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Is There A Link Between Aluminium And Dementia

A Few Factors Bar Further Research Into These Findings

Aluminium:Alzheimer’s Disease Time to test the link

For starters, researchers claim that it is difficult to find funding when they want to pursue angles that deal with aluminum and Alzheimers.

This is because most people believe that this is just a myth that does not deserve too much research.

Additionally, experts also have a problem getting the research done properly. A researcher cannot test whether Al causes Alzheimers disease in humans directly.

This is because there is no ethical manner of giving humans huge doses of the element.

It means that scientists are left to rely on scientific investigative methods to determine the role of aluminum in the development or progression of AD.

One of the alternatives to this is animal studies:

1. The studies that counter this evidence usually support their claims by stating three important points.

Sufficient amounts of Bioavailable Al cannot enter the brain and cause damage.

2. Accumulation of aluminum in neurons is considered a consequence instead of a cause of neural loss, which is typical of AD.

3. Healthy kidneys efficiently excrete excess aluminum from the body.

Flu Vaccine May Reduce Risk Of Alzheimers Disease New Study Shows

People who received at least one flu vaccination were 17% less likely to get Alzheimers disease over the course of a lifetime, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston .

First author Albert Amran, a fourth-year medical student at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, presented the findings at the 2020 Alzheimers Association International Conference July 27-31. The conference was held virtually due to COVID-19. Senior author of the study was Paul E. Schulz, MD, Rick McCord Professor in Neurology and Umphrey Family Professor in Neurodegenerative Diseases at UTHealth.

Because there are no treatments for Alzheimers disease, it is crucial that we find ways to prevent it and delay its onset, Amran said. About 5.8 million people in the United States have this disease, so even a small reduction in risk can make a dramatic difference. We began our study by looking for ways we could reduce this risk.

Amran and Schulz teamed up with a group of researchers at UTHealth School of Biomedical Informatics, led by Xiaoqian Jiang, PhD, associate professor, to pinpoint potential factors that could reduce risk.

Cerner Health Facts® is a database of privacy law-compliant electronic health records from over 600 participating Cerner client hospitals and clinics that is hosted by the School of Biomedical Informatics.

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Antiperspirants Kidney Disease And Dementia

Dialysis patients suffering from kidney disease raised concerns surrounding the effects of aluminum after doctors discovered large amounts in their system resulting from a prescription drug. Because of their kidney disease, their bodies were unable to remove the aluminum fast enough, causing it to build up in their bodies. Researchers found these patients were more likely to develop dementia, causing manufacturers to post a warning on antiperspirants for those with kidneys functioning at less than 30%. Because the quantity of aluminum present in deodorants is small, your body will not absorb enough through the skin to cause kidney issues.

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Vaccines And Prion Disease

Before I discuss all these claims, I have to answer the question: What are prions? Prion diseases are more properly referred to as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and represent a rare form of progressive neurodegenerative disorders that can affect both humans and animals. The most famous prion diseases in animals are bovine spongiform encephalopathy , scrapie, and chronic wasting disease in humans, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and kuru. These diseases have a long incubation period and produce in the brain characteristic spongiform changes associated with loss of neurons with no inflammatory response. The causative agents for these diseases are prions. According to the CDC:

The term prions refers to abnormal, pathogenic agents that are transmissible and are able to induce abnormal folding of specific normal cellular proteins called prion proteins that are found most abundantly in the brain. The functions of these normal prion proteins are still not completely understood. The abnormal folding of the prion proteins leads to brain damage and the characteristic signs and symptoms of the disease. Prion diseases are usually rapidly progressive and always fatal.

The BSE inquirys report calls for vaccines to be investigated as a possible route of transmission. But it concedes that this will be hampered by the fact that systematic records of the action taken in response to BSE in respect of individual medical products are lacking.

And:

Does Dementia Run In The Family

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As dementia is so common, many of us will have a relative living with the condition but this does not mean we will get it too. Directly inherited dementia is rare.

If you have a parent or grandparent with Alzheimers disease, your risk may be higher than someone with no family history. However, in most cases, the genes we inherit from our parents only have a relatively small effect on our risk of developing dementia.

In very rare cases, someone may inherit a faulty gene that causes a specific form of dementia. Some rare forms of early-onset Alzheimers disease and frontotemporal dementia are caused by faulty genes, and these can run in families. Symptoms of these genetic forms of dementia often start in the 30s, 40s or 50s.

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Alzheimers Disease Linked To Exposure To Aluminum

Amyloid-beta and aluminum in senile plaque from brain tissue of a familial Alzheimers disease donor. Credit: Neurobiology, University of Texas at San Antonio

A new study published in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease on January 13, 2020, supports a growing body of research that links human exposure to aluminum with Alzheimers disease . Researchers found significant amounts of aluminum content in brain tissue from donors with familial AD. The study also found a high degree of co-location with the amyloid-beta protein, which leads to early onset of the disease.

