In a world first, Dr. Andres M. Lozano and his team at Toronto Western Hospital has shown using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) on patients with early signs of Alzheimer’s disease is safe and may help improve memory.
The phase one safety trial of six Ontario patients took place from 2005 to 2008. All patients left hospital within 2 to 3 days of surgery, and continue to participate in regular follow-up cognitive assessments. [continue reading…]
Alzheimers
For most of us the stereotypical concept that we have of aging is that we will live to a ripe old age, fully ‘compos mentis’ finally to succumb to some brief undetermined illness and then die.
Read the rest of our review of Jan’s Story
Coming soon our Q & A Interview with Barry Petersen
The New York Times has an excellent article on the tragic story of Laura Cuartas’s children Alzheimer’s Stalks a Colombian Family
At frighteningly young ages, in their 40s, four of Laura Cuartas’s children began forgetting and falling apart, assaulted by what people here have long called La Bobera, the foolishness. It is a condition attributed, in hushed rumors, to everything from touching a mysterious tree to the revenge of a wronged priest.
It is Alzheimer’s disease, and at 82, Mrs. Cuartas, her gray raisin of a face grave, takes care of three of her afflicted children. link to article
Source: New York Times
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Caffeine May Slow Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias and Restore Cognitive Function
Athough caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive drug worldwide, its potential beneficial effect for maintenance of proper brain functioning has only recently begun to be adequately appreciated. Substantial evidence from epidemiological studies and fundamental research in animal models suggests that caffeine may be protective against the cognitive decline seen in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A special supplement to the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, “Therapeutic Opportunities for Caffeine in Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases,” sheds new light on this topic and presents key findings. [continue reading…]
