Editor's Blog
Vienna, July 15, 2009 – New insights into how a Phase III Alzheimer’s drug might work were among the advances in potential therapies targeting two abnormal brain proteins – beta amyloid and phosphorylated tau – that were reported today at the Alzheimer’s Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD 2009) in Vienna.
Scientists also reported on how clinicians view and treat mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a research category used to define the state between normal aging and Alzheimer’s, that is now being used widely in clinical practice.
"There are now more than 5 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States. The cost of caring for people who now have Alzheimer’s, and those who will get it in the next few years, will bankrupt the healthcare system and devastate Medicare and Medicaid," said Ralph Nixon, PhD, MD, vice chair of the Alzheimer’s Association Medical & Scientific Advisory Council.
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One Comment
Alzheimer’s is certainly influenced by environmental factors, and nutrition is an important consideration. It would be nice if our health care system worked in a manner that was more focused on prevention, and less on magic cures.
Vitamin D deficiency may also be correlated to alzheimer’s development:
Vitamin D deficiency occurs in 55% of patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and 41% in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). [86] Vitamin D receptors and 1α-hydroxylase (1α-OHase), the enzyme responsible for converting Vitamin D into it’s active form, are heavily expressed in the substantia nigra, the region of brain where dopaminergic neurons are located. [87]Moreover, Alzheimer’s Disease has been linked to genetic mutations in the Vitamin D receptor, and patients with the mutation were 2.3 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease. [88]
Omega-3 levels may also play a role in Alzheimer’s Disease:
A 9 year epidemiological study including 899 men and women found people with the highest percentage of plasma DHA omega-3 were 47% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. [118]
It’s also worth mentioning here that Vitamin D has also been shown to play some extremely important IMMUNE functions.
It’s pretty well established that Vitamin D levels decline with age.
So, as with all things, an ounce of prevention is worth a metric ton of cure.