Free Republic

Immoral bioethical policies and practices advance toward implementation through discourse–first in professional journals, and then in elite popular media columns.That process is now gearing up regarding what I call “VSED-by-Proxy.”VSED stands for “voluntary stopping eating and drinking”–suicide by self-starvation–pushed for the elderly and others by those compaaaaa–ssssss–ionate death zealots at the Hemlock Society Compassion and Choices.But what about mentally incompetent residents of nursing homes who willingly eat, but who years previously stated in an advance medical directive that they wanted to be made dead by starvation under such circumstances?We see increasing advocacy in bioethics that nursing homes be required to...

One of the most promising new treatments for Alzheimer's disease may already be in your kitchen. Curcumin, a natural product found in the spice turmeric, has been used by many Asian cultures for centuries, and a new study indicates a close chemical analog of curcumin has properties that may make it useful as a treatment for the brain disease. "Curcumin has demonstrated ability to enter the brain, bind and destroy the beta-amyloid plaques present in Alzheimer's with reduced toxicity," said Wellington Pham, Ph.D., assistant professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt and senior author of the...

Today, the painful decision has been made to start the process for Nursing Home Placement of my mother who is the last stage (stage 7) of Alzheimers Disease. I have to have multiple surgeries and I can no longer take care of her by myself. Pray for the situation as my mother will decline rapidly once she goes into the nursing home. She has six children and I am the only one whom has been involved the last 4 years. Have not been given a date but placement will come soon.

Alzheimer's could be prevented and even cured by boosting the brain's own immune response, scientists at Stanford University believe. Researchers discovered that nerve cells die because cells which are supposed to clear the brain of bacteria, viruses and dangerous deposits, stop working. These cells, called 'microglia' function well when people are young, but when they age, a single protein called EP2 stops them operating efficiently. Now scientists have shown that blocking the protein allows the microglia to function normally again so they can hoover up the dangerous sticky amyloid-beta plaques which damage nerve cells in Alzheimer's disease. The researchers found...

The Arizona senator’s team has been ridding the state’s GOP apparatus of his tea party foes. Nearly a year ago, tea party agitators in Arizona managed to get John McCain censured by his own state party. Now, he’s getting his revenge. As the longtime Republican senator lays the groundwork for a likely 2016 reelection bid, his political team is engaging in an aggressive and systematic campaign to reshape the state GOP apparatus by ridding it of conservative firebrands and replacing them with steadfast allies. Story Continued Below . . The ambitious effort — detailed to POLITICO by nearly a dozen...

...Yet a very small study out of UCLA is offering a glimmer of hope for those with what is often a hopeless diagnosis. Nine out of the 10 patients involved in the study, who were in various stages of dementia, say their symptoms were reversed after they participated in a rigorous program. The program included things like optimizing Vitamin D levels in the blood, using DHA supplements to bridge broken connections in the brain, optimizing gut health, and strategic fasting to normalize insulin levels. A few months after starting the extreme program, patients in the study, aged 55 to 75,...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK) Forget Mitt Romney. Another former Republican presidential candidate is stoking 2016 rumors. It seemed like another run-of-the-mill interview with a politician on late-night television. Sen. John McCain was on The Colbert Report on Tuesday night to talk about his love of deep-frying turkeys and his new book with Mark Salter, Thirteen Soldiers: A Personal History of Americans at War. At the end of the show, host Stephen Colbert asked McCain if he wanted to be the next Defense secretary. And then McCain dropped the mic. "Actually, I was thinking about running for president again," he said. "What do you...

Scientists have discovered a link between regular daily intake of the hot drink and a reduction of up to 20 per cent of the chances of developing dementia. The report released today (thurs) from the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee highlights the role nutrition can play in preserving cognitive function, especially during the preclinical phase of Alzheimer's before full-blown symptoms of dementia occur.

When an assisted living home in California shut down last fall, many of its residents were left behind, with nowhere to go. The staff at the Valley Springs Manor left when they stopped getting paid — except for cook Maurice Rowland and Miguel Alvarez, the janitor. "There was about 16 residents left behind, and we had a conversation in the kitchen, 'What are we going to do?' " Rowland says. "If we left, they wouldn't have nobody," the 34-year-old Alvarez says. Their roles quickly transformed for the elderly residents, who needed round-the-clock care. "I would only go home for one...

Sarasota scientists have made a discovery that may pave the way for more effective drug therapies to treat Alzheimer’s patients in the future. In a study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Roskamp Institute’s scientists say they have isolated a single enzyme connected to all three key factors in Alzheimer’s disease – accumulation of amyloid protein, inflammation and modulation of the “tau” protein. All three damage nerve cells in the brain. “These studies suggest there is a single drug target to inhibit all three key pathologies of Alzheimer’s disease,” stated the study’s lead researcher, neurobiologist Daniel Paris, in...

