NHS article on cold sores and Alzheimer's another interesting story that supports the general idea that inflammatory substances in the brain cause damage. It supports the idea that high Vitamin d3, omega 3 and magnesium status (all anti inflammatory agents) will help prevent Alzheimer's particularly when combined with a low inflammatory low carbohydrate diet.

It is the combined effect of the total pro inflammatory burden that is IMO the problem particularly for those with low anti inflammatory status.

wow, this is really interesting. Thanks for the link!

ScienceDaily:

A study directed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine suggests that experimental dietary regimens might calm or even reverse symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The study, which appears in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, is the first to show that restricting caloric intake, specifically carbohydrates, may prevent AD by triggering activity in the brain associated with longevity.

This study is the first to suggest that caloric restriction through promotion of SIRT1 (a molecule associated with brain longevity) may initiate a cascade of events like the activation of alpha-secretase which can prevent AD amyloid neuropathology. Since alpha-secretase is known also to inhibit the generation of beta-amyloid peptides in the AD affected brain, the study demonstrates a mechanism by which dietary caloric restriction might benefit AD. Most remarkably, the study finds that a high caloric intake based on saturated fat promotes AD type beta-amyloidosis, while caloric restriction based on reduced carbohydrate intake is able to prevent it.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/release...60614113128.htm

Resveratrol Eradicates Brain Plaque Associated With Senility

Researchers at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University report that dietary supplementation with the red wine molecule resveratrol (rez-vair-ah-trawl) dramatically reduces plaque formation in animal brains, surprisingly without activating the Sirtuin1 gene.

Resveratrol, a polyphenol found in red wine, peanuts, soy beans, and pomegranates, possesses a wide range of biological effects. Since resveratrol's properties seem ideal for treating neurodegenerative diseases, its ability to diminish amyloid plaques was tested. Mice were fed clinically feasible dosages of resveratrol for forty-five days. Neither resveratrol nor its conjugated metabolites were detectable in brain. Nevertheless, resveratrol diminished plaque formation in a region specific manner. The largest reductions in the percent area occupied by plaques were observed in medial cortex (-48%), striatum (-89%) and hypothalamus (-90%). The changes occurred without detectable activation of SIRT-1 or alterations in APP processing. However, brain glutathione declined 21% and brain cysteine increased 54%. The increased cysteine and decreased glutathione may be linked to the diminished plaque formation. This study supports the concept that onset of neurodegenerative disease may be delayed or mitigated with use of dietary chemo-preventive agents that protect against beta-amyloid induced neuronal damage.


The above is one of the many reasons I take Resveratrol twice daily.

Bo

I'm sorry I hadn't already included dietary restriction as relevant to Alzheimer's. I was aware of it. here is a more recent example

Indeed

The beneficial effects of resveratrol include: antioxidation, free radical scavenger, and modulation of neuronal energy homeostasis and glutamatergic receptors/ion channels. Resveratrol directly increases sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) activity, a NAD(+) (oxidized form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide)-dependent histone deacetylase related to increased lifespan in various species similar to calorie restriction

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WHY YOU MIGHT WANT TO TAKE A BRAIN-PERFORMANCE PILL BEFORE YOU TACKLE YOUR NEXT TOUGH MENTAL CHALLENGE.

Researchers have discovered that chronic low-grade brain inflammation hampers adult mental function and impairs memory and learning. Small natural molecules that penetrate the blood-brain barrier and inhibit inflammation may be employed to boost concentration and mental acuity.

Ted, a 50-year old who works at an information technology data center for a large American corporation in California, now pops a pill before he faces tough mental challenges, and he is among the first of thousands of Americans who are personally experiencing profound improvement in their mental faculties via a new type of nutrimedicine.

Ted says he is “amazed” and “absolutely stunned” with his experience taking Longevinex® (long-jev-in-ex), a resveratrol-based matrix dietary supplement he has taken for the past 4 years. Resveratrol (rez-vair-ah-trawl) is widely known as a red wine molecule that has been extolled for its potential to extend the human healthspan and lifespan.

Oh, the pills have delivered other benefits, like reduced hunger, to the point where Ted is now trim and 20-lbs lighter. Also, his cholesterol and blood sugar numbers are well within the healthy range. Also, Ted’s blood pressure is that of a 10-year old. These are the anticipated “red wine” effects attributed to the natural molecules commonly found in red wine and provided in Longevinex®. But it is Ted’s profoundly improved mental acumen that continues to astound him, a benefit spontaneously reported by many other Longevinex® users as well.

http://www.longevinex.com/resveratr...inex%20Revealed


I’m a 67 year old male and have taken the Longevinex Resveratrol supplement for years. My doctor says I now have the blood work and lab results he expects only to see in a young woman. Also, I practice a low carb cron lifestyle and avoid red meat. Perhaps that's helping also?

I supplement with the following: (Vitamin D3 4800iu/d, Omega 3 1.2g/d, Magnesium 1700mg/d, CoQ10 120mg/d) and more.

Bo

San Dimas, CA (Dec. 18, 2008) - Relatively low oral doses of the red wine molecule resveratrol (rez-vair-ah-trawl) send survival signals and protect heart tissues from damage should a heart attack occur, but supra-high doses completely reverse this survival effect and send a cellular death signal that worsens heart damage when a heart attack is intentionally induced in laboratory animals. On the other hand, supra-high dose resveratrol sends a cellular death signal that may be advantageous in the treatment of cancer.

