Sunday 09 December 2007 Alzheimer’s Telephone Screening
This year, researchers completed work on a 50-question telephone quiz to help them identify Alzheimer’s patients long before they exhibit typical symptoms. Such a quiz may soon become part of regular medical care.
...A welcome second use of the trial: screening. Cummings suggests check-ups beginning at age 55, since the odds of getting Alzheimer’s double every five years at that point: 2 percent of 65-year-olds have Alzheimer’s, 4 percent of 70-year-olds and so on. By age 85, one in three people have the disease. “Without a preventive therapy, Alzheimer’s will overwhelm the Medicare system,” Cummings says. “A test like this should be as common as checking blood pressure.

November 21st 2007, The provincial government also announced it is increasing its $50,000 subsidy to Baluchon Alzheimer's to $500,000. Baluchon Alzheimer’s is an organization that helps people taking care of Alzheimer’s patients in their home by providing trained caregivers for $100 a day.

Saturday Nov 17, 2007 Couillard launches Alzheimer offensive
Health Minister Philippe Couillard announced "a new government offensive" yesterday to help the nearly 61,000 Quebecers afflicted with Alzheimer's disease.
The offensive will deal with diagnosing and treating the disease, and assisting relatives who care for loved ones with Alzheimer's.
....Howard Berg-man will head a multi-disciplinary committee drawn from several areas of expertise and from across the province to develop better ways to detect, prevent and treat the disease.
Bergman, who teaches in the McGill University medical faculty and is director of the Jewish General Hospital's memory clinic, said in a telephone interview yesterday his mission is to determine the most appropriate resources to deal with Alzheimer's at the most appropriate time.
...The minister also announced the government is increasing its $50,000 subsidy to Baluchon Alzheimer's to $500,000, explaining the organization offers trained caregivers for $100 a day to give a break to relatives taking care of Alzheimer's patients at home.

Fall Winter 2007 Do take the McGill Memory test for fun and $10 for your time!

Saturday 22 September 2007 TORONTO: ALZHEIMER SOCIETY GIVEN GENEROUS GIFT
The Alzheimer's Society of Canada reports that it received on Friday the biggest donation of its history. The donation of $1 million was given by an unidentified donor from Ottawa on the occasion of World Alzheimer's Day. The money is to be used for research. In revealing the gift, the Society also called on the federal government to make Alzheimer's disease a national health priority.

Tuesday 18 September 2007

ALZHEIMER’S, ABDUCTION AND BRITISH BUREAUCRACY
CTV News fronts, while The National and the Globe go inside with the imminent reunion of a terminally ill woman and her aggrieved husband. At a news conference yesterday, New Democratic Party MP Alexa McDonough announced that the Canadian government was on the verge of returning Alzheimer’s patient Heli Munroe to her husband, Sandy, and her native Canada after an almost two-year absence. In 2005, just after Munroe had been declared mentally incompetent, her brother took her from Tennycape, Nova Scotia, where she lived with her husband, and brought her to a hospital in England. Heli’s brother did not have her husband’s consent to take her and left only a vague note to explain his actions. Under British law, the brother was automatically considered Heli’s next of kin, leaving her husband to fight a protracted legal battle to regain the power of attorney that his wife had granted him before she was abducted. Recently, a British panel ruled that Sandy Munroe is Heli’s official caregiver and decision-maker; however, Heli’s British doctors determined that she is too ill to travel on a commercial flight. Yesterday, McDonough—a long-time advocate of Heli’s return—announced that the Canadian government was likely days away from securing Heli’s safe homecoming. Sandy Munro described the news as “a bittersweet matter. She is coming home to die of a terminal illness.”

Tuesday 14 August 2007 Zen and the Art of Coping With Alzheimer’s
By DENISE GRADY
Sometimes, when there’s no cure, it’s best to just go with the flow as a loved one becomes more confused.

Monday 09 July 2007 FDA approves patch to treat dementia
...The prescription patch from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. contains the drug Exelon, or rivastigmine, currently available in Canada and the U.S. in an oral solution and in capsule form.
..Rivastigmine works by inhibiting the breakdown of a chemical in the brain called acetylcholine, which is believed to be important for both learning and memory. more

Sunday 10 June 2007 Taking On Alzheimer’s
IN the book “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH,” a group of lab rats acquire human intelligence through a genetic experiment. Every child recognizes the charming tale as pure fantasy, yet something similar is occurring at a major pharmaceuticals company, Wyeth, where rodents tested in its labs have, indeed, taken on some features of the human brain.

