JOAN’S WEEKEND BLOG – FEB. 7/8, 2009 – CAREGIVER CONFERENCE – UPDATE ON ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH

On Thursday of this week, Sid and I attended a luncheon meeting at which the guest speaker was Dr. Carl Sadowsky, Medical Director of St. Mary’s Memory Disorder Center and Premiere Research Institute of West Palm Beach Florida, as well as my husband’s chief neurologist. The subject of his Keynote address was “Potential New Treatments for Dementia and Advice for Caregiving.”

Although Dr. Sadowsky and I have a great rapport, my respect for his ability and knowledge is enormous, and I have the utmost confidence in his treatment of my husband, I went to this luncheon reluctantly. With apologies to those of my readers who are scientifically astute, I generally doze off in the middle of technical lectures.

To my utter joy, Dr. Sadowsky’s presentation was easy to understand and quite entertaining.

In the simplest terms, his basic points were: 

1. It is the amyloid in the brain that is destroying the neurons.
2. Researchers are comparing amyloid’s effect on the brain as similar to cholesterol’s effect on the arteries.
3. Statin drugs break up cholesterol in the arteries, thus preventing heart attacks.
4. Researchers are working towards developing drugs that prevent amyloid plaque from forming in the brain. As doctors now check cholesterol levels in the blood at an early age, and begin treatment if needed, the plan is to check amyloid levels in the brain at an early age, and administer drugs that will break it up, similar to what the Statin drugs do to cholesterol.
5. Getting the amyloid out of the brain once it forms – This is the BAP III trial in which many of your spouses are currently participating. (The trial from which Sid was dropped due to possible complications) This is the injection of antibodies that are supposed to block the enzyme that forms the amyloid. Some of you have reported good results from this trial. Sid received one infusion before he was dropped from the trial, and we both saw improvement.   

Other Approaches:

Kioku(memory) Study – by Toyoma Chemical Company – testing a drug that prevents nerve cell death and enhances nerve growth.

Sonexa Therapeutics Inc. – working on a drug to block cell death

Dimebon Study – drug protects mitochondria

Non Pharmacological Approach
“What’s good for the heart is good for the brain.”
Yes, we have all heard this multiple times in article after article. We have often discussed the fact that most of us do not believe that “doing all the right things”, such as exercising, eating healthy, and keeping our minds active, will prevent Alzheimer’s Disease. However, here are the recommendations for not only holding Alzheimer’s at bay for as long as possible, but keeping someone with Alzheimer’s Disease stable longer:

Decrease calories  
Increase antioxidants
Increase Omega-3 fatty acids – fish and olive oil -
Increase exercise-
Eat low Glycemic index carbohydrates-
Keep blood sugar levels low – high blood sugar levels increase brain amyloid – in keeping with the latest research that labels Alzheimer’s Disease a third form of diabetes.

For those of you who wish to do further research on this subject, you will notice that I have provided links for you to click with each topic.

I will address Dr. Sadowsky’s “Advice for Caregiving” in my next blog.

Note: The dessert served at this luncheon was strawberry cheesecake . It was delicious, but I tend to doubt it was low in calories, high in Omega 3 fish oils, or fell into the “low glycemic index category. However, it did have strawberries – good source of antioxidants!

I am now going to tackle packing for the Caregiver Cruise. Stay tuned for another blog before I leave.

Feedback to joan@thealzheimerspouse.com

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