Alzheimer's Archives - Hormones Matter

Decreasing the Risk of Alzheimer’s with Vitamin D

Published on July 6, 2015

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As a health writer, I must ask if adequate vitamin D can prevent and/or treat the progressive brain disease called Alzheimer’s. No one should have to endure Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a deadly cognitive disorder that the Alzheimer’s Association® claims cannot be prevented or cured.

Staggering Statistics

The number of Alzheimer’s patients is growing at an alarming rate. Nearly 44 million people worldwide have developed AD, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International. Moreover, incidences of the deadly disease are expected to increase significantly over the next decade.

About 5.3 million Americans have AD. In fact, at least three persons living in the United States will develop AD before you finish reading this brief article. Yes, every 67 seconds another American succumbs to Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia. (1)

The medical community’s views about why the prevalence of AD is rising at a staggering rate remain varied. Many believe genetics and environmental pollutants may serve as risk factors. Some believe the predominance of vitamin D deficiency may be linked to the mounting incidences of AD. In fact, scientific research indicates that the majority of Alzheimer patients have low levels of vitamin D.

But first, let’s understand what happens to the brain when Alzheimer’s strikes it.

The Brain on Alzheimer’s

The sheer complexity of the human brain is daunting. A healthy adult brain contains approximately 100 billion nerve cells, called neurons, which connect at more than 100 trillion points in the central nervous system.

The adverse effects of Alzheimer’s on the brain are obvious to medical personnel interpreting the images. First, the brain of an AD patient is smaller than one of a healthy adult. The decreased brain size is a result of the brain tissue containing significantly fewer neurons. Second, abnormal clusters of amyloid-beta protein fragments, called plaques, collect between nerve cells in the brain. Thirdly, dead or dying neurons, called tangles, are visibly present in the brain of an AD patient.

Signals traveling through the brain’s extensive neural network form the basis of memories, thoughts, and feelings. When plaques and tangles develop in the brain, the signaling essential to cognitive function becomes disrupted. Moreover, the brain cells are destroyed, resulting in progressive cognitive issues including memory loss, poor decision-making and behavioral problems.

Vitamin D’s Beneficial Effects on the Brain

Vitamin D crosses the blood-brain barrier. And every one of the 100 billion or so neurons in the brain includes a vitamin D receptor (VDR) that influences cognitive health.

In order to regulate specific brain functions, the VDR in these cells must be turned on by receiving activated vitamin D. Without sufficient vitamin D to activate its receptors, the neurons cannot work properly.

Activated vitamin D affects the development of neurons as well as their maintenance and survival, by regulating the synthesis of nerve growth factor.

Remember those plaques and tangles that disrupt the brain’s intricate signaling system? The neuro-protective effects of this vitamin also include the modulation of signal stability within the brain’s complex neural network.

Recent Research Links Vitamin D Deficiency and Alzheimer’s

An abundance of research connects vitamin D deficiency, a condition that is highly prevalent in adults aged 65 years and above, to cognitive decline. So I explored recent research to learn more about the association.

International experts gathered at an invitational summit on “Vitamin D and Cognition in Older Adults” to provide “clear” guidance to researchers and clinicians about the role of vitamin D in Alzheimer’s. They agreed that vitamin D deficiency (a blood serum level < 30ng/mL or 75 nmol/L) increases the risk of cognitive decline and dementia in adults aged 65 and older. Their report was published in the January 2015 edition of the prestigious Journal of Internal Medicine.

Dutch researchers reviewed medical literature about vitamin D’s association with cognition in older adults. They found “emerging evidence that suggests a beneficial role for vitamin D in brain physiology.” The researchers noted associations between higher blood serum vitamin D levels and better cognitive performance. The reviewers’ findings were presented in the January 2015 issue of the journal Current Opinion of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care.

Sir Michael J. Berridge, an eminent physiologist and biochemist, conducted a study at The Babraham Institute in the United Kingdom that was published in the June 1, 2015 edition of the journal Biochemical Society Transactions. His research suggests that vitamin D is the “guardian” of signaling stability. By examining vitamin D’s role in the constancy of the Ca2+ (calcium) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling pathways, Berridge postulated the necessity of activated vitamin D to maintain the normal function of these critical, intracellular “cross-talk” molecules. He concluded that “a decline in vitamin D levels will lead to erosion of this signaling stability,” suggesting that a plethora of diseases linked to vitamin D deficiency are also associated with a dysregulation in both Ca2+ and ROS signaling.

Bolster Your Brain with Vitamin D

The statistics of escalating rates of Alzheimer’s suggest that your life—in some way—will most likely be impacted this deadly disease.

A breakthrough study, published June 24, 2015 in the online version of the journal Neurology, revealed that Alzheimer’s may develop 20 years before any symptoms appear. These findings suggest that we may be able to prevent this deadly disease. They also indirectly hint at the need for humans to be vitamin D-rich throughout life.

Considering the association between vitamin D deficiency and Alzheimer’s, I encourage readers to consider seriously daily supplementation with vitamin D3 and its partners, magnesium and vitamin K2.

Perhaps Michael F. Holick, MD, PhD, one of the world’s leading experts, said it best: He concluded in an article on brain health, published in a 2015 issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine by stating, “There is no downside to increasing vitamin D status for all by encouraging vitamin D supplementation and sensible sun exposure.”

Footnote 1: “Dementia” encompasses a spectrum of brain-related diseases including Alzheimer’s.

