This Is Your Brain….
NOT News: So much we CAN do with JOY to boost cognition, connections, JOY!
Recent and current studies and research are making progress in brain research. However, ‘new’ reports are not necessarily news – at least not to Betty’s Love. For example, “recent reports” tout: music therapy CAN connect with people in late-stages of dementia; slow walking and grip strength of middle-age people as “predictors” of dementia; curcumin, the key chemical in turmeric (e.g., found in curry), can “stave off symptoms” of Alzheimer’s. NONE of these ‘new’ reports are news to Betty’s Love!
Betty’s ADvice™ includes these Betty’s Three Things™:
1. Be Hope-full (we are) AND be cautious of reports of a “cure” and “predictors” of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
2. Learn what your family deserves to know in our positive programs for families. In these pages, we filter for you what we believe is the News You CAN Use-with-Love™ to nourish, protect, and boost your family’s beautiful brains.
3. KEEP Dad golfing and KEEP watching Cary Grant with Mom and KEEP engaging the whole family in all we CAN do to boost cognition, connections, and JOY! (What families like yours say.)
Some recent BRAIN News You CAN Use-with-Love™ includes:
Positive Progress Toward Diganosis: New Method Might Detect Alzheimer’s Marker A new drug, florbetaben, has been used as a ‘tracer’ during PET scans to identify the hallmark beta-amyloid plaques of Alzheimer’s disease – and those hallmarks were later confirmed by autopsy. This early study of 200 participants had a 77% sensitivity’ (i.e., positives correctly identified as positive) and a 94% specificity (i.e., negatives correctly identified as negative). The study from Banner Sun health Research Institute in Sun City, Arizona, concludes that florbetaben as a tracer is a “suitable biomarker” with “great accuracy.” Read more at American Academy of Neurology.
Betty’s ADvice™ - Be optimistic … and PATIENT! One of ‘Betty’s Laments’ about Alzheimer’s research is that, after 111 years of study, there’s still no definitive diagnosis. This study provides a virtual leap in the right direction … but it is a new, small study: Betty’s Tenet re PATIENCE is required as we await further study and, potentially, years until this diagnosis tool is available to all families worldwide.
Babies’ Nappies Boost Brains?! True! A recent study by Ireland-funded Doctors Catherine Stanton and Rebecca Wall shows that mice fed a probiotic of “human infant intestine origin” (i.e., from baby poop) began producing CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which modifies fatty acids in the brain .. producing the same positive impact of fish oils to improve children’s cognitive function and to reduce the cognitive deficits of dementia.
Betty’s ADvice™ - Again: Keep FEEDING your brain: EnJOY fish for breakfast! SIP your caffeine – yes, Mom & Dad, too (especially)!
Join us from wherever you live for Betty’s University Program: All-Bra(i)n Nutrition™! AND, perhaps most important: Engage ALL your brain … start TODAY and start YOUNG!
Study MIGHT Implicate Gene in Early-Onset Alzheimer’s In a recent study published in Nature Publications’ Molecular Psychiatry, a high frequency of potentially pathogenic SORL1 mutations appear to be present in early-onset Alzheimer disease.
Betty’s ADvice™ – Again: BE CAUTIOUS! This is a SMALL study: FIVE of 14 people (or SEVEN of 29, inclusive). Alas, we are no closer to knowing the cause(s) of the mutations of early-onset or general AD. Still no definitive diagnosis, no sustainable treatment (for either form), no cure. AND: There’s so much we CAN do with JOY to boost cognition, connections, and quality of life! Contact us today and let us help your family through your unique journey.
View Your Beautiful Brain! Recent imaging from the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging shows in graphic colors both how our brains are ‘wired’ AND new insights into the wiring itself. Click for articles in The Wall Street Journal and Nature.
Betty’s ADvice™ – YOU and your brain ARE beautiful, indeed … exactly as you are!
Scientists Prove What We Preach Every Day: Brain Development is ALL about LOVE! A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (“PNAS”) suggests that positive, early experiences of “maternal support” in human psychosocial behavior lead to greater volume of hippocampal development. The hippocampus is one of the first regions of the brain to suffer damage by Alzheimer’s disease; it is also affected by oxygen starvation (hypoxia), encephalitis, and other ailments. So: Greater development of the hippocampus at our early years CAN improve brain function in later years.
