scholarly journals Alzheimer's disease

2000 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-100 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Functional Brain Imaging ◽  
Mood Stabilizers ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Cognitive Disturbance

Alzheimer's disease is one of the most devastating brain disorders of elderly humans. It is an undertreated and under-recognized disease that is becoming a major public health problem. The last decade has witnessed a steadily increasing effort directed at discovering the etiology of the disease and developing pharmacological treatment. Recent developments include improved clinical diagnostic guidelines and improved treatment of both cognitive disturbance and behavioral problems. Symptomatic treatment mainly focusing on cholinergic therapy has been clinically evaluated by randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group studies measuring performance-based tests of cognitive function, activities of daily living, and behavior. Cholinesterase inhibitors, including donepezil, tacrine, rivastigmine, and galantamine are the recommended treatment of cognitive disturbance in patients with Alzheimer's disease. The role of estrogen replacement, anti-inflammatory agents, and antioxidants is controversial and needs further study. Antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics, and hypnotics are used for the treatment of behavioral disturbance. Future directions in the research and treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease include: applying functional brain imaging techniques in early diagnosis and evaluation of treatment efficacy; development of new classes of medications working on different neurotransmitter systems (cholinergic, glutamatergic, etc), both for the treatment of the cognitive deficit and the treatment of the behavioral disturbances; and developing preventive methods (amyloid p-peptide immunizations and inhibitors of β-secretase and γ-secretase).

scholarly journals Anhedonia as a Potential Risk Factor of Alzheimer’s Disease in a Community-Dwelling Elderly Sample: Results from the ZARADEMP Project

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1370
Author(s):  
David Vaquero-Puyuelo ◽  
Concepción De-la-Cámara ◽  
Beatriz Olaya ◽  
Patricia Gracia-García ◽  
Antonio Lobo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Potential Risk ◽  
Proportional Hazards ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Population Sample ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Cox Proportional Hazards ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Major Public Health Problem

(1) Introduction: Dementia is a major public health problem, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most frequent subtype. Clarifying the potential risk factors is necessary in order to improve dementia-prevention strategies and quality of life. Here, our purpose was to investigate the role of the absence of hedonic tone; anhedonia, understood as the reduction on previous enjoyable daily activities, which occasionally is underdetected and underdiagnosed; and the risk of developing AD in a cognitively unimpaired and non-depressed population sample. (2) Method: We used data from the Zaragoza Dementia and Depression (ZARADEMP) project, a longitudinal epidemiological study on dementia and depression. After excluding subjects with dementia, a sample of 2830 dwellers aged ≥65 years was followed for 4.5 years. The geriatric mental state examination was used to identify cases of anhedonia. AD was diagnosed by a panel of research psychiatrists according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria. A multivariate survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression model were performed, and the analysis was controlled by an analysis for the presence of clinically significant depression. (3) Results: We found a significant association between anhedonia cases and AD risk in the univariate analysis (hazard ratio (HR): 2.37; 95% CI: 1.04–5.40). This association persisted more strongly in the fully adjusted model. (4) Conclusions: Identifying cognitively intact individuals with anhedonia is a priority to implement preventive strategies that could delay the progression of cognitive and functional impairment in subjects at risk of AD.

scholarly journals THE TRIAL-READY COHORT FOR PRECLINICAL/PRODROMAL ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE (TRC-PAD) – A FUNDAMENTAL ALLY IN AD PREVENTION RESEARCH

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
A.P. Porsteinsson ◽  
E.D. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Symptomatic Treatment ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Medical Needs ◽  
Clinical Benefits

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains one of our greatest unmet medical needs, without any approved disease-modifying therapies. The emotional and financial burden of AD is enormous and predicted to grow exponentially with increasing median population age, posing a major public health problem. The potential to prevent or improve cognitive decline due to AD has important implications. There are medications currently approved for symptomatic treatment of AD, but they have limited clinical benefits and do not change the ultimate trajectory of the disease. The need to find effective treatments for AD that can prevent, slow, arrest, or even reverse the disease is ever more urgent and interventions that delay the symptomatic onset of AD would have a major public health impact (1).

Interventional Study to Evaluate the Clinical Effects and Safety of the Nutraceutical Compound BrainUp-10® in a Cohort of Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, and Placebo-Controlled Trial

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Leonardo Guzman-Martinez ◽  
Gonzalo A. Farías ◽  
José P. Tapia ◽  
María P. Sánchez ◽  
Patricio Fuentes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Pilot Trial ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Treatment Phase ◽  
Clinical Effects ◽  
Double Blind

Background: Clinically-evaluated nutraceuticals are candidates for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) prevention and treatment. Phase I studies showed biological safety of the nutraceutical BrainUp-10®, while a pilot trial demonstrated efficacy for treatment. Cell studies demonstrated neuroprotection. BrainUp-10® blocks tau self-assembly. Apathy is the most common of behavioral alterations. Objective: The aim was to explore efficacy of BrainUp-10® in mitigating cognitive and behavioral symptoms and in providing life quality, in a cohort of Chilean patients with mild to moderate AD. Methods: The was a multicenter, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled phase II clinical study in mild to moderate AD patients treated with BrainUp-10® daily, while controls received a placebo. Primary endpoint was Apathy (AES scale), while secondary endpoints included Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Trail Making Test (TMT A and TMT B), and Neuropsychiatry Index (NPI). AD blood biomarkers were analyzed. Laboratory tests were applied to all subjects. Results: 82 patients were enrolled. The MMSE score improved significantly at week 24 compared to baseline with tendency to increase, which met the pre-defined superiority criteria. NPI scores improved, the same for caregiver distress at 12th week (p = 0.0557), and the alimentary response (p = 0.0333). Apathy tests showed a statistically significant decrease in group treated with BrainUp-10®, with p = 0.0321 at week 4 and p = 0.0480 at week 12 treatment. A marked decrease in homocysteine was shown with BrainUp-10® (p = 0.0222). Conclusion: Data show that BrainUp-10® produces a statistically significant improvement in apathy, ameliorating neuropsychiatric distress of patients. There were no compound-related adverse events. BrainUp-10® technology may enable patients to receive the benefits for their cognitive and behavioral problems.