This is the second study confirming significantly high brain accumulation in familial Alzheimers disease, but it is the first to demonstrate an unequivocal association between the location of aluminum and amyloid-beta in the disease. It shows that aluminum and amyloid-beta are intimately woven in the neuropathology, explained lead investigator Christopher Exley, PhD, Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.

he new research confirms my resolve that within the normal lifespan of humans, there would not be any AD if there were no aluminum in the brain tissue. No aluminum, no AD.Dr. Christopher Exley

Reference: Aluminum and Amyloid- in Familial Alzheimers Disease by Matthew Mold, Caroline Linhart, Johana Gómez-Ramírez, Andrés Villegas-Lanau and Christopher Exley, 13 January 2020, Journal of Alzheimers Disease.DOI: 10.3233/JAD-191140

Our Rating: Partly False

The claim that aluminum leaches into food due to heat and causes Alzheimers, autism, dementia and cancer is rated PARTLY FALSE based on our research. While it is true that food and water often contain aluminum and that aluminum levels in food increase in hot or acidic conditions, it is false that such exposure is linked to any health effects in healthy adults. While it is true that aluminum can be an occupational health risk or among people with impaired kidney function, it is not true that routine exposure will cause the health effects listed in the article, such as cancer.

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Assessment Of Dementia And Alzheimer’s Disease

Subjects who agreed to participate underwent a 1-hour home interview with a specially trained psychologist. Prevalent and incident cases of dementia were detected by a two-step procedure. First, after the psychometric evaluation, the psychologist systematically completed a standardized questionnaire designed to obtain the A , B , and C criteria for dementia according to the DSM-III-R . Second, subjects who were positive for these criteria were examined by a senior neurologist, who confirmed the diagnosis and applied the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for Alzheimer’s disease and the Hachinski score for vascular dementia to document the diagnosis of dementia and its etiology: probable or possible Alzheimer’s disease or other type of dementia.

One Major Side Effect Of Drinking From A Can New Study Says

Is There A Link Between Candida Plaque And Alzheimers Plaque?

Maybe you’ve heard that antiperspirants containing aluminum can be dangerous for your long-term brain health. Now, a new study is reinforcing that finding, as a group of scientists have found that the aluminum we consume, such as when we drink from a can, can lead to serious impairment to our long-term cognitive function.

Last month, the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease published a study conducted by four scientists in England. They set out to understand how exposure to aluminum might impact people’s genetic predisposition to dementia-related illnesses, like Alzheimer’s.

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The scientists were aware of past research which had concluded that the aluminum found in everyday products, such as deodorants, is associated with neurodegenerative illnesses and forms of dementia, like Alzheimer’s. The scientists examined the presence of aluminum in the brains of donors with a family history of Alzheimer’s.

Upon analysis, the researchers found that aluminum was present in the same areas of the brain as the tangles of protein that appear in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. The study also found that aluminum itself might play a role in forming the tangles and plaques that precede the onset of Alzheimer’s.

Still, given the growing canned seltzer trend and the ever-popularity of sodas, it may be worth giving a second thought to the packaging of our beverages.

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Elevated Brain Aluminium Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease In An Individual Occupationally Exposed To Aluminium

Date:
Keele University
Summary:
Research has shown for the first time that an individual who was exposed to aluminum at work and died of Alzheimers disease had high levels of aluminum in the brain. While aluminum is a known neurotoxin and occupational exposure to aluminum has been implicated in neurological disease, including Alzheimers disease, this finding is believed to be the first record of a direct link between Alzheimers disease and elevated brain aluminum following occupational exposure to the metal.

Research at Keele University in Staffordshire, UK, has shown for the first time that an individual who was exposed to aluminum at work and died of Alzheimer’s disease had high levels of aluminum in the brain.

While aluminum is a known neurotoxin and occupational exposure to aluminum has been implicated in neurological disease, including Alzheimer’s disease, this finding is believed to be the first record of a direct link between Alzheimer’s disease and elevated brain aluminum following occupational exposure to the metal.

Following his death, aged 66, in 2011, a neuropathological examination confirmed advance stage Alzheimer’s disease. There then followed the most comprehensive investigation ever of the aluminum content of the frontal lobe of a single individual with 49 different tissue samples being measured for aluminum.

Story Source:

Tips For Cutting Down On Alcohol

  • Set yourself a limit and keep track of how much youre drinking.
  • Try low-alcohol or alcohol-free drinks.
  • Try to alternate between alcoholic and soft drinks.
  • Take advantage of particular dates and events to motivate you. For example, you could make a new years resolution to drink less.
Risk factors you cant change

Discover how age, genetics, gender and ethnicity can affect your risk of developing dementia.

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Does Aluminum Build Up In The Brain

Christopher Exley, PhD, of Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom, writes that based on existing studies, the metal slowly builds up in the brain, where it can eventually cause early onset of Alzheimers. Much of Exleys research has focused on aluminum, the most abundant metal in the earth crust.

Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis Encephalitis And Encephalopathies

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With regard to encephalitis, it is necessary to distinguish between acute disseminated encephalomyelitis , encephalitis and encephalopathy. Some neurology texts state that ADEM may be caused by vaccines. Actually, this association is linked mainly to the fact that the old vaccines against rabies, which were derived from animal nerve tissue , namely Fermi and Semple vaccines, could lead to sensitization, not least because of the high number of doses required for post-exposure prophylaxis.

