When a friend or family member has Alzheimer’s disease, you may feel upset, confused or scared. Alzheimer’s can be puzzling because a person who has it often doesn’t look sick.

Some people with early stage Alzheimer’s may forget words or not remember your name sometimes. Otherwise you may not notice too many changes. But, when you spend time with people with later stage Alzheimer’s, it is easy to see that something serious is going on. Some people with Alzheimer’s may cry, become angry very easily or behave in ways that embarrass you. Sometimes the person may not remember who you are, even if it is someone like a grandparent who knows you very well.

People with Alzheimer’s disease are not acting like this because they don’t care about you anymore. Changes deep inside their brains are destroying the centers that control remembering, thinking and feeling. They are losing their ability to make sense out of the world.

This page provides resources to help you learn about Alzheimer’s disease and understand how it affects you. It’s important to know that you are not alone. Alzheimer’s changes the lives of everyone it touches.

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New Videos for Kids

Kids Looking at Alzheimer’s

New Videos for Teens

How Alzheimer’s disease affects the brain

• Your Brain: More Powerful than a Wizard, More Complex than a Computer
  Do you like Harry Potter? This article explores how your extraordinary brain power helps you read, understand and remember. It also explains how Alzheimer’s disease damages the brain.
• Brain Tour
  What happens in the brain of a person with Alzheimer’s disease? This interactive tour explains how the brain works and how Alzheimer’s affects it.

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Resources

For parents and teachers

 Resources for Parents and Teachers (2 pages)
This document provides additional resources to help kids and teens understand and cope with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

  After a Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s: Gee’s Story
Gee’s father has Alzheimer’s disease. Watch Gee talk about helping her children deal with her father’s disease.

 After a Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s: Libby’s Story
Libby has Alzheimer’s disease. See her talk about sharing the diagnosis with her grandson.

Talking with Kids and Teens
This web section provides parents with information on how to help kids and teens deal with the emotions and reactions that are common when a loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

It was seven months ago that doctors diagnosed Summitt with early-onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type, an incurable brain disease that affects memory, thinking and behavior.

Summitt chose to go public with her affliction and now the Tennessee Lady Vols, who face UCLA on Saturday, have become much more than a sports story.

Think back to when Magic Johnson announced he was HIV-positive and fans expected the worst. Something similar is happening with the 59-year-old Summitt.

This is an iconic figure, a pioneer of women’s athletics who has 1,077 victories on her resume, more than Mike Krzyzewski or Bob Knight or anyone else in the college game. People are watching to see if that famous stare goes vacant or her razor-sharp mind turns dull.

Maybe that’s why Summitt delights in challenging them to a computer game.

“Yeah, we’ve played,” said Holly Warlick, her long-time associate head coach. “She kills me every time.”

The game plan

Facing the fight of her life, Summitt has chosen to focus her energy on basketball and health. That means no interviews for the time being, but she encourages friends and family to speak for her.

They say the early signs of dementia might have gone overlooked because the preternaturally busy Summitt had always misplaced her keys or forgotten where she parked her car.

But then her jam-packed schedule — meetings and practices, booster club speeches and news conferences — became too much.

“She just wasn’t multitasking like she used to,” Tyler said. “She was doing four things at once instead of seven.”

Her staff noticed that she would forget some small detail about a high school recruit they had discussed the day before. That might have been understandable with another coach, but not Summitt.

“Pat was always a machine,” assistant Dean Lockwood said. “Normally, she would remember everything we talked about.”

Last May, a trip to the Mayo Clinic confirmed the worst. Not surprisingly, there were a few days of anger and denial. Then came another predictable response.

“She always has a game plan,” said Billie Moore, the former UCLA coach who has been Summitt’s mentor and friend for many years. “She thinks that if she follows her game plan, she can control whatever’s going on.”

Summitt has attacked dementia with the same tenacity that fueled her career, from Tennessee farm girl to college and Olympic athlete, from 22-year-old rookie coach to living legend.
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The first step was easy. Her style has always accentuated honesty — sometimes brutal honesty — so she wasn’t about to hide this disease. Summitt called a team meeting.

It was late August, the season still weeks away, and the Lady Vols wondered if they were in trouble. Forward Vicki Baugh said: “We had no idea.”

Summit broke the news, then made two promises.

