New research gives hope for people suffering from dementia
Michael Kahn LONDON (Reuters) reports that researchers have found a way to erase long-term memory in rats without damaging their brains in a study that could lead to targeted drugs for people suffering from dementia.
The findings show long-term memories are not as secure as thought and challenge the idea they stabilize after maturing from short-term memories, said Yadin Dudai, who led the study...
"This research is important because it casts light on the mechanisms of memory," Dudai said. "It also shows that long-term memory is not a permanent change and can be edited."
While the procedure is experimental and far too invasive to be done on humans, the results give drug makers a roadmap to develop new treatments related to memory....
Dudai said "The minute you identify a molecular mechanism that is critical for keeping memory going, you identify a potential target for drugs," he said. "The prime target is people with defective memories."
Labels: dementia research new treatment alzheimers
New Alzheimers Research
Medascape report a possible paradigm shift: Excess TNF-Alpha Emerges as a Key Therapeutic Target in
Alzheimer's Disease..
You will need to register, it is free, pretty technical but this research seems to offer the possibility of new treatments and better understanding of Alzheimers
There is now substantial, and accumulating, basic science, genetic, and
clinical evidence that excess tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is centrally involved
in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.[1-26] New TNF data from the
renowned Framingham Study is the most recent robust scientific evidence supporting
a key role of excess TNF in Alzheimer's.[4] By negatively influencing
synaptic regulation and amyloid, glutamate, NMDA, and inflammatory pathways, excess
TNF, along with amyloid/tau, may constitute the "perfect storm" which attacks
the brain and results in Alzheimer's progression.[1-26] The new recognition
of the potential association of traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer's in
professional football players, the increasing attention deservedly being given
to the public health threat posed by Alzheimer's, and the increasing health
burden posed by the growing ranks of our young veterans afflicted by traumatic
brain injury underscores their unmet medical need. What is not yet widely
recognized is that these disorders are united by the common involvement of
excess TNF in their pathogenesis.[1-28]
Labels: Alzheimer's Disease new treatment
Plans for a national dementia strategy
Dreadful to read that so many people with dementia do not even get a diagnosis which could help improve their care ..
The
Mental Health Foundation report that: "The Government is to produce the first ever national dementia strategy in response to one of the great challenges now facing society.
Speaking during a visit to a mental health centre for older people in North Kensington, Care Services Minister Ivan Lewis said:
"The scale of our ambition must now meet the scale of the challenge as demographic realities mean dementia will impact on an increasing number of families in our society. The current system is failing too many dementia sufferers and their carers".
"I am determined that this disease is brought out of the shadows. We need to minimise the shame and fear associated with dementia so that people and their relatives feel able to seek support at the earliest possible stage in the knowledge they will get expert help and be treated with dignity and respect."
There are currently around 600,000 people with dementia in England - a figure which is set to double in the next thirty years.
Despite an estimated investment of £3.3bn per annum, recent reports and feedback tell us that there are three key issues where improvements have to be made. These are:
* Better Awareness - Addressing the stigma of dementia in society and ensuring that individuals and their family members recognise the early signs of dementia so symptoms are not wrongly attributed to "old age" and patients are referred quickly for diagnosis.
Examples of these early signs are:
When you or your family feel that your memory has got worse for recent events;
When your family and friends notice that you are repeating the same phrases and questions over again.
When your family and friends notice that you are not looking after yourself as well as usual.
* Early Diagnosis - ensuring the diagnosis of dementia is made accurately and early by clinicians, so people with dementia and their families can receive appropriate support.
* High quality treatment- improving services so that people with dementia receive high quality treatment and support, which maximises their quality of life and ensures they are treated with dignity and respect.
Ivan Lewis continued:
"Dementia is a unique illness with devastating consequences. We know that as people live longer an increasing number of families will have to cope with the harsh realities of dementia.
"It is of utmost importance that we have the right services in place for people with dementia as well as those who love and care for them. By concentrating on improving awareness, diagnosis and managing the disease we will help transform the lives of those with dementia by improving their quality of life."
Labels: dementia undiagnosed
Alzheimer's campaigners win drug ruling
Campaigners for Alzheimer's sufferers to have access to anti-dementia drugs on the NHS in the early stages of the disease were thrown a lifeline by a High Court judge today.
Mrs Justice Dobbs, sitting in London, ruled in favour of drug companies, supported by the Alzheimer's Society, which challenged new guidance by the Government's medicines watchdog that the drugs should not be funded by the NHS for patients with "mild symptoms".
The judge ordered that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), which is responsible for providing national guidance on treatments available on the NHS, should amend its guidance in relation to the drugs at the centre of the case - which she ruled was "discriminatory"...
The judge announced: "In the light of the court's finding that the guidance is discriminatory, the court directs Nice to amend the guidance so as to ensure its compliance with Nice's duties and obligations under anti-discrimination legislation."
Alzheimer's Society chief executive Neil Hunt said after the ruling: "This judgment is vindication for the thousands of people who have campaigned for fair access to Alzheimer's drugs.
"The court has ruled that the Nice guidance is discriminatory and must be changed.
"The Alzheimer's Society told Nice this time and again. We have been proved right.
"Patients now have much fairer access to Alzheimer's drug treatments."
Labels: Alzheimer's drugs
