Government
Senate thinking of ways to help Alzheimer's patients
By Ben Wasserman
May 14, 2008 - 1:20:58 PM

If you like the article, could you please do us a favor? Just tell Google News Services that you like foodconsumer.org included in Google News Services. Inclusion in googlenewsservices means many more people can read articles like this. Thanks.
------

WEDNESDAY May 14, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- The Senate Special Committee today is conducting a hearing on Alzheimer's disease and considering whether the government should increase its effort in the researching of the disease, ABC NEWS reported.

Those who testified before the panel included former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.  O'Connor retired in 2006 to care for her husband suffering Alzheimer's.  She told the panel how hard it is to deal with an Alzheimer’s patient.

Gingrich offered some ideas on how the government may help Alzheimer patients and their families. Gingrich sounded "harsh towards "nameless bureaucrats" at the Office of Management and Budget and at the Congressional Budget Office, who he believes impede progress", ABC reported.

The message is, the drugs for Alzheimer's disease are not effective and more care should be given to Alzheimer's patients.  And the government may do something to provide help the patients need.

Published below are the common questions and answers on Alzheimer’s cited from a government website.  Some content is slightly modified, but not significantly enough to alter the opinions of the government. Foodconsumer.org does not claim any copyright for this document.



Questions and Answers about Alzheimer's disease


1. What is Alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia among older people.  People with this disease experience progressive and irreversible declines in certain cognitive functions including declines in memory, time and space orientation, abstract thinking, the ability to learn and carry out mathematical calculations, language and communication skills and the performance of routine tasks.

Other symptoms of Alzheimer's disease include personality changes and impairment of judgment.

2. How many people suffer from Alzheimer's disease?

An estimated 4 million people in the United States currently suffer from Alzheimer's disease. The proportion of people with the disease doubles every 5 years beyond the age of 65.  Worldwide, more than 26 million people in industrialized countries suffered the disease in 2006.

3. What is the age of most people with Alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer's disease showed symptoms more likely at an older age.  But symptoms can first appear after age 60.  Between ages 65 and 74, an estimated 3 percent of men and women have the disease, but at age 85 and older, nearly 50% have the disease.  The average age at which Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed is 80.  Symptoms can show up for some time before a diagnosis is made.

4. Do we know what causes Alzheimer's disease?

According to the U.S. government, scientists have not yet fully understood what causes Alzheimer's disease. But it is clear that Alzheimer's disease results from a complex series of pathological events that takes place over time inside the brain.

5. If a member of my family has Alzheimer's disease, am I at increased risk for developing it?

There are two types of Alzheimer's disease: one is familial Alzheimer's disease or FAD, which is an early-onset form of the disease that appears to be inherited, and the other is sporadic Alzheimer's disease, where no obvious inheritance pattern is seen. Approximately 5 percent of Alzheimer's disease is familial and approximately 95 percent is sporadic, according to the government.

In familial Alzheimer's disease or FAD, several members of the same generation in a family are often affected. Sporadic Alzheimer's disease develops as a result of variety of factors which scientists are still attempting to determine.

Age is the most important known risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer's disease. Having a family member with Alzheimer's disease does increase the risk two to three-fold in sporadic Alzheimer's disease, but by no means guarantees that you will develop the disease.

6. What other factors, beside genetics, contribute to developing Alzheimer's disease?

In addition to genetics, some environmental factors may attribute to the development of the disease.  Researchers believe that the buildup of damage from molecules known as oxygen free radicals may be involved.

7. Do men or women have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease?

More women than men have Alzheimer's disease, although their higher lifetime risk may only reflect the effects of age. Women have longer life spans than men.

8. How does a head injury affect the development of Alzheimer's disease?

Some studies have shown that there is about a two-fold increased risk for Alzheimer's disease among people who have suffered previous head injuries with loss of consciousness from which they recovered, but other studies show no association.

9. Does educational level affect the development of Alzheimer's disease?

Research suggests that the more years of formal education a person has, the less likely he or she is to develop Alzheimer's disease later in life.

10. What is the relationship between aluminum and the development of Alzheimer's disease?

One of the most publicized and controversial hypotheses in the area of Alzheimer's disease research concerns aluminum, which became a suspect in Alzheimer's disease when researchers found traces of this metal in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. Many studies since then have failed to provide consistent or conclusive evidence of a role for aluminum in Alzheimer's disease.

11. What are the stages in the development of Alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer's is a progressive disease; the symptoms grow worse over time. Yet, it is also a variable disease. Symptoms progress at different rates and in different patterns. The appearance and progression of symptoms will vary from one person to the next.

Some of the common symptoms are:

    * anxiety, paranoia, suspiciousness, agitation

    * changes in personality and judgment

    * confusion and memory loss

    * difficulty with activities of daily living, such as feeding and bathing

    * difficulty recognizing family and friends

    * disorientation

    * getting lost in familiar surroundings

    * hallucinations and delusions

    * loss of appetite

    * weight loss

    * loss of bladder and bowel control

    * loss of speech

    * problems with routine tasks

    * repetitive speaking or action

    * sleep disturbances

    * total dependence on caregiver

    * wandering, pacing.

