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.

Consultant is first in county to use new method for treating gallstones

4:00pm Tuesday 10th April 2012 in Bradford by Claire Lomax

a doctor in Bradford has become the first in Yorkshire to use a new technique to shatter gallstones in patients.

Gallstones are stones, usually made of cholesterol, that form in the gallbladder. in most cases they do not cause any symptoms. however, in a small number of cases, gallstones can become trapped in a duct, which leads to a range of symptoms, including a sudden intense pain in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting and jaundice.

Risk factors include obesity and age, with older people more likely to develop gallstones.

Women are also two to three times more likely to develop gallstones than men.

Traditionally, patients needing treatment for gallstones, many of them elderly, have faced major surgery and hospital stays of up to ten days, or frequent visits to hospital for treatment to put in stents.

Health bosses in Bradford have now invested £50,000 in new equipment called SpyGlass from a company called Boston Scientific.

it consists of a baby endoscope – a tiny flexible tube and eye piece to see inside the body – which can pass up a standard endoscope and into the bile duct to directly visualise abnormalities.

tiny forceps can then be used by the doctor to take a biopsy, to aid diagnosis and management of disease or a lithotripter – a device which emits electrohydraulic shock waves – can pass up the baby scope to shatter gallstones.

it will be used on patients who have stones which can’t be removed surgically or using standard endoscopic techniques.

Dr Conrad Beckett, a consultant gastroenterologist at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was the first to use SpyGlass, making Bradford one of only eight other centres in the country carrying out the procedure.

Dr Beckett, who has 18 years experience, trained in the technique in Aintree, Liverpool.

he said: “It is a procedure which is lower risk for the patient and can be done as a day case. it takes about an hour-and-a-half for a big stone and because it is not comfortable for the patient it is done under general anaesthetic.

“The first procedure went very well and we crushed a big stone nicely. hopefully the patient won’t have to come back again.

“We are talking about doing a couple of cases a months and will start with the backlog of our own patients and will then be happy to take referrals from across Yorkshire.”

more Bradford stories

Consultant is first in county to use new method for treating gallstones

4:00pm Tuesday 10th April 2012 in Bradford By Claire Lomax

a doctor in Bradford has become the first in Yorkshire to use a new technique to shatter gallstones in patients.

Gallstones are stones, usually made of cholesterol, that form in the gallbladder. In most cases they do not cause any symptoms. however, in a small number of cases, gallstones can become trapped in a duct, which leads to a range of symptoms, including a sudden intense pain in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting and jaundice.

Risk factors include obesity and age, with older people more likely to develop gallstones.

Women are also two to three times more likely to develop gallstones than men.

Traditionally, patients needing treatment for gallstones, many of them elderly, have faced major surgery and hospital stays of up to ten days, or frequent visits to hospital for treatment to put in stents.

Health bosses in Bradford have now invested £50,000 in new equipment called SpyGlass from a company called Boston Scientific.

it consists of a baby endoscope – a tiny flexible tube and eye piece to see inside the body – which can pass up a standard endoscope and into the bile duct to directly visualise abnormalities.

tiny forceps can then be used by the doctor to take a biopsy, to aid diagnosis and management of disease or a lithotripter – a device which emits electrohydraulic shock waves – can pass up the baby scope to shatter gallstones.

it will be used on patients who have stones which can’t be removed surgically or using standard endoscopic techniques.

Dr Conrad Beckett, a consultant gastroenterologist at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was the first to use SpyGlass, making Bradford one of only eight other centres in the country carrying out the procedure.

Dr Beckett, who has 18 years experience, trained in the technique in Aintree, Liverpool.

He said: “It is a procedure which is lower risk for the patient and can be done as a day case. it takes about an hour-and-a-half for a big stone and because it is not comfortable for the patient it is done under general anaesthetic.

“The first procedure went very well and we crushed a big stone nicely. hopefully the patient won’t have to come back again.

“We are talking about doing a couple of cases a months and will start with the backlog of our own patients and will then be happy to take referrals from across Yorkshire.”

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Viral meningitis may sound scary, but it isn’t.

Augusta Health in Fishersville said the hospital has had several people admitted with viral meningitis.

The classic symptoms are a trio of fever, photophobia (that’s when light is painful to the eyes) and headache and or neck pain.

The viral, version of meningitis is painful but usually goes away on its own. in fact, there is also almost a 100%t recovery from viral meningitis.

However, you need to check with your doctor to make sure it’s not caused by bacteria.

Bacterial meningitis needs to be treated right away with antibiotics, and flu-like symptoms will rapidly take over the body.

If untreated, meningitis can lead to shock and death within hours of the first symptoms.

© Copyright 2012 WHSV / Gray Television Group, inc. All Rights Reserved.

