Possible prevention for Alzheimer's studied
Several new studies suggest that maintaining a healthy, active mental and physical
lifestyle may delay or possibly even prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers from around the world met in Washington, D.C., June 18-21, to talk
about how to achieve such protection from this progressive brain disorder at
the first Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on the Prevention
of Dementia.
Among the studies highlighted at the conference were three studies being conducted
by UCD researchers – the only Colorado researchers represented at
the conference.
Robert Schwartz, MD, division head, Geriatric Medicine, and
Patricia Heyn, PhD, postdoctoral fellow, Division of Geriatric Medicine, presented
their studies which include investigating the effects of exercise on cognitively
impaired older adults; a screening exam to identify cognitive impairment in
the early stages; and the effects of testosterone supplementation and exercise
on cognitive functioning in aging men.
While in Washington, Drs. Schwartz and Heyn were invited by U.S. Senator Ken
Salazar (D-CO) to talk about the ongoing research in their group.
“The new focus in research is to prevent onset of advanced stages of
dementia rather than treating the disease after it has advanced, because we
know that’s
not effective,” said Dr. Heyn. “Evidence has been supportive of
exercise’s role in brain function.”
Since older individuals with dementia have their occupational and social activities
severely curtailed by the progression of this disease, it has traditionally
been assumed that they do not benefit from exercise training. However, preliminary
results indicate that exercise training can markedly improve the physical and
mental health of adults with dementia.
In the testosterone study, evidence suggests that sex hormones can have positive
effects on the management and treatment of some age-related diseases. Testosterone
supplementation has been shown to produce cognitive improvements in older men
with low testosterone levels.
Results from the Testosterone Exercise in Aging Men (TEAM) study on the effects
of testosterone supplementation on body composition (muscle and fat), physical
function (strength and endurance) and cognitive function may be used to help
plan a much larger multi-centered study being planned by the National Institute
on Aging.
“We’re looking at whether older people can be functionally improved
with these kinds of hormonal interventions,” said Dr. Schwartz. “Promoting
the greatest cognitive and physical function for the longest period of time
is the focus of our work. We think it can affect both of these aspects of function.”
With 77 million baby boomers quickly advancing toward old age, there is a great
deal that could be gained from preventing or at least postponing this disease
that ravages the integrity of the individual and devastates their entire family.
It is estimated that 4.5 million people in the United States now have Alzheimer’s
disease. That figure is expected to swell to 14 million by the middle of this
century. Nearly two-thirds of nursing home residents have Alzheimer’s
and most of them rely on Medicaid to help pay the costs. By 2015, the annual
Medicaid cost for Alzheimer’s patients is expected to be $27 billion.
“There are few disorders that have as much family impact and financial
impact as Alzheimer’s,” said Dr. Schwartz. “If Alzheimer’s
cannot be prevented, maybe the clinical onset of symptoms could at least be
delayed for a few years.
“Our state is hugely affected if you consider that Medicaid pays for
at least 50 percent of nursing home costs. If a country or region or state
puts its
head in the sand about this issue, society is going to end up building more
nursing homes and putting more people in them,” he said. “This
disease has enormous implications for the state of Colorado our nation and
our entire westernized society, and it’s going to get worse.”
Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disorder that causes loss of memory
and mental abilities and that affects an individual’s ability to learn,
reason, remember, make decisions and communicate. The brain of someone with
Alzheimer’s is cluttered with abnormal microscopic structures called
plaques and tangles. Plaques are proteins that clump together outside the brains’ nerve
cells and tangles are twisted protein strands that accumulate inside the cells.
Plaques and tangles cause messages sent between neurons in the brain to become
interrupted or lost.
The pace of Alzheimer’s research has quickened -- 95 percent of what
is known about the disease has been learned in the last 15 years. There is
much yet to learn, however, and the Rocky Mountain region of the country lags
far behind the rest of the nation in Alzheimer’s research.
Dr. Schwartz’s vision is for an Alzheimer’s Center at the Health
Sciences Center campus at Fitzsimons in Aurora, with a multi-disciplinary group
of researchers and medical staff. But the clock is ticking on getting such
a facility up and running. The National Institute on Aging is interested in
having more expertise in the Rocky Mountain region, but other institutions
have already begun working on establishing centers.
“Because of the lack of population density in the west, federal funding
will support one center but not two,” said Dr. Schwartz. “I don’t
think it’s too late, but it’s getting later and later. To really
compete at a national level for Alzheimer’s grant and research funding,
we have to have an Alzheimer’s Center here soon.”
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