Betty’s ADvice™ – Toldyaso! ;-) It’s always all about LOVE .. As an Action Verb™ … early in life and, especially, if affected by Alzheimer’s, dementia, or any cognitive impairment. Join us with your whole family for our Activities, Events, and Betty’s University Learning Programs – in which we teach your family what YOU need to know and do … why … and ‘how to’ –with-Love.
Menopause might cause memory lapses … to which we say: What was that, again? :)
A neuropsychologist University of Rochester (Minnesota, USA) Medical Center says ‘middle-aged women’ entering menopause had cognitive issues – not so much with recalling information (“memory”) but, rather, processing and storing information.
Betty’s ADvice™ – Memory is almost never about remembering! Join us for MemoRE™ - part of our foundational program, Family Matters™ – and other Betty’s Learning Programs that answer the questions ‘middle-aged women’ and ALL generations and ALL members of a family deserve to ask … including WHAT questions they should be asking! So much we CAN do with JOY!
New Brain Scan CAN see more! A new study out of the University of Pittsburgh School of Health Sciences can help doctors see what part(s) of the brain are damaged in head injuries. That CAN lead to better treatment and rehabilitation.
Betty’s ADvice™ – Anything that helps view the brain and its functions might help re Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. So we pray! AND we beseech thee: If you play NFL football or skateboard or even just fall off your bicycle at ANY age: Please ICE YOUR HEAD! Read why….
“Unprecedented Finding” – Cancer Drug Removes Amyloid Protein A remarkable breakthrough has been made in application of a skin-cancer drug, bexarotene, in mice bred to have the hallmark amyloid plaques of Alzheimer’s disease. Nearly immediately, improvements were evident in cognition, memory, olfactory ability, and activities of daily life (nesting, in the mice’s case). Read more about the study from Case Western Reserve University. And may God bless all these mice, bred to have Alzheimer’s, who provide the only hope we have of late.
Betty’s ADvice™ – Patience! Positive effects in mice do not always transfer as positive effects for humans. That said: As bexarotene has been widely used for 10+ years, it is possible it could be be more quickly introduced for human application. We hope and fervently pray! In the meantime: Let’s do all we CAN do with JOY to boost cognition, connections, and quality of life … and it’s A LOT! Join us for our regularly scheduled events - and bring your whole family along!
Good News…in time: Deep-Brain Stimulation (“DBS”), known to reduce Parkinson tremors, applied during learning the location of landmarks enhanced subsequent memory of those landmarks’ locations. The study, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, involved ONLY SEVEN subjects but/and definitely warrants more study that could be beneficial to people in early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Betty’s ADvice™ – Please DON’T WAIT to start boosting your brain! KEEP learning NEW things! WRITE THINGS DOWN! Build new HABITS and MUSCLE MEMORY! People in ALL stages of Alzheimer’s and dementia CAN learn new things! Get busy in Betty’s Love! Join us soon and often - and bring your whole family along!
Not ‘news’ to Betty’s Love: Sleeplessness CAN affect cognition. In a new study from a good organization, the Knight ADRC, chronically bad sleep patterns can be linked to Alzheimer’s disease. As ABC News rightly calls it a ‘small study,’ we encourage caution in interpreting this study … AND we continue to ADvocate™ for better – i.e., more comprehensive, more focused, more FAMILY-based – research.
Betty’s ADvice™ – As we’ve been saying for more than a decade: Please STAY BRAIN ENGAGED during the day, so you CAN SLEEP TIGHT at night! Need brain-boosting activities? Join us soon and often - via phone and Skype, too!
MORE not ‘news’ to Betty’s Love: More and more people are asking about coconut oil as a ‘remedy’ or ‘cure’ for Alzheimer’s. The Good News: More and more people are AWARE of Alzheimer’s and, we hope, of the need to, as we say, get’n'keep brain healthy. The Bad News: Despite our prayers, coconut oil (like other widely touted ‘cures’) is not a panacea. [Snopes agrees.]
