Is DEMENTIA a Bigger Word than Cancer?

Numerous treatment options are available depending on the outcome of tests.

Certainly changes to your lifestyle, such as quitting smoking, reducing weight and being treated for high blood pressure can reduce risk and perhaps delay on-set of dementia.

There are some medications that, especially for some forms of dementia can improve a range of symptoms and a wide range of medications that should be avoided that can make it worse. The doctor can check all this out with you.

Psychological interventions have been shown to improve mood and functioning. Socialisation, a secure environment and sensory stimulation have all shown benefits in terms of your feelings and your quality of life.

As yet there is no cure for dementia. At the same time researchers are working on new ways to combat, delay or slow the progress of dementia, so the longer you can delay on-set the more chance you will be able to take advantage of any new treatments.

See below news item:

Brain protein Reelin countering harmful beta-amyloid protein 

New findings about brain proteins suggest possible way
to fight Alzheimer's

UT Southwestern Medical Centre: 6 October 2009

The action of a small protein that is a major villain in Alzheimer’s disease can be counterbalanced with another brain protein, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in an animal study.The findings, available online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest a promising new tactic against the devastating illness, the researchers said.The harmful protein, called beta-amyloid, is found in the brain and, when functioning properly, suppresses nerve activity involved with memory and learning. Its normal function can be likened to a red traffic light, restraining nerve cells from getting overexcited when they receive stimulating signals from neighboring cells. People with Alzheimer’s disease, however, accumulate too much beta-amyloid — the traffic light gets stuck on “red” and nerve cells become less responsive.

Another brain protein, called Reelin, acts as a “green light,” stimulating nerve cells to respond more strongly to their neighbors’ signals.The new study shows that applying Reelin directly to brain slices from mice prevents excess beta-amyloid from completely silencing nerves.