Health bosses raise awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms

4:10pm Tuesday 6th March 2012 in News

MARCH is ovarian cancer awareness month and hospital chiefs are keen to raise awareness of the symptoms to ensure early detection and treatment.

According to statistics, 17 women in the town will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 but knowing the signs including persistent pelvic/stomach pain, increased stomach size, persistent bloating and having difficulty eating could help patients seek advice early.

Nigel Holland, gynaecological consultant at the trust, said: “If ovarian cancer is diagnosed at an early stage the outcome is good. “However, because some of the symptoms of ovarian cancer can be vague and similar to those of more common conditions, it can be difficult to diagnose.”

Women are also advised to tell their GP if there are two or more cases of ovarian or breast cancer in their close family.

Visit ovarian.org.uk.

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Seventy-year-old Don Wright doesn’t believe in giving up without a fight. Since being diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM), also known as myeloma, eight years ago, he has become a beacon of light for patients battling the crippling cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow. While no exact cause has been found to lead to this disease, it does primarily affect elderly folks. the median age of diagnosis is roughly 70 years.

A picture of health, the retired American lawyer has used his passion for running marathons to keep physically fit, controlling the cancer with a clinical trial drug called pomalidomide to give himself a new lease of life. He has been on this drug since March 2008, with positive results. Prior drugs gave him little to no relief.

Wright spoke to Life following his speech at the 53rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) conference in San Diego late last year, where medical experts congregated to promulgate and analyse new treatments for myeloma suffers. He spoke candidly to the audience about how encouraged he was to see fresh developments taking place in the treatments for MM patients. a trial drug has worked wonders for him, he said with enthusiasm, offering him a life he would not have imagined a few years ago.

“I want patients around the world to be emotionally and physically strong to fight this disease,” said Wright. “Trial drugs might not be easily accessible to the masses and might not always work, but that should not put people off from looking after themselves both physically and emotionally.

”Pomalidomide, the trial drug, is working for me. It will not cure the myeloma but it keeps it stable. I want people in my shoes to be encouraged to live and celebrate life. I have a disease but despite that I have a wonderful life. Despite the odds, it is pivotal to have hope. At the conference, doctors talked about a cornucopia of treatments, which are at trial stage, so there is a lot of hope for new cures on the horizon. Life is there to be lived to the fullest despite the impact the disease has had on us both mentally and physically.”

Afterwards, he took time out to run a mini-marathon with a small group. He has competed in 55 marathons in 37 states, while his goal is to compete in 50 states. Wright was diagnosed with myeloma two weeks after running his first marathon in 2003. His doctor_ who gave him a five-year survival estimate _ was always supportive of his running which he believed would strengthen his bones. He decided to continue for the sheer enjoyment of pushing his physical limits to the next level. Admitting that with advancing age and the sickness, he is simply content with reaching the finish line.

Adhering to a healthy lifestyle is a must to boost your chances of fighting the disease, he said. Smoking, obesity and fast food should be kept at bay. Nutritious food is a must, organic is most advised. Exercise of all forms can lift people from depression and stress, he enthused with a twinkle in his eyes. Wright credits good emotional health to a supportive family, a wife and daughter that also participate in marathons with him.

The well-toned athlete calls them his pillar of emotional support. Wright concluded on a poignant note: ”I do realise that I don’t know just when the cancer might deteriorate. But for the meantime, my family and I are relishing the extra time that we have been given to be together. To make the most of it, we have been travelling and doing these running events together to celebrate life.”

Meanwhile, Dr Weerasak Nawarawong, president of the Thai Myeloma Working Group, who also attended the ASH meetings, said that while the experimental drug pomalidomide is not available in Thailand, it is important for Thai patients not to lose hope because many new treatments are being tested to find suitable cures. Judging from all the positive developments that are taking place in the field of blood cancer studies, there is reason to be optimistic about the future.

Despite being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a treatable yet incurable cancer, Don Wright (foreground, right) has fought tooth and nail to keep it under control through a positive attitude and healthy lifestyle.

He said a number of updates were shared at the American Society of Hematology conference about the treatment of multiple myeloma. one which includes the next generation immunomodulatory drugs pomalidomide, proteasome inhibitors and carfilzomib. Patients taking these drugs, in addition to other experimental medication, tested in no increased toxicity.

In Thailand he said most MM patients are in the age bracket of 60-70 years old. Annually, there are approximately 150 new cases in comparison to 15,000 in the US. Dr Weerasak noted that while myeloma is treatable it yet remains incurable. important treatment advances, however, have developed in higher rates of remission and lengthier survival than were seen in the past. As experts attain a better understanding of the development and progression of this disease, targeted treatment strategies are generating further benefits.

