Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 21 November 1996 — Page 19

The Muncie Times, November 21,1996, Page 19 Alzheimer’s Disease: The facts and figures

Listed below are some statistics about Alzheimer’s disease: • Four million Americans are victims of Alzheimer’s disease. • 100,000 victims die and 250,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s are diagnosed each year. • Almost 50 percent of those 85 years and older suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. • By the year 2050, about 14 million Americans are estimated to have Alzheimer’s disease. • Alzheimer’s disease costs society close to $90 billion a year, by conservative estimates. • Alzheimer’s lasts an average of 7 years. • Seventy percent of Alzheimer’s patients are cared for in the home. • More than half of all nursing home residents have Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder. As disturbing as the statistics on Alzheimer’s disease are, scientists are making advances in the field. Since its inception in 1985, the Alzheimer’s Disease Research program of the American Health Assistance Foundation has funded 227 projects, with a total commitment of more than $24.3 million. Nerve Cell Damage in Alzheimer’s In Alzheimer’s disease, abnormal deposits of certain proteins accumulate just outside of nerve cells in the brain, called neurons. These

localized deposits are believed to cause cellular damage and nerve cell death, eventually leading to dementia. Amyloid-beta peptide, the main component of these protein deposits, is considered neurotoxic because it can cause the premature death of neurons. Amyloid-beta peptide becomes neurotoxic when it attaches itself to neurons through receptors, which are located on the surface of cells. Dr. David Stem and his colleagues at the Columbia University in New York have discovered a receptor present on the surface of neurons which interacts with amyloid-beta peptide, thereby triggering beta-amyloid’s toxic effects on these cells. The study was published in the Aug. 22, 1996 issue of the journal Nature. This receptor, called RAGE, is expressed at high levels in the brain tissue of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. In laboratory experiments, preventing the binding of amyloid-beta peptide to RAGE suppresses the toxic effects of amyloidbeta peptide on neurons. If this binding could also be blocked in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, it might considerably slow the progression of the disease. Dr. Stem’s findings could one day lead to a therapy which would prevent the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Reducing Alzheimer’s Risk Research findings announced in the Aug. 17, 1996 issue of the journal Lancet suggest that women who take the hormone estrogen to reduce the symptoms of menopause may also be protecting themselves against Alzheimer’s disease. A study of 1,124 menopausal women showed that women who took the hormone for 10 years had a 30 to 40 percent reduction in risk for Alzheimer’s. Among the women in the study who had taken estrogen for at least 2 months, Alzheimer’s disease was diagnosed in 2.7 percent each year. Of those who had never taken estrogen, 8.4 percent developed Alzheimer’s each year. For those who

took estrogen but developed Alzheimer’s anyway, use of the hormone seemed to delay the onset of the disease. Estrogen, an important female hormone whose production drops off with the onset of menopause, has other proven protective effects. A quarter of the postmenopausal women in the United States take estrogen supplements to reduce symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes and insomnia. Long-term estrogen replacement therapy reduces the risk of heart disease, the number one killer of women, and osteoporosis in women. The Lancet study’s findings have sparked plans for a large, federallysponsored clinical trial to verify the proposed link between estrogen and

Alzheimer’s disease. Ongoing efforts to discover how the hormone may protect the brain could lead to the development of new Alzheimer’s drugs useful for men and women. However, experts warn that the study’s findings were not certain enough to recommend immediately that most older women start taking estrogen, because the hormone has been linked to negative side effects, such as a small increase in breast cancer risk. The American Health Assistance Foundation (AHAF) recommends that women considering taking estrogen should consult thenphysician for a full analysis of their medical situation and their possible risk of experiencing negative side effects from estrogen replacement therapy.

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