31 Mar
clinical trial
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Forms of treatment
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Prävention
Physical exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, contributing to general fitness, muscle control and coordination, and to a sense of wellbeing. Physical exercise is also essential for maintaining adequate blood flow to the brain and may stimulate brain cell growth and survival.
Evidence of the effects of physical exercise in the prevention of dementia have been supported by many observational studies. The results of randomized trials suggest that exercise leads to increases in brain tissue, including the hippocampus and elevate blood levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), stimulating the formation of new nerve cells.
10 Mar
Causes
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Forms of treatment
To date, there is no effective drug to treat Alzheimer's disease. The currently available drug treatment options are limited to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and memantines, each of which is used depending on the stage of the disease and directly influences the action of neurotransmitters in the brain. It is hard to believe, but these pharmacological approaches are still based on the findings of the 1970s and 1980s.
17 Feb
Causes
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clinical trial
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Prävention
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prevention
The human brain is an extremely sensitive organ. Therefore, it must also be particularly protected from toxins and pathogens. The supply of messenger substances and the removal of metabolic products must also be precisely regulated. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) has exactly this function and separates the central nervous system from the rest of the body's blood circulation. The BBB acts as a shield, protecting the brain from infectious agents and toxic substances, but must also act as a filter, allowing nutrients to get inside the central nervous system.
27 Jan
Forms of treatment
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plant substances
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), also known as Indian ginseng or Winter cherry, is one of the most important herbs in Ayurvedic medicine. It has been used for millennia as a rejuvenating tonic, i.e. to increase physical and mental health by promoting longevity. Classically, different parts of the plant (including roots, leaves and flowers) have been used to treat different conditions such as rheumatism, constipation, insomnia, chronic stress and hormonal imbalances.
Recently, the benefits of this herb have aroused the interest of conventional western medicine and in the last 10 years many studies have been published bringing scientific evidence for what the ancients used to practice many years ago.
13 Jan
Causes
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clinical trial
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Forms of treatment
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micronutrient deficiencies
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nutrition
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Prävention
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prevention
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Uncategorized
Can the course of early Alzheimer's disease be delayed by consuming a special mixture of nutrients? This question was investigated in the European study called 'LipiDiDiet' led by Prof. Tobias Hartmann.
The scientists recruited Alzheimer's patients, who were in the early stages of the disease, to test the effectiveness of a specific nutritional drink called 'Souvenaid'. Souvenaid was developed as a medical dietary food for the treatment of early-stage Alzheimer's disease and is marketed by Nutricia (Danone Group). It contains a defined nutrient combination of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, phospholipids, choline, B vitamins (B6, B12 and folic acid), vitamins C and E, selenium and uridine monophosphate.
09 Dec
Uncategorized
Knowledge stops Dementia will continue to thrive in the coming year. 480 individual donors, with an average donation of more than 25 euros, decided to support our work. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
From a financial point of view, this means that the Knowledge stops Dementia team can continue to work scientifically, journalistically and organizationally free of economic pressure in 2021. From an idealistic point of view, we are especially impressed by the large number of private individual donations. This shows us that we reach and move many people. Knowledge stops Dementia is crowd financed in the best sense of the word and we are proud of that!
25 Nov
Forms of treatment
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Prävention
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prevention
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therapists
With the project ‘Knowledge stops Dementia’, the Deutsche Stiftung für Gesundheitsinformation und Prävention, together with the Akademie für menschliche Medizin, presents a broad spectrum of measures to prevent the development of dementia. Within preventive measures, speech therapy offers an important therapeutic component that enables dementia patients to maintain contact with their environment. Especially in the early stages of the disease, no time should be lost and no one should hesitate to seek speech therapy treatment.
04 Nov
Causes
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Forms of treatment
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nutrition
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Prävention
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prevention
The fact that our health begins in the gut has been known for thousands of years. Today it is clear that our intestines are more than just a "digestive tube", as this important organ fulfils a variety of other functions. For example, a disturbance of gut health is directly related to the development of chronic diseases.
The intestinal flora, i.e. the microbial colonization of the intestinal mucosa, plays a particularly important role in this process. The intestinal flora is also known as the 'intestinal microbiota'. It is the most important part of our immune system and thus offers us effective protection against infection.
14 Oct
Causes
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Prävention
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prevention
Not everyone grows old the same way. The occurrence of dementia is also not the same in every person. While some people can live longer with good cognitive function and no signs of memory loss (even in the presence of severe neurological disease), others suffer from cognitive and memory impairment without so many brain damages in neurological tests.
21 Sep
Causes
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nutrition
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Prävention
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prevention
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Uncategorized
The 2020 report of the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care lists 12 modifiable risk factors that could help prevent dementia. This new report provides some important updates to the previous document, published in 2017.
12 Aug
Causes
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clinical trial
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Prävention
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prevention
The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has challenged neurologists for many years. It’s difficult to determine if someone will develop AD in the future, if the actual cognitive deficit is due to AD or to other cause of dementia and it’s also difficult to predict the pace or speed of disease progression.
15 Jul
Causes
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Prävention
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prevention
Although scientists have known for a long time that apolipoprotein E4 is a leading genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, it has long been unknown how exactly it leads to memory loss. US researchers now believe they have an answer.
17 Jun
Causes
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clinical trial
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Forms of treatment
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Prävention
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prevention
You go to a doctor - usually a neurologist - ask about natural or lifestyle-oriented therapeutic methods for dementia - and you often look into blank eyes, at worst into an aggressively wrinkled forehead "Don't give me that, all dangerous nonsense, there are only a few pharmacological approaches that may really work!"
