Category: Dementia

Could this discovery show the way to reversing dementia?

A build-up of toxic urea in the brain is a major cause of dementia, according to new research.

Toxic levels of urea have newly been linked to Huntington’s, a type of dementia.

Recent research has also linked urea to Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia.

Urea and ammonia — which are usually excreted in urine — can also build up in the brain, especially if the kidneys are unable to filter them out.

Drugs that are now commonly used to target urea could one day be used to help treat dementia.

Professor Garth Cooper, who led the study, said:

“This study on Huntington’s Disease is the final piece of the jigsaw which leads us to conclude that high brain urea plays a pivotal role in dementia.

Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s are at opposite ends of the dementia spectrum – so if this holds true for these types, then I believe it is highly likely it will hold true for all the major age-related dementias.

More research, however, is needed to discover the source of the elevated urea in HD, particularly concerning the potential involvement of ammonia and a systemic metabolic defect.

This could have profound implications for our fundamental understanding of the molecular basis of dementia, and its treatability, including the potential use of therapies already in use for disorders with systemic urea phenotypes.”

The study looked at brains donated by families for medical research along with genetically modified sheep.

Professor Cooper said:

“We already know Huntington’s Disease is an illness caused by a faulty gene in our DNA – but until now we didn’t understand how that causes brain damage – so we feel this is an important milestone.

Doctors already use medicines to tackle high levels of ammonia in other parts of the body Lactulose – a commonly used laxative, for example, traps ammonia in the gut.

So it is conceivable that one day, a commonly used drug may be able to stop dementia from progressing.

It might even be shown that treating this metabolic state in the brain may help in the regeneration of tissue, thus giving a tantalising hint that reversal of dementia may one day be possible.”

The study was published in the journal PNAS (Renee et al., 2017).

The sign comes 10 years before memory and thinking problems are obvious.

A worsening of anxiety symptoms could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s in older people, new research finds.

The symptom could help to diagnose the disease 10 years before problems with memory and thinking are obvious.

In this ‘preclinical’ phase, up to 10 years before disease onset, deposits of amyloid and tau proteins build up in the brain.

The study found that the greater these build-ups, the higher the symptoms of anxiety people experienced.

Dr Nancy Donovan, the study’s first author, explained:

“Rather than just looking at depression as a total score, we looked at specific symptoms such as anxiety.

When compared to other symptoms of depression such as sadness or loss of interest, anxiety symptoms increased over time in those with higher amyloid beta levels in the brain.

This suggests that anxiety symptoms could be a manifestation of Alzheimer’s disease prior to the onset of cognitive impairment.”

The conclusions come from a study of 270 people aged 62-90 years-old, who were followed over five years.

Their anxious-depressive symptoms predicted the build of amyloid plaques in the brain, which are, in turn, linked to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr Donovan said:

“If further research substantiates anxiety as an early indicator, it would be important for not only identifying people early on with the disease, but also, treating it and potentially slowing or preventing the disease process early on.”

The study was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry (Donovan et al., 2018).

Alzheimer’s linked to condition that affects 1 in 5 people in the US.

Insomnia leads to a build up of the proteins linked to Alzheimer’s, new research finds.

Insomnia is thought to affect around 1 in 5 people in the US — somewhere between 50 and 70 million people.

In addition, around one-third of Americans do not get enough sleep.

A wakeful brain, though, produces more amyloid beta than the brain’s waste disposal system can cope with.

This could eventually lead to Alzheimer’s disease.

Professor Randall Bateman, who led the study, said:

“This study is the clearest demonstration in humans that sleep disruption leads to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease through an amyloid beta mechanism.

The study showed that it was due to overproduction of amyloid beta during sleep deprivation.”

The study looked at the effects of sleeping poorly on the brain in the short term.

Three groups were compared: some slept normally, some stayed up all night and others were given a sleeping aid.

Those who stayed up had amyloid beta levels some 25-30% higher.

