Aa
Right approach with Alzheimer
Alzheimer is a very tricky disease in which people are refrained of the future and the feeling or experience of being old and enjoying more the life. I Learned that young people can also have this kind of disease, which means everyone is vulnerable. In one article I remember it after typing it in google as ‘ nun study treatment’. The article shows on how it can be prevented. Since prevention is better than cure. Which is really true, you don’t need to wait for the rock hit you, you can always be ready for it. Alzheimer is a same thing. Right? Does anyone know more about the nun study treatment?
COMMUNITY LEADER
Their research has shown that folic acid may help stave off Alzheimer's disease; that small, barely perceptible strokes may trigger some dementia; and, in an especially striking finding, that early language ability may be linked to lower risk of Alzheimer's because nuns who packed more ideas into the sentences of their early autobiographies were less likely to get Alzheimer's disease six decades later.
The new report, being published on Monday in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, says nuns who expressed more positive emotions in their autobiographies lived significantly longer -- in some cases 10 years longer -- than those expressing fewer positive emotions.
''It's an important finding,'' Dr. Suzman said, ''and I think it will lead to lots of additional studies.''
The nuns are ideal for scientific study because their stable, relatively similar lives preclude certain factors from contributing to illness. They do not smoke, hardly drink and do not experience physical changes related to pregnancy. The School Sisters are white and eat in convent cafeterias, and most were teachers in Catholic schools.
The study is also considered powerful because it has information from several stages in its subjects' lives, including when they were too young to manifest Alzheimer's or other diseases related to aging.
''I think the Nun Study is very important because it uses information obtained about people before the period of illness,'' said Dr. Robert P. Friedland, professor of neurology at Case Western Reserve University and author of a study showing that people with Alzheimer's were, as young adults, less mentally and physically active outside their jobs than people without the disease. ''So we know from the Nun Study and others that Alzheimer's disease takes several decades to develop, and the disease has many important effects on all aspects of a person's life.''
The new report, being published on Monday in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, says nuns who expressed more positive emotions in their autobiographies lived significantly longer -- in some cases 10 years longer -- than those expressing fewer positive emotions.
''It's an important finding,'' Dr. Suzman said, ''and I think it will lead to lots of additional studies.''
The nuns are ideal for scientific study because their stable, relatively similar lives preclude certain factors from contributing to illness. They do not smoke, hardly drink and do not experience physical changes related to pregnancy. The School Sisters are white and eat in convent cafeterias, and most were teachers in Catholic schools.
The study is also considered powerful because it has information from several stages in its subjects' lives, including when they were too young to manifest Alzheimer's or other diseases related to aging.
''I think the Nun Study is very important because it uses information obtained about people before the period of illness,'' said Dr. Robert P. Friedland, professor of neurology at Case Western Reserve University and author of a study showing that people with Alzheimer's were, as young adults, less mentally and physically active outside their jobs than people without the disease. ''So we know from the Nun Study and others that Alzheimer's disease takes several decades to develop, and the disease has many important effects on all aspects of a person's life.''
I saw the article and I am more curious now if my medication for epilepsy would trigger Alzheimer’s disease. Sometimes I tend to forget stuff. My doctor said that it’s because of my medication that’s why I am being like this. And I saw the picture of a healthy brain and with an AD and I got scared because maybe my medication may cause something like that to my brain. Or maybe because there is a problem with my brain activity, I become forgetful. And I have a mild depression too, so it might be one reason that’s why I am being forgetful. So I would contact my doctor and try to talk about it. As you say healthgeenie that prevention is better than cure. Thank you for sharing the ‘nun study treatment’ here. It is a big help for me.
Most my father in law and mother in law have and had it. They are not related either.
One smoked, one did not. One drank more, one drank less. Both were pretty anti-social in the later years which we feel contributed a lot to the dementia but who really knows? They had healthy diets and are/were healthy weights.
Fear is a big part of this - agree with Jemma! The bathing, changing clothes, shoes, socks, etc, can be issues - as well as just any change in who takes care of him and he can get quite hostile. My MIL used to scream every holiday and cry at the change, leaving the home (my FIL wanted to have *his holiday* in complete disregard for her needs - he was an awful, horrible caregiver but wanted to do it). It is just an awful, terrible disease that is hard on everyone.
One smoked, one did not. One drank more, one drank less. Both were pretty anti-social in the later years which we feel contributed a lot to the dementia but who really knows? They had healthy diets and are/were healthy weights.
