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Why Lipoic Acid Is Much More Than Just Another Anti-oxidant

Article by Steve P Smith

Lipoic acid, also known as alpha-lipoic acid or thioctic acid, is a vitamin like compound produced naturally by the body in very limited quantities, but which may also be obtained from various dietary sources.

The lipoic acid produced in the body is closely bound to certain proteins and is essential to work in harmony with the B complex vitamins for the release of energy from food. No symptoms have ever been attributed to a deficiency of this type of lipoic acid, suggesting that the body is always able to manufacture a sufficient supply for this purpose. Research has focussed, however, on the possible benefits of high dose supplementation with what is known as “free lipoic acid”, which does not bind with proteins in the body.

Lipoic acid functions as an anti-oxidant, assisting in the destruction of the free radicals which may damage cell DNA and membranes. However, lipoic acid is found in tiny quantities when compared with other anti-oxidants such as vitamins C and E, and the enzyme, glutathione. Moreover, any increase in lipoic acid activity obtained through supplementation is likely to be short lived. The real anti-oxidant importance of lipoic acid, however, lies in its capacity to recharge and renew these other anti-oxidants, consequently enhancing their potency.

Lipoic acid has also been shown to stimulate the production of glutathione in the body, a particularly important consideration in the case of the elderly who commonly have difficulty synthesising this enzyme and are consequently more vulnerable to the free radical attack which may damage cells and ultimately contribute to degenerative disease.

Research has suggested that high doses of lipoic acid may assist individuals with type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes by improving glucose regulation and reducing the resistance to insulin which is characteristic of this form of the disease. Doses of 600 mg per day and more have been shown to enhance the action of insulin in type 2 diabetic individuals by as much as 25% after four weeks. It is much less clear, however, whether such courses of treatment will maintain similar benefits in the longer term.

There are also indications that lipoic acid may be effective in the alleviation of the pain and weakness commonly suffered by diabetic individuals as a result of peripheral nerve damage, particularly in the lower legs and feet. Close control of blood glucose levels has been found to be the best means of preventing this diabetic neuropathy, and although research suggests intravenous supplementation to be the most effective, both oral and intravenous supplements of lipoic acid are approved as treatments in Germany.

It has been suggested that lipoic acid’s role in improving circulation and the general health of the vascular system may be responsible for its mitigation of the effects of diabetic neuropathy, but orthodox opinion is that more long term studies are required to establish this link. Supplementation in the case of diabetics should in any case only be undertaken under medical supervision.

But the possible benefits of lipoic acid don’t end here. Lipoic acid is a valuable tonic for the liver, assisting its regeneration and recovery from hepatitis and toxic assaults such as drug, alcohol or fungal poisoning.

A number of animal experiments have also appeared to show that supplements may restrict the activity of an enzyme associated with the progression of multiple sclerosis. As always, however, in the cautious world of orthodox medicine, it is argued that more long-term studies are needed before any definitive statements are made.

Likewise, although there have been some encouraging indications that lipoic acid may have a positive effect in slowing down memory loss, age-related cognitive decline and dementias, including Alzheimer’s disease, larger long-term trials are needed before any definitive statements can be expected from the scientific community.

As always with supplementation, however, it is a question of weighing large potential benefits against the risks. As indicated above, lipoic acid is approved as a medical treatment in Germany and is freely available as a food supplement in the US and elsewhere. The few adverse reactions to oral supplements which have been recorded have been confined to relatively minor skin irritations and gastric upsets.

Moreover, good food sources are limited to the unpopular offal and dark green leafy vegetables, and even the best of these will provide only a tiny fraction of the bio-available lipoic acid that can be obtained from supplements. Indeed, because of the difficulty in absorbing lipoic acid in the presence of food, this is one of the very few cases where it’s recommended that supplements should be taken on an empty stomach.It needs to be stressed again, however, that because of its potential effects on blood sugar regulation diabetics should not embark on a course of supplements without first seeking medical advice.

www.alzheimers.org.uk For subtitled version please go to www.youtube.com Chamelle discusses her mother Trisha’s dementia diagnosis. Trisha was diagnosed with vascular dementia at 38. Chamelle discusses growing up with her mum’s dementia, and the close bond shared between the family. There are more than 16000 younger people with dementia in the UK. However, this number is likely to be an under-estimate, and the true figure may be up to three times higher. For more information on younger people with dementia, please go to our factsheet 440, Younger people with dementia www.alzheimers.org.ukThere are more than 750000 people in the UK affected by dementia with numbers set to rise to 1 million by 2021. Alzheimer’s Society is the UK’s leading care and research charity for people with dementia and those who care for them. Support the fight against dementia. Visit us at www.alzheimers.org.uk
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More Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers discovered

Article by Alan Trotter

Potential diagnostic biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease, in the form of specific serum auto-antibodies, have been discovered by researchers in America. According to a study published by the Public Library of Science (PLoS) this month, experts from a number of organisations in New Jersey have come up with 10 autoantibody biomarkers that can effectively differentiate Alzheimer’s disease sera from NDC sera with a sensitivity of 96.0 -per cent and a specificity of 92.5 per cent.

