Glaucoma and Alzheimer's Disease?

Today, I came across a report of correlation between a diagnosis of glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy with a concurrent diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.  The researchers were from the University of Washington, and the research was published in the August issue of the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia.

The abstract is here.  I've ordered a copy of the actual research report, but I don't know if they'll share it with me. If I can get it, I'll post any interesting insights.  Here is a news article from Science Daily.

The correlation is quite remarkable.  The strongest correlation is with glaucoma, with an increase of probability of developing AD of more than 50%.  The researchers concluded that an ophthalmic diagnosis is a risk factor for AD.

What a coincidence.  I was diagnosed with glaucoma right about the time Alzheimer's raised its very ugly head.  My glaucoma was diagnosed in January 2012, and I began experiencing balance problems that same year.  Cognitive problems didn't become evident until 2014.   

Blood Test for Alzheimer's Disease?

In this week's issue of ALZForums, there was an article regarding reports of new blood tests that might finally measure amyloid proteins in the blood.  The amyloids would presumably have originated in the brain due to the disease process and might indicate the disease had begun doing damage long before the first cognitive symptoms appear.

Why is this important?  I see two reasons:

• The reports were presented at the 11th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease conference, held October 24–27 in Barcelona.  The context was the value of identifying subjects for clinical trials, and there is a search for simple ways of early identification of trial subjects.  A reliable blood test would supersede expensive PET scans (~$5,000/shot) and (as in my experience) an unpleasant lumbar puncture/spinal tap.  This would be a substantial benefit to AD researchers.
• So far, researchers have had little success in improving cognition by removing amyloids from the brain.  There is a belief that if the disease can be detected much earlier, removing amyloids will actually improve cognition.  It will be extremely helpful to identify inception of the disease and begin a treatment long before cognition problems begin.  

Going forward, researchers must standardize conduct of the blood test and begin using it.    

Sandra Day O'Connor and Her Diagnosis

You have likely read that Sandra Day O'Connor has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and has withdrawn from public life.  Her husband died from AD, and she has been an active participant in the campaign to do something about AD for several years.  Our prayers go out to her and to her family.

My Mom and the Marine Corps Marathon 10K

For her 90th birthday celebration, my Mom asked that all nine of her children would participate with her in the 10K race associated with the Marine Corps Marathon.  So we were all there, most of us participating.  The race was October 28.  My Mom had a training injury with her foot a few weeks earlier, and we were concerned that she wouldn't make it.  But she did, and she made it the whole way.  She didn't set any records, but she made it.

Amy and I did run and fast walk the whole way.  We also did not set any records, but we did get an aerobic workout that helped our brain health.  Because of problems with my back, I had not run for many years, but it was refreshing to really run again.  (I very fast walk at a 15-degree incline on the treadmill every day.)  But by the time we got home, my sciatica had returned.  So I went back to my orthopedist and took up my McKenzie exercises again.

All seems to be well now, but I missed more than a week of good exercise due to the trip and some issues with my left hip.  I definitely believe that my cognition declined as a result of this sedentary period.  I've gotten back into good aerobic exercise, and my sense is that my cognition is going back to where it was not long ago.

This experience (subjective as it is) suggests that my brain is much more sensitive to variation in the amount of aerobic exercise I engage in than I had previously believed.