“I’m not going to forget your names,” people in the room recall her saying. “And I’m not going to stop yelling at you.”

Her players were emotional, Baugh standing up to say: “We’ve got your back.” Others asked how they could help, but Summitt’s game plan was already in motion.

The coach takes various medications in hopes of slowing dementia’s progress. She watches what she eats, does yoga and keeps her mind active with those iPad games.

“She plays them all the time, and she’s good at them,” Baugh said. “Those games are hard.”

Humor is another part of the approach. If someone around her forgets to do something, she quips: “I guess I’m not the only one with dementia.”

The disease comes in handy from time to time.

“If there’s something she didn’t want to do,” Warlick said. “She’ll just pretend that she forgot.”

Small changes

Fans might have noticed a difference this season, watching the sixth-ranked Lady Vols forge a 6-2 record against tough preconference competition.

At the start of each timeout, the coaches gather to decide on their message to the players. After that, Warlick usually runs the huddle.

“This didn’t happen overnight,” she said. “Pat has always been trusting of her assistants.”

It helps that her staff has been with her for years. They know the program top to bottom and can step in for all types of duty.

That means taking over Summitt’s speaking engagements and much of the recruiting chores. Warlick focuses on defense during practices while Mickey DeMoss handles the offense.

Lockwood compares Summitt to a football coach who used to be all over the field, jumping into defensive line drills, then demonstrating technique to the running backs.

“Now she’s like a coach in the tower,” he said. “Every so often, that bullhorn comes out and a player gets blasted.”

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Every morning, Marvin Weinstein fixes breakfast for his wife of 56 years, Estelle. She doesn’t speak. Diagnosed in 2005 with Alzheimer’s disease, she has forgotten how. It’s been a long time since she could remember his name.

Instead of holding a one-sided conversation at their kitchen table, Weinstein plays selections from a donated iPod shuffle (“or whatever it’s called,” the 81-year-old says). The Cherry Hill couple listen to Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Kate Smith or songs from the 1940s and ‘50s they once danced to.

Weinstein sings along, recalling the words as best he can. Then he hears his wife’s voice: “God bless America,” she sings. “Land that I love …”

It’s sweet, sweet music. And its ability to stimulate memory is more powerful than one might imagine.

The buzz about music and the brain has been growing louder in recent months. Music therapy is playing a role in the recovery of Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Arizona, who was shot in the head last January. She has since recovered part of her ability to walk, talk, read and write.

In South Jersey, too, caregivers and healthcare providers are turning to music as more than entertainment.

About six months ago, the owners of Assisted Living At Home started a nonprofit called Music For Memory, which collects used iPods and loads them with personalized music for people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

The Mount Laurel-based organization gives the devices to anyone who qualifies, about 40 so far, according to co-founder Gary Skole. The Weinsteins are among them.

“What we found through research and just in speaking to our clients is that music makes a huge difference,” said Skole, whose home care business specializes in dementia care. “When they can’t remember their children’s names, they can remember the words to the songs. When people are sitting there listless, they start to move and perk up.”

The iPods are customized with meaningful music: the client’s wedding song, military songs for veterans, and titles from their favorite singers. (Dean Martin seems to be a favorite, Skole said.) They come with large headphones or speakers, chargers and a lesson on how to use the device, all free of charge.

Music

• Identify music that’s familiar and enjoyable to the listeners.
• Use live music, tapes or CDs; radio programs, interrupted by too many commercials, can cause confusion.
• Use music to create the mood you want.
• Link music with other reminiscence activities; use photographs to help stir memories.
• Encourage movement (clapping, dancing) to add to the enjoyment.
• Avoid sensory overload; eliminate competing noises by shutting windows and doors and by turning off the television.

Reality: In the past people believed memory loss was a normal part of aging, often regarding even Alzheimer’s as natural age-related decline. Experts now recognize severe memory loss as a symptom of serious illness.

Whether memory naturally declines to some extent remains an open question. Many people feel that their memory becomes less sharp as they grow older, but determining whether there is any scientific basis for this belief is a research challenge still being addressed.
Myth 2: Alzheimer’s disease is not fatal.