Fear is a big part of this - agree with Jemma! The bathing, changing clothes, shoes, socks, etc, can be issues - as well as just any change in who takes care of him and he can get quite hostile. My MIL used to scream every holiday and cry at the change, leaving the home (my FIL wanted to have *his holiday* in complete disregard for her needs - he was an awful, horrible caregiver but wanted to do it). It is just an awful, terrible disease that is hard on everyone.
My grandmother had Altzheimer's Disease and so does my father. They are not blood related.
When I was looking after them and had them diagnosed for this, I was told that there is no cure.
My father was offered medication to slow down the progression of the disease, but once he got a heart attack and a stroke, we were told that the medication would not work because he now has cardiovascular disease.
My grandmother also had cardiovascular disease, but at that time there were no drugs available anyway.
Both had malnutrition and suffered times of starvation during the Second World War and had a very hard younger life. Granny did not drink alcohol or smoke. My father smokes like a chimney and drinks a lot of alcohol.
It is a well known fact that alcohol destroys brain cells and cigarettes contain 92 carcinogens and depletes the brain of oxygen and certain vitamins.
In the early stages of my father's Altzheimer's he was aware that something was not right with his brain. He now can't remember anything apart from his younger youth and is very repetitive which is common with this disease. He will also not have a bath, don't know whether he is afraid, but he says he has had one, when in fact it was over a year that he would have had his last bath. It is very hard on the carers looking a person with this condition.
When I was looking after them and had them diagnosed for this, I was told that there is no cure.
My father was offered medication to slow down the progression of the disease, but once he got a heart attack and a stroke, we were told that the medication would not work because he now has cardiovascular disease.
My grandmother also had cardiovascular disease, but at that time there were no drugs available anyway.
Both had malnutrition and suffered times of starvation during the Second World War and had a very hard younger life. Granny did not drink alcohol or smoke. My father smokes like a chimney and drinks a lot of alcohol.
It is a well known fact that alcohol destroys brain cells and cigarettes contain 92 carcinogens and depletes the brain of oxygen and certain vitamins.
In the early stages of my father's Altzheimer's he was aware that something was not right with his brain. He now can't remember anything apart from his younger youth and is very repetitive which is common with this disease. He will also not have a bath, don't know whether he is afraid, but he says he has had one, when in fact it was over a year that he would have had his last bath. It is very hard on the carers looking a person with this condition.
never heard of it. I have books on alzeimers and nothing like that in there my mom of alzheimers and congestive heart. she was a very healthy woman and ate good meals. she was 96 and was still mowing her yard and her home was spotless. she was a very active woman. on sundays she walked 4 blocks to her church, until they moved the church on the other side of town. se went to the new church that took over that one and they only spoke Spanish. so she lost her church. why would she have it.
Hi HealthGeenie and welcome to the forum.
One thing that I look for in studies, is how the findings relate & apply to the general population. Randomized controlled studies are generally more useful than observational studies and the real problem with this is that
with the latter, the results do not usually filter down to a health authority/
organisation that would be able to utilize them for educational purposes.
Iin the nun study, the average profile of a nun does not represent the typical female in our society.
Huge lifestyle and environmental differences, which actually may serve us greatly, should we able to draw conclusive evidence from this study, probably warrant further investigation and analysis.
Some findings are likely consistent with known factors in A.D.prevention, such as low stress levels, low alcohol and tobacco consumption and perhaps diets resulting in less inflammation.
Cognitive capacity and language in earlier years, seems to be a logical co-facto in AD later in life, however, due to the limitations of this study, is not a conclusive finding.
I have personally read dozens of studies, some much larger than the nun study and definitely, there are a lot of preventive measures that we can consider from existing research.
Thanks for your post!
Niko
One thing that I look for in studies, is how the findings relate & apply to the general population. Randomized controlled studies are generally more useful than observational studies and the real problem with this is that
with the latter, the results do not usually filter down to a health authority/
organisation that would be able to utilize them for educational purposes.
Iin the nun study, the average profile of a nun does not represent the typical female in our society.
Huge lifestyle and environmental differences, which actually may serve us greatly, should we able to draw conclusive evidence from this study, probably warrant further investigation and analysis.
Some findings are likely consistent with known factors in A.D.prevention, such as low stress levels, low alcohol and tobacco consumption and perhaps diets resulting in less inflammation.
Cognitive capacity and language in earlier years, seems to be a logical co-facto in AD later in life, however, due to the limitations of this study, is not a conclusive finding.
I have personally read dozens of studies, some much larger than the nun study and definitely, there are a lot of preventive measures that we can consider from existing research.
Thanks for your post!
Niko
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