By 2010, 35.6 million people are expected to be living with Alzheimers disease globally, according to Alzheimers Disease International. The total will probably double every couple of decades and reach approximately 65.7 million by 2030, and 115.4 million twenty years after that, the organization estimates.

Alzheimers Disease International refers to the current Alzheimers situation as “an epidemic that is increasing its pace with the graying of the population around the world”. It adds that Alzheimers is poorly recognized, worryingly underdiagnosed, and carries a stigma that causes serious problems for families of patients in all countries, regardless of income levels.Alzheimers Disease International recommends thatWHO (World Health Organization) should declare dementia a world health priority.
Dementia should be declared a health priority by national governments globally. Countries should develop national strategies to provide services and support for patients with dementia, as well as their families.
Dementia strategies should be created by low and medium income countries based first on improving primary healthcare and other community services.
Developed nations should develop national dementia action plans with designated resource allocations.
Services should be developed which take into account the progressive nature of dementia.
Services should be developed and distributed in such a way that coverage is maximized and access is available for everybody. Dementia patients should benefit from services regardless of age, sex, income levels, disability, and where they live.
Government should collaborate, as should caregivers, patients, Alzheimer organizations, and other related NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) and professional bodies.
More resources should be channeled towards Alzheimer and other dementia research. There should be more funded research on pharmacological and psychological treatments for Alzheimers and other dementias as well as prevention. What is dementia? Dementia is the progressive deterioration in cognitive function the ability to process thought (intelligence).

Progressive means the symptoms will gradually get worse. The deterioration is more than might be expected from normal aging and is due to damage or disease. Damage could be due to a stroke, while an example of a disease might be Alzheimers.

Dementia is a nonspecific syndrome in which different areas of brain function may be affected, including memory, language, problem solving, and attention.

Dementia is not a disease in itself. Alzheimers is a disease (see below for the difference between Alzheimers disease and dementia).

When dementia emerges, the higher mental functions of the individual are involved initially. Eventually, during the later stages the patient may not know what day of the week it is, they may not know where they are, and might not be able to identify familiar people around them.

Although dementia is much more common among elderly people, it can affect adults of any age.What is the difference between Dementia and Alzheimers Disease? Alzheimers disease is a specific disease; dementia is a set of symptoms. Dementia is not a disease.

If you have an infection in your leg, your leg may feel pain. Pain is the symptom and the infection is the disease.

During the course of the Alzheimers disease plaques and tangles develop within the structure of the brain. This causes brain cells to die. Patients with Alzheimers also have a deficiency in the levels of some vital brain chemicals which are involved with the transmission of messages in the brain neurotransmitters.

Alzheimers disease is the most common form of dementia. The disease gets worse as it develops it is a progressive disease. There is no current cure for Alzheimers, although there are ways of slowing down its advance and helping patients with some of the symptoms. Alzheimers is also a terminal disease it is incurable and causes death.

According the National Institute on Aging, there are estimated to be between 2.4 million and 4.5 million Americans who have Alzheimers. There are approximately 417,000 people in the UK with Alzheimers, according to the Alzheimers Society.Dementia can be caused by Alzheimers disease This is by far the most common cause of dementia. The chemistry and structure of the brain of a person with Alzheimers disease changes and his brain cells die prematurely.
Stroke (Vascular problems) this means problems with blood vessels (veins and arteries). Our brain needs a good supply of oxygenrich blood. If this supply is undermined in any way our brain cells could die causing symptoms of vascular dementia. Symptoms may appear suddenly, or gradually. A major stroke will cause symptoms to appear suddenly while a series of mini strokes will not.
Dementia with Lewy bodies spherical structures develop inside nerve cells. Brain cells are nerve cells; they form part of our nervous system. These spherical structures in the brain damage brain tissue. The patients memory, concentration and ability to speak are affected. Dementia with Lewy bodies is sometimes mistaken for Parkinsons disease because the symptoms are fairly similar.
Frontotemporal dementia this includes Picks disease. The front part of the brain is damaged. The patients behavior and personality are affected first, later his memory changes.
Other diseases progressive supranuclear palsy, Korsakoffs syndrome, Binswangers disease, HIV and AIDS, and CreutzfeldtJakob disease (CJD). Dementia is also more common among patients who suffer from Parkinsons disease, Huntingtons disease, Motor Neuron disease and Multiple Sclerosis. People who suffer from AIDS sometimes go on to develop cognitive impairment.

Today there are an estimated 5.3 million Americans with Alzheimers disease. Although the majority of Alzheimer cases are individuals age 65 and older, there is still a significant number of individuals under age 65 impacted by this fatal disease that today has no cure. For people under age 65 with Alzheimers disease or a related dementia, their cognitive impairment can quickly reach a point where they can no longer maintain gainful employment. The Alzheimers Association applauds the Social Security Administration (SSA) for holding a hearing today to examine whether these individuals with youngeronset Alzheimers disease or related dementias should be included in its Compassionate Allowances Initiative.