Reality: Alzheimer’s disease has no survivors. It destroys brain cells and causes memory changes, erratic behaviors and loss of body functions. It slowly and painfully takes away a person’s identity, ability to connect with others, think, eat, talk, walk and find his or her way home.
Myth 3: Only older people can get Alzheimer’s

Reality: Alzheimer’s can strike people in their 30s, 40s and even 50s. This is called younger-onset Alzheimer’s. It is estimated that there are as many as 5.4 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States. This includes 5.2 million people age 65 and over and 200,000 people under age 65 with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Myth 4: Drinking out of aluminum cans or cooking in aluminum pots and pans can lead to Alzheimer’s disease.

Reality: During the 1960s and 1970s, aluminum emerged as a possible suspect in Alzheimer’s. This suspicion led to concern about exposure to aluminum through everyday sources such as pots and pans, beverage cans, antacids and antiperspirants. Since then, studies have failed to confirm any role for aluminum in causing Alzheimer’s. Experts today focus on other areas of research, and few believe that everyday sources of aluminum pose any threat.
Myth 5: Aspartame causes memory loss.

Reality: This artificial sweetener, marketed under such brand names as Nutrasweet and Equal, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in all foods and beverages in 1996. Since approval, concerns about aspartame’s health effects have been raised.

According to the FDA, as of May 2006, the agency had not been presented with any scientific evidence that would lead to change its conclusions on the safety of aspartame for most people. The agency says its conclusions are based on more than 100 laboratory and clinical studies. Read the May 2006 FDA statement about aspartame.
Myth 6: Flu shots increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Reality: A theory linking flu shots to a greatly increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease has been proposed by a U.S. doctor whose license was suspended by the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners. Several mainstream studies link flu shots and other vaccinations to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and overall better health.

A Nov. 27, 2001, Canadian Medical Journal report suggests older adults who were vaccinated against diphtheria or tetanus, polio, and influenza seemed to have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than those not receiving these vaccinations. The full text of this report is posted on the journal’s Web site.

A report in the Nov. 3, 2004, JAMA found that annual flu shots for older adults were associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes. The abstract of that report is posted on PubMed.

Myth 7: Silver dental fillings increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Reality: According to the best available scientific evidence, there is no relationship between silver dental fillings and Alzheimer’s. The concern that there could be a link arose because “silver” fillings are made of an amalgam (mixture) that typically contains about 50 percent mercury, 35 percent silver and 15 percent tin. Mercury is a heavy metal that, in certain forms, is known to be toxic to the brain and other organs.

Many scientists consider the studies below compelling evidence that dental amalgam is not a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Public health agencies, including the FDA, the U.S. Public Health Service and the World Health Organization, endorse the continued use of amalgam as safe, strong, inexpensive material for dental restorations.

March 1991, the Dental Devices Panel of the FDA concluded there was no current evidence that amalgam poses any danger.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1991 funded a study at the University of Kentucky to investigate the relationship between amalgam fillings and Alzheimer’s. Analysis by University statisticians revealed no significant association between silver fillings and Alzheimer’s. The abstract for this study is posted on the Journal of the American Dental Association Web site.

October 30, 2003, a New England Journal of Medicine article concluded that current evidence shows no connection between mercury-containing dental fillings and Alzheimer’s or other neurological diseases. The abstract for this study is posted on the New England Journal of Medicine Web site.

Myth 8: There are treatments available to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease

Reality: At this time, there is no treatment to cure, delay or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. FDA-approved drugs temporarily slow worsening of symptoms for about 6 to 12 months, on average, for about half of the individuals who take them.

Tens of thousands of Americans are calling on the government to correct “dramatically underfunded research” for Alzheimer’s disease and to improve diagnostic tools and treatments, according to a report released Monday by the Alzheimer’s Association.

“There really needs to be a transformational change to how we approach the disease,” says Harry Johns, president of the Alzheimer’s Association.

• PHOTOS: Readers share their Alzheimer’s stories

The association hosted 132 public sessions in 42 states and the District of Columbia, plus three national sessions over the summer to gather public opinion for the formation of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act, signed into law by President Obama last January. The first draft of NAPA will be completed by the end of the year, according to Don Moulds, deputy assistant secretary for planning and evaluation for Health and Human Services.

Families hope for better diagnostic test

Susan Howe Crowson hopes researchers will soon discover a reliable diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease. At public sessions held last summer by the Alzheimer’s Association, she spoke about the need for better, earlier diagnoses, “so families can plan for the future.”

