FINDING HELP
These are local organizations that help people with Alzheimer’s disease and their families. Some accept volunteers.
5190 S. Valley View Blvd., Suite 104, Las Vegas, NV 89118 702-248-2770
800-272-3900, operates seven days a week, in 140 languages The association offers general information, support groups, educational programs, referrals and opportunities to volunteer.
888 W. Bonneville Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89106 702-331-7054
702-483-6000, Option 2
702-483-6023 702-685-7073 or brainhealth@ccf.org Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health Philanthropy Institute, 702702-331-7046
702-263-9797 the University of California, San Francisco, in 2011. That report found that as many as half of Alzheimer’s cases worldwide could be prevented through lifestyle changes and treatment of chronic conditions such as diabetes. Even a 25 percent reduction in the seven risk factors –– depression, diabetes, smoking, obesity, sedentary lifestyles, midlife high blood pressure and low education — could prevent 3 million cases of Alzheimer’s disease worldwide and nearly half a million in the U.S. alone, the study found.
Energizing the aging brain through social activities and educational opportunities can help fight off dementia, Chen says. He notes, too, that many older people live alone, hastening cognitive decline. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates 800,000 individuals with the disease, or one in seven, live alone.
Cummings also believes in a “use it or lose it” doctrine for the brain. He says a laid-back retirement might literally cause people to lose their minds. Quitting the world of meaningful work for a retired life of lounging around with a TV remote might seem enticing, he says, but that passive lifestyle is increasingly seen by researchers as a high risk factor for Alzheimer’s.
It is time, Cummings says, for the nation’s top governmental leaders and public health officials to have a frank discussion about the implications of retirement and a disease for which age is unquestionably a risk factor.
“We have a social idea of what retirement consists of, and we need to re-examine that idea,” he says. “The logical extension of the data we have on dementia is that a person who is still capable of working, who is mentally stimulated with a strong sense of purpose, is better off from the cognitive point of view continuing to engage in that position.” TIMING MATTERS
Early onset Alzheimer’s, in which genes have proven to be a major factor, should be treated differently from the more common form of the disease, which often strikes people in their 60s and beyond, Chen says. About 5 percent of Alzheimer’s patients get the disease before their 60s.
Chen says medical interventions still should be found to deal with the three acknowledged genes that carry mutations causing early onset Alzheimer’s: APP, PSEN1 and PSEN2.
Cummings and Thies strongly disagree with Chen’s contention that the older age Alzheimer’s is a normal part of aging. While they acknowledge that there may well be multiple factors causing the condition, including genetics and lifestyle, they also believe researchers are zeroing in on slowing the molecular process at the heart of Alzheimer’s.
It is also clear, Cummings says, that stem cell research might play a role in Alzheimer’s treatment.
Scientists at the University of California, Irvine, have found that neural stem cells can rescue memory in mice genetically engineered to have advanced Alzheimer’s, raising hopes of a potential treatment. CLINICAL TRIALS
Neurologist Dr. Charles Bernick says he has been moved by the fact that hundreds of Southern Nevadans want to be part of clinical trials: “They know what they’re testing probably won’t help them, but they really do want to help others.”
They are people who include 85year-old Richard Parker, who power walks five miles a day and does 200 curls with 10-pound dumbbells. He was part of a study that tested a pill he took three times a day for his short-term memory problems. The pill turned out not to be effective, but he thinks the exercise is.
“We have a center in this town doing research dedicated to stopping Alzheimer’s,” he says. “Why wouldn’t people want to support it? You might want to help yourself and other people as well.”
Currently ongoing at the Ruvo Center is the first multisite clinical trial in the United States aimed at trying to identify Alzheimer’s disease through an inexpensive blood test.
A successful trial could be a precursor to detecting the disease before memory loss occurs, a big step toward allowing earlier therapeutic interventions to halt or stabilize progression of the disease.
Another unique trial investigates the efficacy of a chair developed by the Israel-based company Neuronix. The chair combines mental exercise and transcranial magnetic stimulation in the hopes of improving brain function.
New drugs to be studied, some of which involve memory testing, blood tests and brain imaging, include:
Takeda, an oral tablet designed to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s.
IGIV, an intravenous drug that could slow the progression of the disease.
Biogen Idec, another intravenous drug study of a medication aimed at slowing disease progression.
Avanir, testing of a drug that has shown early promise of treating agitation and other behavioral problems in Alzheimer’s patients.
Resveratrol, testing of an active ingredient in red wine, one found to have potential in slowing the disease.
Both Cummings and Thies say there is a greater sense of urgency among researchers since President Barack Obama signed the National Alzheimer’s Project Act into law last year.
It calls for scientists to find a way to treat or prevent the disease by 2025, a goal some experts feel is too ambitious.
The five drugs currently approved by the FDA for treating the cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease –– Namenda, Razadyne, Exelon, Aricept and Cognex –– hit the marketplace between 1993 and 2003.
In its attempt to see the 2025 goal is realized, the Obama administration plans to spend an additional $156 million over the next two years.
Philanthropist Ruvo calls it “far too little ... it makes no sense considering the devastation of the disease.”