Extreme Knitting Redhead: WoW

Sunday, July 26, 2015

WoW

WoW - What a Week it's been in the world of dementia research. I seem to have spent all my time posting things on Facebook with lots of exclamation marks!

I'll try to do a brief resume of what's been happening but first Esther wants to share something with the world. I was supposed to be heading off into London for an update meeting about Join dementia research but when I went out to feed and check the horses I was greeted with the teeniest snicker from Esther who was peeping out of a field shelter and when she moved towards me she was really woozy and staggering around.

Closer inspection showed she had a lot of blood on her off-side hind leg and it looked as if she'd been stung or bitten by something so I called the vet immediately (at 5:45am I bet he loved me!). By the time the vet had left it was obvious that I couldn't leave Mike to watch over her as he'd be worried and wouldn't be comfortable as he isn't a horsey person, although he loves them dearly, so I had to pull out of the meeting.

Thankfully by mid-afternoon she was looking much perkier and was raring to get out but I decided to keep her in overnight just to make sure and she was absolutely fine the next morning.

I was bitten by a biting thing, possibly a wasp, and the vet gave me something to calm me down and mum said I had to stay in here 'cos I was "high as a kite". I don't know what a kite is but I am feeling very sorry for myself.

I've been incarcerated in here all day by a cruel woman - please help me!

Looking much perkier the following morning.

Now, about the dementia news. All the movers and shakers in the world of dementia research where gathered together in Washington last week for the Alzheimer's Association of America's International conference.

The first massive announcement was that the drug Solanezumab (no, I can't pronounce it properly yet either!) was back on the agenda. It was produced and developed by drug-makers Eli Lilly and trialled back in 2012 when it was dismissed after Phase 111 trials as it didn't show the benefits expected.

However, this was not the end for this drug and a follow-up study began on people in the earlier stages of Alzheimer's and that's what all the excitement was about. Please read Dr. Laura Philips blog post for more details.

At the moment it is impossible to stop the death of brain cells in Alzheimer's. I've written a bit about the amyloid proteins formed in the brain before but I liked this diagram I found on the BBC website as it's a good visual aid.

Current medications such as the drug Aricept only help the dying brain cells to function for as long as possible but the hope is that Solanezumab might be able to keep then alive by attacking the amyloid proteins which scientists believe lead to the death of brain cells.

Dr Eric Karran, Director of Research at Alzheimer's Research UK stated that if the results of the initial trial are replicated this could be a real breakthrough in Alzheimer's research. In his words "Then, for the first time, the medical community can say we can slow Alzheimer's, which is an incredible step forward. These data need replicating, this is not proof, but what you can say is it is entirely consistent with a disease-modifying effect".

What we want to see now is that the drug can slow down the progress of the disease if taken early enough.

Women's brains appear more vulnerable to Alzheimer's than men

No, I didn't like that headline either!

You can read the full article here which is very interesting. I've read so many articles this week and not all of them have given me a warm fuzzy feeling. I especially disliked this sentence which stuck out "a third study found that women who have surgery with general anesthesia are more likely than men to develop long-term problems with thinking and memory."

As someone who could write a guide to hospitals I have visited over the years, where I've had a total of 7 doses of general anaesthetic, those words filled me with dread.

Of course, the optimist in me knows that it doesn't mean I will definitely go on to develop dementia, but it's yet another thing to tick off the long list of dementia-indicators that haunts me in my darker moments.

Other links worth a look

There's an interesting article on the Join dementia research website asking the question "Why do some people get dementia and not others?" which is well worth a look.

Also, this article about dementias other than Alzheimer's give an interesting insight into symptoms other than loss of memory which ocur in some of the rarer forms of dementia.

Another article by Dr Laura Philips here talks about other clinical trials.

Last but not least some thoughts about why it's so important for scientists to share ideas and information - http://news.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk/joined-approach-solve-global-issue-dementia/

Phew! All very exciting stuff and I'm so glad that dementia is finally getting more attention.

I really need to do an update on my crafting soon as I've got crochet and knitting projects on the go plus there's another marathon on the horizon……..

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Mum's Story

In 1997 my mother, then aged 81, had a series of minor strokes. Shortly after that we started to notice behavioural changes notably memory loss and confusion over everyday items. We thought it was just old age finally catching up with her. Then she started wandering and had violent mood swings. Although she already lived with us it became obvious that she couldn't be left alone for long and so I left my job to care for her. The next few years saw a gradual decline into the blackness that is 'vascular dementia'. My normally placid mum became violent and aggressive. She had psychotic incidents where she would see imaginary people (children hiding in her wardrobe, Russians sitting on the stairs, women stealing her clothes) and she would shout at them and sometimes throw things too. She was so convincing that we used to go and check that there wasn't anyone there! When my sister died mum did not know who Judy was or that she was her daughter. There came a point when I suddenly realised she no longer knew that I was her daughter and this was a terrible time for me. In the last 2 years that she lived with us, life for us all became almost unbearable as she needed 24 hour care - she couldn't be left alone at all because she would either wander off or hurt herself, she never slept for more than 30 minutes at a time during the night, she became incontinent and incapable of doing anything for herself. Finally my husband and I realised that we could no longer provide her with the care that she needed and she went to live in a special care home where the team did a splendid job caring for her in the last few months of her life. There she lived a zombified existence unaware of who she was, what she was or where she was. It was heartbreaking. She died in March 2005, the day after her 89th birthday.

Thank you for taking the time to read mum's story and I hope you'll dig deep and sponsor me using the link below to help find a way of beating this destructive disease.