Case history
Li-Xia has been suffering from chronic tiredness, dejection
and forgetfulness. Some years ago, she already complained
that her memory had declined. Early 2006, her short term
memory became noticably worse. One day, I discovered that
she had totally no recollection of something I told her
the day before. I adviced her to have herself examined.
On Thursday, June 1, 2006, someone came to perform some
tests. Both Li-Xia and I were surprised by how bad she
performed on some simple memory tests. Also on the
Visual Association Test she did not score well.
Later, I discovered on the Internet that especially people
with Alzheimer's disease or suffering from a depression,
do not score well on this test. It took some time before
we received the results, and we were adviced to contact
the Neurology department of Medisch Spectrum Twente, a general hospital, in
Enschede. After the summer holidays we visited our GP.
On monday October 9, 2006, we went to see the neurologist
for the first time. While we were sitting in the waiting
room, I suddenly felt much older, because of all the old
people that were sitting in the waiting room, several of
them in a wheelchair. It felt a little unreal. The neurologist
performed some simple test and a general examination.
She decided some additional examinations: A psychological
examination and a MRI of her head.
On Thursday, October 19, Li-Xia underwent the psychological
examination during the morning. In the week that followed
the Neurologist contacted me, because she also wanted to
perform a lumbar puncture and have her cerebrospinal fluid
examined. The puncture was performed on Tuesday, November 7.
I went with Li-Xia. The examination went okay, and Li-Xia
did not have any trouble afterwards.
On Friday, November 10, Li-Xia went for a MRI scan. Afterward
she felt remarkable clear, but the effect did not last long.
On Thursday, December 7, we went to see the neurologist again.
She told us that all examinations point into the direction of
Alzheimer's Disease. She suggested that Li-Xia would start
with Reminyl.
Current state
At this moment there are still many things that Li-Xia can
do without help. Almost daily she goes shopping on her bike.
Also with looking after the house, she doet not have much
problems. It is especially some small things that she has
problems with. She needs to keep a diary for her appointments.
Often when she wakes up, she has to think hard to know which
day of the week it is. Sometimes she forget things that happened
some days before.
Once a week, on Thursdays, Li-Xia attends a group of young people
with dementia at Bruggerbosch.
There they also have some sports activities and some memory
training. Someone from there also helps us with the problems
we are encountering in our family life.
Links
Below links to interesting news article related to Alzhiemer's Disease
and entries in my online diary.
- January 6, 2004: Midlife crisis in brain
- December 7, 2006: Early-onset Alzheimer
- December 9, 2006: Reminyl
- December 19, 2006:
Reduced Calorie and Carbohydrate Diet Shown to Slow Progression of Alzheimer's Disease in Mouse Model
- December 25, 2006:
BBC News: Hopes for Alzheimer's treatment
- Tuesday, January 23, 2007: Alzheimer's vaccine 'in a patch'
- Wednesday, January 24, 2007: Blood flow and Alzheimer
- February 5, 2007:
Anaesthetic linked to Alzheimer's
- February 15, 2007:
Targeting Tau: Inflammation Study Suggests New Approach for Fighting Alzheimer's
- March 6, 2007:
Low DHA as cause of Alzheimers
- April 5, 2007:
Nicotine Enhances Learning And Memory: Could This Lead To New Alzheimer's Medications?.
- April 13, 2007:
Plugging A Calcium Leak Linked To Familial Alzheimer Disease
- May 11, 2007:
Breakdown of Myelin Implicated in Alzheimer's,
ULCA Department of Neurology,
George Bartzokis
- May 15, 2007:
BBC: Alzheimer's drug's impact hailed
- May 24, 2007:
Magnets 'help regrow brain cells'
- May 29, 2007:
Immune Antibodies Penetrate Neurons to Clear Alzheimer's-Linked Amyloid
by Gunnar Gouras
and others.
- May 29, 2007:
Blood Inflammation Plays Role in Alzheimer's Disease.
- May 29, 2007:
Yin and Yang: Balance Could Play Key Role in Progression of Alzheimer's Disease.
- June 12, 2007:
Newly Discovered Antibody May Be Body's Natural Defense Against Alzheimer's, Other Neurological Diseases
- June 14, 2007: Minor surgery
- June 22, 2007: Afsluitdijk
- June 26, 2007:
CoMentis Receives FDA Clearance to Begin Human Clinical Trials for its
Disease-Modifying Alzheimer's Therapy.