29 Apr
Causes
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clinical trial
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nutrition
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Prävention
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prevention
A study published in The American Journal of Medicine 2018, has demonstrated that maintaining a healthy diet in midlife is independently associated with a larger hippocampus years later and may protect against cognitive decline. The hippocampus is a structure located in the temporal lobe of each brain hemisphere and is directly involved in the process of memory. The volume of the hippocampus can be determined by brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Decreasing of its volume is related to cognitive impairment and is used in clinical practice for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (hippocampus atrophy).
08 Apr
Causes
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Infections
The American researcher Dr. Pat McGeer researched whether viruses could possibly cause the alteration of brain cells. He stained brain cells of patients who died with AD using a different staining method. Although he found no evidence of a virus, he found vast amounts of certain brain cells (so-called microglia). These cells only appear in such big amount under certain condition: inflammation! Dr. McGeer researched that microglia had already been discovered in the brain of dementia patients in 1919. However, this theory was not further investigated by that time, but is currently receiving new attention.
18 Mar
Forms of treatment
Lithium is probably best known as a treatment for bipolar disorder but a very small dose of this element has been recently studied to prevent and slow the progress of AD. However, effective doses can sometimes cause negative side effects.
Trans-fats are on the retreat in Germany, but unhealthy food can promote their formation in the body
04 Mar
nutrition
The negative effects of trans fats (also known as trans fatty acids, TFA) on our cardiovascular health have been known for a long time, they are among the most unhealthy food components of all.
29 Jan
Causes
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Prävention
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prevention
Although known to be essential for all animals with nervous system, the main cellular function of sleep is still unknown. Prolonged sleep deprivation can be lethal, and sleep disturbances are associated with various deficiencies in brain performance.
08 Jan
clinical trial
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nutrition
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plant substances
Red wine drinkers are generally good-natured people and known for mastering life with pleasure and relaxation. These alone are two protective factors against dementia, because stress is poison for the brain (but more about this later on). In addition, a secondary plant substance present particularly in red wine is increasingly attracting the interest of research and prevention in Alzheimer's disease: resveratrol.
18 Dec
clinical trial
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Forms of treatment
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medication
Lanabecestat is a potent inhibitor of Amyloid beta (Aβ) formation – the main component of amyloid plaques. Aβ is formed through cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP) by proteases known as secretases (β and γ). The Beta-site-APP-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) cleaves APP at the β-secretase site, after which APP is cleaved by γ secretase to generate Aβ peptides. Lanabecestat inhibits BACE1 and was able to reduce levels of Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 in the brain, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and plasma in several animal models, as well as in human CSF and plasma. Besides that, Lanabecestat is brain permeable meaning that an adequate amount of this substance is able to reach the brain after oral intake.
27 Nov
Causes
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Forms of treatment
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micronutrient deficiencies
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nutrition
This descriptive documentation of the Arte TV channel shows very clearly the connections between an unbalanced diet, the resulting micronutrient deficiencies and the effects on the brain. Various experiments have shown that mice that grow up with a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids have deficits in the formation of their neurons and are much more anxious.
13 Nov
Causes
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periodontosis
The association between cognitive function and oral health has been well documented so far by some observational studies. On the one hand it has been reported that periodontal disease and tooth loss are associated with increased risk of dementia. On the other hand, improved memory after dental intervention has also been observed.
25 Oct
medication
Several million patients in Germany are treated with statins. In 2004, the consumption of lipid-lowering drugs throughout Germany amounted to around 856 million defined daily doses (DDD). In 2011 the amount increased to: 1.718 million DDD.
With the target to lower cholesterol levels, this doubtful strategy is still being mistakenly promoted to reduce heart disease risk. As a side effect, doctors and patients are accepting a possible cognitive decline.
These are the results of a study published in 2018 in the journal Frontiers in Neurology, which looked into the relationship between cholesterol and cognitive function [1]. While cholesterol is still largely vilified, and statin use still heavily promoted, the study found that having lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is linked to a higher risk of dementia.
04 Oct
Causes
The focus of Alzheimer’s research has been, so far, the molecular process which leads to a change in the brain structure, above all and first in the hippocampus. Here, an increased formation of amyloid beta (Aß) plaques is observed in the brains of Alzheimer patients. These protein adhesions impair the communication between nerve cells. Such alterations are attributed to ageing and genetic predisposition. As a result, Alzheimer’s research has been searching for years (but without any success) for a drug therapy to eliminate or at least reduce plaque formation. A very monocausal view of the problem.
25 Jul
nutrition
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plant substances
The benefits of curcumin in different organ systems have been extensively documented in the past in several neurological diseases and cancer. Curcumin has received worldwide recognition for its potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and antimicrobial activities. Curcumin has been successfully used to treat diabetes and arthritis, as well as liver, kidney and cardiovascular diseases. Recently, attention has focused on the use of curcumin to prevent or delay the onset of neurodegenerative diseases.
26 Jun
Forms of treatment
Despite the significant health problem posed by the disease, only five medical treatments are approved for Alzheimer's disease (AD), which are intended to control symptoms rather than change the course of the disease. By understanding the overlapping mechanisms of AD pathology, it is possible to get an idea of the complexity of this problem.
11 Jun
Prävention
The World Health Organization has recognized that dementia is a rapidly growing public health problem affecting some 50 million people around the world. There are nearly 10 million new cases per year, and this number is expected to triple by 2050.
Dementia is a major cause of disability and need for care among older people and can destroy the lives of those affected and their families. In addition, the disease places a heavy economic burden on society as a whole, with the cost of caring for people with dementia estimated to rise to $2 trillion annually by 2030.