This level is on a par with those genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s.

Dr Brendan Lucey, the study’s first author, said:

“I don’t want anyone to think that they are going to get Alzheimer’s disease because they pulled an all-nighter in college.

One night probably has no effect on your overall risk of Alzheimer’s.

We are really much more concerned about people with chronic sleep problems.”

Amyloid beta is a normal byproduct of brain activity.

However, without adequate sleep, the brain cannot clear it away.

Dr Lucey said:

“Understanding how lack of sleep relates to the concentrations of amyloid beta in the brain will help direct future research into therapeutics.

This information could help us figure out how to reduce amyloid beta deposition over time in people whose sleep is chronically disrupted.”

Sleep medication may not provide much benefit, the study suggests.

Dr Lucey said:

“We were looking at healthy, well-rested adults.

This suggests that if you already are getting enough sleep, getting more sleep with the help of medication may not provide any benefit.”

The study was published in the journal Annals of Neurology (Lucey et al., 2017).

The cause of Alzheimer’s is not just in the brain.

Alzheimer’s disease could be a problem that involves the whole body, according to new research.

Alzheimer’s — the most common form of dementia — has usually been thought of as only a brain disease.

However, research now suggests the disease could be triggered elsewhere in the body.

Chinese research has shown that amyloid-beta — the protein thought central to Alzheimer’s — can contribute to the disease even when it comes from outside the brain.

The findings suggest drugs that might be able to target the kidney or liver to try and reduce toxic proteins before they reach the brain.

Professor Weihong Song, who led the research, said:

“The blood-brain barrier weakens as we age.

That might allow more amyloid beta to infiltrate the brain, supplementing what is produced by the brain itself and accelerating the deterioration.”

It is already known that the toxic amyloid-beta protein linked to Alzheimer’s is produced in the blood platelets, blood vessels and muscles.

Until now it was unclear whether it could pass into the brain.

Professor Song thinks the protein could be biochemically tagged to allow the liver or kidneys to clear it.

Professor Song added:

“Alzheimer’s disease is clearly a disease of the brain, but we need to pay attention to the whole body to understand where it comes from, and how to stop it.”

The study was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry (Bu et al., 2017).

The best balance of fatty acids for brain health.

The right balance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may help promote healthy cognitive aging, new research finds.

While we are used to hearing about the benefits of the fatty acids in fish and fish oils, that is only half the story.

Omega-6 fatty acids can come from nuts, seeds and other oils.

Typically, Western diets have too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3.

Together, a balance of these fatty acids may help to reduce age-related decline and maintain the integrity of cortical structures.

Ms Marta Zamroziewicz, who led the research, said:

“We studied a primary network of the brain — the frontoparietal network — that plays an important role in fluid intelligence and also declines early, even in healthy aging.

In a separate study, we examined the white matter structure of the fornix, a group of nerve fibers at the center of the brain that is important for memory.”

The researchers examined the levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids in adults aged 65 to 75, along with their brain structure.

Ms Zamroziewicz explained that it takes more than just fish and fish oils to keep the brain healthy with age:

“A lot of research tells us that people need to be eating fish and fish oil to get neuroprotective effects from these particular fats, but this new finding suggests that even the fats that we get from nuts, seeds and oils can also make a difference in the brain.”

A second study found a link between a balanced amount of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and greater memory preservation in older adults.

Ms Zamroziewicz explained:

“These findings have important implications for the Western diet, which tends to be misbalanced with high amounts of omega-6 fatty acids and low amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.”

Professor Aron Barbey, who co-authored the study, said:

“These two studies highlight the importance of investigating the effects of groups of nutrients together, rather than focusing on one at a time.

They suggest that different patterns of polyunsaturated fats promote specific aspects of cognition by strengthening the underlying neural circuits that are vulnerable to disease and age-related decline.”

The study was published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience (Zamroziewicz et al., 2017).

