Glen Cambell - I'm Not Gonna Miss You

Stereogum has the sad back story:

After country music star Glen Campbell’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis a few years ago, he decided to release one last album (which ended up being split into two) and do one last tour. Now, he’s released his last song, which was specifically recorded for his upcoming documentary, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, out later this month, that focuses on his final tour. The song is called “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” and is accompanied by a career-spanning video chronicling some moments from the singer’s life, from the birth of one of his children to him hanging out with Elvis Presley.

Anxiety Meds Linked To Alzheimer's

According to a study issued this week, long-term use of anti-anxiety and insomnia drugs may dramatically increase the odds of developing Alzheimer's.

Regular use of benzodiazepines -- which include medications such as Valium (diazepam), Ativan (lorazepam), Xanax (alprazolam) and Klonopin (clonazepam) -- is associated with as much as a 51 percent increased risk for Alzheimer's among people who use the drugs for three months or more. For the study, published in BMJ-British Medical Journal, researchers looked at data from the Quebec health insurance program database. They tracked elderly people living in Quebec, Canada who were prescribed benzodiazepines (sometimes called 'benzos'). The researchers analyzed six years of data, and noted 1,796 cases of Alzheimer's disease. The study found that beyond three months on the drug, the longer people took it, the higher their risk for dementia. Additionally, the study indicated that long-acting or extended release forms of the drugs were associated with higher risk for Alzheimer's than shorter acting forms of the same medication.

A study published in 2012 found a similar but less dramatic link between this class of drugs and the incidence of dementia.

MISSISSIPPI: Tea Party Leader Suspected In Photo Scandal Commits Suicide

Via Mississippi's Clarion-Ledger:

Sources have confirmed that attorney Mark Mayfield has died of an apparent suicide. Mayfield, vice chairman of the Mississippi Tea Party, and is one of the three men charged with conspiring with Clayton Kelly to photograph U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's bedridden wife in her nursing home and create a political video against Cochran. Mark Mayfield of Ridgeland, an attorney and state and local tea party leader, was arrested last month along with Richard Sager, a Laurel elementary school P.E. teacher and high school soccer coach. The arrest of Mayfield, well-known in political, business and legal circles, caused shock in Mississippi, in a criminal case and election that already had Mississippi in the national spotlight.

GOP Gov. Phil Bryant has expressed sadness at the loss of his "longtime friend."

Can "Young Blood" Cure Alzheimer's?

Via the New York Times:

Two teams of scientists published studies on Sunday showing that blood from young mice reverses aging in old mice, rejuvenating their muscles and brains. As ghoulish as the research may sound, experts said that it could lead to treatments for disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease. “I am extremely excited,” said Rudolph Tanzi, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the research. “These findings could be a game changer.” The research builds on centuries of speculation that the blood of young people contains substances that might rejuvenate older adults. “We can turn back the clock instead of slowing the clock down,” said Dr. Toren Finkel, director of the Center for Molecular Medicine at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. “That’s a nice thought if it pans out.” This reversal could occur throughout the body, the new research suggests. “Instead of taking a drug for your heart and a drug for your muscles and a drug for your brain, maybe you could come up with something that affected them all,” Dr. Wagers said.

Researchers cautioned that waking up stem cells could lead to them multiplying uncontrollably.

Blood Test Can Predict Alzheimer's

Via CNN:

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers have developed a blood test for Alzheimer's disease that predicts with astonishing accuracy whether a healthy person will develop the disease. Though much work still needs to be done, it is hoped the test will someday be available in doctors' offices, since the only methods for predicting Alzheimer's right now, such as PET scans and spinal taps, are expensive, impractical, often unreliable and sometimes risky. "This is a potential game-changer," said Dr. Howard Federoff, senior author of the report and a neurologist at Georgetown University Medical Center. "My level of enthusiasm is very high." The study was published in Nature Medicine.

The clip below is from Georgetown's channel.

Hope For The Eldergays!

Details!

Big Bang Cast Does Rocky Horror

With Jim Parsons as Frank N. Furter, of course. Details. More photos.

Brain "Pacemakers" For Alzheimer's

Fascinating study.

The Diabetes-Alzheimer's Connection

An interesting item from the New York Times food blogger.

