Showing posts with label Alzheimer's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alzheimer's. Show all posts

Misleading DNA Testing for Herpes, Alzheimer's and Coeliac Disease

Genetic testing should not be used for herpes, Alzheimer's or Coeliac disease.
It seems that genetic testing is not all good for health problems. MedicineWise, a body of doctors and patients, has released an advisory list for scientists. DNA testing should no be used for coeliac disease, nor for herpes or Alzheimer's.
DNA Testing
Identifying a "causative" gene only indicates a probability. Indeed, screening for herpes in genetic testing for sexually transmitted disease is a misuse of resources.  Millions of dollars of government funding is wasted every year. herpes

A DNA finding is not a black and white issue. Gene determination is not 100 per cent. Many people with a "faulty" gene do live without ever getting the so called predetermined disease. Furthermore, patients can be falsely reassured by a DNA test.
◆ Chemistry ◆

 
Coeliac, disease, Alzheimer's, herpes, health, genetics, false, predetermined, wrong, belief, faulty, gene
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Ultrasound to Treat Alzheimer's Disease

A great deal of research is going on into solving the problem of Alzheimer's disease. It is a major issue with the number of elderly people increasing in most countries. Though young people can suffer from the illness it is perceived as a disease of the aged.
Ultrasound to treat Alzheimers disease
While most work has been done on the chemical and molecular structure of the brain, it seems that a simple treatment has been there all along. The University of Queensland has stumbled onto ultrasound as an effective treatment. First successful on mice, it is now being rolled out for humans.

Waves of ultrasound break up neurotoxic amyloid plaque. The cause of the illness is still there, but the damage done is reversed. Some old memories could still be lost. However, new ones will be kept. This will reduce the need for resources in caring for the elderly who will able to function on their own.

In tests, mice were capable of solving problems that had beaten them before. Decision making is the most important function of the human brain apart from those keeping a person alive. Long term memories are not so critical: though ideally, one would not want to loose these.

It is debated whether the use of ultrasound would improve executive functions of healthy brains. Other diseases also damage the brain and detection of them is difficult. In the future we could all be getting regular ultrasound.
✴ /Health by Ty Buchanan ✴
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Alzheimer's Can Now Be Diagnosed When No Symptoms Are Present

New findings on Alzheimer's have been released in Australia. The build up of beta-amyloid plaque is thought to be the main cause of Alzheimer's and it is also responsible for cognitive decline over the long term. The presence of plaque in the brain enables diagnosis of Alzheimer's even in people who show no immediate symptoms. This was announced by Dr Christopher Rowe, professor of nuclear medicine at Melbourme's Austin Hospital.

A patient can now know years in advance that he/she will develop Alzheimer's. Whether this is a good thing is debatable, though it does give time for a person to get their things in order. Depression could be the result of making such an emotive discovery.

Eighteen million people suffer from Alzheimer's worldwide. With the large segment of the population moving into the elderly group this is expected to reach 34 million by 2025. A new drug to fight plaque has been approved in the US. Hopefully, a medication can be found that will dissolve the plaque.
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Health
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Handwriting Shows Whether a Person Has Heart Problems

Just as jerky handwriting can indicate that a person has cancer, so handwriting shows if a person has heart disease. Christina Strang gave a presentation at the International Graphonomics Society in Melbourne stating that she examined the handwriting of over 1,000 people in their 60s.

The handwriting expert magnified handwriting looking for traits such as momentary stop-starts, location of dots, odd shaped 'o's, etc. She found that people with cardiac problems had more "resting dots" in the upper parts of 'a', 'e' and 'o's, vis-a-vis the control group.

Doctors have dismissed the findings as being too general and unscientific, in much the same way as they did with similar research into Alzheimer's, Huntington's and Parkinson's diseases.
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Health
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