Further Hope for Alzheimer’s Sufferers

It is a disease that is affecting more and more people around the world every year, yet there is no cure and the prospects for anyone diagnosed are frightening. Alzheimer’s is a condition that affects the brain and brings on a crippling dementia that renders its sufferers isolated from the world around them.
Famous author Terry Pratchett recently brought the disease to the world’s attention following his diagnosis and following disgust at the fact that he, along with thousands others, had to pay for treatment that can slow the disease, but not stop it in its tracks.
Pratchett would no doubt have read with interest then, the story coming from the US regarding a new treatment for the disease which is showing signs of improvement in some patients. Californian researchers have found that by injecting an anti-arthritic drug called etanercept into the neck of Alzheimer’s patients and tilting the patient to encourage blood flow into the brain, a response rate of about 90% is detected usually within minutes.
Improvements progress over the weeks, say researchers, who base their evidence on 50 patients who are currently being treated at a private clinic.
Professor Edward Tobinick explains more: “What we see is an improvement in their ability to think and calculate, their memory improves, their verbal ability improves, they find words easier, they seem happier, and we often also see an improvement in gait in those patients whose gait is affected.”
However, whilst improvements are many, the team was quick to stress that none of the patients have returned to ‘normal’.
Whilst the report has been greeted with some skepticism by the wider clinical community, the news is welcomed by the Alzheimer’s Society, which said there was growing interest in etanercept.
“We have seen film footage of people improving remarkably very soon after having been given the drug,” said head of research Dr Suzanne Sorensen, “and many more people have now been treated with this drug. So I think it is the time to run a small clinical trial.”

Stop the Ageing Process – Start Jogging

Want to knock 12 long years off your life? The answer is simple, hit the pavement! Researchers claim that taking regular exercise such as jogging or cycling can stop the biological clock in its tracks and delay ageing by up to well over a decade! People in middle-age especially, seem to reap the benefits of starting a fitness regime, helping to reverse muscle power decline, balance and co-ordination in later life.
In other words, if the work is not put in in middle-age, people really begin to feel the effects of losing fitness in old age. Everyday activities become a real chore due to muscle weakness and loss of mobility. Just a bit of forethought earlier on would have prevented this.
Women as young as 35 can start to lose fitness so don’t think you have to wait until you are in your 50s to get moving. Men who are inactive can lose their fitness even earlier, from the age of 20 upwards.
According to the British Journal of Sports Medicine, cardiovascular training can stop the onset of middle age and help keep people in old age mentally and physically well and more importantly independently able.
Taking a stroll or doing some gardening work just as well as jogging or cycling – as long as the heart rate is raised to 120 beats a minute or higher, then the body is getting a good work out which will pay off hugely in later life.

It’s No Yolk!

First it was bacon that made the headlines for its potential health risks. Now another crucial ingredient in the great British breakfast, the humble egg, is also coming under fire. Researchers in America state that eating just one egg a day increases the risk of premature death for middle-aged men. Seven or more eggs a week was shown to push up the change of dying by any cause by a whopping 23 per cent.
Eggs have a very high cholesterol content, with about 220 milligrams per yolk, which can contribute to blood cholesterol levels and heart disease risk. This is the reason behind many debates into whether or not eggs are good for us.
However, many experts argue that the body can dispose of dietary cholesterol naturally and therefore eggs should pose no serious risk. Not so say researchers from Harvard Medical School, who have been analyzing a major 20-year study of 21,327 male egg-eating doctors. They say: “Whereas egg consumption of up to six eggs a week was not associated with the risk of all-cause mortality, consumption of (seven or more) eggs a week was associated with a 23 per cent greater risk of death.
“However, among males with diabetes, any egg consumption is associated with a greater risk of all-cause mortality, and there was suggestive evidence for a greater risk of MI (heart attack) and stroke.”
It was also pointed out however, that those men who ate the most eggs tended to be older, fatter and generally in poor health all round, with factors that also contribute to the risk of heart attack and death.
The egg is now turning into one of the most controversial foods of all time, and it remains to be seen whether the yolk will survive this latest test.
In the meantime however, people are advised to continue eating eggs, but like anything else keep the consumption within moderation.

Getting Itchy? It’s probably about that time…

People in relationships all know about the infamous ‘seven year itch’. It refers to that stage in the partnership when the cracks start to show, when people may begin to think about moving on to new horizons.
Anyone reading this thinking they have a couple of years to go before they reach this dreaded stage – be warned. Because now researchers say the rot starts to set in even quicker now, with couples barely making it to the five-year mark. However, the good news is that if they can ‘survive the five’, then they will stay together indefinitely.
US professor Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel laureate, says that the fifth anniversary can often signify talk of divorce as the excitement of falling in love begins to fade in the midst of the reality of every day life.
He said: “It is the balance of costs and benefits of marriage in terms of marriage. People have more sex and are less alone, and pay for it in other currencies. People have certain expectations and life doesn’t live up to them.”
Certainly sounds depressing but on the upside, everyone’s seventh year should be a cause for celebration and no longer a year to dread. That’s if you make it past the fifth dimension of course!

Is the End in Sight for Mushy Peas?

The future of mushy peas, the staple of many a British diet, is under threat following a Europe-wide food colour ban because of fears of a link with hyperactivity in children.
The customary green that many associate with mushy peas is actually an artificial food colouring. Without it they will look a distinctly less appetizing grey. So too is the famous Battenburg cake at risk of turning a whiter shade of pale, if the Foods Standard Agency get their way. The traditional pink and yellow layer cake also contains the colourings which are currently under review.
On a more serious note, the FSA are so concerned about the associated risks of using food colouring in food that they are asking UK ministers to push for voluntary removal of the colours by next year. Already many food manufacturers have been easing certain ‘E’ numbers out of their products, but the process is too slow, according to the FSA.
The artificial colours called into question are Sunset Yellow (E110), a colouring usually found in diluted soft drinks; Carmoisine (E122), a red colouring in jellies;  Ponceau 4R (E124), red colouring; Tartrazine (E102), found in lollies and fizzy drinks; Quinoline yellow, a common food colouring and Allura Red AC (E129), an orange/red food dye.
These six artificial food colourings were tested on a group of 300 children, who were each given something to drink. What the children did not know was that although the drinks looked alike, there were three different types; one a mix of colourings and additives, another containing the average consumption of additive intake by a child and the third a placebo drink with no additives.
The experiment was conducted to see how the children reacted to the different drinks given to them, with hyperactivity levels measured before and afterwards. The results showed that those children who had drunk the concoction filled with additives and colourings had much higher readings than those who had been given the placebo.
The FSA have been cautious in asking for an all-out ban on the colourings as according to board members, EU legislation would take many years to come into force, making a voluntary “phasing out” a more sensible option.
The food industry meanwhile, is disappointed that a voluntary ban has been put in place. A spokesman from the Food and Drink federation arguing that “UK food and drink manufacturers are already taking these colours out of products on supermarket shelves”. Products such as mushy peas will prove harder to clean up however, and the industry is fearful that such favourites will be forced off the shelves.
On the positive side, less additives in foods that appeal to children will mean less hyperactive kids, a plus that is supported by Action on Additives campaigner Anna Glayzer, who told the BBC: “If parents are concerned about any additives they should remember that, by law, food additives must be listed on the label so they can make the choice and avoid the product if they want to. We will be keeping a close eye on industry to see what effect the voluntary ban has.”
So will we – the future seems grim without mushy peas!