Scientists pinpoint how vitamin D may help clear amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer's. A team of academic researchers has identified the intracellular mechanisms regulated by vitamin D3 that may help the body clear the brain of amyloid beta, the main component of plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease.
Published in the March 6 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, the early findings show that vitamin D3 may activate key genes and cellular signaling networks to help stimulate the immune system to clear the amyloid-beta protein. Previous laboratory work by the team demonstrated that specific types of immune cells in Alzheimer's patients may respond to therapy with vitamin D3 and curcumin, a chemical found in turmeric spice, by stimulating the innate immune system to clear amyloid beta.
But the researchers didn't know how it worked. "This new study helped clarify the key mechanisms involved, which will help us better understand the usefulness of vitamin D3 and curcumin as possible therapies for Alzheimer's disease," said study author Dr. Support for the Autumn of Life. Homeopathic treatment slows progression of Alzheimer's disease. (NaturalNews) A huge leap in the natural treatment of Alzheimer's disease was recently reported at the Neuroscience Conference in Washington by the National Center for Homeopathy.
Homeopathic manufacturer and research organization, Heel, presented studies on a multi-target, combination homeopathic medicine that has proven effective for both relieving symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and influencing the reduction of the formation of amyloid plaques in the brains of patients. In-vitro and in-vivo studies were conducted in France and Finland, and confirm that subjects had enhanced learning abilities, an increase in their ability to recognize objects, and improvement in memory performance after treatment. Classical homeopathy also offers patients hope. Deepak Chopra: Alzheimer's Disease: How to Face Fear With Knowledge (Part 2)
By Deepak Chopra, M.D., F.A.C.P. and Rudolph Tanzi, Ph.D., the Joseph P and Rose F.
Kennedy, Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Director of Genetics and Aging, Massachusetts General Hospital. In the first post we confronted the primary fact about Alzheimer's disease - fear and terror - which is a psychological reality, not a piece of scientific data. Our minds are the window to reality. Any form of mental illness is frightening to the patient because their grip on reality has become tenuous, if not delusional. The same disorder is frightening to onlookers because the fragile bond that links us - our agreement that A is real but B is not - is threatened and often broken beyond repair. Visualization is courtesy of TheVisualMD.com To lose someone you love to Alzheimer's feels worse than death to many families. We said in the first post that knowledge is our best weapon in fighting fear. Early Sign of Alzheimer's Reversed in Lab. "The evidence indicates we can use the sense of smell to determine if someone may get Alzheimer's disease, and use changes in sense of smell to begin treatments, instead of waiting until someone has issues learning and remembering," -Daniel Wesson (Cleveland, Ohio)—One of the earliest known impairments caused by Alzheimer's disease—loss of sense of smell—can be restored by removing a plaque-forming protein in a mouse model of the disease, a study led by a Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researcher finds.
The study confirms that the protein, called amyloid beta, causes the loss. "The evidence indicates we can use the sense of smell to determine if someone may get Alzheimer's disease, and use changes in sense of smell to begin treatments, instead of waiting until someone has issues learning and remembering," said Daniel Wesson, assistant professor of neuroscience at Case Western Reserve and lead investigator. "We can also use smell to see if therapies are working. " Rosemary Can Protect the Brain From Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease. Foster_Alzheimers. ADAS-L. Alzheimer's drug 'halts' decline. Professor Claude Wischik on how the drug has helped patients.
Early Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's Possible With Synchrotron Light. Why, you might wonder, can't doctors just take an MRI or CT scan of our brains and tell us whether we are at risk for Alzheimer's disease or not.
One simple answer is that the Aβ plaques that form in the brains of Alzheimer's patients are so small in the early stages of the disease that they can't be seen by current diagnostic methods. But that may soon change with new x-ray techniques.... Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have demonstrated that a technique used to look at breast tumors and joint cartilage can be used to detect early Aβ plaques in mice. This technique, called diffraction-enhanced imaging (DEI), depends on synchrotron x-ray beams that are thousands of times more intense and concentrated than any x-ray means now used in medicine. In the mouse study, researchers used DEI in micro-computerized tomography to see the entire mouse brain, including bones and soft tissue structures, as well as the individual Aβ plaques. Can Eating Curry Stop the Onset of Dementia? A Jar of curry powder Having a weekly curry meal could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, it has been suggested.
Curcumin, which is a found in the spice turmeric, appeared to prevent the spread of amyloid protein plaques which are thought to cause dementia, in tests done by a US research team.