The results of the research carried out in America show that “serum auto-antibodies can be used effectively as highly-specific and accurate biomarkers to diagnose AD throughout the course of the disease”, according to the research team.

Work to find accurate biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease has been ongoing in laboratories around the world for many years. Research specialists have dedicated their careers to finding ways of detecting the condition at the earliest possible stage in an attempt to help increase the quality of life for sufferers and perhaps one day find a cure that will stop Alzheimer’s disease in its tracks once it has been identified. Currently, it is believed that the disease often goes undetected for a period of between five and ten years before current detection methods can be used effectively. It goes without saying that the earlier the disease can be detected, the better for the patient.

In the United Kingdom, dementia leads to the deaths of around 60,000 people every single year and it’s estimated that about three quarters of a million people in Britain have contracted the disease. National charity, The Alzheimer’s Society, believes that by 2025, there could be in excess of one million sufferers in the UK.

The cost of Alzheimer’s disease on society is considerable and there are many areas where the illness has an impact. Not only is the actual sufferer affected, but also the people who provide care and the family members of that person. According to the researchers in New Jersey, the development of a reliable and accurate blood test for Alzheimer’s disease would have a huge impact on society. A reliable blood test would not only be relatively non-invasive, but would also be low-cost, and therefore clearly a viable option for doctors around the world. Of course the main benefit of such a test being introduced onto the market would be the fact that patients would receive warning as early as possible and therefore would be in a much better position to benefit from the available therapies.

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Varieties of dementia : Get more info

Article by Kazanii Olporte

Most people feel that dementia can be a result of getting older. Yet to the contrary it is an illness that can arise whenever on an mature. Nevertheless, almost all of its sufferers are generally over the age of 65 many years. Over the years the fitness of a patient informed they have dementia increases worse. That results in quite a direct impact on the two affected individual as well as his\her caregiver. There are several types of dementia and understanding much more with regards to them will allow you to supply much better look after the person. The majority of forms of dementia impact the particular patient’s judgments, recollection and also difficulty solving skills. Several varieties of dementia inside their serious type can make depart the individual can not do the regular pursuits by themselves. Some kinds of dementia additionally impacts the actual people personality; generating him\her an entirely various individual. Many kinds of dementia tend to be as a result of results of brain harm, most of these dementia in addition lower how much body moving inside mind.A variety of dementia are differentiated simply by their results about the human brain as well as habits associated with signs. The most frequent varieties of dementia is actually Alzheimer’s condition. Inside the first stages the idea leads to the individual to shed recollection of men and women and also events. As it expands a whole lot worse the individual begins being a lot more disoriented along with his\her environment, become perplexed constantly, move weak choice, exhibit feeling golf swings, offers troubles throughout articulating a viewpoint and many others.With regards to event vascular dementia could be the up coming inside series with regard to kinds of dementia. This specific will cause the blood circulation inside the human brain to decrease. This kind of ailment will be due to the actual incident regarding multiple swings. The prime difference it’s together with Alzheimer’s condition is that it does not hurt the actual recollection of the affected individual all the.Dementia along with lewy physiques as well as Alzheimer’s ailment are generally equivalent varieties of dementia. This specific condition leads to the sufferer to lose emphasis as well as power to understand on a daily basis. Apart from the common attributes along with Alzheimer’s ailment what’s more, it brings about the patient for you to hallucinate and also creates the muscle tissues in the affected person rigid.Reduced kinds of dementia are usually standard stress hydrocephaulas that occurs due to essential fluids developing upward within the human brain. The sufferer soon begins sacrificing memory, features difficulty whenever jogging and possesses poor bladder control. These kinds of dementia could be relieved by getting rid of the fluid from the mental faculties by means of surgical procedure.Slight cognitive disadvantages can be smaller kinds of dementia that will not damage the individual such as other folks. The sufferer mostly provides problems within expressing himself\herself. The losing of memory space is certainly caused by the loss of proper vocab. Most of these dementia do not hurt the person a lot of as well call for the help of others. Several sufferers which can be identified as having these kinds of disease produce other designs regarding dementia and some tend not to create other designs associated with dementia and heal totally.

