...Alzheimer's might be transmissible in similar way as infectious prion diseases

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston ^ | October 4, 2011 | Unknown

[decimon]

HOUSTON -- The brain damage that characterizes Alzheimer's disease may originate in a form similar to that of infectious prion diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob, according to newly published research by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

"Our findings open the possibility that some of the sporadic Alzheimer's cases may arise from an infectious process, which occurs with other neurological diseases such as mad cow and its human form, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease," said Claudio Soto, Ph.D., professor of neurology at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, part of UTHealth. "The underlying mechanism of Alzheimer's disease is very similar to the prion diseases. It involves a normal protein that becomes misshapen and is able to spread by transforming good proteins to bad ones. The bad proteins accumulate in the brain, forming plaque deposits that are believed to kill neuron cells in Alzheimer's."

[momtothree]

Thank you, Hawthorn. You definitely made me feel better. I saw Alzheimer patients when my son volunteered at a local nursing home. It is a disease beyond cruel in my eyes. I truly hope and pray that science can figure out a way to eliminate it or stop the progression. I was just concerned that people’s treatment of such souls would become insensitive.

[kalee]

I have a friend who is caring for three members of her family who are in different stages of the illness. Her husband and also her mother and aunt. Her house is very interesting to say the least. I feel so sorry for her because she has a tough row to hoe caring for them.

[Strk321]

That is true. Many things have been linked to dementia such as:

*Head trauma. One study done in the ‘90s of WWII vets found that those who were known to have sustained blows to the head in the war were much more likely to develop dementia. Also the well-known cases of boxers and football players suffering brain damage. It’s also worth noting that Ronald Reagan fell from a horse on his ranch shortly after leaving office in 1989. Coincidence?

*Exposure to toxic chemicals may cause brain damage. Reagan, Charles Bronson, Charlton Heston, Rita Hayworth, and other actors all suffered dementia possibly related to the makeup and special effects used in their acting careers (which often used nasty substances in olden days). Donald Trump’s father experienced AD as well. He was known to personally fumigate his hotel buildings.

*Infection. Old people do not have the immunity to fight off pathogens well. Various bugs could get into the brain and cause inflammatory damage.

*Diet. Diabetes may cause improper levels of blood sugar in the brain and impair its function.

*Anesthetic damage. The case of actor Peter Falk brought attention to this. He suddenly experienced dementia after dental surgery, and numerous reports of people suffering this have surfaced online. Slowing/stopping the heart during surgery may interrupt blood flow to the brain and cause damage.

AD is actually a very specific condition, but it cannot be diagnosed with certainty unless the brain is examined after death. Many so-called AD cases are not really this disease at all, but something else instead. Vascular dementia is often mistaken for AD, and sometimes the rare Lewy Body Dementia (which produces somewhat different symptoms than Alzheimer’s)

[Strk321]

I saw it once while visiting my grandmother in the hospital (she was being treated for a bladder infection). Anyway, the room next to hers had an old lady violently fighting the nurse and yelling profanity. It was tragicomic in a way.

[Ditter]

You reminded me of the only other time I have seen Alzeheimers and it was funny and sad. It was the elderly wife of my mothers cousin. It was at a family party and this cousin circled through the group with a slice of cake on a saucer. She asked if you wanted cake and if you said no thanks, she smiled and was back again in 5 minutes asking if you wanted cake. This went on for several hours. She was like a 5 year old girl serving cake at a pretend tea party. It was very sweet and very sad, she was 70 years old.

[Strk321]

If you only saw it once, consider yourself lucky. I have no family history of it, and my grandmother only had some slight mental fogginess in her last year which I attribute to medication or possibly atherosclerosis (she died of an apparent stroke)

This old lady in the hospital was thrashing violently and screaming things like “Ahhh! Get your f*#%ing hands off of me! Get out of my house!”

“You reminded me of the only other time I have seen Alzheimers and it was funny and sad. It was the elderly wife of my mothers cousin. It was at a family party and this cousin circled through the group with a slice of cake on a saucer. She asked if you wanted cake and if you said no thanks, she smiled and was back again in 5 minutes asking if you wanted cake. This went on for several hours. She was like a 5 year old girl serving cake at a pretend tea party. It was very sweet and very sad, she was 70 years old.”

That’s unfortunate because 70 isn’t really that old (75+ is old). Early-onset, I guess. I’ve read of some real horror stories like AD patients fighting nurses, ripping their clothes off, smearing feces on themselves, etc. It’s like trying to contain a wild chimpanzee in those cases.

And then you have the really gentle ones like mentioned above and like Ronald Reagan where the person just becomes like a little kid.