He said that a routine blood screening can catch a number of myeloma cases while it is still in an asymptomatic state. the symptom at the onset of the disease for most Thai patients is bone pain. In those who have pathologic fractures especially fractures of the thoracic and lumbar vertebral bodies, it usually results in severe spasms and back pain. the anaemia, which may be quite severe, is the most common cause of weakness in patients with MM.

Dr Weerasak admitted that while Thailand has kept statistics of the number of myeloma patients through the years, it had not made an epidemiologic study of the disease as such. Due to lack of awareness physicians under-diagnose their patients, he noted. Epidemiologic studies in countries such as China and Korea have given him reason to believe that the number of patients with multiple myeloma in Thailand is increasing steadily.

To raise awareness the Thai Myeloma Working Group organises several functions to educate both physicians and patients on the disease. they also have a website (thaimyeloma.org/th) for patients to obtain information about multiple myeloma. He also hopes that in the near future, they will be able to set up supportive groups for myeloma patients to receive counselling.

Thai myeloma patients can expect medication that is approved worldwide.

”All the anti-myeloma drugs that have been approved for treating multiple myeloma are available in Thailand,” noted the veteran medical expert. ”The success of the treatment is as good as you would find in Western countries if only we can get access to novel drugs, which don’t come cheap. There are numerous determining factors that influence the positive outcome of the treatment. Few examples include age, the advancement of the symptoms and the duration of time that has elapsed before the patient gets the anti-myeloma therapy.

”Novel drugs also have no guarantee and can be expensive. so Thai myeloma patients’ biggest setback can be the ability to purchase these drugs. the government does not also have a big enough budget to cover the expense.”

Dr Weerasak said doctors are looking for appropriate drugs that can be used to maintain the status of remission which is quite successful in some of the sufferers.

He explained that clinical trials are research studies of new treatment methods. Even if you are newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma, he said you might be offered a clinical trial drug. the early phases I and II of the clinical trials focus mainly on a safe dosage level, side effects and type of cancer to ascertain

that the new drugs are working. the phase III trials then determine if the patient is making better progress from the currently available treatment they have undergone. Patients might have to take some risks, such as suffering from adverse effects, so it is up to them to continue or discontinue with the treatment.

Asked to share common causes and symptoms of myeloma, Dr Weerasak explained that as there is no exact cause of MM, there are several risk factors that could lead to the disease. Repeated exposure to chemicals such as pesticides, benzene and spraypaints have been proposed as potential causes.

”Most people with MM have no known risk factors other than age,” he said. ”Scientists have identified a few risk factors for instance, obesity, exposure to radiation or chemicals. Not everyone with risk factors gets multiple myeloma. Myeloma is slightly more common in men than women, and most people are diagnosed in their sixties.

”Symptoms could include frequent low back pain. the pain could nonetheless occur in other areas like ribs, arms, legs and pelvis.

”For patients that develop anaemia, they will have paleness, dizziness, weakness, fatigue and shortness of breath. Infections such as pneumonia, sinusitis are frequent. Weakness or numbness in your legs might be the result of spinal cord compression. Unexplained weight loss is common. High calcium levels cause excessive thirst, nausea, constipation, loss of appetite and confusion. Swelling, especially in the legs, along with weakness are symptoms of kidney failure.”

Best prevention methods are to keep healthy through having a good diet, exercise to enhance your physique, observe good personal hygiene to prevent infection and avoiding smoking and alcohol. Exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation is believed to increase the risk of multiple myeloma and other cancers, so keep this in mind and avoid being around these substances for long periods of time. Regular medical examinations for early detection and timely treatment is always advisable.

Photojournalist Ed Kashi captures the lives of patients suffering myelodysplastic syndromes, a group of closely related but diverse blood cancers, which also affect the aged.

