Most elderly Indians die from stroke
Chronic diseases are becoming the
main source of death in people over 65 in low- and middle-income nations, with stroke being the leading cause, a new study has revealed.
Researchers
surveyed 12,373 people aged 65 and over between 2003 and 2005 in a total of 10
urban and rural sites in Cuba, the Dominican
Republic,
Venezuela, Peru, Mexico,
China and India, documenting over 2,000 deaths over a three to five year
follow-up period.
"Chronic
diseases are rapidly replacing communicable diseases as the leading cause of
mortality and disability in developing countries," said Professor Martin
Prince, who led the study from the 10/66 Dementia Research Group at the
Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London
Since stroke is the leading cause of death in older people, and education is a strong protective factor, prevention may be possible, adding years to life and life to years.
Since stroke is the leading cause of death in older people, and education is a strong protective factor, prevention may be possible, adding years to life and life to years.
"The
current global health chronic disease agenda is largely focused on reducing
mortality among working age adults. The concept of 'premature mortality'
applied in such cases, is essentially ageist," said Professor Prince, who
is also co-director of London's Centre for Global Mental Health (CGMH).
"I
hope our findings will help highlight the lack of information about end of life
among older people in developing countries, both regarding potential for
prevention, and support and care of the dying, who, in the poorest settings,
may not receive timely or effective medical intervention."
In 2005, deaths of people aged 60 and over accounted 61 per cent of all deaths in middle-income countries, and 33 per cent in low-income countries, compared to 84 per cent in high-income countries, yet there has been little research into the causes and determinants of these deaths.
Chronic diseases - particularly stroke, heart disease and diabetes - were the leading causes of death in all sites other than rural Peru.
In 2005, deaths of people aged 60 and over accounted 61 per cent of all deaths in middle-income countries, and 33 per cent in low-income countries, compared to 84 per cent in high-income countries, yet there has been little research into the causes and determinants of these deaths.
Chronic diseases - particularly stroke, heart disease and diabetes - were the leading causes of death in all sites other than rural Peru.
Overall,
stroke was the most common cause of death (21.4 percent), ranking first in all
sites other than rural Peru and rural
Mexico.
The
authors found that education, more than occupational status and wealth in
late-life, had a strong effect in reducing mortality risk in later life.
Most
deaths occurred at home, with a particularly high proportion in rural China (91
per cent), India (86 per cent), and rural Mexico (65 per cent).
Other
than in India, most received medical care for their final illness, but this was
usually at home rather than in the hospital or clinic.
The
study has been published in PLoS Medicine.
01.03.2012
Alzheimer’s cure lies in brain's sugar level
Slowing
or preventing the development of Alzheimer's disease could be as simple as ensuring
that the supply of brain protein's sugar levels are maintained, a new study has suggested.
Seven
researchers, including David Vocadlo, a Simon Fraser
University chemistry professor and Canada Research
Chair in Chemical Glycobiology, described how they've used an inhibitor they
have chemically created - Thiamet-G - to stop O-GlcNAcase, a naturally
occurring enzyme, from depleting the protein Tau of sugar molecules.
"The
general thinking in science," said Vocadlo, "is that Tau stabilizes
structures in the brain called microtubules. They are kind of like highways
inside cells that allow cells to move things around."
Previous research has shown that the linkage of these sugar molecules to proteins, like Tau, in cells is essential. In fact, said Vocadlo, researchers have tried but failed to rear mice that don't have these sugar molecules attached to proteins.
Previous research has shown that the linkage of these sugar molecules to proteins, like Tau, in cells is essential. In fact, said Vocadlo, researchers have tried but failed to rear mice that don't have these sugar molecules attached to proteins.
Vocadlo, an
accomplished chess player in his spare time, is having great success checkmating
troublesome enzymes with inhibitors he and his students are creating in the SFU
chemistry department's Laboratory of Chemical Glycobiology.
Research
prior to Vocadlo's has shown that clumps of Tau from an Alzheimer brain have
almost none of this sugar attached to them, and O-GlcNAcase is the enzyme that
is robbing them.
Such
clumping is an early event in the development of Alzheimer's and the number of
clumps correlate with the disease's severity. Scott Yuzwa and Xiaoyang Shan,
grad students in Vocadlo's lab, found that Thiamet-G blocks O-GlcNAcase from
removing sugars off Tau in mice that drank water with a daily dose of the
inhibitor. Yuzwa and Shan are co-first authors on this paper.
The research
team found that mice given the inhibitor had fewer clumps of Tau and maintained
healthier brains.
"This
work shows targeting the enzyme O-GlcNAcase with inhibitors is a new potential
approach to treating Alzheimer's," said Vocadlo.
"This
is vital since to date there are no treatments to slow its progression. A lot
of effort is needed to tackle this disease and different approaches should be
pursued to maximize the chance of successfully fighting it. "In the short
term, we need to develop better inhibitors of the enzyme and test them in mice.
Once we have better inhibitors, they can be clinically tested," Vocadlo
added.
The study
has been published in Nature Chemical Biology.
01.03.2012
Life
begins with a thought, is processed with belief, and carried out with an action
Delton Jackson
