Alzheimer's Disease

Patients with Alzheimer disease most commonly present with insidiously progressive memory loss, to which other spheres of cognitive impairment are added over several years.



 After memory loss occurs, patients may also have language disorders (eg, anomia) and impairment in their visuospatial skills and executive functions.

The cause of Alzheimer disease is unknown. Several investigators now believe that converging risk factors, which include advancing age, lipoprotein E epsilon 4 genotype, obesity, insulin resistance, vascular factors, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and inflammatory markers trigger a pathophysiologic cascade that, over decades, leads to Alzheimer pathology and dementia.

Alzheimer disease affects both men and women; however, Plassman et al found the risk of developing Alzheimer disease to be significantly higher in women than in men, primarily due to the higher life expectancy in women compared with men.

Alzheimer disease is most prevalent in individuals older than 60 years. Some forms of familial early-onset Alzheimer disease can appear as early as the third decade, but this represents a subgroup of the less than 10% of all familial cases of Alzheimer disease.More than 90% of cases of Alzheimer disease are sporadic and occur in individuals older than 60 years.

Of interest, results of some studies of nonagenarians and centenarians suggest that the risk may decrease in individuals older than 90 years. If so, age is not an unqualified risk factor for the disease, but further study of this matter is needed...

tags:Alzheimer,Alzheimer disease , 60 years,the less than. Alzheimer disease is unknown,

Plum recipes

This plum upside-down cake is actually quite pretty and is based on a recipe he found in an old issue of Fine Cooking magazine.

INGREDIENTS

-1 1/4 stick butter (10 Tbsp or 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp), softene

-1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp brown sugar, firmly packe

-4 plums, pitted and slice

-5 Tbsp buttermilk OR 4 Tbsp milk plus 2 teaspoons milk and 1 teaspoon lemon juice

-3/4 cup cake flour

-Zest of 1/2 an orange

-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

-1/8 teaspoon baking soda

-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

- Pinch salt

-1/2 cup granulated sugar

-1 egg

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-Four 10 or 8 ounce ramekins

- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the insides of the ramekins. Melt 3/4 stick (6 Tbsp) of the butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and whisk until smooth. Pour into the bottoms of the buttered ramekins, dividing the sugar butter sauce evenly among them. Arrange a layer of plum slices at the bottom of each ramekin.

-If you are not using buttermilk, combine milk and lemon juice in a small bowl (the mixture will curdle), set aside. In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

- Use an electric mixer to beat together the remaining 1/2 stick (1/4 cup or 4 Tbsp) butter with the granulated sugar and orange zest. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix to combine. Alternately add the dry flour mixture and the buttermilk (or lemon soured milk) mixture to the batter.

- Divide the batter among the ramekins. Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and put in the oven on the middle rack. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until cakes are firm to the touch, and a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center does not come out with raw batter on it. (Might be wet from plum juice.) Turn the baking sheet around half-way through the baking to ensure an even baking for all the cakes.

- Remove from oven and let cool on a rack until no longer hot to the touch. Run a paring knife around the edges of the ramekins. Invert onto a plate and gently lift off of the plate.

Serve alone or with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.



Tags:plum,INGREDIENTS, Patients, Recipes, therapy