The clock is ticking: The first National Alzheimer’s plan sets a deadline of 2025 to finally find effective ways to treat, or at least stall, the mind-destroying disease.

The Obama administration finalizes the landmark national strategy on Tuesday, laying out numerous steps the government and private partners can take over the coming years to fight what is poised to become a defining disease of the rapidly aging population.

But some of the work is beginning right away.

Starting Tuesday, embattled families and caregivers can check a new one-stop website – alzheimers.gov – for easy-to-understand information about dementia and where to get help in their own communities.

The National Institutes of Health is funding some major new studies of possible therapies, including a form of insulin that’s squirted into the nose.

“These actions are the cornerstones of an historic effort to fight Alzheimer’s disease,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. she was announcing the steps Tuesday at the NIH.

The first National Alzheimer’s plan comes as the world’s top Alzheimer’s scientists are gathered at the NIH this week to debate what research needs to be given priority in order to meet that ambitious 2025 deadline. they said it may be time to start testing potential therapies differently, before people have full-blown Alzheimer’s symptoms, when it may be too late to help.

“There’s a sense of optimism” thanks to some new discoveries, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told scientists at the Alzheimer’s Research Summit on Monday.

But, “we need to figure out exactly where is the best window of opportunity” to battle back Alzheimer’s, Collins said. he noted that cardiologists don’t test cholesterol-lowering drugs on people already near death from heart failure.

It’s clear that Alzheimer’s quietly brews in the brain, killing off cells, for 10 years or more before symptoms appear, Dr. Reisa Sperling of Harvard Medical School told the meeting. she called that time period an important opportunity to try to stave off the disease, at least postponing the memory loss and other symptoms.

Already, 5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer’s or related dementias. Barring a research breakthrough, those numbers will rise significantly by 2050, when up to 16 million Americans are projected to have Alzheimer’s. already, it’s the sixth-leading killer, and there is no cure. Treatments only temporarily ease some symptoms.

Beyond the suffering, it’s a budget-busting disease for Medicare, Medicaid and families. Caring for people with dementia will cost the U.S. $200 billion this year alone, and $1 trillion by 2050, the Alzheimer’s Association estimates. even that staggering figure doesn’t fully reflect the toll. Sufferers lose the ability to do the simplest activities of daily life and can survive that way for a decade or more. Family members provide most of the care, unpaid, and too often their own health crumbles under the stress.

So the National Alzheimer’s plan, required by Congress, takes a two-pronged approach: focusing on future treatments plus help for families suffering today.

“There is a reinvigorated focus on this disease,” Donald Moulds of HHS told The Associated Press.

Among the first steps:

-A planned $8 million study of an insulin nasal spray that pilot-testing suggests could help Alzheimer’s. It’s based on growing evidence that diabetes and Alzheimer’s are related, damaging how the brain is fueled. The insulin nasal spray can reach the brain without affecting blood-sugar levels.

-Also, NIH was contributing $16 million to an international study of whether a treatment targeting amyloid, Alzheimer’s hallmark brain plaque, could prevent the disease. The study will include people at highest risk, genetically, of the disease, including Americans and a unique group in Colombia.

-The government will begin offering training to doctors and other health providers on the best ways to care for patients and their families.

Beyond the initial steps, the plan lays out ways that federal and state governments plus private and nonprofit organizations can collaborate to battle Alzheimer’s – from improving early diagnosis to creating more resources to help families with long-term care of their loved ones at home.

Published: 2:00 AM – 12/14/11

Q. What is “white coat syndrome?”

A. if you suffer from “white coat syndrome,” your blood pressure jumps as soon as a doctor or nurse approaches you. if your doctor knows this, he or she may recommend a home blood-pressure monitor or ambulatory monitor that is worn around the clock and takes your pressure every half-hour.

Blood pressure tends to spike when you are excited by an emotion such as anger or fear. But high blood pressure — known as hypertension — is very sneaky. It’s called the silent killer, because it usually has no symptoms.

