Any thoughts on ginkgoo biloba supplements?
Pam

It came to medical attention when medical demographers noticed a
statistically significant lack of Alzheimer's in Indian populations and
research pointed to curry as a factor. Curcumin is derived from
turmeric, an ingredient in curry.
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Hi Alan:

In India, the cow is sacred and not eaten. In the U.S., Americans
consume a lot of beef. I suspect many cows have the disease but not
detected.

EddyJean
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They are finding Curcumin acts as an anti-inflammatory and also reduces
auto-immune responses, so its great for things like Lupus, various forms of
Arthritis. I just got this off Wikipedia. It is consistent with things I've
read before which were sent to me by an acquaintance who is a physician in
Israel, so I am confident this article is legit:

"Curcumin is known for its antitumor,[4] antioxidant, antiarthritic,
anti-amyloid and anti-inflammatory properties.[5] Anti-inflammatory
properties may be due to inhibition of eicosanoid biosynthesis.[3] In
addition it may be effective in treating malaria, prevention of cervical
cancer, and may interefere with the replication of the HIV virus.[4] In HIV,
it appears to act by interfering with P300/CREB-binding protein (CBP) of its
reverse transcriptase......

A 2004 UCLA-Veterans Affairs study involving genetically altered mice
suggests that curcumin might inhibit the accumulation of destructive
beta-amyloid in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients and also break up
existing plaques associated with the disease.[6]
There is also circumstantial evidence that curcumin improves mental
functions; a survey of 1010 Asian people who ate yellow curry and were
between the ages of 60 and 93 showed that those who ate the sauce "once
every six months" or more had higher MMSE results than those who did not.[7]
From a scientific standpoint, though, this does not show whether the curry
caused it, or people who had healthy habits also tended to eat the curry, or
some completely different relationship."

Adelle
(Coming up for air - or procrastinating; your choice)

On Jan 8, 8:37 am, jackieo...@gmail.com wrote:

There is a compound called "resveratrol" found in grapeseed oil
and in grape juice and red wine which I have also seen proposed
as a preventive for AD.  I'll add it to the list.

My Mom was also very social and very well attuned to other
people.  She retained her ability to behave appropriately with
people, and to respond appropriately to conversation, far longer
than anyone who was aware of her failing cognitive and linguistic
ability would have imagined was possible.

No longer able to remember her address, phone number, age, date
of birth, the current date or day of the week, read a clock,
etc., she still managed to pass a job interview at K-Mart and was
offered a job - which may say something about K-Mart as well as
about my Mom.  My Dad, who had sat through the interview with her
because she insisted that she needed a job, had to intervene to
explain to the store manager that he really didn't want to hire
her.

   Alan

Hi.  Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

On  8-Jan-2008, Alan Meyer <ameyer2@yahoo.com>
wrote in message
<76445f3e-af0f-4cfc-99d7-d42b2ab12769@j78g2000hsd.googlegroups.com>:

Also good for cardiovascular health.  Among other benefits it tends
to lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol.

Hadn't heard about that.  What's the scoop there?  Is it just for the
anti-inflammatory effect?  (I'm already taking aspirin for my
atherosclerosis.)

Good for lots of things, as are all anti-oxidants.  But I've read
it's turned out to be a disappointment vis-a-vis Alzheimer's
prevention.

I can personally vouch that resveratrol is the most effective
anti-inflammatory I've found, in at least one way:  When I started
taking it my dermatitis/eczema decreased markedly, to the point
where I was able to cut my use of prescription ointment for it
(Elidel) in half.  And I was already taking aspirin and fish oil
(mainly for their cardiovascular benefits) and curcumin.

One strange effect of resveratrol, noted by myself and others, is
that it seems to increase the number of dreams one has (or at least
remembers).  I'm hoping that means it's stimulating mental activity
that just might help combat Alzheimer's.

