{"id":1786138,"date":"2022-12-25T06:30:10","date_gmt":"2022-12-25T11:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1786138"},"modified":"2022-12-25T07:33:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-25T12:33:53","slug":"alzheimers-disease-not-merely-results-of-brain-pathology-purpose-of-life-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alzheimers-disease-not-merely-results-of-brain-pathology-purpose-of-life-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Not Merely Results of Brain Pathology, Purpose of Life Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Falzheimers-disease-not-merely-results-of-brain-pathology-purpose-of-life-matters%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1786138&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><a href=\"https:\/\/pdfs.semanticscholar.org\/a5b7\/42b5a09aae2d5ef53e7129174715dd9e1226.pdf\">For decades<\/a>,\u00a0abnormal proteins called\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/d41586-018-05719-4\">amyloid<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/news\/2016\/05\/tau-protein-not-amyloid-may-be-key-driver-alzheimer-s-symptoms\">au<\/a> were widely accepted as the cause of Alzheimer\u2019s disease. These theories dominated the field of science and led people to believe that removal of the abnormal plaque formed by the proteins, could cure Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<p>Clinical trials on Aducanumab as a beta-amyloid antibody did reduce beba-amyloid load in the brain. However, patients\u2019 clinical cognitive impairment did not reduce correspondingly. It leads to the conclusion that Alzheimer\u2019s disease is <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/35611326\/\">not merely the results of brain pathological changes<\/a>, preventive actions seem to be the most advisable strategies for the management.<\/p>\n<h2>Pathologies Are Not Determinants of Cognitive Decline<\/h2>\n<p>According to the publication on two clinical-pathologic studies on a total of 856 deceased participants,\u00a0 the common pathologic changes only accounted for<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/23798485\/\"> less than a third<\/a> of the cognitive decline. Much remains unexplained.<\/p>\n<p>There were also many examples demonstrating the mismatch between the severity of pathologic burden and the degree of cognitive impairment.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, a research on 28 elderly subjects indicated that 9 of them, <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/3185902\/\">about 32 percent<\/a>, were not demented when evaluated just prior to their death, but the postmortem neuropathology tests demonstrated extensive cortical plaques, including senile plaque and neurofibrillary tangles.<\/p>\n<p>A postmortem examination on 137 residents whose average age was 85.5 years old, the results showed that <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/2897823\/\">only 55 percent<\/a> of them demonstrated Alzheimer\u2019s disease pathological characteristics. Nonetheless, <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/2897823\/\">79 percent <\/a>of the residents were demented during their late life.<\/p>\n<p>In a Nun study on 130 women of 76-102 years old, only <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.1002\/ana.10161?casa_token=KCvXEEnr5goAAAAA%3AeB2meGFTEPpLZ3Hniqto7ozSRco6IT2dLumxugzCw2v2n14nB_yFMRFykbTKbmBocmahb8N94LZaLb3t\">42 percent<\/a> of the participants demonstrated cognitive impairment among those with Alzheimer\u2019s disease lesions in their brain.<\/p>\n<p>In another study on 296 deceased subjects without cognitive impairment, post-mortem evaluation found that\u00a0nearly every brain had neurofibrillary pathology and over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3490232\/?report=reader\">70 percent <\/a>had amyloid accumulation.<\/p>\n<p>These findings stimulated a demand to understand the basis of this pathology\u2014cognition gap and the broader picture of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<p>As human beings are a holistic body with physical, mental, and spiritual components, there is an emerging trend in studying the mental and spirituality aspects in the disease course and prevention of AD.<\/p>\n<h2>Purpose of Life and Alleviating Alzheimer\u2019s<\/h2>\n<p>A surprising mental factor\u2014purpose of life, is found to be related to Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<p>Purpose of life is a psychological tendency to derive meaning from Life\u2019s experiences, it is about cultivating an understanding of what is important in life and developing principles to guide one\u2019s actions especially when life gets tough.<\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0 longitudinal study on 246 subjects from the Rush Memory and Aging Project showed that the purpose of life can modify the global Alzheimer\u2019s disease pathologic changes and cognition. That means, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3389510\/\">higher levels of purpose in life tend to exhibit better cognitive function<\/a>, despite the pathologic changes of Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Furthermore, the purpose of life could alleviate the pathologic changes and cognitive decline of Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and the protective effect persisted after controlling potentially influential variables.<\/p>\n<p>Another research performed on more than 900 community-dwelling older persons found that a person with a high score on the purpose of life was approximately <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/20194831\/\">2.4 times more likely<\/a> to remain free of Alzheimer\u2019s disease than a person with a low score (Figure 1), and exhibit a lower cognitive decline (Figure 2). The results concluded that greater purpose in life is associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4940846\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-full wp-image-4940846\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-22-at-1.46.29-PM.png\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"920\" height=\"720\"   style=\"display:none\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4940846\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-22-at-1.46.29-PM.png\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"920\" height=\"720\" \/><\/noscript> Figure 1 Cumulative hazard of Alzheimer disease for participants with high vs low purpose in life scores.<br \/>(Source:<a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/drive\/u\/2\/folders\/1G3zavIMwPV93g8VjT5B0BUBMRrqFfPx3\">Patricia A. Boyle, Aron S. Buchman, Lisa L. Barnes, David A. Bennett. Effect of a Purpose in Life on Risk of Incident Alzheimer Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Persons. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010 Mar; 67(3):304\u2013310.