News
Antioxidants and Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, a disabling neurological disease that affects memory, thinking and the ability to conduct simple activities. Approximately 5 million people in the United States, including 10% of individuals over age 65 and 50% of those over age 85, are affected by Alzheimer's disease. A poll commissioned by the Alzheimer's Association revealed that 1 in 10 Americans said they had a family member with Alzheimer's. The emotional, physical and economic costs of this disease are great and the costs associated with this disease are $110 billion per year.
There is a significant amount of research that is ongoing to find treatments and a cure for Alzheimer's. At this point, there are several therapeutic pharmaceutical options that may help symptoms in patients with mild stage disease. These medications are called anticholinesterase inhibitors, and help to increase a neurotransmitter in the brain which is decreased in Alzheimer's patients. In addition, a new pharmaceutical drug was recently approved for the treatment of more advanced stages. These medications, however, only have a modest benefit.
Research into the use of antioxidants has shown significant effects in reducing the risk or slowing the progression of Alzheimer's. Although we are aware of the changes evident in the brain of these patients, that include "neurofibrillary tangles" and "plaques", we have not determined the precise cause. Researchers, however, have found that free radicals and oxidative stress (described in the previous article) play a large role in the damage caused to the nerve cells in the brains of people affected with Alzheimer's disease. Thus investigators hypothesized that antioxidants, and particularly vitamin E - the master antioxidant, may be helpful in fighting the oxidative stress that plays a role in damaging the brain.
This hypothesis has been put to the test in several clinical trials. In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 341 patients were randomized to receive selegiline (a commonly used drug for Alzheimer's disease in 1997), alpha-tocopherol (a form of vitamin E), selegiline and alpha-tocopherol or placebo. The results of the study showed that vitamin E was as effective as the medication selegiline in slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
A recently published study in the Archives of Neurology tracked 4740 Cache County, Utah residents from 1995 until 2000. This study showed that vitamin E and C supplement use were synergistic in reducing the risk of progression of Alzheimer's disease by approximately 78%. Similar studies such as the Chicago Health and Aging Project and the Rotterdam study showed the same effects with antioxidant intake.
A natural regimen to delay the onset or progression of Alzheimer's disease should include a wide range of antioxidants, especially vitamins E and C. Recent evidence as reported in the Nitric Oxide journal, shows that the other forms of vitamin E, especially gamma-tocopherol may be very effective in preventing Alzheimer's disease by destroying the harmful nitrogen free radicals. Thus a well balanced, wide spectrum antioxidant with supplemental doses of the full family of vitamin E (including the four tocopherols and tocotrienols) and vitamin C should be part of a regimen aimed at reducing the risk of Alzheimer's.
Yasoo Health Inc. Moves into Innovation Laboratory
September 15, 2002 - Yasoo Health Inc. (YASOO) was the first company to move into the East Tennessee State University Innovation Laboratory. The mission of the ETSU Innovation Laboratory, which is situated at the middle anchor of the Med-Tech Corridor. is to link entrepreneurs with investors to facilitate the creation of technology-based start-up and spin-off companies. ETSU has transformed the former Marine Corps training centre on West Market Street into a major business incubator for new and rising technology companies and YASOO is proud to be its first occupant.