Also, I haven't seen anyone mention alpha lipoic (specifically
r-lipoic) acid or acetyl l-carnitine.  I've read that both of these
have shown promise against beta amyloid plaque formation.

Alan Meyer <ameyer2@yahoo.com> wrote in news:76445f3e-af0f-4cfc-99d7-
d42b2ab12769@j78g2000hsd.googlegroups.com:

Again, as a caregiver, I've added Rhodiola and Vitamin B complex to that
list, not as specifics for Alzheimer's but as stress reducers/controllers,
figuring that anything that helps control stress can't hurt the other...

I'd be very leery of taking antibiotics for prevention of anything.
I'd be worried first of all about killing off beneficial bacteria in the
gastro-intestinal system.  That's why we often get upset stomachs
from antibiotics, and sometimes have long term digestive
side effects.

Secondly, unnecessary use of antibiotics can breed antibiotic
resistance in internal bacteria.

We have a lot of bacteria in our guts that do no harm and even
do a lot of good.  Damage to the intestinal lining, for example
from an injury or an ulcer, can allow these bacteria to escape
into parts of the body where they shouldn't be, and where they
are not benign (this is the reason we should wash our hands
after using a toilet - to avoid contaminating other parts of our
bodies with G-I bacteria.)

If we take antibiotics when we don't really need them, there is
a serious danger that they won't work for us when we do need
them.  We can also help to spread antibiotic resistant bacteria
to people around us.

I've wondered whether it really matters which anti-oxidant
we take, or whether there's any benefit to having more than
some basic amount.

Linus Pauling, the Nobel prize winning chemist and certifiable
genius, advocated megadoses of vitamin C.  But nobody
else seems to have believed in that.

But if that is

I'll make an updated list, reflecting some of this.

Thanks.

  Alan

Seems a vegetarian diet or at least reduction of meat and dairy, which
lowers homocysteine levels, also is protective against alzheimers.
I've copied this (long) from a different source on the web, for those
interested
Pam

Avoid Animal Protein

The next most striking aspect in a review of studies published during the
past two years sheds significant light on another central risk factor in
Alzheimers -- high levels of a blood substance called homocysteine.

Homocysteine is an amino acid, and amino acids are the building blocks of
proteins. The only source of homocysteine for use in our bodies is that
which is formed by the liver after the ingestion of another amino acid,
methionine. Methionine is found in protein foods -- and animal protein
contains two to three times the amount of methionine as does plant protein.

Among recent studies looking at the significance of elevated homocysteine
levels and Alzheimer's are:

1)    Miller JW; Homocysteine and Alzheimer's disease. Nutr Rev, 1999 Apr,
57:4, 126-9

 "In a recent case-control study of 164 patients with clinically diagnosed
Alzheimer's disease (AD), including 76 patients with the AD diagnosis
confirmed postmortem, mean total serum homocysteine concentration was found
to be significantly higher than that of a control group of elderly
individuals with no evidence of cognitive impairment."

2)    Clarke R, et al; Folate, vitamin B12, and serum total homocysteine
levels in confirmed Alzheimer disease Arch Neurol, 1998 Nov, 55:11, 1449-55
 "Elevated homocysteine levels were associated with Alzheimer's Disease."

3)    McCaddon A, et al; Total serum homocysteine in senile dementia of
Alzheimer type Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 1998 Apr, 13:4, 235-9
 "Senile dementia of Alzheimer type patients have significantly elevated
homocysteine."

This study, also confirming the link between homocysteine and Alzheimer's,
was done in the UK.

4)    Gottfries CG, et al; Early diagnosis of cognitive impairment in the
elderly with the focus on Alzheimer's disease. J Neural Transm, 1998,
105:8-9, 773-86

 "We found serum-homocysteine to be an early and sensitive marker for
cognitive impairment. In patients with dysmentia (mild cognitive
impairment), no less than 39% had pathological serum-homocysteine levels."