- July 18, 2007:
UCLA and HBRI Scientists Isolate Chemical Found in Curry That May Help Immune System Clear Amyloid Plaques Found in Alzheimer's Disease.
- August 6, 2007:
A cure for Alzheimer's Disease
- August 9, 2007:
Modulation of human neural stem cell differentiation in Alzheimer (APP23) transgenic mice by phenserine
- August 20, 2007:
Tel Aviv University Researcher Goes "Through the Nose" to Delay Onset of Alzheimer's Disease
- August 28, 2007:
The Effects of Prolonged Stress and APOE Genotype on Memory and Cortisol in Older Adults.
- August 30, 2007:
Brain implants relieve Alzheimer's damage
- September 5, 2007:
Study Links Low Level of Neuronal Receptor to Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer's
- September 15, 2007:
Eight Dutch Kabuki day
- September 20, 2007:
Chronic Stress Can Steal Years from Caregivers' Lifetimes.
- September 28, 2007:
Radiologists Identify Early Brain Marker of Alzheimer's Disease
- September 28, 2007:
Alzheimer's Disease Could Be A Third Form Of Diabetes
- October 16, 2007:
Blood proteins may diagnose Alzheimer's
- October 18, 2007:
A bottle of wine
- October 29, 2007: Innovative 3D Imaging Captures Alzheimer's Brain Damage
- November 8, 2007:
Copper Damages Protein that Defends Against Alzheimer's
- November 21, 2007:
A novel way found to prevent protein plaques implicated in Alzheimer's
- January 4, 2008: Cleaning
- January 9, 2008: Etanercept
- January 15, 2008: The Notebook
- January 28, 2008:
Purdue-designed Alzheimer's treatment completes first phase of testing
- February 8, 2008:
Imaging study reveals rapid formation of Alzheimer's-associated plaques
- February 22, 2008:
Scientists Find Protein May Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease
(Transthyretin protects Alzheimer's mice from the behavioral and biochemical effects of Ab toxicity)
- February 29, 2008:
Cancer-related protein may play key role in Alzheimer's disease
(Akt and CHIP coregulate tau degradation through coordinated interactions)
- March 10, 2008:
Alzheimer's study finds grief is the heaviest burden for caregivers
- March 13, 2008:
Paradoxical Alzheimer's finding may shed new light on memory loss
- March 18, 2008:
Potential Alzheimer's Disease Drug Target Identified
- April 1, 2008:
A Randomised, Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial in Dementia Patients Continuing or Stopping Neuroleptics (The DART-AD Trial)
- Anti-psychotic drugs worsen condition
- April 6, 2008:
Alzheimer's vaccine clears plaque but has little effect on learning and memory impairment
- April 9, 2008:
Redox-Active Iron Is a Sensor of Cognitive Impairment Associated with Alzheimer's Disease
- April 13, 2008:
Hope over US Alzheimer's therapy: Injecting etanercept into the neck
- April 23, 2008:
Loss of microRNA cluster miR-29a/b-1 in sporadic Alzheimer's disease correlates with increased BACE1/b-secretase expression
- May 8, 2008:
Nanosurgery on a Specially Designed Microchip Reveals Anesthetics Interfere with Nerve Regeneration Process
- May 8, 2008:
Gladstone Scientists Uncover Potential Mechanism of Memory Loss In Alzheimer's Disease
- May 8, 2008:
Flavonoid-mediated presenilin-1 phosphorylation reduces Alzheimer's disease b-amyloid production
- May 26, 2008:
Chronic inflammation and amyloidogenesis in Alzheimer's disease: The emerging role of infection
- May 30, 2008:
Yale Researchers Clear up Alzheimer's Plaques in Mice:
Blocking TGF-bSmad2/3 innate immune signaling mitigates Alzheimer-like pathology
- June 11, 2008:
Gene variation linked to earlier onset of Alzheimer's symptoms
- June 11, 2008:
Light therapy 'can slow dementia'
- June 13, 2008:
ApoE Promotes the Proteolytic Degradation of Ab
- June 13, 2008:
Substrate-targeting gamma-secretase modulators
- June 13, 2008:
New Way To Reduce Neuronal Loss In Brain Of A Person With Alzheimer's Disease:
Beta-amyloid(1-42) induces neuronal death through the p75 neurotrophin receptor
- June 17, 2008:
Animal Study Indicates Grape Seed Extract May Reduce Cognitive Decline Associated with Alzheimer's Disease
- June 24, 2008:
Scientists Isolate a Toxic Key to Alzheimer's Disease in Human Brains
- June 24, 2008:
Encouraging Top-line Results from Phase 2 Clinical Trial of Bapineuzumab for Alzheimer's Disease
- June 26, 2008:
Alzheimer's Disease as a Case of Brake Failure?
