Article Finder
Browse our vast collection of articles. Simply select a category on the left and find a list of related articles on the right.
Article Category
Article Title
- Giving Up the Guns When a Family Member Has Alzheimer’s
- Care Management Program Is Reducing Need for Anti-anxiety Medication and Visits to the Hospital/Emergency Room
- Talking to a Loved One With Alzheimer’s
- 10 Powerful Ways to Commemorate Alzheimer’s Awareness Month
- Making the Most of Mealtimes for People With Alzheimer’s
- Family Members Provide 100 Hours a Month of Unpaid Care for Alzheimer’s
- Alzheimer’s Caregivers Should Be Screened for Depression
- Alzheimer’s Care Costs Far More Than Heart Disease or Cancer Care
- Obesity at Midlife May Speed Alzheimer’s Onset
- Hello from my mom
- FOR MORE ARTICLES CLICK HERE
- Frailty May Increase Susceptibility to Alzheimer’s Disease
- Intensive Blood Pressure Control May Help Keep Memory Sharp
- Inflammation May Spur the Development of Alzheimer’s Disease
- High Blood Pressure of Pregnancy Tied to Late-Life Dementia
- Heart Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease Share Genetic Links
- Widely Used Office Dementia Tests Are Often Inaccurate
- Heart Rhythm Disorder, A-Fib, Tied to Dementia Risk
- Daytime Sleepiness Tied to Alzheimer’s Brain Changes
- Stress May Affect Memory and Brain Size
- Memory and Thinking Skills May Wane in Winter Months
- FOR MORE ARTICLES CLICK HERE
- Experimental Drug, Fails to Benefit Alzheimer’s Patients
- New Drug Shows Promise for Alzheimer’s
- Pain Relievers Present Special Hazards in People With Alzheimer’s Disease
- Care Management Program Is Reducing Need for Anti-anxiety Medication and Visits to the Hospital/Emergency Room
- Music May Ease the Anxiety of Alzheimer’s
- Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug, Intepirdine, Disappoints in Study
- An Eye Scan for Alzheimer’s?
- Drug to treat Alzheimer’s is Ranked Highest
- Patients Often Fail to Adhere to Alzheimer’s Drug Schedules
- Could Treatments for Diabetes Help Treat Alzheimer’s?
- FOR MORE ARTICLES CLICK HERE
- Foods for Brain Health? Try Leafy Greens, Red and Orange Veggies, Berries and Orange Juice
- To Drive or Not to Drive? Questions to Ask
- Exercise May Prevent Falls in Those with Alzheimer’s Disease
- The Driving and Car Key Dilemma of Alzheimer’s Disease
- Healthier Heart, Healthier Brain
- 2 Hours a Week of Exercise Can Boost Brain Health
- ‘Exergames,’ Which Combine Exercise and Games, May Benefit Brain Health
- Eat Fish, Fruit, Vegetables and Nuts for Brain Health
- Beet Compound Shows Promise Against Alzheimer’s
- A Single Night of Not Sleeping Tied to Alzheimer’s Brain Changes
- FOR MORE ARTICLES CLICK HERE
- Scientists get a ‘total surprise’ and a promising new clue for how to cure Alzheimer’s
- Some 44 Million People Have Alzheimer’s Worldwide
- Nearly 14 Million Americans Will Have Alzheimer’s Disease by 2060
- Alzheimer’s Rates Could Double in Coming Decades
- Combining Care Program With Medication Reduces Alzheimer’s Symptoms By 750%
- Fisher Center Scientists make two new Significant Discoveries in the battle against Alzheimer’s
- Dementia Rates Are Slowing, but Alzheimer’s Cases Continue to Rise
- Fisher Center Scientists Create a Novel Imaging Technology Allowing the 3D Visualization of Brain Defects That Cause Alzheimer’s Disease
- Negative Beliefs About Aging Could Prime the Brain for Alzheimer’s
- Recognizing Faces Is a Challenge for Those With Alzheimer’s
- FOR MORE ARTICLES CLICK HERE
- Fisher Center For Alzheimer’s Research Foundation Wins Fall 2018 Digital Health Awards®
- Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation Earns Gold Seal of Transparency from GuideStar
- The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation Earns Coveted 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator for the 7th Consecutive Year
- Hear Kent Karosen, President and CEO of the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, describe his new book and the power of art therapy
- Fisher Center Scientists link a Mutation That Protects Against the Development of Alzheimer’s Disease
- Newly Inducted Into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Shaquille O’Neal, Joins the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation to Raise Funds for Groundbreaking Research in the Quest for a Cure
- Pat Summitt, legendary women’s basketball coach, dies at 64
- Celebrating the life of Nancy Reagan for her Impact on the Fight to end Alzheimer’s
- WRNN Interview
- Fisher Center’s 20th Anniversary Celebration and recent activities
- FOR MORE ARTICLES CLICK HERE
People With Alzheimer’s Lose Lean Muscle
Men and women with Alzheimer’s disease often lose muscle mass, and the loss of muscle may be linked to shrinkage of the brain. The findings, which appeared in the Archives of Neurology, a medical journal from the American Medical Association, highlight the fact that Alzheimer’s disease is not just a disease of the brain but of the body as well.
