A Weapon Against Alzheimer's in Your Bathroom Cabinet

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(this was mentioned before to possibly help with aggitation

episodes...)

A Weapon Against Alzheimer's in Your Bathroom Cabinet

(Source: News Target) - An international team of researchers has

found that a common supplement may have benefits in the fight against

Alzheimer's disease.

Melatonin can ease sleep-disruption and sundowning in Alzheimer's

victims. In addition it is inexpensive and readily available over-the-

counter in drugstores.

" I've always kept a supply of melatonin, " says Dr. Phyllis Staff, a

psychologist whose father had Alzheimer's disease. " I've used it to

combat jet lag for many years, but I didn't realize it could help my

father. "

Melatonin's benefits may also extend to dementia prevention. Since

the drug is able to pass through the blood/brain barrier, it exhibits

powerful anti-oxidant effects in the brain. By combating oxidative

stress, researchers believe that melatonin may reduce the tangles and

plaques typical of Alzheimer's disease.

Go to full story: NewsTarget.com

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Double-barreled Weapon Against Alzheimer's as Near as the Bathroom

Cabinet (press release)

Researchers in China, Japan, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands, the US,

and Turkey have recently zeroed in on a common supplement that has

doubled-barreled benefits in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.

Well-known by travelers as an aid to cope with jet lag, melatonin may

help prevent Alzheimer's disease through its potent antioxidant

properties. It can also ease sleep-disruption and sundowning in

Alzheimer's victims, according to recently published studies.

Sundowning, a typical symptom of Alzheimer's disease, gets its name

because it usually occurs around sundown. Alzheimer's victims often

display increased agitation and disorientation during the late

afternoon or early evening.

" I've always kept a supply of melatonin, " says Dr. Phyllis Staff, a

psychologist whose father had Alzheimer's disease. " I've used it to

combat jet lag for many years, but I didn't realize it could help my

father. "

" For years, at dusk, Dad would put on his cap and jacket and head out

the door to `go home.' A couple of times he made it out to the street

unnoticed. My mother and I are grateful to a compassionate police

force that picked him up, but it would have been such a blessing to

have something to help him stop sundowning. "

Melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain,

regulates sleep and wakefulness in humans. Largely ignored by

pharmaceutical companies because they cannot patent natural

substances, melatonin is inexpensive and readily available over-the-

counter in drugstores.

Melatonin's benefits extend to dementia prevention. Able to pass

through the blood/brain barrier, it exhibits powerful antioxidant

effects in the brain. Researchers have found that melatonin combats

oxidative stress and reduces the tangles and plaques typical of

Alzheimer's disease.