Brain blood flow finding gives hope for Alzheimer’s therapy

You know that dizzy feeling you get when, after lying down for an extended period, you stand up a little too quickly?

That feeling is caused by a sudden reduction of blood flow to the brain, a reduction of around 30 percent. Now imagine living every minute of every day with that level of decreased blood flow.
People with Alzheimer’s disease don’t have to imagine it. The existence of cerebral blood flow reduction in Alzheimer’s patients has been known for decades, but the exact correlation to impaired cognitive function is less understood.

“People probably adapt to the decreased blood flow, so that they don’t feel dizzy all of the time, but there’s clear evidence that it impacts cognitive function,” said an associate professor.

A new study, offers an explanation for this dramatic blood flow decrease: white blood cells stuck to the inside of capillaries, the smallest blood vessels in the brain. And while only a small percentage of capillaries experience this blockage, each stalled vessel leads to decreased blood flow in multiple downstream vessels, magnifying the impact on overall brain blood flow.

“It turns out that … the blockages we were trying to induce were already in there,” she said. “It sort of turned the research around – this is a phenomenon that was already happening.”

The researchers, determined that only about 2 percent of brain capillaries had “stalls” (blockages), but the cumulative effect of that small number of stalls was an approximately 20 percent overall decrease in brain blood flow, due to the slowing of downstream vessels by the capillaries that were stalled. Recent studies suggest that brain blood flow deficits are one of the earliest detectable symptoms of dementia.

To test the effect of the stalls on performance of memory tasks in Alzheimer’s mice, they were given an antibody that interfered with the adhesion of white blood cells to capillary walls, which caused the stalled capillaries to start flowing again and thus increased overall brain blood flow. Memory function was improved within a few hours, even in aged mice with more advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers are quick to point out, however, that the antibody is not something that can be used in humans. Also, of course, interfering with white blood cell adhesion would render an individual immuno-compromised.

“What we’ve done is identify the cellular mechanism that causes reduced brain blood flow in Alzheimer’s disease models, which is neutrophils [white blood cells] sticking in capillaries,” the Dr. said. “We’ve shown that when we block the cellular mechanism [that causes the stalls], we get an improved blood flow, and associated with that improved blood flow is immediate restoration of cognitive performance of spatial- and working-memory tasks.”

“Now that we know the cellular mechanism,” he said, “it’s a much narrower path to identify the drug or the therapeutic approach to treat it.”

The team has identified approximately 20 drugs, many of them already FDA approved for human use, that have potential in dementia therapy. Some of them, however, were designed to be taken in high doses for short periods of time to treat sepsis, or in the immediate aftermath of a heart attack or stroke. “They weren’t really intended to be something that you take for the rest of your life,” he said. Nonetheless, the lab is screening these drugs in Alzheimer’s mice now. 

The Dr. said he’s “super-optimistic” that, if the same capillary-blocking mechanism is at play in humans as it is in mice, this line of research “could be a complete game-changer for people with Alzheimer’s disease.”

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How To Save Yourself If You Are Alone And Choking

It’s probably safe to say many of us have had a moment of panic when we think we might be choking on food.

Usually, it turns out OK and we can either cough it up or swallow it on our own, but that’s not always the case.

If you’re in public or eating with other people, you’d hope someone either knows how to help or can call 911 if you really are choking.

For people who eat many of their meals alone, however, the danger of choking can be much greater.

“I have noted over those years that there is really no effective means for someone to rescue themselves should they be choking and nobody is there to help them,” he says.

He recommends a basic push-up motion to create suction to hopefully dislodge the object that is blocking your throat.

First, get on your knees in the push-up position, then let go of your arms, essentially letting your stomach and chest smack on the ground.

The air that moves out from this technique should be enough to remove whatever is stuck in your airway.

He warns this won’t work while pregnant and says while nothing is 100 percent effective, “This is certainly a lot better than what we’ve been taught so far.”

Interesting to note, the maneuver actually came from his boxing days and was something his coach taught him to tighten up his abdominal muscles, but he realized there was a better use for it and applied it to his years as a paramedic.

We certainly hope you’ll never need to know this, but there is no such thing as being too prepared.

As always, be sure to use caution if using this or any medical technique.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                                             FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                                                             https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                                                                                       FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com