Only an autopsy can definitively detect Alzheimer’s now. Howe Crowson’s father, Warner Howe, died of Alzheimer’s Feb. 8 at age 91. She had visited him several years ago and found his memory failing, even though his neurologist had given him a clean bill of health two weeks before.

“My mother had just died,’’ says Howe Crowson. “I took my father back to their apartment and he couldn’t find the bathroom, which was right next to the bedroom, or his pajamas. He was like a lost puppy.’’

She took him back to the neurologist. His memory issues weren’t shock-related, but a bad diagnosis the first time.

Alzheimer’s can be detected by an “experienced physician” 90-95% of the time with various cognitive tests done over a period of time along with input from a family member who has seen mental changes in the loved one, says Bill Thies, chief medical and scientific officer for the Alzheimer’s Association. A diagnosis from a blood test does not exist yet, he says.

The association’s website www.alz.org lists early warning signs and how to find an experienced doctor.

“We’re still several years away from a standard clinical (cognitive) test,’’ says Thies.

Johns is hopeful new public faces for Alzheimer’s will raise the national focus on the disease and eliminate the stigma associated with it. Both Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt and singer Glen Campbell announced this year they have Alzheimer’s and are continuing to work. Campbell is being saluted at Wednesday’s Country Music Association Awards.

“We haven’t really had anyone go public with Alzheimer’s since Ronald Reagan, and when he announced it, we didn’t see much of him anymore,” says Johns. “After Betty Ford told the world she had breast cancer, it made a big difference in how the disease was treated. I think Pat and Glen will help immensely.”

According to the report, the sentiment expressed at the meetings was that an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is even worse than a malignant cancer diagnosis, since an Alzheimer’s patient has no hope of beating the disease.

“By making Alzheimer’s a national priority, the United States has the potential to create the same success that has been demonstrated in the fights against other major diseases. Federal leadership has helped lower the number of deaths from conditions such as HIV/AIDS, cancer and heart disease,” the report’s authors write.

Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the USA. It is the only cause among the top 10 without a way to prevent, cure or slow its progression of robbing the brain of memory.

In 2011, the government will spend about $502.5 million on research for Alzheimer’s and related dementias. About $450 million of that will come from the National Institutes of Health. By comparison, NIH is expected to spend $521 million on complementary alternative medicine and $823 million on obesity.

The National Institute on Aging spends more on Alzheimer’s than any other disease says NIA’s director, Richard Hodes. NIA’s estimated spending is $329 million for 2011.

Some diseases have separate agencies within NIH. The National Cancer Institute will spend about $6 billion in 2011 on cancer, with additional funding allocated for breast, brain and lung cancers.

Nearly 70% of U.S. respondents said the government should increase spending for Alzheimer’s research, according to a recent Harvard School of Public Health survey.

“I can’t speculate on that (possibility),” says Moulds. “Funding is obviously an important question. It is part of the secretary’s decision making as she works out 2012 and 2013 budgets.”

Answer the call for Alzheimer’s and dementia progress.
Submit your abstract from November 1, 2011 – January 30, 2012.

New! The conference schedule has been altered to allow for additional submitted content. An extra block of oral sessions each day and a greater number of featured research sessions will increase the number of accepted abstracts.

Topics of interest
Presentation types
Submission requirements

AAIC 2012 Topics of interest

• Epidemiology and prevention
• Genetics
• Clinical diagnosis across the spectrum
• Therapeutic strategies
• Cellular and animal models
• Molecular and cellular mechanisms of disease
• Translational studies
• Neuropsychological assessment
• Social, behavioral and care research and practice
• Related dementias
• Systemic mechanisms of disease
• Neuroimaging
• And more

Alzheimer’s Imaging Consortium (AIC) Topics of Interest
The AIC is a one day preconference on July 14, 2012. Submitted abstracts should focus on the clinical application and methodological development of neuroimaging (modalities including MRI, PET, SPECT, CT and others) to Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias and normal brain aging.

Presentation Types

Featured Research Sessions
As part of the submitted program, these sessions last for ninety minutes and are organized entirely by researchers around a specific topic. Featured research sessions are CME accredited.

Oral Sessions
These 90 minute sessions are comprised of six segments with a different speaker for each segment. They are grouped by general topic and will begin with introductions by the session chairs. Each speaker will have approximately 12 minutes to present, followed by a three-minute question-and-answer period. Oral sessions are CME accredited.