Professor Chrisopher Exley of Keele University claims that aluminium present in everyday items like cosmetics and food may be building up in the brain and causing Alzheimer's disease Aluminium poisoning may be fuelling Alzheimer’s disease, a leading professor has claimed.Professor Chrisopher Exley, of Keele University, said that exposure to the metal causes deposits in the human brain which can exacerbate other problems...Aluminium, he argues, is now added to or used in almost everything we eat, drink, inject or absorb. The metal is abundant in the Earth’s crust and is naturally absorbed from the soil by plants and foodstuffs. But aluminium...

CNN) -- Even if you've never been a fan of Glen Campbell, this one's certain to tug at your heartstrings. The Country Music Hall of Fame member, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2011, is out with the video for the final song he'll ever record -- "I'm Not Gonna Miss You." It was recorded in 2013 with producer Julian Raymond. "I'm still here but yet I'm gone/ I don't play guitar or sing my songs," the tune begins as it details his struggles with the disease.

The NFL believes that nearly three in 10 former players will develop debilitating brain conditions, and that they will be stricken earlier and twice as often as the general population. The disclosure Friday comes in data the league prepared for its proposed $765 million settlement of thousands of concussion lawsuits. Both the league and players' lawyers estimate that 28 percent of the retirees will develop Alzheimer's disease, moderate dementia or more serious neurological problems. That would represent nearly 6,000 of the 19,000 living former players. Dozens of them could develop Lou Gehrig's or Parkinson's disease.

Extremely low levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active compound in marijuana, may offer a novel and viable treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD), preliminary research suggests. Investigators at the University of South Florida in Tampa found that THC both decreases the production of amyloid beta (Aβ) and inhibits its aggregation in cell cultures. In addition, it does so at extremely safe doses. These observations have implications for a potentially new therapeutic approach to the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD), as researchers suggest. "Our group believes that amyloid aggregation is the initiator of AD, so we wanted to see if THC can...

Two years of research by a Nigerian scientist has shown that sufferers of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease could be helped by punicalagin, a compound extracted from pomegranates. Olumayokun Olajide from the University of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire showed how punicalagin could inhibit inflammation in specialised brain cells known as micrologia. He also found the painful inflammation that accompanies illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson's disease could be reduced using the same drug. "We do know that regular consumption of pomegranate has a lot of health benefits, including prevention of neuro-inflammation related to dementia," Olajide added.

Denver Broncos team owner Pat Bowlen is steeping down from day-to-day operations because he is battling Alzheimer's Disease ... The Broncos said Bowlen had already been reducing his role in recent years while he was, "courageously and privately battling Alzheimer’s disease." "The Broncos are very saddened that Mr. Bowlen is no longer able to be part of the team’s daily operations due to his condition," the team said on its website. "We continue to offer our full support, compassion and respect to ‘Mr. B,’ who has faced Alzheimer’s disease with such dignity and strength." Team president Joe Ellis will assume...

Now, researchers from the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, CA, and the University of California-San Francisco reveal they have successfully reversed learning and memory deficits in mouse models of Alzheimer's through transplantation of healthy brain cells. The team transplanted inhibitory neuron progenitors - early-stage brain cells that can change into mature inhibitory regulator cells - into the hippocampus of two mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. One mouse model possessed the apoE4 gene, while the other had the apoE4 gene alongside a build-up of amyloid-beta - a protein also believed to play a role in Alzheimer's development. The researchers found that...

Scientists at Oxford University and Kings College London develop blood test which can predict the onset of Alzheimer's so that drugs could target the disease before symptoms appear A blood test has been developed to predict if someone will develop Alzheimer’s within a year, raising hopes that the disease could become preventable. After a decade of research, scientists at Oxford University and King’s College London are confident they have found 10 proteins which show the disease is imminent. Clinical trials will start on people who have not yet developed Alzheimer’s to find out which drugs halt its onset. The blood...

Many Baby Boomers already dread “the talk” –- suggesting their aging parents surrender car keys –- but now two geriatric experts say another thorny, family question must be asked of some elderly folks. Is it time to give up your gun? In a recently published paper, the two physicians offer a five-point checklist meant to help caregivers assess whether firearms remain safe in the hands and homes of older Americans, particularly if the gun owners are exhibiting unclear thinking or depression. “Just like with some (older) people, it’s not if you should stop driving, but when,” said Dr. Ellen M....

And this week, on the same day, Cochran seemed confused by two questions about the race. At a stop in Hattiesburg, Dan Balz asked Cochran about the Affordable Care Act. "I think we need to monitor any federal programs that provide services and assistance to people who need help, and this is an example of an important effort by the federal government to help make health care available, accessible and affordable," said the senator. Afterwards, as Balz reported, the Cochran campaign called him to say the senator thought the question was about the VA. When I talked to Cochran, I...