Dementia risk reduced in 10 1-hour sessions — benefits seen 10 years later.

A type of mental exercise has been linked for the first time to a reduced risk of dementia.

The training is called ‘speed processing’ and involves identifying objects and their location on a screen.

As people improve at this cognitive task, the software speeds up.

The speed training was effective where more traditional memory and reasoning training had little effect on dementia.

Professor Frederick W. Unverzagt, who led the study, said it was comparatively easy training:

“We would consider this a relatively small dose of training, a low intensity intervention.

The persistence — the durability of the effect was impressive.”

The initial training was carried out in 10 one-hour sessions.

Most people subsequently did an extra four booster sessions.

Compared with a control group, and other comparisons, the speed processing training reduced dementia risk by 29%.

People were followed up one, two, three, five and 10 years later.

Impressively, the effects of the training were still there after 10 years.

This is some of the first strong evidence that mental training can help fight dementia.

The study was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions (Edwards et al., 2017).

The food that protects against cognitive decline.

Eating seafood once a week, or food that contains omega-3 fatty acids, may protect against age-related memory loss.

The study found that people who ate seafood less than once a week had a steeper mental decline with age.

Dr Martha Clare Morris, who led the study, said:

“This study helps show that while cognitive abilities naturally decline as part of the normal aging process, there is something that we can do to mitigate this process.”

For the research, 915 people were followed for around 5 years.

They all came from retirement communities and public housing in Illinois and their average age was over 80.

All had memory tests and reported how much seafood they ate.

This included foods like fish cakes, tuna sandwiches, shrimp and crab.

The results showed that people who ate more seafood had better semantic memory: this is something like general knowledge.

Consuming more seafood was also linked to stronger perceptual skills.

The study was published in the journal Neurology (van de Rest et al., 2016).

It provides an extra layer of protection against dementias like Alzheimer’s disease.

Being married or in a close relationship almost halves the risk of developing dementia, new research finds.

It is likely because those in close relationships have an extra layer of protection against depression.

Depression is a known risk factor for dementia.

Professor Eef Hogervorst, who led the study, explained it could also be down to a healthier lifestyle:

“It might be because other studies often found that married men on average have healthier lifestyles than single men – such as better diets, less alcohol, less smoking and more and earlier health services visits.

Another explanation could be that married couples will try to cope with dementia symptoms on their own for longer before health services are involved.”

The six-year study tracked 6,677 people aged between 52 and 90 to look at the connection between close relationships and Alzheimer’s disease.

It emerged that relationship quality was more important in protecting people against dementia than quantity of relationships.

Professor Hogervorst continued:

“Single people will need help to cope with their symptoms earlier.

Not being married almost doubled the risk for developing dementia.

On the other hand, having close relationships independently reduced the risk by 60%.

We did not find that social isolation per se increased risk but that feeling lonely did, by 44%.”

Along with being single, other risk factors for dementia included heart disease, hypertension, and depression.

Professor Hogervorst said:

“We know that depression and heart disease risk factors are risk factors for dementia.

And, loneliness had a similar strength of association as the heart disease risk factors.

This has been mentioned before for other morbidities where loneliness was said to be as bad for health as smoking.

We are social creatures and reduction of stress through social support may be more important than previously thought.”

Enhancing older people’s relationship quality could be one key to staving off dementia.

Professor Hogervorst said:

“Being lonely can be associated with depression and this has been associated with dementia.

As most people with dementia stay at home most of the time, we try to use technology to do activities which include others, such as modified forms of Facebook, cognitive stimulation therapy and exercises in virtual groups.”

The study was published in The Journals of Gerontology (Rafnsson et al., 2017).

During slow-wave or deep sleep, the brain is cleared of waste products.

A single night of disrupted sleep is enough to increase a brain protein linked to Alzheimer’s, new research shows.

A full week of poor sleep causes increases in another brain protein that is also linked to Alzheimer’s.

