A nasal spray may help treat Alzheimer's

A treatment approach used for cancer may offer promise for Alzheimer's reports Lancaster University.. This treatment could be delivered in the form of a nasal spray. In this novel treatment aimed at blocking the development of Alzheimer’s disease microscopic droplets of fat are used to carry drugs into the brain. This form of treatment is used in order to target drugs to cancer cells. It has been used successfully in mice to restore memory. The very small droplets of fat are called nanoliposomes. These nanoliposomes can stop amyloid protein from accumulating into plaques. Amyloid plaques have been found to be toxic clumps of protein which cause damage to cells in the brains of people who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Lead researcher Professor David Allsop says it is hoped that this could someday be administered by something which is as simple and non-invasive as a nasal spray. Patients could use this comfortably in their own home. 

It has been observed that fat droplets can pass directly into the brain via the nose, which opens up the possibility of using a nasal spray to administer treatments for diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer's. This study has been published in the journal Nanomedicine. Nanotechnology already holds promise for treating people who suffer from many different types of cancer and now may offer new hope for sufferers of Alzheimer's and other brain diseases.

There is a substantial burden of psychotropics in elderly people with Alzheimer’s disease

The University of Eastern Finland reports that greater than 50 percent of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease who are aged 90 years or more use psychotropic drugs. It is rather common to see psychotropic drug use in persons aged 90 years of more who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in comparison with those who were diagnosed when they were younger. In this study people 90 years or older used antipsychotics 5 times and antidepressants 2.5 times more often than those people who did not have the disease in the same age group. Psychotropic drugs have been found to be associated with a significant risk of adverse effects in older people and therefore the frequent use of these drugs among the oldest persons is of great concern. This study has been published in the journal Age and Ageing. The researchers have concluded the vulnerable oldest persons suffering from Alzheimer’s disease have a substantial burden of psychotropics. It is not unusual to see such careless and destructive use of psychiatric drugs by the psychiatrists and other doctors who prescribe these highly toxic agents.