by wildcherry on Thursday, November 20th, 2008 | Health, Life | No Comments

sample pict of Ginkgo product

The widely used herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba does not appear to prevent Alzheimer’s disease in healthy elderly people or those with mild cognitive impairment, U.S. researchers said today.

The study involved 3,069 people age 75 or older at five U.S. locations who were tracked for six years on average, half taking twice-daily doses of 120 milligrams of extract from the leaves of the ginkgo tree and the rest taking a placebo.

Those who took the ginkgo were no more or less likely to develop Alzheimer’s or any type of dementia, the researchers wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Steven DeKosky, dean of the University of Virginia School of Medicine who led the study, said he was disappointed in the results, citing early indications that ginkgo has antioxidant and other properties that might preserve memory.

“At this point in time, I wouldn’t tell anybody to take the medication in hopes that it would work (to prevent Alzheimer’s),” DeKosky, who was at the University of Pittsburgh when the study was conducted, said in a telephone interview.

“If they want to continue taking it — because it’s not toxic and not expensive — they probably aren’t going to hurt themselves other than spending the money,” DeKosky added.

Ginkgo is one of the top-selling herbal supplements, used by people with the aim of improving memory and cognition and other purposes. This was the largest and most rigorous study to date on whether it would stave off Alzheimer’s, experts said.

The people entered the study with either no cognitive problems or only mild impairment. Eighteen percent in the ginkgo group and 16 percent in the placebo group were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other dementia during the study.

BRAIN CHANGES

DeKosky said he could not rule out that ginkgo might have shown some benefit in preventing Alzheimer’s if the study had gone on longer because progression from initial brain changes to clinical dementia takes many years.

There is no medication currently approved to avert the development of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia in the elderly.

Dr. Murali Doraiswamy of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, noted that other Alzheimer’s prevention failures include statins, estrogen, anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamin E and drugs called cholinesterase inhibitors.

Doraiswamy, a memory expert who was not part of the study, said the findings will lead him to actively discourage people from taking ginkgo with the aim of preventing Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s is incurable. It slowly progresses from mild memory loss to severe brain damage and death. It is expected to become even more common as populations age in many countries.

“Alzheimer’s, by its very nature, tends to breed desperation, and that will direct some people to try almost anything. Here, at least, we have some evidence that it’s probably worth your while to find something else than ginkgo,” Bill Thies of the Alzheimer’s Association advocacy group said.

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by wildcherry on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 | Health, Life | 5 Comments

It is one of those jokes neurologists regularly share when the subject turns to patients complaining of memory lapses: When you can’t remember where you left your glasses, there’s probably no need to worry. When you can’t remember you wear glasses you’re probably in trouble.

During the first several decades of life, we layer memory upon memory — the smell of a mother’s hair, the light touch of a first kiss, the multiplication tables, driving directions, telephone numbers and the skills and knowledge of an occupation. By about age 25, however, a human’s memory has typically peaked and a long period of decline begins.

It proceeds at a stately pace, virtually undetectable to most, for several decades. But around about the half-century mark, cognitive performance starts to slide noticeably. Keys and glasses are forgotten. Names, places and words linger on the tip of the tongue.

When it comes to memory lapses, what’s normal and what’s not? It is a question preoccupying more and more Americans. In June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Alzheimer’s disease is now the sixth leading cause of death in the United States: Almost 5.2 million in the U.S. live with the disorder, a number projected to rise. The search for effective drugs has been one of frustration — just this year, two drugs in late-stage clinical trials failed to prove effective.

Where are the keys? What did I go into the kitchen for? Should I be worrying about my — you know, that thing, memory? Or is this just what happens to everyone with age?

Below are answers to common questions about memory loss

I think I’m losing my mind. I agree to a meeting and then completely forget about it. I’m introduced to someone and five minutes later don’t remember his name. Do I have Alzheimer’s disease?

Forgetting things you have recently learned is a red flag for early Alzheimer’s disease, our three experts say. “The ability to consolidate and store new memories is the first thing to go,” McGaugh says. “Established memories hang out for a long time.”

Alzheimer’s sufferers may still have a rich recall of childhood memories, beloved songs and complex activities, such as playing tennis, but not remember the name of a grandchild.

Maybe I’m just getting older. But at work, what used to take me two hours to do now takes four. I’ve always been sharp and fast on the job, but I’m not performing at my peak.

Struggling with familiar tasks and experiencing problems with abstract thinking can be early indications of Alzheimer’s disease. The aging brain can compensate for its declining performance for many years: It knows more about the world and its patterns than a younger, swifter brain. But if established work routines don’t come as easily as they did, perhaps the benefits of age are being undermined by disease.

For example, if you’re failing to detect and recognize patterns on the job — say, anticipating from experience where production bottlenecks will happen — it’s worth raising the issue with your doctor.

I misplace things. And when I’m talking, I am sometimes at a loss for the word I need. What’s wrong?

Putting your glasses in the refrigerator or a pantry cabinet rather than on your bedside table may be a sign of a problem: Misplacing things in inappropriate places is an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease.

It is also time to consult a memory specialist when you ask your spouse if she’s seen your glasses and you have trouble thinking of the word for them, or if the word that comes out is not the right one. Sometimes, those with early Alzheimer’s disease say they will get close, but a tad off the mark, to the word they’re looking for — “that thing for my nose” instead of “glasses.” Sometimes they’ll just find themselves stumped.

Source:La Times

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