Diabetes causes complications too numerous to mention, but they include heart disease, which remains our No. 1 killer. And when the cells in your brain become insulin-resistant, you start to lose memory and become disoriented. You even might lose aspects of your personality. In short, it appears, you develop Alzheimer’s. A neuropathologist named Alois Alzheimer noticed, over a century ago, that an odd form of protein was taking the place of normal brain cells. How those beta amyloid plaques (as they’re called) get there has been a mystery. What’s becoming clear, however, is that a lack of insulin — or insulin resistance — not only impairs cognition but seems to be implicated in the formation of those plaques. Suzanne de la Monte, a neuropathologist at Brown University, has been working on these phenomena in humans and rats. When she blocked the path of insulin to rats’ brains, their neurons deteriorated, they became physically disoriented and their brains showed all the signs of Alzheimer’s. The fact that Alzheimer’s can be associated with low levels of insulin in the brain is the reason why increasing numbers of researchers have taken to calling it Type 3 diabetes, or diabetes of the brain.

(Via JMG reader Aaron)

Butter Flavoring Linked To Alzheimer's

If you've been looking for one more thing to worry about, here it is.

If you're a fan of butter-flavored microwave popcorn, a new study finds a flavoring used in the product may trigger Alzheimer's disease. University of Minnesota drug-design expert Robert Vince, PhD, and colleagues found that diacetyl causes brain proteins to misfold into the Alzheimer's-linked form called beta amyloid. Vince's team also found that diacetyl has an architecture similar to a substance that makes beta-amyloid proteins clump together in the brain -- clumping being a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Even more, the popcorn butter flavorant can pass through the blood-brain barrier and can inhibit the brain's natural amyloid-clearing mechanisms. Diacetyl, already linked to lung damage in people who work in microwave popcorn factories, is also used to produce the distinctive buttery flavor and aroma of margarines, snack foods, candy, baked goods, pet foods, and even some chardonnays.

(Tipped by JMG reader SIdan)

Tweet Of The Day - Ruth Buzzi

At least half of you have probably never heard of Ruth Buzzi, but not only is she still around, she has one of the most consistently funny Twitter accounts out there. Another recent Buzzi gem: "I believe in the separation of church and hate."

Insulin May Help Alzheimer's Patients

According to a just-released study, an insulin nasal spray may help Alzheimer's patients with memory problems.

"The results of our pilot trial demonstrate that the administration of intranasal insulin stabilized or improved cognition, function and cerebral glucose metabolism for adults with aMCI or AD (Alzheimer's disease)," Suzanne Craft, of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System and the University of Washington School of Medicine, and colleagues said in a journal news release. More research is needed to see if insulin therapy can be recommended for staving off the symptoms of Alzheimer's, but the researchers are optimistic about the findings. "Taken together, these results provide an impetus for future clinical trials of intranasal insulin therapy and for further mechanistic studies of insulin's role in the pathogenesis of AD," they wrote.

Alzheimer's Patient Wants To Marry While He Still Recognizes His Partner

Californians Ed Watson and Derence Kernik have been together for 40 years, but Ed has been been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and the couple is desperately hoping to marry while he can still recognize Derence. In a totally fucking related development, today the American Family Association denounced attempts to have the stay on Prop 8 lifted, using the headline, "Patience Is Not A Homosexual Virtue."

Ron Reagan Jr: Dad Was Showing Signs Of Alzheimer's While Still President

In his coming book, Ron Reagan Jr. says that his father was showing the early signs of Alzheimer's while still in office. Reagan Jr. says that he won't discuss the book until its release, but U.S. News & World Report today published several excerpts discussing the former president's state of mind while in office, closing with this paragraph from the book.

"I've seen no evidence that my father (or anyone else) was aware of his medical condition while he was in office. Had the diagnosis been made in, say 1987, would he have stepped down? I believe he would have. Far less was known about the disease then, of course, than is known now. Today we are aware that the physiological and neurological changes associated with Alzheimer's can be in evidence years, even decades, before identifiable symptoms arise. The question, then, of whether my father suffered from the beginning stages of Alzheimer's while in office more or less answers itself."

Potential Alzheimer's Breakthrough?

Interesting news on Alzheimer's research:

An Alzheimer's patient improved "within minutes" of being injected with a new drug in a scientific breakthrough against the disease, it has emerged.

After being injected in the spine with a treatment for arthritis called etanercept, the 89-year-old could remember the date and his doctor's name and say where he was - which he had been unable to do only 10 minutes earlier.

The patient was given a further five injections one week apart and improved consistently, although he still had problems with simple maths and money.

A pilot study of 15 patients at the University of California, Los Angeles, last year showed an improvement of symptoms six months after treatment with etanercept. Scientists noticed that the effects took hold very quickly in 10 patients and set up a detailed investigation to measure the effect.

I should probably send this story to my mother, who screams, "It's STARTING!" every time she can't find her car keys. But I won't.