Doctors say you have high blood pressure if you have a reading of 140/90 or higher. A blood pressure reading of 120/80 or lower is considered normal. Pre-hypertension is blood pressure between 120 and 139 for the top number, or between 80 and 89 for the bottom number.

The first number represents your systolic pressure when the heart beats. The second number represents the diastolic pressure when the heart rests. if only one number is elevated, you still have high blood pressure with all its dangers.

When you go to your doctor to have your blood pressure taken, there are a few things you can do to get an accurate reading. first, don’t drink coffee or smoke cigarettes for a half-hour before your pressure is taken. (What are you doing smoking, anyway?). empty your bladder, because a full tank can affect the reading. Sit quietly for five minutes before the test.

Q. How can I eat healthier?

A. To maintain a plan for healthy eating, follow these tips from the National Institutes of Health:

Q. What is the difference between Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes?

A. if you have diabetes, your body can’t produce insulin or use it properly. Insulin is a hormone that helps control the sugar in your blood. Insulin is made by the pancreas, a large organ behind the stomach.

A small percentage of diabetics have Type 1 diabetes, which usually occurs in people under age 30. Diabetics with this form of the disease cannot produce insulin.

About 90 percent of Americans with diabetes have Type 2 diabetes. It is most common in adults over age 40, and the risk of getting it increases with age. with this form of diabetes, the body does not always produce enough insulin or does not use insulin efficiently. Being overweight and inactive increases the chances of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes can be prevented in people who are at an increased risk or have pre-diabetes, a condition in which glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. People with pre-diabetes are more likely to develop diabetes within 10 years and are also more likely to have a heart attack or stroke.

Email questions to freelance health-care writer Fred Cicetti at . Cicetti’s book, “How to be a Healthy Geezer,” is available for purchase at healthygeezer.com.

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What different symptoms and problems between Austim and ADHD?

Before reading this, check out Malia's links first. they should be more accurate symptom-wise. I haven't read them myself. What I will mention are observations between my two sons, one PDD-NOS (Autie) and the other, ADHD.

My Autie moves slowly. my ADHD moves fast. my Autie takes a long time in doing anything. my ADHD overtakes him in anything he does. my Autie takes 30 minutes to finish a meal. my ADHD takes six spoonfulls swallowing only twice.

Even if my Autie is slow, he does things correctly. my ADHD is reckless. my Autie writes smoothly and cleanly. my ADHD's writing is the proverbial chicken-scratchings.

My Autie speaks clearly. my ADHD does not enunciate. they both started to talk at 3.5yo. my Autie elaborates to a fault. my ADHD misses and mispronouces words.

My Autie likes schedules and routines. my ADHD doesn't mind them. my Autie likes collecting toys. my ADHD disassembles them. my Autie is clean, neat and organized. my ADHD is a tornado.

My Autie religiously performs his chores. my ADHD has to be kickstarted, literally. my Autie feeds the fish, the turtles and the chickens like clockwork. my ADHD has to be told thrice to change the dog's water everyday.

My Autie likes rules and regulations. He follows them even if no one is watching. my ADHD has trouble following them specially when no one is watching him.

I wrote and posted How-To lists in various places in the house like "How to wash dishes" near the kitchen sink and "How to take a bath" in the bathroom. my Autie reads them because it is his routine. my ADHD reads them because he truly forgets. my niece (non-special, highly intellectual), read it the first time out of amazement.

My Autie is unmindful of his surroundings. my ADHD usually detects hidden roadsigns where cops lurk.

My Autie looks handsome most of the time. He also smells good from the 1-hour showers he takes every night. my ADHD doesn't mind how he looks and smells sour 1 hour after a 2-minute shower. He has dark lines on his neck and armpits at the end of the day even without going out of the house the whole day! You could still see short lengths of hair on his shirt three days after a haircut even if he changes his clothes everyday.