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Many people suffer from diagnoses like irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, or fibromyalgia. While it is helpful to have an answer to the debilitating symptoms, labeling you with a syndrome hardly helps to get your health back on track. Rather, these labels largely provide two things, neither of which help you feel better: a code for insurance company submissions and a list of pharmaceutical options. I am in no way saying your symptoms are in your head, quite to the contrary. these symptoms are very real and very disabling. But they are exactly that: symptoms. We need a framework for working backward, rather than merely treating symptoms. It is time to scratch the surface and understand the root of how you got here. Simply assigning a name to it gets you nowhere. To do this, compare your body to a house. Symptoms like fatigue or digestive problems are external manifestations like the roof needing replaced or maybe the siding is falling off. Those are cosmetic issues that you know can be replaced. Where your focus should really be is the foundation. if the foundation is cracked, you are going to have a tough time for the future years in your home. Maybe you’re suffering from chronic fatigue (roof), and cannot sleep soundly (siding). While we want to spend some time focusing on your symptoms, what we really ought to be doing is looking at the foundation issues that are driving these downstream problems. your health foundation is built on three overlapping areas: - Nutrition: your body needs a variety of foods that come directly or very nearly directly from nature. Consuming a diet that is mainly fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits, nuts, beans, eggs and wild caught/grass-fed/free-range protein is essential. the more we rely on the convenience of heavily processed and pulverized food-like products and restaurant produced fare loaded with salt and lab-created fats, the more our foundation weakens. - Emotional Peace: Stress comes from all directions: relationships, finances, diet, the environment. regardless of its source, the body responds the same way. over weeks upon months upon years, the body under stress begins to break down. A daily practice for stress management (since avoidance is often impossible) is crucial. Praying, breathing, laughing, loving, forgiving, and exercising are only a few tools for your toolbox. - The Gut: the digestive system is the center of health, housing the majority of your body’s immune system. as your gut goes, so you go. A healthy digestive system requires whole foods, regular stress management and avoiding antibiotics unless absolutely needed and the chronic use of acid-suppressing medications. so imagine your body as a house. is your foundation solid enough for the years you will need it? if your roof is leaking and your door is falling off its hinges, don’t just focus on reactive quick fixes. Look deeper, look for the reasons why. It’s likely that it has everything to do with the choices you’re making, or not making every day.

This is a guest column by Dr. Jeffrey Gladd. Dr. Gladd is the face of GladdMD Integrative Medicine, a practice dedicated to optimizing your health and well being. more can be found at GladdMD.com or by calling 260-449-9698. Visit them on Facebook at facebook.com/gladdmd and on Twitter attwitter.com/#!/Gladd_MD. 

The infection set in slowly. At first, it probably felt like a cold with fever, congestion, and achy joints. but maybe a week later, the boy’s legs started to give out from under him, and his fever spiked above 100. the virus that first settled in the intestines had multiplied thousands-fold and moved on to attack its prized target — his nervous system. the infection overtook crucial nerves of his respiratory system and the boy lost his ability to breathe on his own.

National Museum of Health and Medicine

At its peak in 1952, more than 21,000 Americans contracted a paralyzing form of polio, and 3,000 died from it. once infected, there was no treatment besides time and tending to the symptoms.  

LOVELAND — after her husband got thyroid cancer, Loveland resident Evi Buckner-Opler figured she couldn’t go wrong by attending a free clinic Saturday at the physician’s office where he got treatment.

“I thought I better have my neck checked to see if there was anything,” Buckner-Opler said just after Dr. Sarvjit Gill, an otolaryngologist at Alpine Ear, Nose and Throat P.C., gave her a head and neck cancer screening.

Buckner-Opler and most of the 100 other people who attended the 14th annual Northern Colorado Head and Neck Cancer Screening got a clean bill of health.

“Every year, we put fears to rest,” said Gill, who joined Alpine 14 years ago – two years after it opened. “Every year, we find one to three malignant conditions that can be life-threatening.”

More than a dozen physicians, as well as many other medical professionals and their friends and family members, gave up either the morning or afternoon to help serve the community at the Loveland office, 3820 N. Grant Ave.

The medical professionals came from Northern Colorado and Wyoming and included family practice physicians, physician assistants and nurses.

“You find a lot of people who are underinsured or who are worried about lingering problems,” said Dr. Chris Eriksen, an otolaryngologist and founder of Alpine, which has offices in Loveland and Fort Collins. “I look for head and neck cancer all the rest of the year. This is a little more different and fun.”

Eriksen likes that during the clinic, he and the other volunteers are not required to fill out electronic medical records, he said.

“The paperwork’s less. There’s no insurance woes,” he said.

Typically, 300 people turn out to the event. the word got out late this year, resulting in a lower turnout, Gill said.

Each year, Gill and the medical volunteers usually find 12 to 15 people with suspicious symptoms and refer them back to their family physicians or a community clinic with a form describing their conditions. They conduct a thorough history and examination of any potential signs of head and neck cancer.

Risk factors include excessive alcohol or tobacco use, and symptoms include a lump in the neck, a change in the voice, a sore in the mouth, a persistent cough, difficulty swallowing and earache or pain when swallowing.

The patients, as well as the volunteers, benefit, Gill said. the family physicians, for instance, learn how to do more in-depth head and neck evaluations, such as assessing the nasal passageway, throat and using a flexible scope to examine the vocal cords.

“The physicians also get a sense of satisfaction. They’re helping the community,” Gill said. “It’s nice to be able to do something and not have to worry about anything other than patient care.”

Darla Woodman, a registered nurse who works in the operating room at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, typically works with patients after they have been diagnosed with a condition.

“It’s nice to see that they don’t have cancer. They get a clean bill of health versus the patients we see,” Woodman said.

Shelley Widhalm can be reached at 669-5050, ext. 531, or swidhalm@reporter-herald.com.