Memory: Two Updates

At 83, I count my blessings that I am

• still living in my own house, 
• managing quite well on my own, 
• enjoying a pretty jam-packed retirement, 
• coping well with my various afflictions, and 
• feeling happy and contented most of the time

I've got two progressive diseases -- Parkinson's and prostate cancer -- but strangely enough I don't spend much time worrying about them. I worry more that the lousy short-term memory I've had most of my life is getting worse. Dementia – and its more acute cousin, Alzheimer’s – are my greatest fears.

Two articles about memory recently hit my inbox. One gave encouraging news about brain structure; the other focused on the role of genetics.

Brain Cells Don’t Keep Dying Off as We Age
Last month, a Johns Hopkins "Health Alert" reported that our brains do not experience a massive loss of cells as we get older, contrary to long-held beliefs. In fact, as science progresses, we learn more and more about the brain’s amazing plasticity – its ability to grow and change, and even “heal” itself.

Maybe most encouraging of all, there is considerable growth of new cells in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that consolidates our memories.

The article makes the point that our brains are organs, like our hearts and lungs. Brains are affected by the same things -- like diet and exercise -- that affect our other organs. While it may not be “news,” it’s good to read again that we have some measure of control over the quality and duration our memories, through the lifestyle choices we make.

What We Don’t Control: Genes
Another article was reported by Dr. Shari Barnett of ABC News. She told the story of Ralph Light, 94, an active gardener, living with his wife of 68 years, reader of two or three novels a week... and brother of four siblings who lived long, dementia-free lives.

Barnett reports on a study conducted by Mount Sinai School of Medicine, which examined 277 dementia-free male veterans, all 75 or older, to measure levels of C-reactive protein. Higher levels of this substance are associated with increased dementia risk. The question becomes: how have men with high levels of C-reactive protein – who also have no evidence of cognitive impairment – managed to develop some kind of “immunity” to dementia? The answer could have powerful implications in the quest for treatment, and even prevention, of Alzheimer's.

This study, and another similar follow-up investigation, included interviews with relatives of these mentally healthy vets with high C-reactive protein levels. Results were not surprising: the study subjects who were “resistant” to high C-reactive protein levels were 30% less likely to have relatives with dementia.

Yes, it's another validation that our DNA deals us a hand we’re stuck with. But we can still play it cleverly.

Dr. John Messmer, associate professor of family and community medicine at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, commented on the study:

Mr. Light's family likely has a good genetic profile plus a lifetime of physical activity and is not overweight or a smoker. And he is engaged in life. All the research being done on dementia may one day help us to understand it better, but for now, there are basic recommendations to reduce one's risk: do not use tobacco, maintain a strictly normal weight (BMI under 25), exercise regularly, eat a diet high in vegetables and fruits, stay engaged in the community.

Check, check, check, and check.

Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Egrifta, Levetiracetam, Ginseng-Fortified Milk, and Fish Oils

Since information about new studies – most of them encouraging -- keeps flooding in like a daily, unrelenting hurricane storm surge, we’ve GOT to be making progress in the good fight against cognitive decline, right? Here are four more recent tidbits in the ongoing saga.

1) HIV Drug May Support Memory in Early Alzheimer’s
Approved by the FDA in 2010 as a successful AIDS therapy, the drug Egrifta promotes production of a human growth hormone, which then activates the creation of various other hormones, including insulin.

While we know insulin’s role in regulating blood sugar, it also functions to create new nerve cells in the brain and protects existing brain cells from damage. The hormone’s potential role in treating Alzheimer’s isn’t new, but Egrifta gives it a novel application in the battle against cognitive decline in people with early Alzheimer’s.

For more info about Egrifta, see the update that appeared on the WebMD site on August 6.

2) Epilepsy Drug Reverses Memory Loss?
If an AIDS drug can slow memory deterioration in people with early Alzheimer’s, we shouldn’t be too surprised to learn that an epilepsy drug seems to reverse memory loss in Alzheimer’s-induced mice.

Scientists have reported on apparent links between epilepsy and Alzheimer’s for years, suggesting that the neural chaos of Alzheimer’s can spiral into epileptic seizures. Why shouldn’t therapy for the latter perhaps ease the former?

The epilepsy drug is levetiracetam, and its administration to rodent subjects improved the operation of compromised neural networks. Several months ago, scientists at Johns Hopkins University found that the drug had similar beneficial effects on a small test group of human subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Larger study samples – as always – are needed.

Want more information about levetiracetam’s promise in this new area? Check the August 6 article from Science Daily.

3) Better Memory with Ginseng-Fortified Milk?
Looking for something a bit more organic than epilepsy drugs for MCI? Researchers in Spain have created a low-lactose milk infused with American ginseng. The product, they say, is tasty to older drinkers, combats aging, and provides positive neuro-cognitive effects.

Initial reports seem less than scientific, and – caveat emptor – the findings are published in the August edition of the Journal of Dairy Science.

Much of the story focuses on the developers’ efforts to make the product more palatable, since ginseng – long believed to have beneficial health properties -- is notoriously bitter. Still, if you’d like to learn more, you can find details in the July 25 edition of the e-journal Medical News.

4)  Don’t Look to Fish Oils for Dementia Prevention.
There’s lots of recent literature about the positive effects from eating oily fish – like salmon, mackerel, sardines, and herring -- because they’re rich in the omega-3 fatty acids thought so crucial for brain development.

While those acids may indeed have other positive health benefits, three large, different randomized controlled trials showed that new dementia cases were just as likely to develop among daily fish-oil eaters as in those eating olive or sunflower oil placebos.

Study participants eating the rich omega-3 fish oils every day scored no higher than their control group counterparts in cognitive function tests measuring word learning and verbal fluency.

These findings, published earlier this summer in the Cochrane Summaries, included this familiar suggestion: “Longer studies are required, during which greater changes in cognitive function may occur, to enable researchers to identify possible benefits of omega-3 PUFA in preventing cognitive decline.”

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In the coming days, I hope and expect we'll see new reports in the quest for treatments for dementia and Alzheimer's. On we go.