My Autie doesn't like being scolded, reminded or even corrected because he is already a teenager. my ADHD doesn't understand why he is scolded, reminded or corrected, ever.

The two get together very well even with their differences. they should. I'm only behind the wall at the next door.

Crafting a nice post on this issue is hard as diagnosing Autism and ADHD requires that some conditions be met. these requirements are set by the DSM-IV document.

This site explains what the conditions for autism are according to DSM-IV
speechtherapyfortoddlers.com/speech-therapy-for-autism-diagnosis/

and this one for ADHD
web4health.info/en/answers/adhd-diagn-dsm.htm

Question by country girl 006: How is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome diagnosed? I am exhausted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I am getting ready?to have a sleep apnea test done. I have been on sleeping pills prescribed to me by the doctor, but they don’t help at all. I am seriously sleep deprived! I am up at 12:00, I look at the clock and it’s 3:00, then I look again and it’s 5:30 AM, so I may as well just stay up. I don’t know how much longer I can take this. I am so tired, I feel like I could just “drop” at any moment. But, then again, when I have the chance to sleep, I can’t do it. someone out there – help me!!! like I said before, I am trying to have this diagnosed, but I would like some people’s opinions or suggestions. thanks!They have done blood work. Thyroid is perfect, cholesterol (both) is perfect, but I have iron deficiency and am anemic, too. I am on pills for that. I was in a car accident 2 1/2 years ago, had back surgery and complications from that. I was diagnosed with RSD, where my legs and feet are swollen to five times their normal size. I have a pain pump implanted and get morphine pumped into my spine. I have to walk with a walker to get around. I have to stay in bed most of the time, because of all the pain, but I am so dam* tired! Life is not good for me right now. I am on SSDI and am a single parent, trying to put 2 boys through college. How much more can a person take. Now that I think about it, a lot of this is probably stress, but I take an antidepressant, too. so you see, my life is pretty complicated. nothing easy here! But, I still need some sleep!!!!!!!!!!

Best answer:

Answer by Gary SChronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disorder that causes extreme fatigue. this fatigue is not the kind of tired feeling that goes away after you rest. Instead, it lasts a long time and limits your ability to do ordinary daily activities.

Symptoms of CFS include fatigue for 6 months or more and experiencing other problems such as muscle pain, memory problems, headaches, pain in multiple joints, sleep problems, sore throat and tender lymph nodes. since other illnesses can cause similar symptoms, CFS is hard to diagnose.

No one knows what causes CFS. It is most common in women in their 40s and 50s, but anyone can have it. It can last for years. there is no cure for CFS, so the goal of treatment is to improve symptoms. Medicines may treat pain, sleep disorders and other problems.Diagnosing CFS requires ruling out other causes of chronic persistent fatigue, including a stressful lifestyle, cancer, or other illness such as adrenal or thyroid disorders, HIV, or AIDS. since there are no laboratory tests that specifically make the diagnosis of CFS, the diagnosis is based on symptoms. People with CFS experience the following symptoms:

* Fatigue: People with CFS have long-term fatigue (lasting longer than 6 months to a year) that cannot be explained by other diseases. People with CFS may have had a previous infection. They are tired and “run down” during the infection, and the fatigue continues after the person has recovered from the illness.

* Cognitive difficulties: A typical complaint of people with CFS is that they have problems with short-term memory but not long-term memory. People with CFS may have problems finding or saying a particular word during normal speech (called dysnomia or verbal dyslexia).

* Postexertional fatigue: Postexertional fatigue may also be a problem for people with CFS. They are excessively tired after doing normal activities that were not difficult in the past.

* Fatigue after sleep: People with CFS also complain of fatigue even after long periods of rest or sleep. They do not feel refreshed after sleeping.

* Depression: People with CFS may become depressed because of difficulties performing at work or home, but depression does not cause CFS.