NYT Podcast 8 weekend biz on Alzhemeir

Thur 5 Apr podcasts.nytimes.com/

Saturday 20 January 2007 TORONTO: ALZHEIMER'S DISCOVERY A Canadian-led research team has discovered a key gene responsible for Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Peter St George-Hislop says the finding might lead to a test to identify people at risk of the disease, as well as drug therapies to protect them. The team made the discovery at the Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Toronto. Their work helps to explain the processes in the brain that wipe out memories, personality and cerebral functions in people with Alzheimer's. An estimated 435-thousand Canadians have the disease and related dementias. That is expected to double within the next 25 years.

Wednesday Jan 17, 2007 News of the identification of a new Alzheimer's gene is being greeted with cautious optimism. We look forward to comments from our medical experts.

Tuesday 16 January 2007 maisonneuve.org MEMORY LOST? GENE FOUND!
The Post leads, while the Globe, the Star, and the Citizen front, and CBC News: Sunday Night (not available online) and CTV News go inside with the discovery of a gene that can apparently raise the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The Canadian-led study, published in Nature Genetics, was conducted based on DNA samples from 6,000 people from a variety of ethnic groups. According to the Star, which runs a wire story, the study found that inheriting certain variants of a gene called SORL1 was associated with developing Alzheimer’s in seven of the nine samples of people examined. It also demonstrated that when the activity of the SORL1 gene was suppressed, cells made more amyloid beta, a substance thought to be a leading cause of Alzheimer’s. The Globe points out that it has long been known that Alzheimer’s has a genetic basis, but that prior to this study, only one other gene (APOE-4) has been conclusively tied to the disease, while twenty others are considered strong candidates. The Post reports that 435,000 Canadians suffer from Alzheimer’s and related dementias, and that unless a cure is developed, that number is expected to double in the next twenty-five years with enormous implications for our health care system. The discovery means that scientists may be closer to both predicting who will acquire the disease and developing an effective treatment for it. However, Dr. St. George-Hyslop, director of the Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Toronto, warns in the Globe that there is a long way to go yet, as there is still no way to prevent or treat the disease, even if we can start to predict who might acquire it.

Monday Jan 15, 2007 gaz Key Alzheimer's gene uncovered
With the help of families from Toronto to Israel, an international team has uncovered a key gene at ...

Study Detects a Gene Linked to Alzheimer’s A variant gene involved in Alzheimer’s disease has been detected, scientists have reported. Dominican families with the gene were found to have about three times the usual incidence of Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer's breakthrough
With the help of families from Toronto to Israel, an international team has uncovered a key gene at work in Alzheimer's disease.

NYT video Brain health programs are aimed at baby boomers anxious about entering their golden years and at their parents trying to stave off memory loss or dementia

Hormone may prevent Alzheimer's

December 20, 2006

Testosterone patches can not only boost potency and sex drive, they may protect the male brain from Alzheimer's disease.

A new study shows testosterone therapy reduces levels of a sticky protein that causes plaque build-up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's.

So far, the work has been done only in mice. But University of Southern California researchers believe "that we are on to something" and testosterone replacement therapy might one day treat or prevent Alzheimer's in aging men.

"We've known that low testosterone is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, but now we know why," senior author Christian Pike, an associate professor at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, said in statement. "The implication for humans is that testosterone therapy might one day be able to block the development of the disease."

An estimated 290,000 Canadians over 65 have Alzheimer's, a number expected to double over the next two decades.

Like gray hair and wrinkles, all men experience a drop in their testosterone levels as a normal consequence of growing old.

Recent studies have shown that men with low testosterone seem to be at increased risk of Alzheimer's, but no one knew why. Today's study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, provides the first experimental data linking testosterone depletion to Alzheimer's-like changes in the brain.

Mice don't normally get Alzheimer's disease, so the California team used genetically engineered rodents that carry three different human genes tied to neurodegenerative disease. The mice all developed a form of Alzheimer's.