The findings may help to explain why poor sleep has been linked to Alzheimer’s.

Professor David M. Holtzman, who led the study, said:

“We showed that poor sleep is associated with higher levels of two Alzheimer’s-associated proteins.

We think that perhaps chronic poor sleep during middle age may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s later in life.”

Alzheimer’s disease is characterised by gradual cognitive decline and memory loss.

Previous research has shown a link between poor sleep and cognitive problems.

For example, people with sleep apnea — when breathing stops repeatedly during the night — are at risk of developing mild cognitive impairment ten years earlier.

For the study, the effects of sleep apnea were simulated.

People’s deep sleep was disrupted in such a way that they did not wake during the night, but they also did not feel refreshed in the morning.

Levels of the two proteins — called amyloid beta and tau — were both measured by spinal taps.

Dr Yo-El Ju, the study’s first author, explained the results:

“We were not surprised to find that tau levels didn’t budge after just one night of disrupted sleep while amyloid levels did, because amyloid levels normally change more quickly than tau levels.

But we could see, when the participants had several bad nights in a row at home, that their tau levels had risen.”

The scientists do not think that one night or a week of poor sleep is enough to cause Alzheimer’s.

The protein levels probably return to normal with better sleep.

Dr Ju said:

“The main concern is people who have chronic sleep problems.

I think that may lead to chronically elevated amyloid levels, which animal studies have shown lead to increased risk of amyloid plaques and Alzheimer’s.”

It is vital that we get enough slow-wave or deep sleep, as this is when the brain is cleared of waste products.

Dr Ju said:

“Many, many Americans are chronically sleep-deprived, and it negatively affects their health in many ways.

At this point, we can’t say whether improving sleep will reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

All we can really say is that bad sleep increases levels of some proteins that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

But a good night’s sleep is something you want to be striving for anyway.”

The study was published in the journal Brain (Ju et al., 2017).

Slows and can even reverse age-related physical and mental decline.

Dancing keeps your brain young, new research finds.

Compared with exercise like cycling and Nordic walking, dancing has more profound effects.

Dr Kathrin Rehfeld, lead author of the study, said:

“Exercise has the beneficial effect of slowing down or even counteracting age-related decline in mental and physical capacity.

In this study, we show that two different types of physical exercise (dancing and endurance training) both increase the area of the brain that declines with age.

In comparison, it was only dancing that lead to noticeable behavioral changes in terms of improved balance.”

People in the study had an average age of 68.

For 18 months, they either went to weekly dance classes or they had endurance and flexibility training.

Brain scans revealed the exercise was beneficial for both groups, but the dancing gave a bigger boost.

The hippocampus — the area linked to memory — increased in size.

The endurance program was quite repetitive, with a lot of Nordic walking and cycling.

Dr Rehfeld said the dancing was different:

“We tried to provide our seniors in the dance group with constantly changing dance routines of different genres (Jazz, Square, Latin-American and Line Dance).

Steps, arm-patterns, formations, speed and rhythms were changed every second week to keep them in a constant learning process.

The most challenging aspect for them was to recall the routines under the pressure of time and without any cues from the instructor.”

The extra challenge linked to learning to dance is thought to be the cause of the extra benefit.

Dr Rehfeld said:

“Right now, we are evaluating a new system called “Jymmin” (jamming and gymnastic).

This is a sensor-based system which generates sounds (melodies, rhythm) based on physical activity.

We know that dementia patients react strongly when listening to music.

We want to combine the promising aspects of physical activity and active music making in a feasibility study with dementia patients.”

Dr Rehfeld concluded:

“I believe that everybody would like to live an independent and healthy life, for as long as possible.

Physical activity is one of the lifestyle factors that can contribute to this, counteracting several risk factors and slowing down age-related decline.

I think dancing is a powerful tool to set new challenges for body and mind, especially in older age.”

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (Rehfeld et al., 2017).