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Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Sison: Mang Julian’s mind-robbing Alzheimer’s disease curable? (5)
By Mark Allen C. Sison
Congress: Past and Present
EVERY morning Mang Ali and Mang Gulo trek the seven-kilometer parade grounds of the former US 13th Air Force inside the Clark Special Economic Zone. With confidence, the two said, “Kaya naming ikutin ito ng three times or more. By the highway, may bago kaming kwento kay Mang Julian. Madalas naming nakakasabay ‘mag-walking’ si Mang Julian dito pero ilang meters pa lang , hinahabol na niya ang kanyang hininga, at may tumutulak pa sa likod para lang makalakad. Pero may mga pagkakataong kahit maikli lang ang nilakad niya, marami kaming napagkukwentuhan. Minsan ng mapatigil siyang mag-walking para habulin ang kanyang hininga, ang sabi ba naman sa amin, “Aba mga Mister! Nandyan pala kayo?” Kaya ito lang ang masasabi namin, kahit ano pang denial ang gawin niya meron talaga siyang Alzheimer’s disease o maulyanin na siya. Kaya yung pabarbel-barbel niyang yon ay pa-epek lang yon. Naalala ko tuloy si Marcos nung may malala na siyang sakit at nagpapa-kodak pa para lang ipakita sa tao na malusog pa ang kanyang pangangatawan,” Mang Ali ang Mang Gulo commented.
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“Bukod sa ulyanin na siya, alam mo bang napaka-pikon pa ni Mang Julian? Minsan nag-attend siya ng induction of new officers ng Monday Club, nag roll call si Jimmy Santos, yung TV host sa Eat Bulaga, ang sabi niya kay Mang Julian, “ Mang Julian, the name you can trash, member of P.D.I.C.” Sukat ba naman tumayo sa upuan si Mang Julian at nag-walk out palabas ng Rib-Eye Function Hall. Pero ang depensa naman ng mga miron at amuyung niya, kulang daw ang quorum sa casino VIP room kaya dali-dali siyang nag-attend ng session,” narrates Mang Gulo.
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An ingredient in green tea that researchers think might fight cancer may also protect the brain from the memory-destroying Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists injected mice with an antioxidant from green tea called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and said it decreased production of beta-amyloid, a protein that forms the plaques that clog the brains of Alzheimer’s victims. Several months of injections reduced plaque formation by as much as 54 percent, researchers from the University of South Florida wrote in the Journal of Neuroscience. The mice had been genetically programmed to develop an Alzheimer’s-like disease.
Alzheimer’s is a progressive disorder that causes memory loss and afflicts an estimated 4.5 million people in the United States and millions more globally. Drinking ordinary green tea may not lead to the same plaque reduction seen in the study because other ingredients in the beverage appear to block EGCG’s benefits, said Dr. Jun Tan, the study’s senior author and director of the neuroimmunology laboratory at the Silver Child Development Center in the University of South Florida’s psychiatry department. Supplement pills containing EGCG might help, he said. Scientists are also trying to develop a tea with a high concentration of EGCG that could offer health benefits. Other studies have shown EGCG may prevent certain cancers and could block the spread of the HIV virus that causes AIDS. Humans would probably need 1,500 to 1,600 milligrams per day of EGCG to get the amount that helped mice in the Alzheimer’s study, Tan said. Researchers have tested the safety of those doses in people and found no major side effects, he said. The next step for researchers is to test an oral form of EGCG in mice and see if it protects the animals’ memory, he said. “If those studies show clear cognitive benefits, we believe (human) trials of EGCG to treat Alzheimer’s disease would be warranted,” Tan said. The study was funded by the University of South Florida College of Medicine Faculty Start-Up Funds, the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer’s Center & Research Institute, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer’s Association.
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Good news for senior social butterflies and old people who are sexually active. A study has shown that old people who frequently go to parties, relate with friends and have sex are less prone to developing Alzheimer’s disease, a form of dementia that afflicts the aged. Ma. Socorro Martinez, head of the Memory Center of the St. Luke’s Medical Center, said the study done in Sweden showed that socialization reduced the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 30 percent. “Those who don’t have a spouse tend to have Alzheimer’s disease because they have nobody to talk with,” Martinez said in a health forum.
Heart disease, too
“Those who have sexual partners are also at a lower risk,” she said. Sex has also been proven to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which-along with hypertension and a sedentary lifestyle-increases the risk of one having dementia or memory loss.
(Source: Associated Press)
(September 6, 2006 issue)
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