When the team took away the ability of male mice to make testosterone, the rodents developed Alzheimer's disease much faster. They had more of a protein called beta-amyloid, which, if produced in excess, clumps together into plaques, killing neurons.

Some of the mice were put on testosterone therapy. Three months later, they had less beta-amyloid and less behavioural impairment than untreated mice.

Pike cautioned that it's premature to recommend men jump on testosterone therapy. "Given what happened with post-menopausal women jumping on estrogen-based hormonal therapies - we had the promise of Alzheimer's protection, we had the promise of protection against osteoporosis. And although there were some benefits, there was certainly this increased risk of stroke and increased risk of breast cancer."

Testosterone has been implicated in prostate cancer.

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006

Monday 16 October 2006 nyt An Alzheimer’s Treatment Debunked Discouraging results from a new study speak to the desperate need for effective new treatments for Alzheimer's

Friday 13 October 2006 nyt Drugs to Curb Agitation Are Said to Be Ineffective for Alzheimer’s

Friday Sep 1, 2006 Mental Health
Will fruit juice keep Alzheimer's at bay?

Friday Sep 1, 2006 Juice fights dementia, study says
People who drink three or more servings of juice per week have a 76 per cent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's than those who drink juice less than once a week, according to a study made public yesterday. ...Dai said he suspects the juices from apples, grapes and onions work best.

Friday 11 August 2006 globe New weapon found in fight against Alzheimer's
Scientists discover molecular janitors that clear away sticky gunk blamed for Alzheimer's disease — until they get old and quit sweeping

Tue 08/08/200 Alzheimer's drug has hidden merits Animals treated with galantamine and later exposed to lethal doses of soman or sarin nerve survived and showed none of the symptoms of exposure

Sunday, July 16, 2006 ow Canada-U.S. researchers find dementia gene
... about 15 per cent of all dementia cases worldwide, including up to an estimated 100,000 in Canada.

Neurochem 'will make its mark with Alzhemed'

Financial Post

Thursday Jun 15, 2006 ts New drug offers hope against Alzheimer's
University of Toronto researchers have found a drug that could halt the progression of Alzheimer's disease and may reverse some of its damage, bringing them one step closer to a cure for the devastating degenerative brain disorder.....AZD-103 found by U of T researchers Shown to reverse some damage from disease

Alzheimer action plan needed, activists say

NORMA GREENAWAY, CanWest News Service

Published: Monday, June 05, 2006

The federal government must get cracking on a national strategy to deal with the "looming threat" posed by the ballooning prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in Canada's aging population, activists say.

Internal government documents provided to CanWest News Service add fuel to calls from the Alzheimer Society of Canada and the National Advisory Council for faster action.

The documents, prepared by Health Canada, predict almost a doubling in the number of people suffering from dementia over the next two decades - to 772,000 in 2026 from 435,000 this year . They say 97,000 Canadians will develop some form of dementia this year, a number that will increase dramatically to more than 172,000 in 2026.

The documents also detail the almost $388 million Alzheimer's alone cost the Canadian economy in 1998 - a tally the document described as "very conservative" because it didn't include money spent on research or to cover the estimated $8 billion spent on care in institutions other than hospitals.

Dale Goldhawk, volunteer president of the Alzheimer Society of Canada, says time is running out for the government to heed the warnings and start pumping money - at least an initial $200 million - into such things as research into the best treatments and care, income protection for caregivers of people suffering from dementia, and a public education program.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. It's a progressive, degenerative condition that destroys vital brain cells. Its symptoms include a continuing decline of memory, changes in judgment or reasoning and an inability to perform familiar tasks.

It can strike adults at any age but occurs most commonly in people older than 65. It has no cure and trails only cancer, heart disease and stroke as a cause of death in Canada, according to the council on aging.

Goldhawk says the former Liberal government "totally ignored" calls for a national strategy, but he hopes the Conservatives will not make the same mistake.

He said the government documents, which were obtained by Ottawa researcher Ken Rubin under the Access to Information Act, confirm what activists have been warning about for years.

Goldhawk, a broadcast journalist, admits he was disappointed Alzheimer's did not get mentioned in either the Conservative election platform or in the first Conservative budget in April.

Goldhawk predicts the Conservatives will be forced to act on Alzheimer's and related dementias, largely because baby boomers will soon be reaching the age of highest risk. He estimates that more than 3 million Canadians will have a close relative suffering from some form of dementia by 2031.