Alzheimer’s is a progressive illness that shuts down the body as it attacks the mind. But while most people think of Alzheimer’s as a disease that affects memory and thinking skills, the physical toll of Alzheimer’s is often overlooked. In the current study, the authors found that loss of lean muscle mass – the weight of a person’s muscles, bones and internal organs, rather than body fat – was linked to an increased likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease.
Earlier studies have shown that seniors who quickly shed pounds are at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and mental decline may be particularly rapid in such cases. Dementia may be especially likely in those who were overweight to begin with and then lose weight. Weight loss may precede the onset of Alzheimer’s by 10 to 20 years in some cases, suggesting that the disease may have a long latency period during which subtle changes like weight loss or minor memory problems may occur.
Paradoxically, those who are obese or who have other risk factors for heart disease during midlife may be at increased risk for Alzheimer’s during their late years. “Although obesity in midlife is a risk factor for developing dementia, overweight and obesity in late life are associated with lower dementia risk,” wrote the authors, from the University Of Kansas School Of Medicine in Kansas City.
In the current study, the researchers used a type of body scan called dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, or DEXA, to assess body composition in 140 men and women age 60 and older. Half had early-stage Alzheimer’s and the others were mentally intact. Study participants were also given MRI brain scans as well as tests to measure memory and mental function
Taking into account differences in muscle mass between men and women, the investigators found that those with Alzheimer’s had less lean mass than their healthy peers. Those with Alzheimer’s also had smaller brains and less brain white matter, suggesting their brains had begun to atrophy, or waste away. Percentages of total body fat, however, were not different between the two groups.
The findings suggest that lean mass is a better measure of whether Alzheimer’s is present than more popular measures of body fat, like the body mass index, or BMI.
“We observed a direct correlation between whole-brain volume — an estimate of brain atrophy — and lean mass, suggesting that brain atrophy and loss of muscle mass may co-occur,” the authors wrote. Wasting of the brain, as demonstrated by brain scans, correlated with wasting of the muscles.
Typically, men and women lose muscle mass with age. Declining muscle mass is strongly linked to diminished physical activity. Indeed, in the current study, seniors with Alzheimer’s were less active than those without the disease.
The authors speculate that changes in the brain may disrupt the nervous system’s ability to regulate energy or maintain healthy food intake. Alternatively, Alzheimer’s disease and loss of muscle may share an underlying mechanism, such as inflammation or changes in the process of building tissue.
By www.ALZinfo.org, the Alzheimer’s Information Site. Reviewed by William J. Netzer, Ph.D., Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation at The Rockefeller University.
Source:
Jeffrey M. Burns, MD, MS; David K. Johnson, PhD; Amber Watts, PhD; et al: “Reduced Lean Mass in Early Alzheimer Disease and Its Association With Brain Atrophy.” Archives of Neurology, Vol. 67(No. 4): April 12, 2010.