Are We Near a Tipping Point in Alzheimer's Disease Research?

By 2015 to 2020, somewhere in there, there's a tipping point where our healthcare system will collapse under Alzheimer's alone. There is no tipping point right now for saying we have a drug that will prevent this disease.

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Rudy Tanzi

"The first drugs that we tried didn't do it. There were those who then cried, "You're doing the wrong thing." They wanted to throw out the baby with the bathwater: "You got the wrong target. See, you're chasing the wrong ghost here."

No, the drugs were bad.

The amyloid is the target. You don't throw amyloid away."

The Best Alzheimer's Caregiver Tool of Them All, Harvey

If you hired someone to care for a person living with dementia you would probably need to give them some instruction or maybe even training. To turn your parrot into an effective Alzheimer's caregiver you might need to work with him (or her) for a while.

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Yesterday, I published, Dotty Stars in Breakfast with Harvey, in the video Dotty talks and sings with Harvey, the Alzheimer's caregiving repeat parrot.

As a result of the article, I received quite a few questions and comments.

Here is the first thing I want to say. Some caregivers see our Dotty, Parrot, videos and run right out and buy one. If you are interested in purchasing one online -- go here.

On the other hand, many Alzheimer's caregivers assume it won't work for them. One of these reluctant caregivers was our own Pamela R. Kelley .

New Criteria Announced for Assessing Alzheimer’s Disease Neuropathology

Under the previous guidelines, a postmortem pathology assessment was typically conducted in the brains of people diagnosed with clinical symptoms of dementia, and then only to determine whether Alzheimer’s pathology was an underlying cause of the dementia.

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The new criteria no longer require a dementia diagnosis while the person was living, as studies suggest that Alzheimer’s develops years before it becomes clinically evident and research has revealed that the brains of even cognitively normal people may have Alzheimer’s related brain changes.

The new pathology guidelines are described in two papers. The article in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association published online on Jan. 18 provides an overview of how the guidelines were revised and describes major changes. An article published online in the Nov. 20, 2011 issue of Acta Neuropathologica provides pathologists a practical guide for the implementation of the revised guidelines.

Dotty Stars in Breakfast with Harvey

Dotty is 95 years old and has Alzheimer's disease, Harvey is our Alzheimer's caregiver assistant.

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Harvey is very good at getting information out of Dotty. For example, she might tell him she has a "splitting headache". Most Alzheimer's patients are not very good at communicating this kind of information.

Best of all, Harvey is Dotty's good friend, and keeps her entertained for several hours each day.

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Men Develop Memory Problems at Higher Rates than Women

We are looking at 25 percent or more of the population aged 70 or older who have dementia or are at risk of developing dementia in the near future.

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A new Mayo Clinic study found that the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment was 1.5 times higher in men than in women.

The research, part of the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, also showed a prevalence rate of 16 percent. The study will be published in the September issue of Neurology.