1. What is Alzheimer’s disease?
2. What Causes Alzheimer’s Disease?
3. How Do I know if I or someone I love has it?
4. Can Alzheimer’s Disease be Treated?
5. What happens over time to someone with Alzheimer’s?
6. I thought Alzheimer’s Disease was genetic or inherited. Can I really do anything to prevent it if it runs in my family?
7. What is Dementia? How is it different from Alzheimer’s Disease?
8. Can old dogs really learn new tricks? Can I increase my brain’s capacity even after 50 or 60 and beyond?
9. What is the difference between Mind and Brain?
10. What do we consider "scientific" research? What is evidence-based medicine?

1. What is Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common type of dementia. It can happen any time after 40, but is more common after age 65. At 65, the risk is somewhere around 3%. The risk of Alzheimer’s doubles every 5 years after 65 years of age. Although Alzheimer’s Disease may affect as many as 50% of all people over 85 years of age, it is not a part of normal aging. It is a degenerative disease of the brain that slowly robs the affected person of their memory and other intellectual abilities like reasoning and judgement. It starts with short term memory loss, but eventually other cognitive problems develop as it progresses.

These might include problems with motor (movement) skills, or problems with language like speaking or understanding others. Often, people with Alzheimer’s also have trouble with more complex intellectual tasks like balancing a chequebook, shopping, or performing a hobby or a job that used to be second nature to them. They usually develop difficulty with abstract thinking - such as the ability to understand the similarities between different types of fruit. They have difficulty with visual and spatial skills. As a result, they may be easily disoriented or lost.

Scientists still don’t have the whole picture about what causes Alzheimer’s Disease. Although it isn’t clear what triggers the changes in the brain of a person suffering with Alzheimer’s, we can say that four things happen:

1. Beta-amyloid plaques form in the brain. These are abnormal proteins that wreak havoc with neuron (brain cell) function.
2. Derangement of the fibrous strands (microtubules) that are vital for normal neuronal function occurs. These twisted masses are called neurofibrillary tangles
3. Neurotransmitter deficiency develops - specifically, the brain starts losing its ability to make acetylcholine.
4. Finally, neurons die, mostly as a result of 1 and 2 above.

It’s also clear that inflammation also plays a role in Alzheimer’s disease.

Early on, plaques and neurofibrillary tangles affect the hippocampus, a structure that is very important for memory. As the disease progresses, these agents of destruction spread to involve the temporal lobes, frontal lobes, and eventually all of the grey matter in the brain.

While it’s still not clear what triggers these changes in the brain, scientists know that there are many risk factors that increase the chances of getting Alzheimer’s. That means there are many things you can do to protect yourself from the ravages of plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Click here to assess your risk by getting your personal Mind Longevity Profile.

People often worry that minor memory lapses signal their decline into dementia. Mild loss of short term memory can be normal with aging. Forgetfulness may also be simple absentmindedness, which is common in the young as well as the old. Stress, thyroid problems, depression, and vitamin B12 deficiency, among other things, can also cause cognitive problems, and these can all be treated successfully.

It’s usually normal to forget where you left your keys, or why you came into the kitchen from time to time. It’s not normal, however, if you find you (or a loved one) have put the keys in the freezer, or are lost two blocks from home. As people get older they are often worried about an aging mind, so they may be more likely to attribute their forgetting to disease. In some cases they may be right ... but often they needn’t worry.

Sometimes as people get older they develop mild cognitive impairment, which can often lead to dementia. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is milder than full blown dementia, but presents with similar symptoms such as short term memory problems. If you are concerned about yourself or a loved one, the only reliable way to find out if you have MCI or Alzheimer’s or some other dementia is to get an appropriate medical work up by your doctor or qualified health care provider. This may include a physical exam, a history with details about symptoms, and a Mini Mental Status Exam, or some other standardized method of cognitive screening or testing. This medical workup allows your doctor to identify if you have MCI or dementia, or if you are just experiencing normal/mild age-related memory decline. The workup is also important to find and treat reversible causes of dementia and cognitive impairment like those mentioned above.

Alzheimer’s is a clinical diagnosis. This means it is diagnosed based on the information your doctor collects by going through the above-mentioned workup. There is no simple lab or imaging test to give a definitive answer as to whether or not you have Alzheimer’s. The only fool-proof way to diagnose Alzheimer’s is by brain biopsy after death. But rest assured - doctors are generally very accurate with a diagnosis based on clinical information if they do a full history and exam. There are also a number of imaging and lab tests that show promise for more a more definitive method of diagnosis in future - but we’re not there yet.