The provinces are at various stages of developing strategies, and Goldhawk believes federal leadership would spur more progress across the country. Ontario is the only one with a comprehensive program.

The Canadian Public Health Agency, responding to calls for a national strategy that date back to 2004, held a workshop on the issue on March 30. It was planned before there was a change of government in January, and involved academics, researchers, caregivers, federal and provincial officials, as well as representatives of such groups as the Alzheimer's society and the council on aging.

The Conservatives are currently reviewing the workshop's recommendations, which called for more research, greater public awareness of the disease and its ramifications, and measures aimed at disease prevention.

Ottawa Citizen

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006

Thursday Apr 27, 2006 ts Alzheimer's treatment all in your head
U of T researchers have discovered a substance in the brain itself that can stop Alzheimer's disease and could lead to a "clean and direct treatment" within the next decade, writes Joseph Hall.

2005

Tuesday Nov 8, 2005 Biographies personalize geriatric care A seniors' home in Montreal is putting together biographies of its residents with dementia to help preserve their dignity.

Sunday Oct 30, 2005 nyt The Pablo Picasso Alzheimer's Therapy
By RANDY KENNEDY
Museums are using guided tours to engage Alzheimer's patients and even tap their creativity.

Wednesday Aug 3, 2005 usa today
Signs found 10 years in advance of Alzheimer's
The first hints of impending Alzheimer's include not just forgetfulness but lags in attention and other subtle problems that can show up 10 years before an official diagnosis, a study out Monday says.

Thursday Jun 16, 2005 globe
Therapies help curb substance tied to Alzheimer's
If it really does work, what this drug does is reduce the rate at which beta-amyloid is made,” Dr. Wilcock said. That suggests the sooner in illness it is used, the better.

Thursday Jun 16, 2005 globe
Word tests give 10-year warning on Alzheimer's

Simple memory tests can indicate up to a decade in advance which seniors are likely to get Alzheimer's disease, Toronto-based researchers have found.

Performance on one of these tests -- which involved trying to memorize a list of 15 words and repeat back as many as possible after a short delay -- was found to be closely linked to later incidence of Alzheimer's, a brain-destroying disease.

A normal recall for those aged 60 to 75 would be 10 or 11 words, said Mary Tierney, director of geriatric research at Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre and lead researcher of the study. Acceptable recall for those over 75 might be in the range of eight or nine words

Since age and education are factored into the equation, Dr. Tierney could not give a precise point at which the numbers become worrisome. But she did say that much lower results, in the range of four words, could be a sign of problems to come.

Dr. Tierney said last night that previous research had shown short-term predictions were possible, up to roughly two years, but that no one had found such an early indicator. She admitted that the results surprised the whole team.

"These were people, either 65 and older, who were functioning in society," she said.

"We could tell in that group, that combination of normal and those with mild impairment, 10 years before they actually developed the disease, their level of risk of getting it." Although the disease currently has no cure, taking the test may eliminate a fear that plagues many seniors.

"Many people worry that they have a memory problem when in fact they don't," Dr. Tierney said. "It also would provide that level of reassurance. But for those who have genuine concerns, or their families do, it provides more knowledge that . . . their complaints are real."

In the event that Alzheimer's is found likely, she said, people may choose to take steps to ward it off as long as possible.

"If we can identify 10 years before, when people actually are functioning, [when] they don't actually have the disease, we can look at intervention strategies," she said.

"We do know from other large studies that those people who were more physically active throughout their adult life, and more mentally active, in fact had a later-age onset of Alzheimer's. So maybe it doesn't stop the disease but it actually delays its onset, which is very important. If you're 75 and you can actually delay the onset of Alzheimer's until you're 80 or 85, that's very significant."

Dr. Tierney's work was based on large-sample testing done as part of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging. A study of thousands of people done in three parts over 10 years generated the data Dr. Tierney used for her research.

She characterized the people included in the results as a cross-section of Canadian society. They were, she said, typical of "the kind of patient who comes to the family doctor."

The sample included people with normal cognitive function and those with mild impairment of their cognitive function. Those with neurological problems likely to affect memory were excluded.

