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Are there any ways to prevent Alzheimer's disease?

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Are there any ways to prevent Alzheimer's disease?

Postby coolguy » Sun Jul 27, 2008 5:43 am

They say Alzheimer's disease is incurable, but are there ways to prevents its occurrence? Just like there are carcinogenic agents in case of cancer, have any possible factors that contribute to this disease been detected?
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Postby Chucky » Sun Jul 27, 2008 7:01 pm

Alzheimer's is caused by a break-down of sub-cellular activities in the brain due to improperly-folded proteins (I think). This can occur in cells that are no longer efficient at 'mopping-up' cellular waste. Thus, I believe that maintaining a good diet throughout life is one way to prevent (or at best delay) the onset of Alzheimer's.

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Games can help!

Postby activitygal » Sun Aug 10, 2008 3:59 am

From what I've learned, AD can't be prevented, but there are ways to slow the progression. In addition to medicines and supplements, mental activities are recommended, especially puzzles and games.

For game therapy, Senior Sez games are really good. They work for "mixed" groups, with different levels of cognitive functioning.

You can play the games in groups, or one-on-one.

They're easy and fun, and really help to lift spirits. So they are helpful emotionally as well as therapeutically.

There are several different Senior Sez games: a Trivia Game, a Categories Game, and a game with Popular Sayings.

You can find out more about these games at www.seniorsez.com.

Hope this is helpful! :D

P.S. You don't need tables, paper, or pens to play the games. They come with wrist bands that are used to keep score. We have even played them on bus trips.
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Postby LS » Sun Aug 17, 2008 2:35 am

Can Alzheimer's disease be caused by a virus?
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Postby Chucky » Sun Aug 17, 2008 3:20 pm

No, undefined, it is commonly agreed that Alzheimer's is caused by a break-down in sub-cellular 'cleaning-up' mechanisms. Every cell in the human body produces new proteins for various functions. Some proteins, however, aren't created correctly and end-up as 'garbage'. The cells of young people are well-capable of cleaning-up this garbage. In old people, however, the cells are not so good at it. In some cases, cells in the brains of old people build-up a lot of 'garbage' and this then causes Alzheimer's.

Strangely enough, there is research at the moment where they areactually using viruses to actually cure Alzheimer's.

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Postby Parador » Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:44 am

Everyone would probably get it if they live long enough - the body's mechanisms break down eventually. The best things to do are stay physically and mentally active. Fist oil probably helps. Large dose b vitamins lower homocystien levels which may help. Vitamin e may help. tumeric may help. I take all of it. A recent study showed that people on statins have a lower rate of AD. I may start taking a statin. The plaques that cause AD may be cleared out by the statin. The plaques are very similar to cholesterol.
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Postby Chucky » Mon Aug 18, 2008 6:01 pm

That is good advice Parador. There is a lot of good to be said for leading a healthy lifestyle. Basically, you can add many quality extra years to your life if you just look after your body. Statins, I believe, are 'wonder-drugs'. With them, there is no reason why people in their 40's and 50's should be dying of heart-attacks due to clogged arteries. Heart-disease is the leading killer in Ireland, but I'm sure this could be stopped if we took statins.

While saying that, some dude a few weeks ago DID die due to having an adverse reaction to a statin.

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Postby LS » Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:08 am

Chucky wrote:No, undefined, it is commonly agreed that Alzheimer's is caused by a break-down in sub-cellular 'cleaning-up' mechanisms. Every cell in the human body produces new proteins for various functions. Some proteins, however, aren't created correctly and end-up as 'garbage'. The cells of young people are well-capable of cleaning-up this garbage. In old people, however, the cells are not so good at it. In some cases, cells in the brains of old people build-up a lot of 'garbage' and this then causes Alzheimer's.

Strangely enough, there is research at the moment where they areactually using viruses to actually cure Alzheimer's.

Kevin

Thanks for the info chucky.

Using viruses to cure alzheimer's? wow, that sounds unusual. I wonder what kind of viruses...
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Postby Chucky » Tue Aug 19, 2008 5:46 pm

Hey,

They would be genetically-engineered viruses (and, so, they wouldn't be capable of causing harm). Basically, the virus would 'carry' a strand of genetically-engineered DNA into the affected cells of the person with Alzheimer's. Then, this short genetically-engineered strand of DNA would become incorporated into the much larger DNA of the individual that already exists in the affected cells. From there, the 'new' DNA could 'fix' the cell.

This approach (using viruses) is already used to treat other things. They are used because they are so small and can easily find their way into cells. A typical virus particle is about a million times smaller than a human cell, and 1,000 times smaller than a bacterial cell.

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Postby LS » Wed Aug 20, 2008 2:02 am

Chucky wrote:Hey,

They would be genetically-engineered viruses (and, so, they wouldn't be capable of causing harm). Basically, the virus would 'carry' a strand of genetically-engineered DNA into the affected cells of the person with Alzheimer's. Then, this short genetically-engineered strand of DNA would become incorporated into the much larger DNA of the individual that already exists in the affected cells. From there, the 'new' DNA could 'fix' the cell.

This approach (using viruses) is already used to treat other things. They are used because they are so small and can easily find their way into cells. A typical virus particle is about a million times smaller than a human cell, and 1,000 times smaller than a bacterial cell.

Kevin


Wow, and the viruses are smart enough to know what to do and how to accomplish it? thats amazing.
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