If you and your doctor identify a problem, take heart. More often than not there are things you can do to slow decline or even reverse the process. Of course, prevention is the best cure. There is mounting evidence that most dementias can be delayed or completely prevented through good lifestyle habits and effective treatment of conditions that increase your risk for Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Determine your Mind Longevity Profile to find out more ...

4. Can Alzheimer’s Disease be Treated?

5. What happens over time to someone with Alzheimer’s?

6. I thought Alzheimer’s Disease was genetic or inherited. Can I really do anything to prevent it if it runs in my family?

The risk of getting Alzheimer’s by inheriting is probably at a maximum of 50%.(1) That means only half the risk of getting Alzheimer’s is due to your genes. And this maximum 50% genetic risk is only true if you have a parent with Alzheimer’s that started very early - in their 40’s or 50’s.(2). This fairly rare - it accounts for only about 5% of Alzheimer’s cases.

The rest of the risk for Alzheimer’s comes from lifestyle habits and inherited tendencies that can indirectly increase the risk of Alzheimer’s (like a family history of heart disease, strokes etc). This is good news - it means that much or most of the risk is in your control.

Although each person’s genetic risks are different, just about everyone experiences some cognitive decline after 40 or 50 years of age. This decline can be very slight, but even the healthiest ½ % of the elderly have some mental decline over time. (3). So some effect of aging on the brain and mind – however subtle - is unavoidable. Fortunately, there is much you can do to minimize this decline. Mind Longevity Programs can get you started to help you minimize the drag on your brain fitness over time.

explain the neurodegenerative causes, reversible causes, and delirium. briefly explain FTD, DLB, vascular dementia and how different from Alzheimer’s.

Scientists used to believe that we were incapable of forming new brain cells after birth. Research In the last 10 years, however, shows that you make many new brain cells (neurons) every day – and has overthrown the almost half-century old myth of inevitable brain shrinkage and mental decay. Humans and other animals have the capacity to grow new neurons (brain cells) at any age. This is called neurogenesis. Novel mental challenges or stimulation can prompt neurogenesis. The ability to grow new brain cells is helped along by regular exercise, a good diet, and healthy social interaction, among other things. This ability to form new brain cells and new connections in the brain’s cortex is often referred to as brain “plasticity”.

We can also form new connections between neurons. That means you can create brand new communication highways in the brain. The new brain cells you make and the infinite number of connections you can form between them mean that the possibilties are endless.

Of course, there are brain diseases that can interfere with forming new brain cells or cause road-blocks on the vital pathways between them. That is why Mind Longevity also focuses on preventing brain problems like Alzheimer’s disease or stroke. We want you to make the most of your mind!

Endless definitions and controversies pepper both the public and scientific literature about the nature of the mind, the mind versus the brain, the nature of consciousness, self-awareness, and more. A great deal of important as well as fascinating research and philosophy continues to evolve on this topic.

At Mind Longevity, we are most interested in practical definitions that you can use to understand what you need to do to improve fitness of both brain and "mind". For this reason, we make a simple distiction between the terms "mind" and "brain". The brain is the physical organ responsible for orchestrating a myriad of physical, emotional, and mental activities that are necessary for human life and experience to occur. The mind, as we use it, is a less "physical" term and has more to do with your subjective experience. We think of it as the inner life. It is what animates us from within and the pathway by which we connect to the world.

At Mind Longevity, we are concerned about your brain fitness and function at a physiological level. However, we are even more interested in the quality of your experience in the world and your relationship with others and with yourself. Mind in this context is about your personal experience and the capacity to direct that experience. This is leads to the Five Domains of Mind Longevity and the tools in the Three-Step Program that can help you make positive changes for both mind and brain.

We know it can be a struggle to wade through the mass of conflicting messages in the marketplace. So many products and services - which should you choose? What works and what doesn’t? What are the risks involved? These are questions we want to help you answer. We make our recommendations based on good quality scientific evidence wherever it is available. This goes beyond just looking up a research paper that provides statistics. We also look at the quality of the research by using an evidence-based medicine approach.

Evidence-based inquiry looks critically at different aspects of the studies that have been done on a particular topic. It involves specific and rigorous methods to determine potential sources of bias or inaccuracy. There are many products and services that do not have solid evidence to back them up. That does not necessarily mean they don’t work or aren’t worth using. It may simply mean that the nature of the treatment or prevention is difficult to measure or study. Or it may mean that no one is interested in funding studies on a particular intervention because there is no potential for financial gain.

Whatever the case, it is important for you to be aware of what does and does not have the support of good quality research. Then you can make informed choices. Avoid known dangers. Side step false claims. And take advantage of valid products knowing what to expect.

Click here for References