Supra-high dose resveratrol supplements (Biotivia, Rev Genetics, Redmedin) were first marketed in 2006 when a mouse study suggested high-dose resveratrol (~1565 milligrams) reverses some of the effects of a high-fat diet. However, this study employed a 60% fat-calorie diet which cannot be applied to humans who consume ~30% fat-calorie diet. [Nature. 2006 Nov 16; 444(7117):337-42] Later it was shown the lifespan of laboratory mice on this dose (1565 mg) was shortened when placed on a standard calorie diet. [Cell Metabolism 2008 Aug; 8(2):157-68]

In the recent University of Connecticut animal study, researchers found the human equivalent of 175 and 350 mg of resveratrol sends cell survival signals, while 1750 and 3500 milligrams for a 160-lb human sends death signals to cells. Supra-high dose resveratrol demonstrably increased the area of dead tissue in the heart after a 30-minute period where the heart was deprived of oxygen, but actually reduced the size of a heart attack in lower doses.

The mechanism behind this dual nature of resveratrol may now be understood. Researchers believe supra-high dose resveratrol may cause iron to accumulate that promotes oxidation and destruction of cells. This would be advantageous in the treatment of cancer, to selectively induce cell death, whereas among healthy adults, this appears to be potentially harmful.

Sorry Hutchinson, please Click Here.

Perhaps you may enjoy This also?

Have a great day.

Bo

Alzheimer's gene 'linked to Vitamin D'

It seems to me that if some people have a predisposition to develop Alzheimer's when insufficiency Vitamin D is available, the answer is to change the sun avoidance policies that have led to ever lower 25(OH)D status year on year. It may also help to make more readily available effective strength supplements and to raise the RDA to at level that allows breast milk to flow replete with vitamin D as our bodies naturally evolved to produce.

Our bodies have the DNA we evolved with and given ample sun exposure naturally attain and maintain 25(OH)D status between 135~225nmol/l 54ng ~ 90ng. To attain the lowest of those levels associated with least chronic illness, requires intakes of D3 around 5000~6000iu/daily.

Rising Blood Sugar May Harm the Aging BrainThe paper identifies an etiology [cause] for normal age-related memory decline," Small explained. "Elevations in blood glucose levels differentially target the dentate gyrus part of the hippocampus implicated in aging and, as we age, we develop a slight but gradually worsening difficulty in handling blood sugar levels."

That difficulty coincides with the beginning of loss of cognitive function, Small added.


could be very important, specifically, that maintaining optimal blood sugar levels throughout aging is a feasible way to [slow or prevent] cognitive decline. It goes beyond diabetes to look at people who don't have diabetes. The implication is even if you don't have a clinical condition of diabetes, that you can still do something about cognitive aging."

More evidence that a low carbohydrate diet that keeps blood glucose levels low and encourages the burning of ketones may be useful in preventing or treating Alzheimer's.

The above is but one of the many reasons I've chosen a Low Carb CRON lifestyle.


Alzheimer's Disease Could Be A Third Form Of Diabetes

Insulin, it turns out, may be as important for the mind as it is for the body. Research in the last few years has raised the possibility that Alzheimer's memory loss could be due to a novel third form of diabetes.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/release...70926113835.htm

Bo

Breaking the Diabetes-Alzheimer's Connection Excellent article from Mendosa.
The first paper he links to is fascinating and comes to some clear and definite conclusions rather than the usual weasel words so frequently deploy.

Our findings predict that any intervention that causes a decrease in blood glucose should increase dentate gyrus function and would, therefore, be cognitively beneficial.

So you can tell anyone proposing that low carb is bad for the brain where to go.

Brain glucose hypometabolism and oxidative stress in preclinical Alzheimer's disease.
One of the main features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the severe reduction of the cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (CMRglc). In vivo imaging using positron emission tomography with 2-[(18)F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG-PET) demonstrates consistent and progressive CMRglc reductions in AD patients, the extent and topography of which correlate with symptom severity. Increasing evidence suggests that CMRglc reductions occur at the preclinical stages of AD. CMRglc reductions were observed on FDG-PET before the onset of disease in several groups of at-risk individuals, including patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), often a prodrome to AD; presymptomatic individuals carrying mutations responsible for early-onset familial AD; cognitively normal elderly individuals followed for several years until they declined to MCI and eventually to AD; normal, middle-aged individuals who expressed subjective memory complaints and were carriers of the apolipoprotein E epsilon-4 allele, a strong genetic risk factor for late-onset AD. However, the causes of the early metabolic dysfunction forerunning the onset of AD are not known. An increasing body of evidence indicates a deficient or altered energy metabolism that could change the overall oxidative microenvironment for neurons during the pathogenesis and progression of AD, leading to alterations in mitochondrial enzymes and in glucose metabolism in AD brain tissue. The present paper reviews findings that implicate hypometabolism and oxidative stress as crucial players in the initiation and progression of synaptic pathology in AD.

It seems to me that if we have a situation where the brain cannot with glucose properly, the answer would be to provide and alternative fuel that decreases it's reliance on glucose.
Perhaps that is why a ketogenic diet, providing less than 10% of calories as carbs certainly under 50g daily, together with the use of coconut oil or Medium Chain Triglyceride Oil (easily burnt as fuel) would be likely to help the situation.