Neuropsychiatric Assessment and Intervention in Alzheimer's Disease

1996 ◽  
Vol 8 (S1) ◽  
pp. 25-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey L. Cummings
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The United States ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Dementia Patients ◽  
Intellectual Abilities ◽  
The World ◽  
Eventual Death

Dementia is a major public health problem in the United States and the world, requiring the expenditure of enormous economic and human resources. Dementia is common in the elderly, and, as the size of the aged population increases, the number of dementia victims will rise. Many dementias are fatal, producing the gradual erosion of intellectual abilities and eventual death of the patient. Demands made on family members and caregivers of dementia patients are extraordinary and often result in their emotional and financial exhaustion. Although basic science efforts are devoted to finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other dementing illnesses, there is an urgent need for research that has immediate applicability to the 4 million current dementia patients.

scholarly journals The Cholinergic System, the Adrenergic System and the Neuropathology of Alzheimer’s Disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1273
Author(s):  
Rola A. Bekdash
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cholinergic System ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Cholinergic Neurons ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Nucleus Basalis ◽  
Adrenergic System ◽  
Major Public Health Problem

Neurodegenerative diseases are a major public health problem worldwide with a wide spectrum of symptoms and physiological effects. It has been long reported that the dysregulation of the cholinergic system and the adrenergic system are linked to the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease. Cholinergic neurons are widely distributed in brain regions that play a role in cognitive functions and normal cholinergic signaling related to learning and memory is dependent on acetylcholine. The Locus Coeruleus norepinephrine (LC-NE) is the main noradrenergic nucleus that projects and supplies norepinephrine to different brain regions. Norepinephrine has been shown to be neuroprotective against neurodegeneration and plays a role in behavior and cognition. Cholinergic and adrenergic signaling are dysregulated in Alzheimer’s disease. The degeneration of cholinergic neurons in nucleus basalis of Meynert in the basal forebrain and the degeneration of LC-NE neurons were reported in Alzheimer’s disease. The aim of this review is to describe current literature on the role of the cholinergic system and the adrenergic system (LC-NE) in the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease and potential therapeutic implications.

Alzheimer's Disease: Genes, Proteins, and Therapy

2001 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 741-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis J. Selkoe
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Disease Genes ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Amyloid Β Protein ◽  
Complex Disorder ◽  
Β Protein

Rapid progress in deciphering the biological mechanism of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has arisen from the application of molecular and cell biology to this complex disorder of the limbic and association cortices. In turn, new insights into fundamental aspects of protein biology have resulted from research on the disease. This beneficial interplay between basic and applied cell biology is well illustrated by advances in understanding the genotype-to-phenotype relationships of familial Alzheimer's disease. All four genes definitively linked to inherited forms of the disease to date have been shown to increase the production and/or deposition of amyloid β-protein in the brain. In particular, evidence that the presenilin proteins, mutations in which cause the most aggressive form of inherited AD, lead to altered intramembranous cleavage of the β-amyloid precursor protein by the protease called γ-secretase has spurred progress toward novel therapeutics. The finding that presenilin itself may be the long-sought γ-secretase, coupled with the recent identification of β-secretase, has provided discrete biochemical targets for drug screening and development. Alternate and novel strategies for inhibiting the early mechanism of the disease are also emerging. The progress reviewed here, coupled with better ability to diagnose the disease early, bode well for the successful development of therapeutic and preventative drugs for this major public health problem.

scholarly journals Effects of Supplementation with Folic Acid and Its Combinations with Other Nutrients on Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Narrative Review

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2966
Author(s):  
Ana M. Puga ◽  
Mar Ruperto ◽  
Mª de Lourdes Samaniego-Vaesken ◽  
Ana Montero-Bravo ◽  
Teresa Partearroyo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Folic Acid ◽  
Dietary Intervention ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Cerebrovascular Diseases ◽  
Vitamin Supplementation ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Essential Nutrient

Cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease, among other cognitive dysfunctions, has been recognized as a major public health problem. Folic acid is a well-known essential nutrient whose deficiency has been linked to neurocognitive dysfunctions, owing to hyperhomocysteinemia, an independent risk factor for cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases, including cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s Disease, and vascular dementia. However, to date, there is certain controversy about the efficacy of vitamin supplementation in patients with these pathologies. Therefore, we have reviewed the available dietary intervention studies based on folic acid, either alone or in combination with different vitamins or nutrients into the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive impairment, highlighting the cognition and biochemical markers employed for the evaluation of the disease progression. Undeniably, the compiled information supports the potential benefits of vitamin supplementation in these pathologies, especially relevant to the aging process and quality of life, although more research is urgently needed to confirm these positive findings.

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