Betty’s ADvice™ – to repeat: As we’ve been saying for more than a decade: Start boosting your brain TODAY – and KEEP learning NEW things! People in mid-stage Alzheimer’s and dementia CAN learn new things: Piano! French! Golf! Argentine Tango! Get busy in Betty’s Love! Join us soon and often - via phone and Skype, too!
ALSO not ‘news’ to Betty’s Love: More and more people are asking about coconut oil as a ‘remedy’ or ‘cure’ for Alzheimer’s. The Good News: More and more people are AWARE of Alzheimer’s and, we hope, of the need to, as we say, get’n’keep brain healthy. The Bad News: Despite our prayers, coconut oil (like other widely touted ‘cures’) is not a panacea. [Snopes agrees.]
Betty’s ADvice™ – to repeat: As we’ve been saying for more than a decade: Start boosting your brain TODAY – and KEEP learning NEW things! People in mid-stage Alzheimer’s and dementia CAN learn new things: Piano! French! Golf! Argentine Tango! Get busy in Betty’s Love! Join us soon and often - via phone and Skype, too!
‘New’ Research Shows Mental Reasoning Declines in 40s. Though the report is new (January 2012) – from a study by Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health in France and University College London – this isn’t ‘news to Betty’s Love! We know that ‘normal memory loss’ begins at age 40. We also know that ‘memory loss’ is NOT always the first sign or symptom of Alzheimer’s disease / dementia.
Betty’s ADvice™ – Learn what you deserve to know about brain-boosting health NOW – and KEEP learning! Remember (pun intended): Betty’s Love works via phone and Skype, too! Join us for Betty’s University™ Programs like All-Bra(i)n Nutrition and Betty’s Activities™. And bring the whole family! So much we CAN do. So much JOY!™
Elevated levels of hormone adiponectine can be risk factor for dementia and AD in women. A recent finding of the Framingham Heart Study, reported in Archives of Neurology, states that above-base levels of adiponectine are linked to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in women. A hormone that is mainly synthesized and secreted from adipose tissue, adiponectin plays an important role in maintaining energy or glucose homeostasis – hence, often studied re diabetes research. [Again, we see the links between sugar intake / diabetes / heart disease / Alzheimer's / dementia.] For the findings in Archives of Neurology, please click here.
Betty’s ADvice™ – Get HEART healthy … it’s also BRAIN healthy! WHY? Join us for Betty’s University™ Programs like All-Bra(i)n Nutrition and Betty’s Activities™. Don’t live near Chicago? NO worries – Betty’s Love works via phone and Skype, too! Join us soon and often … and bring the whole family!
Molecule Key to Viral Infections Boosts Memory
In a variety of behavioral tests, Mice lacking in PKR (the double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase – a sensor of viral infection whose activity is altered in cognitive disorders) have increased brain ‘excitability’ and enhanced learning and memory. Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine found the data “totally unexpected” and are surprised that the memory improvement has come from research of viral infections. The hope? That new treatment with a PKR inhibitor could be effective in treating Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders. Click here to read more about the Baylor study.
Betty’s ADvice™ – Again: Be careful of the word ‘cure.’ Even a cure won’t help the 52 families every hour ONLY Betty’s Love ONLY works to embrace, empower, and engage. Read more about Betty’s core services. Then: Get busy boosting your whole family’s brains in Betty’s Love!
BIG news out of Sydney University – but not-yet a CURE: A new vaccine tested effectively in treating Alzheimer’s DOES stop the formation of new tangles but does NOT clear existing tangles. Still, remarkable results from Down Under. Read more here.
Betty’s ADvice™ – Be careful of the word ‘cure’ re Alzheimer’s research. While we await that, join us in focusing on all families CAN do today. START practicing what Betty’s Love has been preaching for 30+ years and teaching for 5+ as the ONLY nonprofit ONLY helping families! Get Busy in Betty’s Love!