<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4940847\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-full wp-image-4940847\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-22-at-1.47.10-PM.png\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"890\" height=\"708\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4940847\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-22-at-1.47.10-PM.png\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"890\" height=\"708\" \/><\/noscript> Figure 2 Decline in global cognition for participants with high vs low scores on the purpose in life measure.\u00a0(Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/drive\/u\/2\/folders\/1G3zavIMwPV93g8VjT5B0BUBMRrqFfPx3\">Patricia A. Boyle, Aron S. Buchman, Lisa L. Barnes, David A. Bennett. Effect of a Purpose in Life on Risk of Incident Alzheimer Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Persons. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010 Mar; 67(3): 304\u2013310.<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Attaining High Purpose of Life<\/h2>\n<p>The ability to attain a high purpose of life requires self-reflection,\u00a0 goals and priority establishment, and focus.<\/p>\n<p>The Health and Retirement Study on a sample of 8,788 middle-aged and older adults in the US found that those with higher adherence to moral standards and ethical behaviors reported <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC9390941\">a higher sense of purpose in life <\/a>after the 4-year follow-up period. This association trend remained the same after the adjustment of demographics, socioeconomic status, health conditions, and psychological predispositions such as dispositional optimism and life satisfaction.<\/p>\n<p>Data analysis from two observational studies collected in 1,209 U.S. and 495 Mexican workers found that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8010894\/\">orientation to promote good,<\/a> i.e. having thoughts and taking actions that contribute to the good of oneself and others, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8010894\/\">positively associated with<\/a> subsequently higher levels of purpose in life.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the predisposition to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8010894\/\">act according to ethical standards and rules of good and honest<\/a> contributes to the good of oneself and others, and better health.<\/p>\n<p>In particular, moral standards and ethical behaviors are associated with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5839940\/\">lower risks of incidence of cognitive impairment<\/a>, depression, unfavorable health-related behaviors, immobility and difficulty in activities of daily living, which will eventually reduce the incidence of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<h2>Maintaining a Sense of Purpose in Life Is Important<\/h2>\n<p>Having a purpose also helps to bring lifelong benefits, including increased optimism, resilience, and hope, greater physical health, and <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/31125099\/).\">a lower risk of death<\/a>. It helps us to stay emotionally even-keeled in both positive and negative situations, and can be accessed by everyone, regardless of age.<\/p>\n<p>Particularly in old age, maintaining a purpose in life is essential when losses, such as widowhood, retirement, and other age-related deficits and losses, become more common. It is vital for older individuals to prepare in middle adulthood for living longer and prevent Alzheimer\u2019s disease, as this will help to ensure their physical and mental well being in later life.<\/p>\n<p>Promote good consistently with a mindset beneficial to oneself and others help to build up morally valued personality traits, which is <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/29702043\/\">fundamental to one\u2019s identity<\/a> can lead to positive outcomes for oneself and\/or others, and also contribute to the greater good.<\/p>\n<p>For some people, this notion might contrast to the rule of \u201csurvival of the fittest\u201d, which is a self-oriented, self-preservation concept, and has been flourishing in our individualistic culture. The main difference is that the behavior of living beings is not just self-oriented; rather it is a balance of self-interest and altruism. By promoting kindness using an automatic or mimicry approach, other than scolding or moral persuasion, people can intuitively reconnect with innate desires to help others and shift that balance.<\/p>\n<p>Promoting cooperation and mutual aid, can also better ensure the survival of the species.<\/p>\n<p>Even though promotion of kindness alone will not directly solve problems, it does enable people to feel less stressed and more connected to one another.\u00a0 The opportunities to find compromises and solutions may flow from the supportive society change other than lonely struggling individuals.<\/p>\n<p>In summary, \u00a0purpose in life is associated with cognitive outcomes\u00a0 and Alzheimer\u2019s disease. It is modifiable, and offers a new treatment focus to reduce the increasing burden of Alzheimer\u2019s disease in old age.<\/p>\n<p><i>Epoch Health articles are for informational purposes and are not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Please consult a trusted professional for personal medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment. Have a question? Email us at <a href=\"mailto:HealthReporter@epochtimes.nyc\">HealthReporter@epochtimes.nyc<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-stephanie-zhang\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-3.09.51-PM.png\" alt=\"Stephanie Zhang\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>Stephanie Zhang, PhD, has over 20 years&#8217; research experience in neuroscience and toxicity. She is a former research scientist in The Memory Impairment and Neurodegenerative Dementia (MIND) Center at The University of Mississippi Medical Center. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For decades,\u00a0abnormal proteins called\u00a0amyloid\u00a0and\u00a0tau were widely accepted as the cause of Alzheimer\u2019s disease. These theories dominated the field of science and led people to believe that removal of the abnormal plaque formed by the proteins, could cure Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Clinical trials on Aducanumab as a beta-amyloid antibody did reduce beba-amyloid load in the brain. However, &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1786141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[7446,6962,11707,5458,7100,4533,3848,6398,11706,11705,10655,3819,6538],"class_list":["post-1786138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-not","tag-the","tag-alzheimers","tag-bongino","tag-brain","tag-disease","tag-life","tag-matters","tag-merely","tag-pathology","tag-purpose","tag-report","tag-results"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1786138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1786141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1786138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1786138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1786138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}