* other symptoms that may be seen include headaches, muscle aches, sore throat, and even mild fever.there is no single test to diagnose chronic fatigue syndrome. The disease is a diagnosis of exclusion, which means that all other conditions and illnesses that cause the symptoms are ruled out. CFS may be diagnosed based on the following:

* Certain signs and symptoms must be present. (People without cognitive dysfunction do not have CFS.)

* some nonspecific laboratory tests, such as blood tests and tests of the immune system, suggest the diagnosis.

Laboratory tests are used to rule out other fatigue-causing diseases. Also, some laboratory abnormalities are seen in CFS and support the diagnosis.

Your doctor may perform the following tests:

* Tests to exclude other causes of fatigue: Thyroid, adrenal, and liver function tests are useful to rule out disorders that may cause fatigue. in people with CFS, the results of these tests should be normal.

* Blood tests: The most consistent laboratory abnormality in people with chronic fatigue syndrome is an extremely low erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR, the measurement of settling red blood cells in anticoagulated [non-clotting] blood). If the ESR is elevated or even in the high-normal range, another diagnosis is likely. If any other abnormalities are found on blood tests, your doctor may rule out CFS and begin testing for another condition.

* Antibody tests: Your doctor may order antibody tests to determine whether you have had a prior infection, such as Lyme disease, Chlamydia pneumoniae pneumonia, or Epstein-Barr virus.

Your doctor may perform the following imaging studies:

* CT scans or an MRI of the brain is useful to rule out other disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). Results of CT scans and MRI are normal in people with CFS.

* Single-photon emission computed tomography and/or positron emission tomography scans show decreased blood flow in areas of the brain (the frontoparietal/temporal region). this decreased blood flow explains the cognitive difficulties (short-term memory problems) in chronic fatigue syndrome.

I have had Crohn's disease for 7 years. we have wanted to start a family for years but I was constantly sick.The doctors kept reminding me that my clock is ticking (I'm 36). I recovered a little from a never ending flare up, after a miscarriage early this year and since then went off Prednisone completely. Now I am 7 weeks pregnant again. Since finding out I was pregnant I decided to stop taking mesalasine to give this baby a good healthy chance. I am currently feeling sick all the time with nausea, I am finding it very difficult but how can I tell if my symptoms are related to the pregnancy and not to my Crohn's. I am finding it hard to be happy about being pregnant when the symptoms are so similar to Crohn's. I am being being reminded by friends that this will pass after the 1st trimester…I really hope so. Has anyone else experience this while pregnant? thank you.

Please help! All the dentist/doctors offices are closed until Monday in observation of July 4 and I don't want to worry all weekend. Here is the problem; my gum tissue has gotten a lot worse in the last 6-8 months (swollen/bleeding) even though my dental care is better than ever. The hygenist recommended root planing and scaling, which I went ahead and started today. The dental hygenist was surprised that I did not have a causative agent (meaning that I did not have tartar but all the same my gums were in bad shape and bleeding.) she seemed confused and she kept saying "I have to ask the dentist. I have to ask the dentist." (The dentists were all gone because it was a 5 o'clock appt.) I had lymphoma 4 years ago and I have some autoimmune problems including Sjogren's Syndrome (very mild.) anyway, the hygenist really scared me. she said that at best I am not getting enough Vitamin C, which is probably very true. I don't drink juice because of the sugar and I almost always go with vegetables over fruit. I am hoping this is the case because that would be an easy fix. I have no other symptoms of scurvy (no skin problems or bruising) except for fatigue and I think that is from stress and the cancer–which will never go away completely. My nails are a little thin but my hair is in great shape and I do not think I am anemic. (Last time when I got sick, it was breaking and tangling and I was pale and jaundiced.) now that is not the case at all. Plus, everyone is telling me how nice I look. One more thing, I was dropped-kicked into menopause because of my treatment and am taking synthetic estrogen.

I thought scurvy was very uncommon. Could it be something else. Can you offer any insight?