Alzheimer's Disease Risk

I am going to posit that the two most dreaded diseases are any type of cancer and dementia, esp. Alzheimer's type.



Most of the news that I see regarding Alzheimer's Disease (AD) these days comes from updates on pharmaceutical company research and forward looking statements. In other words, the stock price of companies who are completing drug trials or laboratory studies on either preventing plaque build up, breaking plaque up, slowing or stopping progression of disease and plaque buildup and creating a vaccine. When I refer to plaque I mean the amyloid plaques which are indicative of the disease. The outcome of using these drugs would be a slowing or stopping of memory loss and cognitive functioning.


I can tell you from personal professional experience that the disease is devastating. It challenges the nerves, hearts, minds and physical capacity of the victims, the medical care providers, the professional caregivers, the loved ones, family caregivers, society and the health care system. So seeing the financial pages discuss the AD market as a billion dollar cash cow is rather off putting, wouldn't you agree? Seriously, a financial analyst was quoted in a WSJ article saying that the annual world wide sales of a plaque affecting drug would be 25 billion dollars.
Today then, let us look at some AD facts.


Every disease or condition has risk factors and protective factors. Some are modifiable, (like wearing a seat belt) some are not, like being a man (prostate cancer).


There is also a standard risk for a particular disease or situation. You know, there is a certain chance that anyone will get in a plane crash, for example. I do not know the general risk of Alzheimer's but have called an organization to see if I could get this baseline number, so to speak. I will let you know if and when I get that.
The reason I seek that number is that the first risk factor that you generally have no control over is your age. I do not know what the risk factor for AD at age 65 is for relatively healthy people without genetic risk. Let us hypothetically say that it is 2 percent.


For every five years after age 65, the risk for AD doubles. That being said, our 2 percent baseline would increase thusly:


age 65 2% risk, age 70 4% risk, age 75 8% risk, age 80 16% risk, age 85 32% risk and age 90 64% risk.


Because the population is aging at a bit of a glut, there is much concern about the over 85 population and how many of them might have this disease. There is no cure and there is no vaccine at this time. IF anything, it is comfort or palliative care that exists.



The second non modifiable risk factor is genetics. Scientists have found some links to the more common late onset AD in a gene (apolipoprotein E) and its sub types. Some APOE is protective other increases the risk, but none of the three identified guarantees you will get it or not get it. Early onset ED is related to a gene mutation.



Like any disease, having a non modifiable or non changeable risk factor does not mean that a person would not benefit from addressing the risk factors that are controllable or modifiable, if anything, that would be a more compelling reason to focus on lifestyle.


It is important to know that we do not have a causal link to life style and AD at this time. What we do have are some suggestive studies of populations and animals. The NIH (National Institutes of Health) as well as other agencies, are currently funding studies that can help to prove or disprove these associations. So what I am presenting below is suggestive but worth considering for yourself.





Simply Put:


Exercise is shown to improve brain health. Scientists can view the brain with special imaging techniques and have learned that exercise nourishes the brain through blood flow and that it can also increase brain mass and stimulate activity in certain areas of the brain. Having your brain changed this way would appear to be protective against insult and disease.


What you eat can improve brain health especially in regards to inflammation. We all have free radical damage throughout the body, it is what happens on a cellular level just from living, but it is worsened in some conditions and with some disease. Eating foods with antioxidant properties, sometimes referred to as phytochemicals can clear up some of this damage and again, protect the brain. Brain activity, thinking and memory, appear better in animals that eat things like berries. There are studies about the anti inflammatory properties of omega 3s in fish and fish oil supplements. Actual vitamin supplement studies have not shown the same positive results. Eating patterns, such as that in the Mediterranean Diet are also health promoting. It is thought that eating and exercising in ways that prevent chronic disease and some cancers, will also protect against AD. It is not clear if having diabetes and or high blood pressure increase dementia risk, but controlling them is thought to be beneficial.


Another important factor is life long learning and engagement. Again, in studies of populations there are less cases of AD or of mild cognitive impairment becoming AD in people who have higher educations and who stay engaged in life. It makes good sense. When you learn new things or how to do old things in a new way you stimulate different parts of your brain. If you then have an insult to one area, the other is more able to adapt, to compensate, even to take over so that functioning is preserved.


Lastly, there is research ongoing for a vaccine. In fact, one company has a drug that worked in preventing plaque from forming in AD patients, but the side effect was severe brain inflammation and the study had to be halted.


So what you can control is your eating, your physical activity and your participation in a broad range of activity, including social, recreational, religious, academic, etc.





The information in today's post was obtained through my professional experience, trainings and course work as well as the following website:


http://www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/







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