have to see it first-hand.

Laura of CA 1:06PM September 02, 2010

There was dementia years ago. MY Mother and grandmother said it was quiet ciommon in old people but themost they ever heard of was the inflected developed loss of memory to some degree but not to the extent that they lost the aboilit to use the bathroom and bath. They never knew of any old people with who fell so fast to todays Alzheimer’s . on the other hand most Alzheimer’s cases in those times happened in the late 60s or higher not in the 40/50/60s that is so common now. people in their 40s are becoming more common with Alzheimer’s. I think todays fast living/ generic foods, and over counter medical supplies as well as perscription drugs are a close culprit.
Todays world of isolation in later life (retirement for one) and depression is also a huge factor. People don't remain together as a family today as much.

ronnie of GA 12:54PM September 02, 2010