A recent Finnish study showed that middle-aged people taking regular exercise at least twice a week could reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by 50 percent in old age, neurologist Miia Kivipelto expressed.

"An active lifestyle, both physical, mental and social, is preventive. It's never too early to start to prevent Alzheimer's disease," said Kivipelto, an Alzheimer's disease specialist at Stockholm's Gerontology Research Center.

An estimated 12 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's, which is the leading cause of dementia in the elderly. There is no cure for a condition which robs people of their memory and mental ability but drugs have been approved to alleviate symptoms.

Studies have shown that people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity could be running a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's and dementia than those with a more active, healthy lifestyle, she said.

People could reduce the risk of developing the disease by going to their doctor for regular check-ups to monitor their blood pressure, cholesterol and weight, she said.

Other recent studies show that elderly people who take regular walks are less likely to suffer from dementia. Mental activities such as reading and doing crossword puzzles also help to slow mental decline.

Source: http://www.reuters.com

Drinking tea might delay Alzheimer's
Drinking tea appears to affect the brain in a similar way as drugs prescribed for Alzheimer's disease, UK researchers reported.

The team, based at Newcastle University's Medicinal Plant Research Center, investigated the properties of green and black tea, as well as coffee, in a series of laboratory experiments.

The results showed that both types of tea inhibited the activity of enzymes associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease. Coffee, however, had no significant effect, according to a report in the Phytotherapy Research.

The teas inhibited the activity of acetylcholinesterase -- the same mechanism of action used by drugs prescribed for Alzheimer's disease.

The teas also hindered the activity of the butyryl-cholinesterase, which has been found in senile plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients.

Green tea obstructed the activity of beta-secretase, which also plays a role in the production of senile plaques.

"Although there is no cure for Alzheimer's, tea could potentially be another weapon in the armory which is used to treat this disease and slow down its development," lead researcher, Dr. Ed Okello, said.

The researchers are trying to find out which components of green tea inhibit the activity of the three enzymes and hope ultimately to develop a medicinal tea for Alzheimer's disease patients.

Source: Phytotherapy Research

Gene modified tissue may slow Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's patients given gene therapy seemed to regrow some damaged brain cells and seemed to experience a slower loss of their ability to think and remember, U.S. scientists reported.

The treatment did appear safe if done under general anesthesia. For this gene therapy experiment, researchers took skin cells from eight patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. They genetically modified the cells to produce a protein called nerve growth factor, or NGF, a protein that prevents cell death and stimulates cell function. They then infused these genetically engineered cells back into the patients' brains. After mean follow-up of 22 months in six subjects, no long-term adverse effects of NGF occurred.

"If validated in further clinical trials, this would represent a substantially more effective therapy than current treatments for Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Mark Tuszynski, a neuroscience professor at UCSD who led the study. "This would also represent the first therapy for a human neurological disease that acts by preventing cell death," Tuszynski said.

Positron Emission Tomography or PET scans done in four living patients suggested they grew some new brain cells and had fresh brain activity, the researchers said. Six patients had their cognitive function -- their ability to think, orient themselves and remember -- tested using a standard method.

Over the follow-up period of 22 months, the rate of cognitive decline was reduced by as much as 51 percent, the researchers said. "By comparison, currently approved medications for Alzheimer disease have an estimated impact on these cognitive measures of 5 percent to 27 percent, and are not known to affect decline over prolonged periods," the researchers noticed.

Source: Nature Medicine