A German study controlling nursing-home residents with mild to moderate cognitive impairment shows that NON-DRUG treatment as effective as – and, in application of ADLs (Activities of Daily Life), MORE effective than – drug-only therapy. The non-drug program involves: motor stimulation1; cognitive stimulation, via group and individual puzzles2; activities of daily living, such as gardening and crafting3; and a “spiritual element,” which included singing hymns and discussing topics such as happiness.4
Betty’s ADvice™ – STOP listening to the general assessments: “Nothing you can do. Life is over.” START practicing what Betty’s Love has been preaching for 30+ years and teaching for 5+ as the ONLY nonprofit ONLY helping families! Get Busy in Betty’s Love:
1. Dance! Walk! KEEP Dad Golfing! Read more!
2. Do Sudoku AND crosswords AND puzzles AND map searches AND … AND … AND more in Betty’s Day Out!™
3. Do all Mom CAN still do – and it’s a LOT! Prepare meals! Do laundry and dishes! Garden! Knit! Take a tour of Betty’s Library and see all these tools at the ready!4. Founded in Love and Prayer, we ensure Families AND Caregivers get the support they need – always for free.
Gantenerumab, a new drug developed by Roche, is being tested among people with early and mild memory loss. It is NOT a cure and is NOT expected to become one. Its scientists’ expectation: Gantenerumab can slow the progression of dementia before it takes hold and is unstoppable. Perhaps, like other deadly diseases (e.g., breast and colon cancer), early treatment CAN be key in living long and JOYfully despite illness. Our Hope: that it works in wider testing and is made available worldwide asap. Amen!
Betty’s ADvice™ – If you’re near central London, England, perhaps YOU can participate: Contact Dr. Richard Perry at Cognition Health Centre.
Betty’s ADvice™ – Be aware of the symptoms of cognitive impairment – and remember (pun intended): ‘Memory’ is only one symptom (and often not the first). Join us for ‘Betty’s 101′ – a Family Matters™ Workshop customized to your family’s unique situation.
Deep Brain Stimulation, effective with other neurological diseases like Parkinson’s, has proven effective in treating the hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls communications, including short- and long-term memory. As Alzheimer’s progresses, the hippocampus shrinks an average of 5% per year. In this study – A VERY SMALL, INITIAL STUDY – the hippocampus actually grew by 5% (in one patient), 8% in another. That is “huge,” says Dr. Adres M. Lozano, of Toronto Western Hospital, in Ontario, Canada. A larger study is planned.
Betty’s ADvice™ – While we await this and other studies’ result in a cure (or even sustainable treatment): Keep stimulating your brain on your own! Learn Languages! Play Piano! Dance!
“The brain is remarkably robust.” Recent studies on animals show that damage from stroke can be minimized with audio therapy.
Betty’s ADvice™ – If Gram has had a stroke, KEEP TALKING! Play MUSIC! Sing SONGS! She will benefit from your connections … and so will YOU.
The brains of physically fit older adults show fewer signs of aging and outperform their unfit counterparts’ brains in memory tests.
Betty’s ADvice™ – KEEP Dad golfing! Even if he can’t remember his score (or even his playing partners’ names), just being out walking a course will boost his brain, body, AND JOY!
The brain CAN still react to social cues, even if otherwise cognitively underperforming.
Betty’s ADvice™ – Keep taking Mom to church! She will react appropriately to standing, kneeling, sitting, shaking hands. Better: Her JOY will boost – and sustain for three-to-five days!
Musical Memory mightn’t be affected even if amnesia is present – AND new music CAN be learned!
Betty’s ADvice™ – Learn to play the piano! YES, you CAN!
Post-menopausal, middle-aged brains need to work harder on memory tasks.
Betty’s ADvice™ – If you’re able, consider hormone therapy. In any case: KEEP engaging your brain!
For nearly 30 years, Betty’s Love has practiced and proven that brains affected by Alzheimer’s disease (or any form of dementia or cognitive impairment) CAN do SO MUCH more than we think and are told! AND is a very big word for Betty’s Love: Play piano AND dance AND learn a new language every year AND do Sudoku AND play cards AND work puzzles AND … AND … AND!
Betty’s ADvice™ – Get busy in Betty’s Love!
Join us – from wherever you live in the world for Betty’s practical, proven, positive programs and services:
Be embraced in our free Support Group and Respite for Caregivers
Learn what families NEED to know in Betty’s University Programs for families!
Join in our regularly scheduled Programs and Activities – and please bring Mom & Dad!
And, if you’re able, please help us help 52 more families like yours.
Why 52? Glad you asked! Please click here.