Category Archives: Research

Can a Sense of Purpose Slow Alzheimer’s?

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Few people would argue that having a sense of purpose in life is anything but a good thing. The Egyptian Book of the Dead even contains a prayer for it: “May I be given a god’s duty; a burden that matters.” In the modern world, exhorting young people to seek a sense of purpose in life is a mainstay of college commencement speeches, and a collective longing for a feeling of purpose and fulfillment drove evangelical minister Rick Warren’s book The Purpose-Driven Life into the best-selling stratosphere.

Medical professionals have also found correlations between a person’s sense of purpose and their physical health and survival. As far back as 1946, the Austrian psychiatrist Victor Frankl, who spent several years in concentration camps during WWII and lost his entire family in the Holocaust, found that the people who survived the concentration camps best were those who believed they had a reason, mission, or purpose that required their survival. Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl’s classic book on the subject (which he wrote in nine days following his release from the camps) also notes that people who could find a reason or worthwhile purpose for their suffering were far less debilitated by it.

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Device to slow down Alzheimer’s disease

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New research suggests a ‘brain pacemaker’ may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.  In a small study, John Hopkins University scientists found a device that sends electrical impulses to the brain’s memory regions appeared to increase neuron activity in patients who were suspected to have the disease.

The researchers implanted the device in six people with mild or early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.  The device includes electrodes, which are implanted in the brain, and a pacemaker, which is implanted in the chest, connected to the electrodes by wires.  The pacemaker orders the electrodes to continuously stimulate the brain.  This technique is known as deep brain stimulation, or DBS.

A year after implanting the device, the researchers conducted PET scans on the patients and found they actually showed an increase of glucose metabolism, which the brain uses as fuel to function.  Greater amounts of glucose metabolism also indicate greater amounts of brain cell activity, according to the researchers.

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Omega-3s may help lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease

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Eating foods such as chicken, fish and nuts may help lower blood levels of a protein strongly associated with Alzheimer’s disease and memory problems, according to new research.

In the Columbia University study, people who consumed diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids had significantly lower levels of a protein called beta-amyloid in their blood than those who did not consume as much of the nutrient.

According to the research, eating one more gram of omega-3s than average per week was associated with 20 to 30 percent lower levels of beta-amyloid.  One gram is approximately equal to half a fillet of salmon.

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Alzheimer’s Disease Imaging Agents

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Three of the late-breaker studies (dubbed “Emerging Science” in the meeting program) address imaging agents for detecting beta-amyloid plaques in the brains of live patients.

One such product, florbetapir (Amyvid), was just approved by the FDA, but competing products are not far behind.

Meeting attendees will hear new results with two of these, florbetaben and flutemetamol. Like florbetapir, both are 18F-labeled compounds that bind selectively to beta-amyloid plaques and light up on PET scans.

The florbetaben study abstract indicates that findings on PET scans in near-death patients correlated strongly with their actual plaques measured at autopsy a short time later.

A similar study with flutemetamol came up with similar results, according to its abstract.

In a study with possibly more clinical relevance, flutemetamol binding in the brains of 11 community-dwelling older people with memory loss correlated significantly with their performance on a cognition test.

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Can Household Chores Help Prevent Alzheimer’s?

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In recent years, several studies have found that older people are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia if they engage in vigorous exercise, such as jogging, swimming, or brisk walking.

People who are too frail or out of shape to hit the pool or treadmill shouldn’t despair, however. According to a new study, even mundane, low-key tasks like gardening, cooking, and washing dishes can lower the risk of Alzheimer’s if they’re performed often enough.

The study, which was published this week in the journal Neurology, included 716 dementia-free men and women in their 70s and 80s. Compared to the most active people, those with the lowest levels of overall physical activity had more than double the risk of going on to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Greater physical activity was also associated with a slower rate of aging-related memory and cognitive decline.

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Alzheimers drug Amyvid raises ethical questions

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Last Friday, the FDA approved Amyvid, a drug for Alzheimer’s diagnosis that was created and developed by Penn faculty Daniel Skovronsky and Hank Kung. It dyes brain deposits of amyloid plaque, which are correlated with Alzheimer’s disease.

However, the FDA has treaded cautiously, approving Amyvid only for limited uses. If brains scanned with Amyvid test negative, then the patient will be deemed Alzheimer-negative.

Cases where the Amyvid scans test positive will only signify the patient has significant levels of plaque, but will not confirm an Alzheimer’s Disease diagnosis.

Since there is no drug on the market that successfully removes amyloid plaque, Saboury said there should be no rush to market the tracer. How useful can it be for patients to know they are at risk when there is no cure or treatment?

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