Healthy Brain vs. Alzheimer’s Brain

Alzheimer’s Disease leads to nerve cell tissue loss and damage throughout the brain. This over time, dramatically shrinks the size of the brain and, in-turn, affects almost all of its functions.

Here are the descriptions for each stage that a brain with Alzheimer’s Disease goes through:

1. Early/Mild Stage
   In the early stage of Alzheimer’s Disease, the cells in the hippocampus degenerate which causes short-term memory to start to diminish. Cortical shrinkage starts to occur, which refers to progressive degeneration of the outer layer of the brain (also known as the cortex) in the back, or posterior, part of the brain. During this time visual tasks become difficult, such as judging distance, identifying or using common objects, and simply reading a line of text becomes hard to do.
2. Moderate Stage
   As Alzheimer’s Disease progresses through the brain and moves into the moderate stage of the disease, plaques and tangles spread throughout the cortex. Individuals develop problems with memories and thought processes and they have a hard time with their social and work life. The plaques and tangles also spread to areas of the brain that affect the individuals speaking ability and their behavioral and emotional state of being.
3. Severe Stage
   In the severe stage of Alzheimer’s Disease the brain has shrunk dramatically, due to nerve cell death, and the cortex of the brain is almost completely damaged. This results in the individual losing their ability to recognize friends or family members. An individual in this stage also loses bodily functions and requires a caregiver 24/7.

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms described above or if you have noticed a change in a loved one that exhibit the symptoms above, please consult with your doctor. The earlier you or your loved one can be screened, the better.

If you or a loved one is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and are interested in learning more about clinical research, please visit http://www.thecrcnj.com/CurrentStudies.html.

Alzheimer’s Disease – Nutrition & Proper Diet/Tips

For people living with Alzheimer’s Disease, eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet is nothing but beneficial. Proper nutrition is important to keep the body healthy and strong. For a person living with Alzheimer’s Disease, an unhealthy diet may worsen their cognitive function and increase their behavior symptoms.

Here are some nutrition and diet tips to follow to maintain cognitive function and an overall healthy state of mind:

• Cut down on refined sugars
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Get a good balance of exercise
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
• Limit foods with high saturated fat and cholesterol
• Limit foods with high sodium and use less salt
• Construct a diet with foods high in antioxidant content
• Eat a variety of foods from each category
• Eat slowly
• Do not talk with food in your mouth
• Minimize distractions in the area where you eat
• Cut your food into small pieces and chew it thoroughly 
• Prepare meals that are easy to make and eat

As Alzheimer’s Disease progresses, loss of appetite and weight loss may become more of a concern and your doctor may suggest adding supplements between meals to get extra calories incorporated into your diet. Staying hydrated can be tough at times in Alzheimer’s patients so try to drink small cups of water throughout the day and consume foods with high water content. All in all, with the proper diet, your body will work more efficiently, you will have a lot more energy and your medications will work properly.

If you or a loved one is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and are interested in learning more about clinical research, please visit http://www.thecrcnj.com/CurrentStudies.html.

Clinical Studies 101

Here at The Cognitive Research Center of New Jersey, we are committed to excellence in clinical research. We want to make sure that you are educated as to what clinical research studies are, how they can help you, and where to go for more information.

What is a clinical trial?
A clinical trial is a set of procedures conducted in medical research and drug development to make sure a new drug or device is safe and effective for a particular condition. These are the steps followed before the FDA will approve the new drug or device.

Participation in clinical trials allows access to medications and medical treatments that are not yet available to the general public. If you are going through treatment for a condition and are not satisfied with the results, a clinical trial might be a good option for you. Generally, the medication and examinations are provided at no cost and you may be reimbursed for your time and travel expenses.

Each clinical trial is unique. The physician conducting the clinical trial will be able to give you more detail on how many visits will be required, what you’ll need to do at home, etc., during the initial consultation.

It is important that you know as much about the trial as you can. Plan ahead and prepare a list of questions to ask in order to feel comfortable about participating in the clinical trial. Tests, exams, and follow up are very common procedures done throughout a clinical trial to ensure the safety of participants.

Benefits:

• Gain access to advanced medical care, new medications, and treatments not yet available to the general public
• Play an active role in your own health care
• Help others by contributing to medical research
• Get reimbursed for your time and expenses (available for some clinical trials)

Risks:

• Side effects can potentially be unpleasant and in some cases serious
• The treatment or medication may not prove to be effective
• The clinical trial may require a significant amount of time

Where Can I Go to Learn More?

To learn more about clinical research, visit CISCRP (The Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation).

To learn more about clinical studies going on at The Cognitive Research Center of NJ, please visit or contact us to let us know which Alzheimer’s studies you are interested in. We’ll then notify you when a study becomes available.

Alzheimer's Disease - Treatment & Care

There are currently no methods of preventing or curing Alzheimer’s Disease. Researchers continue to pursue options to reverse the changes in memory loss and prevent the disease. However, there are treatment options for people living with the disease.

