Science and Research Questions

There is at least one published case report indicating that Demerol® (generic name merperidine) can cause the confusion of dementia to worsen. As an alternative, the study suggested that Percocet should be offered. In general, however, the benefits of managing or reducing pain in dementia patients to improve their quality of life far outweigh any potential side effects the pain medications may produce. When used responsibly and under the supervision of a doctor, pain medications can play a vital role in reducing or managing pain, thus allowing the dementia patient to perform more activities (both assisted and unassisted) and to be more willing to interact socially with others.

On a day to day basis, an Alzheimer’s disease patient’s memory can definitely fluctuate. In extreme cases, one day a patient may know his spouse caregiver, the next day he may think that same person is an intruder in his home. However one thing is consistent: if you were to chart the overall memory capacity of an Alzheimer’s disease patient, you would certainly see a gradual decline over a long period of time (e.g., months or years).

On average, patients with Alzheimer's disease live for 8 to 10 years after diagnosis, and the majority of people who are diagnosed are at least in their mid- to late-sixties. However, this terminal disease can last for as long as 20 years.

You may want to consider brain donation at a research institution near your home. As part of the donation process, the researchers will perform a brain autopsy, which is presently the only way of truly confirming a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Brain autopsies for an Alzheimer’s diagnosis can be expensive (they can cost as much as $1500 or more by some estimates), but this cost is covered by the research institution if you should choose to donate your husband’s brain (or brain tissue) to them. Generally, however, you will be responsible for any costs associated with the transport of your husband’s body, such as the cost of transporting the body to the research institution where the autopsy is performed, and then from the institution to the funeral home.

Brain donation is an invaluable gift to medical science, as it helps to provide insight into the anatomical and biochemical basis of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Most often, only a small sample is required, so the body is not disfigured in the autopsy process. If this is something that you are truly interested in, you should contact a program near you to find out more specific details and to begin the donation process. Because for research purposes it is important to perform the autopsy as soon as possible after death, many of the programs require that the necessary consent and arrangements be made in well in advance.

Some programs accepting brain donations include:

• Baylor College of Medicine Brain Donation Autopsy Program
• Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Center
• Northwestern University Brain Endowment program
• University of Pennsylvania Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research

Additionally, a list of brain banks in several states that can perform postmortem diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and may accept brain tissue for donation has been compiled by the Alzheimer Research Forum.

Several independent research studies have reported an association between high cholesterol serum levels and Alzheimer’s disease. Consistent with these reports, other research findings also suggest that the best way to lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease involves a combination of measures normally thought of as good for maintaining a healthy heart, such as eating a healthy diet low in saturated and trans-fats, exercising regularly, reducing stress, and of course, lowering serum cholesterol levels.

Though there are a few reported cases, it is extremely rare for people to develop Alzheimer’s disease in their thirties. Memory and speech problems could be caused by a number of things besides Alzheimer’s. Stress, depression, sleep disorders, interactions from medications, certain vitamin deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, head injuries and viral infections of the brain or central nervous system can all affect cognition and memory. And there are just as many other conditions and disorders that can affect speech.

So a good first step for you would be to have your primary care physician examine your symptoms. If after having been evaluated, your doctor cannot determine any other cause of your memory and speech impairments, and you still feel as though your symptoms may be related to Alzheimer’s disease, you can contact the Neurology or Neuroscience department of a research institution (such as a university or teaching hospital, etc.) located in your area and ask if they are in need of any young individuals with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease. Your physician may even know of some of these resources. Additionally, you can search for Alzheimer’s clinical trials in your area (which sometimes, depending on the study, may be interested in assessing various clinical measures in “pre-symptomatic” individuals with a family history of AD) using the “Search for Clinical Trials” link in the Resources section of our website.

Primidon (trade name: Primidone) is an antiepileptic agent currently only indicated for the treatment of seizures, seizure disorders, and essential tremor (such as is found in patients with Parkinson’s disease).

Unfortunately, there are no formal studies that have looked at the combined effects of these drugs on the treatment of AD or PD. This is mostly due to the fact that the patient population that could potentially benefit from the combined use of both of these drugs—i.e., patients having dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease—is relatively small compared to the larger general group of patients having Alzheimer’s disease, non-dementia-associated PD, and other neurodegenerative diseases and disorders.

Currently, there is no conclusive evidence linking the radio frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) emitted from cell phones or from cell phone towers to Alzheimer’s disease. However, a longitudinal Swiss study published in January 2009 reported that the longer a person lived near a high power line (which emits electrical and magnetic fields), the greater their associated risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Based on a finding such as this, one would have expected that people exposed to electrical or magnetic fields as part of their jobs (such as electric line workers and power plant operators) would also have a higher incidence of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, studies examining the effects of occupational exposure to electrical or magnetic fields on the development of neurodegenerative diseases have had conflicting results. For example, one study found that such exposure increases the risk for AD but not other neurological diseases (such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)), another found an increased risk of PD but not for AD, and yet another study found an increased risk for ALS but not for AD or PD. Thus, the literature is inconclusive regarding the use of cell phones (or exposure to electromagnetic radiation) on the increasing the risk for developing AD. Additional studies are necessary before any conclusions can be made.