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Gonzalez, CA : Public Wants More Funding For Alzheimer’s Research : View From A Private Duty Caregiver

Article by Richard Kuehn

Gonzalez, CA : Public Wants More Funding For Alzheimer’s Research : View From A Private Duty Caregiver Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Gilroy, Gonzalez, Greenfield, Hollister, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, San Juan Bautista, Seaside And Soledad California

The Alzheimer’s Association recently released a report entitled Alzheimer’s From The Front Lines which is a collective effort of thousands of Americans to share the real-life challenges they face dealing with their own or a friend or family member’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. I spoke at the forum in San Francisco (over 43,000 people took part in the public input process) earlier in the year and felt it was a great use of public resources. It brought together members of the government, the public, and non-profits to discuss how to deal with the many issues those caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease must face. The report mentioned was created from more than 130 public sessions across the nation as well as input from comments on its web site, and is meant to be a working draft towards laying out a plan under the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA). President Barack Obama signed this bill into law in January of 2010 to deal with the fact that as many as 5.4 million American’s have the disease and half of our population knows someone who has it. Sadly, one in eight people over 65 have the disease and nearly half of those over 85 years of age have it. The report found 10 major challenges:1. A lack of public awareness2. Insufficient research funding3. Difficulties with diagnosis4. Poor dementia care5. Inadequate treatments6. Specific challenges facing diverse communities7. Specific challenges facing those with younger-onset Alzheimer’s8. Unprepared caregivers9. Ill-equipped communities10. Mounting costsRegular readers of my blog know that I am a big supporter of the Alzheimer’s Association, a great group of people that provide support for those diagnosed with the disease and their families, who struggle with numerous issues as the person goes through the various stages of the disease. They also have a 24-hour hot line at 800-272-3900 which can help those with stressful issues which may arise at any moment. Unfortunately, the disease doesn’t get anywhere near the level of funding which is needed, in part because many people are still under the impression that dementia is just a normal part of the aging process and there is no cure. Results of the public comments found that many family caregivers believe that the lack of public awareness about the diseases is the primary reason for reduced public sympathy, insufficient resources dedicated to addressing Alzheimer’s and under diagnosis. The truth is, there are numerous promising research projects which indeed could someday lead to a cure. Federal funding for Alzheimer’s research, however, is at a historic low, with less than one in 10 grants submitted actually funded. Recent public support for NAPA is encouraging. This bill is charged with creating a plan to figure out a way to grapple with the issue which could bankrupt the Medicare fund if we don’t pay close attention to it. The cost to society in the U.S. alone was estimated to be $ 183 billion in 2011, up $ 11 billion from 2010. Most of these costs are covered by Medicare and Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California). Medicare payments for beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s disease and/or dementia are three times greater than for those without, and a whopping 9x greater for Medicaid/Medi-Cal patients. Clearly, finding a cure for the disease would not only reduce a lot of heartbreak, it would also have a significant impact on helping reduce our deficit. USA Today recently called attention to the fact that celebrities have been coming forward recently and admitting to having to the disease, which could help remove the stigma associated with it. Singer Glen Campbell, who was honored at the Country Music Association Awards recently, is now on tour and he has come forward with his wife telling the story of how he struggles with it. His disease is so far advanced that he can’t tell the story himself. He has to be constantly reminded that he has Alzheimer’s disease because his short-term memory is so poor. Thankfully, almost 70% of U.S. respondents said that the government should increase spending for Alzheimer’s research in a recent Harvard School of Public Health survey. Let’s hope this turns into a reality. I would like to see a cure found during my lifetime. November is both Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month and National Family Caregiver Month. Let’s work to build awareness of how devastating Alzheimer’s disease can be and salute those caring for a loved one who suffers from the disease. It’s one of the most difficult jobs in the world.

http://napa.alz.org/alzheimers-from-the-frontlines-2http://www.alz.org/norcal/http://www.familyinhomecaregiving/bloghttp://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/alzheimers/story/2011-11-08/Report-seeks-national-priorty-status-for-Alzheimers/51115348/1

About Richard Kuehn & Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey:After more than a decade of caregiving, both in a professional environment and for a 97 year old family member I was dissatisfied with service from local caregiving agencies. I became convinced of the need for a service which provides very personal assistance to elderly and founded Family inHome Caregiving serving the Monterey Peninsula. Please visit my blog where I talk about important senior issues.

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Get It Up! Revealing the Simple Surprising Lifestyle that Causes Migraines, Alzheimer’s, Stroke, Glaucoma, Sleep Apnea, Impotence,…and More!

Get It Up! Revealing the Simple Surprising Lifestyle that Causes Migraines, Alzheimer’s, Stroke, Glaucoma, Sleep Apnea, Impotence,…and More!

Imagine curing migraines by merely altering a simple lifestyle habit. Even more, imagine this same lifestyle habit, something we take for granted as normal, can also cause Alzheimer’s disease, impotence, stroke, glaucoma, sleep apnea, and more. There would finally be hope, real hope, for the countless millions who suffer from these conditions, and for their families and loved ones who suffer with them. It would be a dream come true. Well, the dream has come true! Get It Up! solves t

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