Here are five options to help treat and care for someone living with Alzheimer’s Disease:

1. Medications: Cholinesterase Inhibitors – these inhibitors help strengthen the way nerve cells respond to acetylcholine (which helps cell-to-cell communication) which may help stabilize the symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease. Also Memantine is a drug that slows down the progression of symptoms for individuals suffering from moderate to severe Alzheimer’s Disease.
2. Non-Drug Therapies: sensory therapies such as music therapy can help improve the simple daily functions in an individual with Alzheimer’s Disease. Some of these functions include mood, behavior, and attitude.
3. Nutrition: as the disease progresses, and individual’s memory fades quickly and remembering to eat also diminishes. This can lead to under or overeating. Additionally, individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease sometimes forget to drink water, which leads to dehydration. 
4. Exercise: exercise is important to improve and maintain healthy joints, muscles and most importantly, individuals’ hearts. It also helps keep the agitation and aggression away and can help with sleep.
5. Environment: it is important to adapt the living situation of the individual suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease to make it safe and comfortable. Make sure your loved one has comfortable footwear, a clean environment, and make sure proper handles and support railings are in place. 

Medications won’t stop Alzheimer’s Disease, but they can help slow the progression of symptoms. Getting the proper balance of diet, exercise, and environment allows the individual to keep the disease stable. New treatments aimed at halting, reversing, and possibly stopping the disease process, and others geared towards improving functioning are being tested in clinical research studies.

If you or a loved one is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and are interested in learning more about clinical research, please visit http://www.thecrcnj.com/CurrentStudies.html.

Alzheimer’s Disease Stages – Mild, Moderate & Severe

The neurological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s Disease, neurofibrillary plaques and tangles, develop in the brain long before symptoms are apparent. Often times, people delay seeing a doctor and the possibility of hearing that the diagnosis could be Alzheimer’s Disease. When an evaluation is delayed, symptoms may be more progressed at the time of diagnosis, limiting treatment and intervention options. 

The stages of Alzheimer’s Disease may be conceptualized in three general categories:

1. Mild Alzheimer’s Disease: during this stage, mild changes in memory loss and thinking occur. This oftentimes is confused with the natural progression of aging. Another symptom that may be apparent in this stage is the inability to judge time. This includes knowing how much time is needed to complete a task, knowing how long it takes to get from one place to another, etc. Some individuals tend to get lost or misplace things, have a change in personality, difficulty with problem solving, and/or difficulty expressing and organizing their thoughts.
2. Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease: during this stage, memory loss gradually worsens and the affected person starts to need help with basic daily activities including: grooming, using the restroom, etc. More behavior and personality changes are present.  Family and friends start to explicitly see the effects of Alzheimer’s because the individual may confuse family members and friends with strangers they have never met. It can be unsafe to leave an individual suffering from moderate Alzheimer’s Disease on their own without any close care.
3. Severe Alzheimer’s Disease: during this stage, the individual living with Alzheimer’s Disease is completely dependent on their caregiver. People lose their verbal language ability, which sometimes leads to complete loss of speech. Muscle mass starts to deteriorate and some even lose the ability to feed themselves. In the most severe cases of Alzheimer’s Disease, this terminal illness leads to death.

On average, people with Alzheimer’s Disease can live anywhere from 8-10 years from the time of diagnosis, and some may live up to 25 years. If you or a loved one are experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease, please schedule an evaluation.

For information on clinical research for memory loss and Alzheimer’s Disease, please visit http://www.thecrcnj.com/CurrentStudies.html.

Alzheimer’s Disease – Symptoms, Causes & Risk Factors

Since the changes in the brain that occur in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) are known to develop years before symptoms present themselves, it is critical to identify signs of Alzheimer’s early on in order to try and discover interventions that may be beneficial. Some symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease may be difficult to detect at first because changes in thinking skills, such as forgetfulness or an occasional loss of focus, also occur in normal aging. However, with Alzheimer’s Disease, symptoms progress to interfere with everyday functioning.

Here are some early warning signs and potential symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease:

1. Planning and Managing Problems: Have you or a loved one noticed that routine tasks, such as paying bills or writing a to-do list, have become difficult?
2. Speaking and Writing: Do you or a loved one have trouble expressing your thoughts, or do you find it difficult to find the right words to identify objects? Do you have trouble reading or writing?
3. Confusion with Time or Place: Do you or a loved one lose track of dates, time or even seasons? Do you ever find yourself forgetting where you are or how you got there?
4. Misplacing Items: Do you or a loved one misplace things, finding it difficult to retrace your steps in order to find the missing item? Do you ever accuse others of stealing your personal belongings?
5. Changes in Mood, Personality or Behavior: Do you or a loved one find yourself feeling confused, depressed, anxious or fearful? When you feel out of your comfort zone, do you find yourself becoming more easily upset? Do you wander? Do you have a change in your sleeping habits?

In Alzheimer’s Disease, brain cells are affected by neurofibrillary plaques and tangles, which cause cell death and interfere with brain activity. The downstream results are a decline in thinking skills and behavior. The rate at which these changes occur varies from one individual to another.

Symptoms of memory loss or other changes in thinking skills or personality should not be taken lightly.  The best course of action is to seek an evaluation to determine the cause and course of action for managing symptoms.

If you or a loved one is concerned about such symptoms, or has a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease, and are interested in learning more about clinical research, please visit http://www.thecrcnj.com/CurrentStudies.html.