This study, conducted in Sweden, not only showed blood levels of
homocysteine to correlate strongly with Alzheimer's disease -- but showed
elevated levels of homocysteine were useful in *predicting* who might get
Alzheimer's.

In another study, reported at the World Alzheimer's Congress in July 2000,
researches looked at 5,395 individuals aged 55 and over who were free from
dementia. After examining subjects in 1993 and again in 1999 researchers
reported the following:

 "On average, people who remained free from any form of dementia had
consumed higher amounts of beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and
vegetables than the people in the study who developed Alzheimer's disease."

The researchers also noted that in this study, family history or the
presence of a genetic marker called the ApoE4 allele (both considered risk
factors for Alzheimer's) did not alter their findings. In other words, high
consumption of vegetables appeared to offset one of the other known risk
factors for Alzheimer's.

So How Can You Lower Your Risk for Alzheimer's?

In addition to avoiding dietary and cosmetic sources of aluminum, maintain a
low homocysteine level by greatly reducing consumption of the homocystein-
producing amino acid methionine -- through minimizing or avoiding meat and
dairy consumption.

And if you're eating one of those high-protein fad diets, just be aware that
along with the extra pounds you may temporarily lose, you may just lose your
mind, too, by setting the later stage for becoming an Alzheimer's casualty.

We already know from a 1993 study that subjects who ate meat, including
poultry and fish, were nearly three times as likely to become demented as
their vegetarian counterparts. [Neuroepidemiology, 12:28-36, 1993]

Another recent study showed that subjects who adopted a vegan diet had their
homocysteine levels drop between 13% and 20% in just ONE WEEK. [Preventive
Medicine 2000;30:225-233.]

Recent research has found that statin drugs -- which reduce the blood level
of cholesterol from animal foods -- appear to significantly lower the risk
(by 73%) of Alzheimer's and dementia risk. [Archives of Neurology
2000;57:1439-1443]

In another report, researchers observed the dietary habits of nearly 8,000
men and women free of dementia upon enrolling in the study. When re-examined
six years later, those who ate foods rich in vitamins E and C (plant foods)
were less likely to have developed Alzheimer's disease. [Mulnard RA, Cotman
CW, Kawas C, et al. Estrogen replacement therapy for treatment of mild to
moderate Alzheimer's disease: a randomized controlled trial. Alzheimer's
Disease Cooperative Study. JAMA 2000;283:1007-15.]

The clear message if you're concerned about Alzheimer's? Lose the meat and
dairy, eat fruits and veggies.

Marker for Heart Disease, Too

Several large, well designed studies have shown a clear association between
homocysteine levels and heart attack and stroke. Not only does meat and
dairy consumption raise cholesterol, it raises homocysteine, which is now
widely seen as a separate risk marker for heart disease.

Vitamins and supplements are not as effective as diet in lowering
homocysteine levels. This led the American Heart Association last year to
make the following statement: "Fresh fruits and vegetables, rather than
vitamin supplements, are the best line of defense against raised
homocysteine levels, an indicator of heart disease."

Help Prevent Heart Disease, Cancer -- and Alzheimers -- via Diet

We'll wait to see if any further research materializes to back up the one
curious study purporting to show a relationship between Alzheimers and soy
consumption.

In the meantime, the available scientific data are already plentiful to show
that you can reduce your risk of being an Alzheimer's victim the same way
you can lower your risk of certain cancers and heart disease -- by eating a
healthy plant-based diet, rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains
and legumes.

See related study: Veg Diet Gives Protection Against Alzheimer's

It is the DHA in fish oil that appears to prevent Alzheimer's.
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=7070&at=0

Only a subset of NSAIDS appear to have a positive impact on Alzheimer's.
Ibuprofen may be one of the best choices.

Curcumin needs fat to be properly absorbed. One can use this as a food
spice. Turmeric is about 4% curcumin.

9, 10, and 11 are good for the mitochondria in the aged.

EGCG from green tea and caffeine.

I agree.