- July 7, 2008:
Inhibition of calpains improves memory and synaptic transmission in a mouse model of Alzheimer disease
- July 9, 2008:
Study points to dietary cocktail for Alzheimer's
- July 11, 2008:
New Drug Reverses Alzheimer's Disease Within Days In Mouse Models
- July 19, 2008:
Early study reveals promising Alzheimer's disease treatment
(publication)
- July 21, 2008:
Rapid improvement in verbal fluency and aphasia following perispinal etanercept in Alzheimer's disease
- July 22, 2008:
Calcium May be the Key to Understanding Alzheimer's Disease
- July 29, 2008:
Methylene blue 'halts' decline
- Alzheimer's disease patients show improvement in trial of PBT2
- September 17, 2008: Poor short-time memory
- October 19, 2008:
Alzheimer's Disease caused by vascular inflamation?
- October 27, 2008:
Common epilepsy drug could prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease
- November 5, 2008:
Vitamin B3 thwarts memory loss in Alzheimer's mice
- November 9, 2008:
Mitochondria Could Be a Target for Therapeutic Strategy for Alzheimer's Disease Patients
- November 14, 2008:
Common anesthetic induces Alzheimer's-associated changes in mouse brains
- November 14, 2008:
Promising class of compounds prevents death of brain cells
- November 17, 2008:
An NF-kB-sensitive Micro RNA-146a-mediated Inflammatory Circuit in Alzheimer Disease and in Stressed Human Brain Cells
- November 18, 2008:
'Super' Aged Brains Reveal First Secrets Of Sharp Memory In Old Age
- November 21, 2008:
Red, red wine: How it fights Alzheimer's
- December 8, 2008: Herpes Simplex connection
- December 28, 2008:
Brain Starvation as We Age Appears to Trigger Alzheimer's
- December 31, 2008: Resveratrol Extra Forte
- January 7, 2009:
Old gastrointestinal drug slows aging
- January 23, 2009:
New study provides further evidence that apple juice can delay onset of Alzheimer's disease
- January 27, 2009:
Marijuana could prevent Alzheimer's
- February 4, 2009:
Protection of synapses against Alzheimer's-linked toxins: Insulin signaling prevents the pathogenic binding of A? oligomers
- February 9, 2009:
Growth Factor Protects Key Brain Cells in Alzheimer's Models
- February 13, 2009:
New target for medicine to combat Alzheimer's: VIB scientist confrim protein's key role:
The Orphan G Protein--Coupled Receptor 3 Modulates Amyloid-Beta Peptide Generation in Neurons
- February 14, 2009:
New Method to Stimulate the Immune System May Be Highly Effective at Reducing Amyloid Burden in Alzheimer's Disease
- February 24, 2009:
Mechanisms that prevent Alzheimer's Disease: Enzymatic activity plays key role
- February 24, 2009: Alzheimer's related to liver?
