Forum Looks At Memory,

Alzheimer’s Disease, And Family Issues

DANBURY — This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first description of Alzheimer’s disease. In 1905, Alois Alzheimer, MD, made the first published case of a woman with the disease.

A century later, the cause of the disease, which affects more than 4.5 million people in the United States alone, is still a mystery. Alzheimer’s is just one type of dementia, characterized by memory disturbances, loss of vocabulary, visual and spatial impairments, and a decline in one’s ability to use sound judgment and have good social interventions.

Danbury Hospital recently sponsored a Medical Town Meeting on “Memory, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Family Issues,” featuring Orestes Arcuni, MD, chairman of the hospital’s Department of Psychiatry, and physician member of the Danbury Office of Physician Services; and Samuel Markind, MD, a neurologist with Associated Neurologists in Danbury.

Dr Arcuni said Alzheimer’s is a disease that affects the chemistry of the brain, resulting from a decrease in acetylcholine of up to 90 percent. The disease affects 10 percent of people over the age of 65 and 50 percent of those over age 85. When brain cells die in Alzheimer’s disease, the dying cells become toxic to the remaining healthy cells.

Risk factors include age, family history, genetic predisposition, Down’s syndrome, being female, and a history of psychiatric illness and depression. Other factors often associated with the disease include low educational level, head injury, hypertension, diabetes, and environmental exposure.

While there is no cure for the disease, medications can be widely used to manage the symptoms. The disease is irreversible, gradual, and involves an overall loss of function, but the good news is that the future holds hope.

Dr Markind said that several clinical trials are under way to see if progression of the disease can be slowed. Several promising studies are focusing on anti-inflammatory medications. Researchers are exploring whether inflammation is actually causing the disease, or if inflammation is a response of the body to protect itself from some other factor. Reducing one’s risk for vascular disease also cuts risk of Alzheimer’s, he said.

The leading theory of why the disease occurs is because the body incorrectly processes amyloid, a type of protein, which then gets deposited as plaques in the brain. Neurofibrillary tangles, twisted fibers in the brain cells, are also thought to contribute to the disease. Research is studying the amyloid hypothesis, according to Dr Markind.

Other studies are looking into the use of nerve growth factors in slowing the disease, as well as using Vitamin E. Dr Markind’s office, Associated Neurologists, is conducting a study on whether cognitive stimulation, physical exercise and listening to music can improve one’s functional ability with mild Alzheimer’s. To participate in this study, call study coordinator Dawn Tierno, 744-2380.