A graduate student from Arizona, in Toronto to present work at a conference on human brain mapping, said the sort of work Dr. Tierney did is important even if a cure for Alzheimer's does not now exist.

Barbara Bendlin, who is doing research into magnetic resonance imaging at the University of Arizona, said that she is "in the same field as the people trying to do early detection."

She said foreknowledge that Alzheimer's is likely can allow people to prepare mentally, get their affairs in order while they still can and take advantage of pharmaceutical tactics to slow degeneration.

Alzheimer's is a degenerative disease that destroys vital nerve cells in the brain. More than a quarter-million Canadians over 65 have Alzheimer's. The number is expected to grow as the population ages.

The increasingly prevalent disease remains mysterious and is dreaded by those with a family history.

People take the chance so seriously that Dr. Tierney would release only examples of the kinds of the tests her research is based on.

Dr. Tierney's research will be published todayin the journal Neurology.

How the testing was done

Three test areas were key to the research: short-term memory, category fluency and long-term knowledge.

Short-term memory: Subjects heard a list of 15 everyday words. The list was repeated five times; each time, they were asked to recite back as many words as possible. Subjects were then distracted with a new list before being asked for the original words again.

Category fluency: Subjects were asked to name as many objects as possible in a certain group. Categories could include furniture types, animal species or supermarket items.

Long-term memory: Questions were posed on the individual test subject and the person's environment, e.g. their age, where they worked, who the premier was.

Test results were crunched through a complex formula, taking into account age and education.

Friday May 13, 2005 gaz
Neurochem holds partnership talks
Alzheimer's drug needs $300 million. Bringing potential blockbuster to market requires major marketing push:
Neurochem Inc. is talking to several potential partners with the financial muscle to bring its next-generation Alzhemed drug to treat Alzheimer's Disease to market, chief executive Francesco Bellini said yesterday.

Tuesday Feb 1, 2005 ts New test may detect Alzheimer`s
WASHINGTON—A highly sensitive new test could lead to a different way to diagnose people with Alzheimer`s disease, possibly helping find the illness in its early stages when there might be time for treatment.

Friday Dec 17, 2004 cbc
NEW DRUG OPTION APPROVED FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE People with advanced Alzheimer's disease could be prescribed a new drug by next week. For WN on Cancer click

Tuesday, July 20, 2004 Alzheimer's Drug Results,
Francesco Bellini, CEO, Neurochem
Duration:27m 24s Neurochem NRM-T

Monday May 17, 2004 ts Study links memory loss and diabetes
CHICAGO—Diabetes may significantly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer`s, a study of 824 nuns, priests and Catholic brothers found, bolstering evidence linking the two diseases.

Tuesday Jan 20, 2004 bbc
	Vitamins 'cut Alzheimer's effect' Combining two vitamin supplements may reduce effects of Alzheimer's disease, US research suggests.

2003

Tuesday Dec 30, 2003 Wiring fault 'causes Alzheimer's'
A breakdown of the protective coating around nerve cells may explain some cases of Alzheimer's disease.

Thursday Dec 25, 2003 Alzheimer's linked to daydreams
Alzheimer's disease may be linked to abnormalities in part of the brain which deals with daydreams, research suggests.

Tuesday Dec 9, 2003
	Distress raises Alzheimer's risk People prone to psychological distress are at increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, research suggests.

Monday Oct 13, 2003 bbc
	Antibiotics may delay Alzheimer's A combination of two common antibiotics may help delay symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, research shows.
	Bad back link to driving posture Thousands of people are damaging their backs by sitting incorrectly in their cars, according to research.

Friday Aug 22, 2003 bbc Cannabis lifts Alzheimer appetite A cannabis-based drug could help people with Alzheimer's disease by giving them the "munchies", researchers say.

click for Vladimir Slivitzky 1931-98 Was much help

Société

Is It Alzheimer Disease? 10 Warning Signs

August 20, 1997 Canadians get to use new Alzheimer's pill Jeff Heinrich, The Gazette A new $5-a-day pill that masks the symptoms of the early stages of Alzheimer's disease for several months will be available to Canadian patients by mid-September. [n/a]

http://www.alzheimers.com/site/

Advil media for two years or longer can reduce Alzheimer's risk by as much as 60 percent.
or what's new news

Seniors Computer Information Project