Alzheimer’s

If my mother has Alzheimer’s, does that mean I will get it too?

I went to visit my mother a couple of days ago to wish her a happy birthday. It was her 81st, there was a sparkly big sign on her door in the nursing home saying Happy Birthday! and a chocolate cake on her over-way table.
Her first answer to our best wishes was “ Is it my birthday? I didn’t know it was my birthday.” and then during the next hour or so, she asked me over and over when we were going to get her out of this prison, what is the family doing about it, why am I here, I’d rather kill myself than stay here ….
If I started a new line of thought with her, she would seem happy to hear news, talk about the family and appear interested. But this was interspersed with the above conversation as if it hadn’t happened, including showing surprise that it was her birthday again. The nurse who came in said they had already sung Happy Birthday to her a couple of times that morning.

There is no doubt that having a relative with Alzheimer’s is depressing and sad, especially when you meet other people of a similar age who live independently and have a sharp mind. It does strike fear in my heart and my siblings, that we too could end up in the same end of life scenario. We reassure ourselves that a cure will be available by then, but what exactly has been done in this area of research and treatment?

Current treatment for Alzheimer’s

In the US, they are performing a treatment where Stem Cells are administered intravenously and injected just under the skin in Alzheimer’s patients. The Stem Cells travel throughout the body, detecting damaged cells and tissues and attempt to restore them. They also boot the body’s own repair and healing mechanisms to aid the healing process. The company who carries this out (Stem Cell of America), say that with over 3,000 patients treated, positive changes are seen between three to six months post treatment. Another company in Switzerland was offering a similar treatment.

However, the actual Alzheimer’s organizations state there is no cure for the disease. The drug and non-drug treatments may help with both cognitive and behavioural symptoms. Given that the symptoms are what cause so much distress, anything which relieves them is worth trying.

Drugs for Alzheimer’s

Aricept, Exelon, Razadyne and Namenda are all (anti-cholinergic) drugs which treat the cognitive symptoms like memory loss, confusion, issues with thought processes and reasoning.
As brain cells and pathways are lost the symptoms worsen, and while these drugs do not stop the damage caused by the disease process, they may help lessen and stabilise. These drugs act on the chemicals which carry brain messages between the nerve cells. High dose Vitamin E is often given concurrently with these drugs.

This form of treatment can delay the worsening of symptoms for 6 to 12 months, but really only helping about half the people who take them. Like many drugs there are side effects, mostly gastro-intestinal upsets.

Natural alternatives to prevent Alzheimer’s

There has been some research done into the benefits of taking herbs like Ginkgo Biloba.
Ginkgo Biloba is one of the world’s oldest living tree species, and can be traced back more than 200 million years. It has been used medicinally for centuries. From a neurological view-point there have been some scientific studies that show it’s efficacy, however a large study (The Ginkgo Evaluation and Memory Study) who enrolled 3,000 individuals age 75 or older, indicated there was little more than a placebo effect in the age group studied.

A word of caution: if you are considering taking Ginkgo Biloba, it is a natural anti-coagulant and will interact with any anti-coagulants you are already prescribed by your Doctor. As with all natural remedies, it is very important to discuss them with your Doctor first.

Unfortunately many other studies into other popular alternative treatments have also proven to be of little effect or no more than a placebo in those studied. Sad sigh.

Preventing Alzheimer’s

Despite this sad news, there is much that can be done by every individual to promote a healthy active brain for as long as possible. This includes at the top of the list: exercise. This is because when we exercise, we pump oxygen rich blood through-out the body. It is a similar effect to a car engine which flushes all the muck out when taken on a burst of freeway driving.
Socialising also stimulates the brain releasing feel good endorphins. Feel good hormones are nourishing for the brain cells, promoting stronger nerve conduction health.
Considering that Alzheimer’s can strike people in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, that it is not just an old age disease, the more you do to promote brain health from an early age the better.

Eating well, studying and reading, challenging your brain regularly all contribute to good brain health. Try using your toothbrush with your non-dominant hand, feel your brain muscle struggle with the unfamiliarity of it, but keep doing this until it feels normal. You have just created a new pathway in your brain.
Since doing this myself, I feel just as comfortable cleaning my teeth with either hand, but it felt very strange to begin with.
Drive a different way home, travel, go to shopping centres you are not familiar with. Catch a tram into the city. Play a board game or chess.
Volunteering is a brilliant way of stimulating brain function. You need to learn new skills and participate on a social level. The rewards are more than just feeling good about what you are contributing to society.

My mother has Alzheimer’s, so yes, that means my siblings and I are at greater risk of also not realising it is our birthday one day. However, we are not helplessly waiting for the inevitable. Not when there is still so much that you can do. And perhaps eventually, the Stem Cell research amongst other things will finally provide a stronger bridge to a cure.

Erica Fotineas 2017