New! A second block of oral sessions is being added to the schedule — one block in the morning and one in the afternoon — to increase the number of speakers included in the program.

Posters
More than 400 posters will be displayed daily by general topic. Posters will be displayed the entire day; presenters are required to be by their posters between 1-3:30 p.m. Poster sessions are not accredited for CME.

Fellowship Awards
A limited number of fellowships are available to presenting authors at both AAIC and the AIC. Fellowships will be provided in the form of conference registration, airfare and/or hotel. If you would like to be considered for a fellowship, please select the appropriate box during the abstract submission process.

Submission requirements

Read more about the submission requirements for each of the following categories.

Alzheimer’s Imaging Consortium Submission Requirements

Featured Research Session Requirements

General Abstract Submissions Requirements

Driving demands quick reaction time and fast decision making – because of this, a person with Alzheimer’s will eventually become unable to drive.

Ideally, families should talk openly about driving soon after a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Making decisions about when it is time to stop driving can be difficult, but dealing with the issue early on can help ease the transition.

Read more:

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> Having the conversation

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> Planning ahead

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> Signs of unsafe driving

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> Resources

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Watch how four families deal with different issues related to dementia and driving.

A Supportive Conversation: Frank has early stage Alzheimer’s and the doctor said it’s no longer safe for him to drive. His wife doesn’t drive, but knows it’s time to discuss finding alternative transportation. Full Screen

Having the conversation

Losing the independence driving provides can be upsetting. It is important to acknowledge a person’s feelings and preserve his or her independence, while ensuring the person’s safety and the safety of others.

Starting the conversation

• Initiate a dialogue to express your concerns. Stress the positive and offer alternatives.
• Address resistance while reaffirming your unconditional love and support.
• Appeal to the person’s sense of responsibility.
• Reinforce medical diagnoses and directives. Ask the physician to write a letter stating that the person must not drive. Or ask the physician to write a prescription that says, “No driving.” You can then use the letter or prescription to reinforce the conversation.
• Consider an evaluation by an objective third party.
• Understand that this may be the first of many conversations about driving

When the conversation does not go well
Some people give up driving easily, but for others this transition can be very difficult. Be prepared for the person to become angry with you, due to the memory and insight issues that are part of Alzheimer’s.

• Be patient and firm. Demonstrate understanding and empathy.
• Acknowledge the pain of this change and appeal to the person’s desire to act responsibly.
• Ask a respected family authority figure or your attorney to reinforce the message about not driving.
• If the conversation does not go well, do not blame yourself. The disease can impair insight and judgment, making it difficult for people to understand that their driving is no longer safe. Also the disease can cause mood and personality changes that make reactions more pronounced.
• As a last resort, take away the car keys, disable the car or remove the car completely. When you do any of these things, be sure to provide safe, reliable alternative transportation.

Planning ahead

For people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, it is never too soon to plan ahead for how you will get around when you can no longer drive. Putting a plan in place can be an empowering way to make your voice heard.

Tips for planning ahead

• Remember that each situation is unique. What works for one person may be different from what works for another. You can get the information and support you need from the Alzheimer’s Association at 800.272.3900.
• Involve family and close friends in the plan.
• Confront resistance. Empathize with those who are uncomfortable having the conversation and stress the importance of preparing for the future.
• Develop an agreement for all to share that includes practical safety steps, such as a periodic driving assessment, a GPS monitoring system for the car, and alternate transportation options.

Transportation options

Driving is not the only transportation option available. There are many options people can explore that will allow them to continue to travel independently and remain in control of their mobility.

• Transition driving responsibilities to others. Arrange for family members and friends to provide transportation.
• Arrange a taxi service.
• Use special transportation services for older adults. Access local resources using the Eldercare Locator at www.eldercare.gov.
• Reduce the need to drive by having prescription medicines, groceries or meals delivered.