About the Author: Susan Rex Ryan, author of the award-winning vitamin D book Defend Your Life, is dedicated to vitamin D awareness. Her extensive collection of health articles can be found on Hormone Matters as well as her blog at smilinsuepubs.com. Join Sue in her “Vitamin D Wellness” FB Group to learn more about vitamin D3, magnesium, and vitamin K2 supplementation. Follow her on Twitter @vitD3sue.

Caffeine to Prevent and Treat Alzheimer’s Disease?

by Lisa Bloomquist

Published on September 25, 2014

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A coffee a day keeps the dementia at bay. Actually, it’s 3 to 5 cups of coffee a day – moderate consumption throughout adulthood – that has been shown to prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in later life; “a coffee a day keeps the dementia at bay” just seemed catchier.

Beyond catchiness, some very interesting research reveals that moderate consumption of coffee can help to clear beta amyloid from the brain. (“Beta amyloid denotes peptides of 36–43 amino acids that are crucially involved in Alzheimer’s disease as the main component of the amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer patients.”)

Building the case that coffee consumption prevents Alzheimer’s, it is noted in “Caffeine Suppresses Amyloid-B Levels in Plasma and Brain of Alzheimer’s Disease Transgenic Mice” that:

Recent longitudinal studies spanning 4–10 years suggest that habitual caffeine/coffee intake protects against cognitive impairment in aging humans. Moreover, an epidemiological study evaluated caffeine intake during the 20 years preceding AD (Alzheimer’s disease) diagnosis and found that AD patients consumed markedly less caffeine during that period compared to age-matched individuals without AD. Collectively, these and other observational human studies suggest that habitual caffeine/coffee intake may protect against memory impairment and AD during aging.

Epidemiological studies are valuable and telling, but they are not controlled and drawing causal conclusions from them is difficult. The next step in the research process would be to see how animals react. In mouse studies, it has been found that regular administration of caffeine to mice that had a genetic predisposition toward Alzheimer’s development (APPsw mice), showed that caffeine prevented Alzheimer’s disease development. Specifically, the researchers found that caffeine “1) protected these mice from otherwise certain cognitive impairment in older age, and 2) limited their brain production of the peptide β-amyloid (Aβ). The moderate amount of caffeine intake given to these APPsw mice (human equivalency of 5 cups of coffee per day) suppressed both β-secretase (BACE1) and γ-secretase/PS1 levels in hippocampus, indicating that caffeine can directly impact AD pathogenesis in these AD mice.”

In another study, “Beneficial effects of caffeine in a transgenic model of Alzheimer’s disease-like tau pathology” published in Neurobiology and Aging in 2014, it was noted that regular caffeine consumption broke up tau deposits, along with beta-amyloid plaques, two of the dominant characteristics of Alzheimer’s affected brains.

Of course, we’re not mice and five cups of coffee seems a bit excessive, but the combination of the epidemiological data and rodent data suggest there might be something to the caffeine – Alzheimer’s connection. Add that to the correlational data with humans showing that people who drink coffee regularly are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and we have strong case for regular consumption of caffeine (especially coffee – other sources of caffeine have been less strongly linked to Alzheimer’s prevention) throughout adulthood in order to prevent Alzheimer’s in later life. The next step is clinical trials in humans and those have been initiated. Until those results are in, we can only postulate a connection.

It should be noted that the anti-Alzheimer’s disease drugs that are currently on the market, cholinesterase inhibitors and NMDA receptor antagonists, show far less efficacy at treating or preventing Alzheimer’s disease than caffeine/coffee. Both cholinesterase inhibitor and NMDA receptor antagonist drugs “have minimal benefits and do not appear to address AD pathogenesis.” Neither cholinesterase inhibitor nor NMDA receptor antagonist drugs reduce tau deposits or beta-amyloid plaques. Caffeine does. Given that caffeine is safe for most people, readily available, inexpensive and has minimal side-effects and that cholinesterase inhibitor and NMDA receptor antagonist drugs have none of those benefits – regular coffee consumption may be an interesting option for treating and preventing Alzheimer’s.

Good job, big pharma. That’s why you’re paid the big bucks – to create drugs that are less effective (and far more dangerous) than a $1 cup of McDonalds coffee.

Resources:

Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, “Caffeine suppresses β-amyloid levels in plasma and brain of Alzheimer’s transgenic mice”
Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, “Caffeine reverses cognitive impairment and decreases brain amyloid-beta levels in aged Alzheimer’s disease mice.”
Neurobiology of Aging, “Beneficial effects of caffeine in a transgenic model of Alzheimer’s disease-like tau pathology”
Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, “Caffeine as a protective factor in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.”
Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, “Caffeine and Coffee as Therapeutics Against Alzheimer’s Disease”
Science Daily, “Caffeine against Alzheimer’s disease? Positive effect on tau deposits demonstrated”

About the Author: Lisa Bloomquist was “Floxed” on her 32nd birthday by Cipro, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. After 2 years of battling the mysterious health ailments that come with an adverse reaction to a fluoroquinolone, she has fought her way back to health. She is now fighting for recognition of the harm that these drugs can cause and hoping to help those who are suffering from them through their fluoroquinolone induced illness to find recovery. Her web site, Floxie Hope, highlights stories of hope and recovery. Mito Madness, also started by Lisa, focuses on the absurdity of ignoring the role of mitochondria in forming disease models.

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