With regard to the possible association between the vaccine against hepatitis B and encephalitis or encephalopathy, after analyzing the literature the IOM concluded that, from the epidemiological standpoint, there was no evidence of a possible causal association .

As for the hypothetical association between encephalitis / encephalopathy and the Tdap vaccine, the only two controlled studies considered by the IOM reached conflicting conclusions, but both displayed methodological limitations. Moreover, a study conducted in Italy by Greco et al. was refuted by later research . In addition, a study conducted by Yih et al. on 660,000 patients, within the network of the Vaccine Safety Datalink, found a lower risk of encephalopathy in patients who received the Tdap vaccine than in the control group. Another study by Ray et al. found a lack of evidence of an association between Tdap vaccine or MMR vaccine and encephalitis or encephalopathy .

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Be Cautious About Alzheimers Cures

Because Alzheimers disease is so devastating, some people are tempted by untried or unproven cures. Check with your doctor before trying pills or any other treatment or supplement that promises to prevent Alzheimers. These treatments might be unsafe, a waste of money, or both. They might even interfere with other medical treatments that have been prescribed.

Viruses May Trigger Dementia

Inflammation has been implicated in dementia, and viral infections could be a triggering factor, says researcher Timo E. Strandberg, MD, PhD, of the University of Helsinki in Finland, in a news release. Our findings should be tested in other studies, but if these viruses are involved, there are existing therapies such as vaccination and antiviral drugs that could be used to prevent or treat dementia.

In the study, which appears in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers tested 383 elderly men and women with heart disease for the antibodies that are produced in response to infection with three common viruses: herpes simplex 1 , herpes simplex type 2 and cytomegalovirus , and followed them for 12 months.

HSV1 causes cold sores, and HSV2 causes genital herpes. CMV is a virus that infects between 50% to 85% of American adults by age 40, but it causes few symptoms and no long-term health problems in most people.

The mental function of the participants was also assessed at the beginning and end of the study.

After testing for the viruses multiple times, researchers found that up to 60% of the participants tested positive for one or more or the viruses. And the more viral exposure, the higher the risk of dementia.

Those who had evidence of infection with all three viruses were 2.5 times more likely to have mental impairment than those with antibodies for less than three of the viruses.

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What Does The Research Say

The current research shows that there is likely to be a relationship between naturally-occurring metals and the development or progression of Alzheimer’s disease. But the evidence doesn’t yet show whether this relationship actually causes Alzheimer’s disease.

It is also unclear whether reducing metals in the brain via drugs or reducing our exposure would have any effect. These metals are essential to the healthy function of our brain, so further research into changes before or during disease development is also necessary to understand if reducing the amount in the brain would actually be beneficial.

Dementia research volunteering

Is There A Link Between Aluminum And Alzheimers

Aluminum exposure may cause Alzheimerâs â report

Aluminum is an element abundantly present in the earth. It occurs naturally in food and water and is widely used in products ranging from cans and cookware to medications and cosmetics. Some observational studies suggested a link between brain levels of aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease . Since the association was found, many studies have investigated whether aluminum increases the risk for Alzheimer’s. The findings are far from clear.

DRINKING WATER

Several meta-analyses examined the association between aluminum levels in drinking water and dementia risk, and the evidence is mixed and inconclusive . The only high-quality study involved almost 4,000 older adults in southwest France . It found that levels of aluminum consumption in drinking water in excess of 0.1 mg/day were associated with a doubling of dementia risk and a 3-fold increase in Alzheimer’s risk . For reference, the 2016 NYC Drinking Water Quality Report states that the concentration of aluminum in NYC drinking water ranged from 0.006-0.057 mg/liter . Of the remaining 13 moderate quality studies, 6 found an association between higher aluminum levels in drinking water and increased dementia risk , 4 found no associations , and 1 found a protective effect of higher soil levels of aluminum . Other elements present in drinking water, such as fluoride, copper, zinc, or iron, could also affect cognitive function and the results of these studies .

ANTACIDS

ANTIPERSPIRANTS

OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE

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Can Cognitive Training Prevent Alzheimers Disease

Cognitive training involves structured activities designed to enhance memory, reasoning, and speed of processing. There is encouraging but inconclusive evidence that a specific, computer-based cognitive training may help delay or slow age-related cognitive decline. However, there is no evidence that it can prevent or delay Alzheimers-related cognitive impairment.

Studies show that cognitive training can improve the type of cognition a person is trained in. For example, older adults who received 10 hours of practice designed to enhance their speed and accuracy in responding to pictures presented briefly on a computer screen got faster and better at this specific task and other tasks in which enhanced speed of processing is important. Similarly, older adults who received several hours of instruction on effective memory strategies showed improved memory when using those strategies. The important question is whether such training has long-term benefits or translates into improved performance on daily activities like driving and remembering to take medicine.

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