Learn more: National Transportation Resources

Signs of unsafe driving

Determining when someone can no longer safely drive requires careful observation by family and caregivers. The following list provides warning signs that it’s time to stop driving:

• Forgetting how to locate familiar places
• Failing to observe traffic signs
• Making slow or poor decisions in traffic
• Driving at an inappropriate speed
• Becoming angry or confused while driving
• Hitting curbs
• Using poor lane control
• Making errors at intersections
• Confusing the brake and gas pedals
• Returning from a routine drive later than usual
• Forgetting the destination you are driving to during the trip

Driving evaluation

At the earliest stages, a person with Alzheimer’s disease may begin to have difficulty with complex tasks such as driving. Although family and caregivers can watch for signs of unsafe driving, a proactive strategy would be to get a comprehensive driving evaluation by an occupational therapy driving rehabilitation specialist. The evaluation provides a more objective understanding of the current impact of the disease on driving capacity and results in a plan of options. The goal is always to retain the highest level of independence and mobility in the community. Initial recommendations may include strategies to reduce driving risk during the early part of the disease. The occupational therapist can offer strategies specific to the individual’s goals and needs. The American Occupational Therapy Association website includes a national database of driving specialists as well as a wealth of resources for both persons with Alzheimer’s disease and their families.

Body seems to use brain’s downtime to clear away disease-related material, researchers say

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) — A new study shows that levels of amyloid beta, a byproduct of brain activity that is considered a marker for Alzheimer’s disease, normally rise during the day and decrease at night.

While the finding is preliminary, it could suggest a possible link between sleep deprivation and people’s risk for developing the brain-robbing disease, researchers say.

“We’ve known for some time that significant sleep deprivation has negative effects on cognitive [brain] function comparable to that of alcohol intoxication,” Dr. Stephen Duntley, professor of neurology and director of Washington University’s Sleep Medicine Center, said in a university news release. “But it’s recently become apparent that prolonged sleep disruption and deprivation can actually play an important role in pathological processes that underlie diseases. This connection to Alzheimer’s disease isn’t confirmed yet in humans, but it could be very important.”

The findings were released online in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of Archives of Neurology.

According to the researchers, levels of the amyloid beta protein do seem to ebb and flow.

“In healthy people, levels of amyloid beta drop to their lowest point about six hours after sleep, and return to their highest point six hours after maximum wakefulness,” Dr. Randall Bateman, associate professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, explained in the news release.

“We looked at many different behaviors, and the transitions between sleep and wakefulness were the only phenomena that strongly correlated with the rise and fall of amyloid beta in the spinal fluid,” he added.

Bateman and colleagues also found this pattern was most prevalent in healthy, young people and less pronounced in older adults who suffer from shorter or more disrupted periods of sleep.

They suggested the reason for this may be that the brain’s low activity during sleep allows the body to clear amyloid beta through the spinal fluid.

Levels of amyloid beta in older adults with Alzheimer’s appear to be constant, suggesting a possible link between lack of sleep and people’s odds for developing the disease, the team said.

In conducting the study, the researchers divided study participants into three groups:

• People aged 60 and older who tested positive for the presence of amyloid beta plaques in the brain.
• People aged 60 and older who did not have amyloid beta plaques.
• Healthy people ranging in age from 18 to 60 years.

Using a spinal tap, researchers monitored amyloid beta levels in the participants’ spinal fluid every hour for up to 36 hours. During this time, they also videotaped the patients’ activities and monitored their brain activity.

In the group with brain plaques, amyloid beta levels remained virtually constant. In the other two groups, however, the levels regularly rose and fell in snake-like waves. The highs and lows of this pattern were much more obvious in younger participants, and flatter in older people.

Although the participants’ activities did not have an impact on changes in amyloid beta levels, peaks in their sleep and wakefulness consistently occurred before peaks and drops in amyloid beta levels.

The study authors said that more research is needed to explore how disrupted sleep in young people disrupts the normal ebb and flow of spinal amyloid beta, and how sleep aids may help maintain this wave-like pattern.

“It’s still speculation, but there are tantalizing hints that better sleep may be helpful in reducing Alzheimer’s disease risk,” concluded Duntley. “We know from a number of studies that exercise enhances sleep, and research also has shown that exercise is associated with decreased risk of Alzheimer’s. Sleep might be one link through which that effect occurs.”

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about Alzheimer’s disease.

– Mary Elizabeth Dallas

SOURCE: Washington University School of Medicine, news release, Sept. 26, 2011

Last Updated: Sept. 28, 2011

Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Joe Imel/Associated Press

Pat Summitt has eight national championships at Tennessee.

By LYNN ZINSER