Wii Fit

This is an excellent article about the new fitness module for Wii. I am considering getting this for my mother who suffers from Alzheimer's. Along with this I hope to get friends to come over and bowl with her.

This would satisfy two important needs: exercise and social interaction. Follow the link to read the article.

I'll let you know.

clipped from www.nytimes.com Exercising with Wii Fit is like having a Bob Harper or a Denise Austin who talks back — gently cajoling you through exercises, praising, nudging, even reminding you to eat a banana once in a while. It also lets you see how you stack up against friends or family members; each user creates a cartoony avatar called a “Mii.”

Playbook for Alzheimer's Caregivers

Follow the link to get your free copy.

clipped from www.alz.org Tackle the challenges of caregiving with this free football style "playbook" by Frank Broyles, former Athletic Director of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. The Playbook is an engaging, how-to guide written for those who care for someone with Alzheimer's. Coach Broyles cared for his late wife Barbara, who had Alzheimer's disease. “My wife Betty is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. The minute I received the ‘Playbook,’ I sat down and read it word for word. What a huge blessing for me to find a straight forward, 'been there’ account of what lies ahead. Thank you!" John Cater Richmond, Texas

Etanercept (Enbrel) in Action, see Alzheimer's patient's memory come alive (Video)

clipped from alzheimersreadingroom.blogspot.com To watch the video on how this works with Alzheimer's patients click here The Institute for Neurological Research To read about the on going research study click here Arthritis Drug Success With Alzheimer's Prompts Calls For More Investment In Research To read my previous detailed post on this topic click this link 'Instant' Alzheimer's Drug Claim, Enbrel (Etanercept) Read more about Alzheimer's at The Alzheimer's Reading Room One of the videos shows how the treatment affected 82-year old Marvin Miller. Miller can be seen muttering incoherently in response to questions from a nurse. He can't name objects like a pencil or a bracelet. Miller is then given his first etanercept injection, and according to the video, five minutes later he recognizes and embraces his wife when she comes up to him. Mrs Miller said he had not done this for years, because until that moment he did not know who she was. She appears visibly shocked by her husband's improvement.

Lovastatin Shown To Slow Progression Of Alzheimer's Disease

This is a classic example of the Alzheimer's CareGiver conundrum. I switched my mother from Lovastin to Zocor after reading a similar article pointing out the benefits of statins.

I'll put the article up on Zocor soon.

clipped from www.medicalnewstoday.com High cholesterol levels are considered to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease including stroke. Therefore, many cholesterol lowering drugs have been developed by pharmaceutical companies in recent years. One class of these drugs, statins, has been found to reduce the incidence of stroke and progression of Alzheimer's disease when prophylactically administered. In a recent paper published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Amalia Dolga and co-workers from the University of Groningen show that the statin lovastatin, in addition to lowering cholesterol, can also prevent nerve cells from dying in conditions that occur in Alzheimer's disease Amalia Dolga found that statins stimulate nerve cells to produce a specific receptor molecule for a protein which plays a central role in the body's immune response: Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

Diabetes in Middle Age Raises Alzheimer's Risk

This a lengthy article. Follow the link for more information.

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com Men who develop diabetes in middle age may be at greater risk of Alzheimer's disease, a Swedish study finds. "Our results have important public health implications given the increasing numbers of people developing diabetes and the need for more powerful interventions," study author Dr. Elina Ronnemaa, of Uppsala University, said in a statement. The study found that the men with low insulin levels at age 50 were nearly one-and-a-half times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than men who didn't have insulin problems. The risk of Alzheimer's increased, regardless of blood pressure, cholesterol, body-mass index and education.