Living with memory loss, working to fend off dementia - WaPo

[question everything]

(snip)

More than occasional forgetfulness, MCI (mild cognitive impairment0 causes problems that disrupt daily life but don’t make it impossible to function, said Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging. It is often but not always a precursor to dementia, he added.

(snip)

A 2022 study in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia projected that 14.4 million people in the United States would have MCI in 2025, and 19.3 million in 2050. An American Academy of Neurology subcommittee estimated that about 1 in 10 people ages 70 to 74 had MCI, and 1 in 4 ages 80 to 84 in 2018. Denial about potentially worsening symptoms may be tempting, but it’s dangerous, experts said. Dershem, who grew increasingly worried about her condition, said she raised the issue three times with her primary care doctor and saw two neurologists before she was diagnosed with MCI.

Both patients and physicians need to be aware of the symptoms of cognitive decline,said Soeren Mattke, director of the Brain Health Observatory at the University of Southern California’s Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research. “If you wait until someone’s obviously symptomatic — like they can’t find the door to the physician’s office — you’re going to be too late.”

If you notice a significant decline in memory, reduced ability to absorb new information or understand social cues (like getting angry about a joke that wouldn’t have been upsetting in the past), or an uptick in clumsiness in yourself or someone close to you, it may be time to talk to a doctor. Research published last year suggests approximately 92 percent of people with MCI are undiagnosed. After analyzing data from 40 million Medicare recipients aged 65 and older, the authors of the study in the journal Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy found that only about 600,000 of the expected 8 million affected by MCI had been identified.

(snip)

Since February 2023, Weisman has been treating Dershem with lecanemab (brand name Leqembi), which federal regulators approved last year to treat MCI and early Alzheimer’s disease. Lecanemab reduces the buildup of amyloid beta, a protein in the brain that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. Clinical trials have shown it can modestly slow dementia’s progress but can’t stop the decline or make up for lost ground.

A lot more..

https://wapo.st/3T6Drdv

(free)

[in2herbs]

1. question everything

CBD oil has shown benefits, also supplementing with L-Arginine has shown benefits as per the NIH.
Scientists are discovering that dementia and ALZ are caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. Our food is too nutritionally deficient to provide the nitric oxide the brain needs for health, especially as we age. So supplement naturally! Of course, these are considered alternative remedies, so will be mocked by some.

[question everything]

3. Good to know. Thanks

[Big Blue Marble]

2. This article is mostly a promotion for an extremely expensive and risky drug.

Little is said about lifestyle and health changes that can arrest or even reverse MCI.

[question everything]

4. It does. Among the paragraphs that I had to snip

Following an MCI diagnosis, it’s especially important to take care of your brain, no matter how old you are, said Petersen. That includes carefully managing any other illnesses, such as diabetes, and adhering to National Institute of Aging guidelines on exercising regularly, getting sufficient sleep, limiting alcohol and stress, and maintaining an engaging social life.

Diet is also important. Researchers have found that trading saturated and trans fats (in foods like beef ribs, sausage, butter, and commercially baked cookies and cakes) for unsaturated fats (think seafood, walnuts and olive oil) is associated with slower cognitive decline and decreased risk of onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

[Big Blue Marble]

5. They were very general suggestions.

All important, but the focus of the article is on the drug and finding more candidates for the drug.

It is a marketing pattern that Big Pharma follows. Create an expensive drug with limited benefit at best and
significant dangers then encourage an expanded diagnosis of the condition to sell more and
more of the drug. This is for the benefit of the stockholders not the patients and will cost taxpayers
and medicare billions.


Edited to add that diet is probably the most important component. A recent study says
"Alzheimer’s may stem from modern lifestyles, new study suggests"

https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-785055

[Warpy]

6. People with signs of early dementia also need their serum ammonia levels checked

because that is one thing that is treatable, although the initial treatment is unpleasant. Serum ammonia can be manufactured in the gut, so an antibiotic added to treatment with lactulose (laxative on steroids that draws ammonia into the diarrhea it produces) to bring down the levels while the antibiotic starts to work.

Sometimes dementia doesn't start in the brain.