“Alzheimers and other neurodegenerative dementias are progressive and currently there arent any effective treatments to delay onset or progression. These individuals affected are unable to work and eventually they get Social Security disability sometimes after a long, difficult process and many appeals,” says Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimers Association. “Through the Compassionate Allowances process, Social Security can avoid the extra costs to the agency of numerous appeals and families can avoid the financial and emotional toll of going through a long decision process.”

Under the Compassionate Allowances initiative, there is a recognized class of medical conditions and diseases that are severely debilitating or lifethreatening which prevent individuals from being able to work for at least 12 months. Social Securitys proactive efforts to “fast track” certain conditions will help to reduce the backlog of disability claims and, more importantly, ensure those claims that fall under this initiative will be decided within days instead of months or years.

Currently, many people with youngeronset Alzheimers or other dementias face multiple challenges when applying for Social Security Disability benefits (SSDI), including a long decision process and multiple appeals. If the SSA decides to include Alzheimers disease on the list of “Compassionate Allowances” conditions, it would simplify and streamline the SSDI application process and decrease the wait time for benefits. It would also ensure individuals with youngeronset Alzheimers and related dementias would not have to endure the associated unnecessary, emotionally and financially draining effects of having to wait an extended period of time for a disability determination

“The very diagnosis of Alzheimers indicates significant enough cognitive impairment to interfere with daily living activities, including the ability to work,” says Johns.

The Alzheimers Association believes todays Social Security hearing is a significant step in considering individuals with youngeronset Alzheimers and related dementias for the Compassionate Allowance list. It provides an opportunity for individuals with Alzheimers to testify and share their personal experience navigating the Social Security disability process before Social Security officials. The Alzheimers Association remains committed to working with the agency to ensure the needs of individuals with dementia related illnesses continue to be considered and included.

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Researchers of the University of Granada (Spain) have used a technique consisting of the induction of neuronal degeneration neuronal for intense light exposure in the mouses retina that will be helpful for the study of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a group of hereditary diseases which lead to blindness and affect more than one million persons a year all over the world. In addition, the results of this research work could be very useful for the detection of new factors or molecules originated by microglial cells and related to degenerative processes of the retina.

The doctoral thesis of Ana María Santos Carro, researcher of the Department of Cell Biology of the University of Granada, is based on the study of microglial cells, a type of cell of the Nervous System that develop a phagocytic or purifying role against damages or infections in such system. Her work has analysed the distribution of microglial cells in la retina of the mouse during all its development, both embryonic and postnatal and adult, and has studied the response of these cells to a neurodegenerative process induced in the retina by intense light exposure.

Parkinsons and Alzheimers

The researcher of the UGR insists that “it is important to get to know the response of the microglial cells against neurodegenerative, because such cells are practically involved in all the diseases and damages of the nervous system, including Parkinsons and Alzheimers, and knowing their behaviour in pathologic situations could be helpful in the design of therapeutic strategies”.

Microglial cells are the resident population of macrophages in the central nervous system (CNS) and play a relevant role in the immune defence. The research group of the UGR “Embryology of the Nervous System” has been studying for years the origin, distribution and migratory characteristics of these cells, both in situations of normal development of the healthy CNS and in response to damages or injuries using as a model of study the retina of birds and mammals.

Notes
The doctoral thesis of Ana María Santos Carro has been supervised by Professors Miguel Ángel Cuadros Ojeda, Julio Navascués Martínez and José Luis MarínTeva.
Part of the results of this research work has been recently published in the specialized Journal of Comparative Neurology. Likewise, some of the results obtained have been presented in oral communications and posters in different national and international scientific meetings VIII European Meeting on Glial Cell Functions in Health and Disease (Londres), VII European Meeting on Glial Cell Functions in Health and Disease (Amsterdam), IV Meeting of the Spanish Glial Network (Madrid), etc.

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Ana María Santos Carro

The antiinflammatory drug indomethacin could hold promise as a treatment for Alzheimers disease, says a Saint Louis University doctor and researcher.

Two research studies published by William A. Banks, M.D., professor of geriatrics and pharmacological and physiological science at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, support this conclusion and offer what he calls a “onetwo punch” in giving clues on how Alzheimers disease develops and could be treated.

His study in the July edition of the Journal of Alzheimers Disease supports the idea that toxic levels of amyloid beta protein, the substance scientists believe is responsible for Alzheimers disease, accumulate in the brain because a pump that pushes it into the blood and past the bloodbrain barrier malfunctions.