12. How is Alzheimer's disease diagnosed?

Alzheimer's disease can only be conclusively diagnosed by examining the brain after death in an autopsy to determine the presence of characteristic plaques and tangles in certain brain areas. However, doctors can make a clinical diagnosis of "possible" or "probable" Alzheimer's disease in a living person.

Several tools are used to arrive at this diagnosis. These include a complete medical history and tests that measure memory, problem solving, attention, counting, and language abilities. Medical tests such as analysis of blood and urine are used to determine if the dementia has another cause.

Diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease Brain scans can be used to see whether the person has abnormalities such as strokes that could account for the dementia.

13. How accurate are tests for Alzheimer's disease?

Cognitive Test for Alzheimer's Doctors in specialized Alzheimer's disease treatment centers can now diagnose Alzheimer's disease with up to 90 percent accuracy in a living person.

14. What other conditions have symptoms like Alzheimer's disease?

Tumors, strokes, severe depression, thyroid problems, medication side effects, nutritional disorders, and certain diseases can all have effects that mimic those of Alzheimer's disease. Early diagnosis increases the chances of treating these conditions successfully.

15. Is misplacing your keys a normal part of aging or could it be a symptom of Alzheimer's disease?

Problems with memory may be due to a variety of factors. It is normal for people of all ages occasionally to forget names, appointments, or the location of objects like their keys. Such memory problems may result from stress, distractions, grief, fatigue, poor vision or hearing, use of alcohol, an illness, or trying to remember too many details at once.

Clinical depression also may cause poor concentration, sleep disturbance, or other symptoms that lead to forgetfulness in people who do not have Alzheimer's disease. A decline in short-term memory that sometimes accompanies aging is called age-associated memory loss and does not lead to Alzheimer's disease.

People with early-stage Alzheimer's disease often experience forgetfulness. They may have constant trouble remembering recent events, activities, or the names of familiar people or things. Memory loss that is associated with Alzheimer's disease interferes with activities of daily living.

16. How important is a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease?

The earlier an accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is made, the greater the gain in managing symptoms and allowing the person to take part in future life course decisions.

17. How long do people with Alzheimer's disease live after developing the disease?

Persons with Alzheimer's disease often live for years with the disease, eventually dying from pneumonia or other diseases. The duration of Alzheimer's disease from time of diagnosis can be 20 years or more. The average length of time from onset of symptoms is thought to be in the range of 4 to 8 years.

18. How is Alzheimer's disease treated?

No treatment is yet available that can stop Alzheimer's disease. However, for some people in the early and middle stages of the disease, the drugs Cognex®, Aricept®, Exelon®, or Razadyne® may help prevent some symptoms from becoming worse for a limited time. Memantine, also known by its brand name Namenda®, is approved for use in moderate to severe forms of the disease.

Photo of Alzheimer's disease research lab.Also, some medicines may help control behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer's disease such as sleeplessness, agitation, wandering, anxiety, and depression. Treating these symptoms often makes people with Alzheimer's more comfortable and makes their care easier.

19. Is there currently a vaccine for Alzheimer's disease?

Currently, there is no vaccine available to treat Alzheimer's disease. The vaccine approach is being investigated for its potential to stimulate the immune system to recognize and attack the amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer's.

Amyloid plaques are one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease and are thought to contribute to the loss of some cognitive functions, such as memory. While one recent clinical trial of a vaccine was halted when some patients in the study were reported to have signs of inflammation in the central nervous system, the search for a vaccine continues to be an active area of study.

20. Can estrogen be used to treat Alzheimer's disease?

Research is under way to see if estrogen reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease or slows the disease. One study showed that estrogen does not slow the progression of already diagnosed disease, but more research is needed to find out if it may play another role. For example, scientists now are trying to find out whether estrogen can prevent Alzheimer's disease in women with a family history of the disease.

Estrogen and progesterone combination therapy is not recommended for prevention of cognitive decline or dementia. In one large national study of women 65 and older, Prempro, a specific form of combination hormone therapy, was found to double the risk of dementia in women on combination therapy when compared to those not taking the medication.

21. What options are there for people who want to help test new treatments for Alzheimer's disease?

People with Alzheimer's disease and those with mild cognitive impairment who want to help scientists test possible treatments may be able to take part in clinical trials. Clinical trials are research studies on people to find out whether a new drug or treatment is both safe and effective.

New therapies are tested on people only after laboratory and animal studies show promising results. The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, sets strict rules to make sure that people who agree to be in the studies are treated as safely as possible.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health, through its National Library of Medicine and other Institutes, maintains a database of clinical trials at ClinicalTrials.gov. Click here to see a list of the current clinical trials on Alzheimer's disease. A separate window will open. Click the "x" in the upper right hand corner of the "Clnical Trials" window to return here.


Topic last updated: 14 January 2005

http://nihseniorhealth.gov/alzheimersdisease/faq/faq7c.html