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Did you have trouble learning to read? A lot us did.  But we finally mastered it, and now many of us (like me) read about two books a week (more, if I didn't have a teenager!). But a new study now says that those who find it hard when they first begin reading may be at higher risk of Alzheimer's later in life. Older adults with a history of reading problems perform similarly on some neuro-psychological tests to those who show signs of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) associated with early Alzheimer’s disease.  MCI is a term used to identify individuals with memory complaints and poor neuropsychological test performance but who otherwise functional normally. Having MCI has been identified as a risk factor for subsequent diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers assessed the relationship between MCI classification and suspected reading disorder in almost 2,000 participants who were 62 years of age. Individuals with previous dementia, stroke and other neuro...

You've seen them on TV.  The former pro football players looking confused and struggling to put a sentence together.  Or boxer Muhammad Ali with that blank look in his eyes. Researchers are slowly coming to the conclusion that, yes, repeated concussions may lead to Alzheimer's.  " A new study suggests that a history of concussion involving at least a momentary loss of consciousness may be related to the buildup of Alzheimer’s-associated plaques in the brain," newswise.com reports.   Study author Michelle Mielke, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic researcher found, however that "i n people with a history of concussion, a difference in the amount of brain plaques was found only in those with memory and thinking problems, not in those who were cognitively normal." In the study, "o f the 448 people without any thinking or memory problems, 17 percent reported a brain injury and 18 percent of the 141 with memory and thinking difficulties reported a concussion or h...

I have some REALLY bad news for some of my friends.  Red wine has been found to be a risk factor for Alheimer's Disease (AD). According to sciencedaily.com, "R esearchers at the Buck Institute found a link between . . ApoE4, a cholesterol-carrying protein" present in 25% of us, and another, SirT1, an "anti-aging protein that is targeted by resveratrol, present in red wine." "The biochemical mechanisms that link ApoE4 to Alzheimer's disease have been something of a black box. However, recent work from a number of labs, including our own, has begun to open the box," sciencedaily.com quotes Dale Bredesen, MD, founding CEO of the Buck Institute. But some of the abnormalities for AD could be avoided by increasing the SirT1 proteins, scientists found, and this finding could lead to a new type of screening for AD prevention and treatment, experts say. . AD affects over 5 million Americans -- there are no treatments that are known to cure, or eve...