The bloodbrain barrier is a system of cells that regulates the exchange of substances between the brain and the blood. The bloodbrain barrier transporter known as LRP is the pump that removes amyloid beta protein from the brain and into the bloodstream.

“LRP malfunctions like a stop light stuck on red, and keeps amyloid beta protein trapped in the brain,” said Banks, who also is a staff physician at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St. Louis.

He tested the hypothesis by giving mice an antisense, which is a molecular compound that blocked the production of LRP. Amyloid beta protein accumulated in the brain and the mice showed memory loss and learning impairment.

The finding raises the question of what causes LRP to malfunction. Banks study in the May issue of Brain Behavior and Immunity suggests inflammation as the culprit and supports using indomethacin, an antiinflammatory medication, as a buffer to protect LRP from being turned off.

Inflammation, which is part of the bodys natural immune response, occurs when the body activates white blood cells and produces chemicals to fight infection and invading foreign substances.

“We induced inflammation in mice and found that it turned off the LRP pump that lets amyloid beta protein exit the brain into the bloodstream. It also revved up an entrance pump that transports amyloid beta into the brain. Both of these actions would increase the amount of amyloid beta protein in the brain.”

Banks then gave mice indomethacin, which prevented inflammation from turning off the LRP (exit pump).

His findings help to explain what doctors who are studying the use of indomethacin to treat people with Alzheimers disease are seeing in their clinical practice.

“Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, especially indomethacin, have been associated with protection against Alzheimers disease. Our work could influence that debate and thinking at the patientcare level,” Banks said.

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This June, the Alzheimer Society is recognizing the extraordinary efforts of four Canadians who are rising to the challenge in the fight against Alzheimers disease and related dementias.

With a growing number of Canadians looking to the Alzheimer Society for help, the Society is paying tribute to those who go above and beyond in their work to deliver excellence in the care and support of the hundreds of thousands of people touched by this illness.

The Alzheimer Society Awards Program, being launched for the first time this year, is recognizing outstanding contributions in the areas of research, care, volunteerism and philanthropic leadership.

The four award winners are

Volunteerism Award Dale Goldhawk

Dale Goldhawk, known by many Canadians for his lifelong career in broadcast journalism, has committed over 14 years of service as a volunteer to the Alzheimer Society. During these years, Dale has been a tireless advocate, often speaking about his own personal involvement with the disease in an effort to raise awareness and to reduce stigma still so prevalent. Dale also sits on the Board of Directors of Alzheimers Disease International, extending Canadas voice across the globe.

Philanthropic Leadership Award Danny Murphy

Danny Murphy is a prominent businessman, owner of D.P. Murphy Inc., Eastern Canadas premier hospitality and food service organization. Over the last decade, Dannys dedication to the Alzheimer Society, in both PEI and Nova Scotia, has been exemplary, raising close to half a million for the Society through Coffee Break®, and an annual fundraiser he runs from his home called A Night to Remember. Danny has engaged his friends and business associates, helping to raise awareness on the disease, and promote the programs offered through the PEI and Nova Scotia Societies.

Special Recognition Award Dr. Sherry Dupuis

Dr. Sherry Dupuis is the Director of the Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program (MAREP), the Director of the Collaborative Ph.D. Program in Aging, Health and WellBeing, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Dupuiss research program has focused primarily on identifying ways to improve the quality of the lives of persons living with dementia and their families, shifting the focus to engage people with the disease directly in the planning for their wellbeing and developing alternative ways to translate research into practice.

Special Recognition Award Dr. Ron Keren

Dr. Ron Keren is the assistant professor at the University of Toronto and the Clinical Director of the University Health Network and Whitby Mental Health Centre Memory Clinics. Dr. Keren has made a significant contribution to the body of knowledge about Alzheimers disease and related dementias in Canada through his work as the founder and president of the Canadian Colloquium on Dementia (CCD). The CCD is a forum for enhancing knowledge translation on dementia from researchers to frontline clinicians.

With the prevalence of dementia sharply on the rise, the Alzheimer Society is calling on Canadians coast to coast to join these outstanding award winners by doing their part to help people living with this illness. Volunteering is easy, and can be as simple as leveraging your networks to raise funds, raising your voice as an Alzheimer Advocate, or spending a couple of hours a week helping at your local Alzheimer Society office.

“As the only nationwide health service organization for people affected by dementia in Canada, the Alzheimer Society is doing everything it can to help those living with this illness,” says Richard Nakoneczny, Volunteer President for the Alzheimer Society of Canada. “But we cant do it alone. We need Canadians across the country to help us help those touched by Alzheimers disease and related dementias.”

To learn more, please contact your local Alzheimer Society, or visit alzheimer.ca.

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