- Yale Researchers Find New Piece in Alzheimer's Puzzle
- March 11, 2009:
Brain damage found in cognitively normal people with Alzheimer's marker
- March 17, 2009:
Biomarker Test to Diagnose or Rule Out Alzheimer's Disease
- March 17, 2009:
Shrinking in Hippocampus Area of Brain Precedes Alzheimer's Disease
- March 18, 2009:
Discovery Supports Theory of Alzheimer's Disease as Form of Diabetes
- March 18, 2009:
Mechanism of Alzheimer's Suggests Combination Therapy Needed
- March 19, 2009: Possible link between Reminyl and epilepsy
- March 20, 2009:
Progress toward an Alzheimer's drug that saves brain cells
- March 31, 2009:
The Unfolded Protein Response Is Activated in Pretangle Neurons in Alzheimer's Disease Hippocampus
- March 31, 2009:
Synaptic transmission block by presynaptic injection of oligomeric amyloid beta
- April 14, 2009: CPHPC
- April 23, 2009:
Small-Molecule Activators of Insulin-Degrading Enzyme Discovered through High-Throughput Compound Screening
- April 24, 2009:
Anesthesia or hypothermia: warning for Alzheimer's patients
- April 26, 2009: Curcumin
- May 7, 2009:
HDAC2 negatively regulates memory formation and synaptic plasticity
- May 16, 2009:
Heart disorder Alzheimer's link
- May 23, 2009:
Discovery could bring early diagnosis, treatment closer:
Familial FTDP-17 Missense Mutations Inhibit Microtubule Assembly-promoting Activity of Tau by Increasing Phosphorylation at Ser202 in Vitro
- June 10, 2009:
Newly found peptide offers hope of early test and better treatment
- June 16, 2009:
Protein Linked to Alzheimer's Disease Doesn't Act Alone: Reelin
- June 29, 2009:
Endothelin-Converting Enzyme-2 Is Increased in Alzheimer's Disease and Up-Regulated by Ab
- July 3, 2009:
Blood stem cell growth factor reverses memory decline in Alzheimer's mice
- July 6, 2009:
Caffeine reverses memory impairment in Alzheimer's mice
- July 10, 2009:
Inflammation may trigger Alzheimer's disease
- July 14, 2009:
Preliminary findings in Phase IIA trial point to natural compound NIC5-15's potential
- July 15, 2009:
PMX205 rescues memory lost to Alzheimer's disease
- July 17, 2009:
Vitamin D, curcumin may help clear amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer's
- July 27, 2009:
Blood flow in Alzheimer's disease
- July 29, 2009:
UCLA scientists identify how immune cells may help predict Alzheimer's risk
- August 11, 2009:
New Class of Compounds Discovered for Potential Alzheimer's Disease Drug
- September 4, 2009:
A fragment of the scaffolding protein RanBP9 is increased in Alzheimer's disease brains and strongly potentiates amyloid-b peptide generation
- September 7, 2009:
Genome-wide association study identifies variants at CLU and PICALM associated with Alzheimer's disease
- September 17, 2009:
New marker for Alzheimer's discovered
- September 23, 2009:
Rethinking Alzheimer's disease: The myelin hypothesis
- September 30, 2009:
Oleocanthal May Help Prevent, Treat Alzheimer's
- September 30, 2009:
Protein inhibitor Hsp70 helps rid brain of toxic tau protein
- October 7, 2009:
New findings about brain proteins suggest possible way to fight Alzheimer's
- October 12, 2009:
Enzyme may be a key to Alzheimer's-related cell death
- October 14, 2009:
Declines in Other Thinking and Learning Skills May Precede Memory Loss in Alzheimer's Disease. Paper:
Longitudinal Study of the Transition From Healthy Aging to Alzheimer Disease
- October 17, 2009:
Scientists remove amyloid plaques from brains of live animals with Alzheimer's disease
with Interleukin-6.
- October 23, 2009:
Manipulating Brain Inflammation May Help Clear Brain of Amyloid Plaques
- November 14, 2009:
Vascular Factors and Markers of Inflammation in Offspring With a Parental History of Late-Onset Alzheimer Disease
- December 4, 2009:
Combination of green tea and DAPH-12 chemicals may help prevent brain disorders
- December 16, 2009:
Alzheimer's risk linked to level of appetite hormone
- December 17, 2009:
Diet high in methionine could increase risk of Alzheimer's
- January 7, 2010:
Long-term exposure to mobile phone signals "reverses memory impairment"
- January 15, 2010:
Use of angiotensin receptor blockers and risk of dementia in a predominantly male population: prospective cohort analysis
- February 3, 2010:
Dementia 'losing out' to cancer in funding stakes
- February 3, 2010:
Three Brain Diseases Linked by Toxic Form of Same Neural Protein
- February 25, 2010:
Rapamycin rescues learning, memory in Alzheimer's mouse model
|
Home page
About Li-Xia
Pictures of Li-Xia
Alzheimer's Association
(Dutch / Nederlands)
|