This is DISA NEWS, the newsletter from the Dementia Improved Support Association of Japan.
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Our association aims to achieve the dementia-free world.
We deliver this newsletter on the 4th of each month to bring you valuable information.
We offer sincere prayer for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives with COVID-19 spreading across the world, and our deepest sympathy to those infected.
We wish them quick recovery and hope that everyone in difficulties get life back to normal soon.
We hope to contribute to avoiding the elderly people’s risk for death from the virus.
At the same time, the organization continues helping people get peaceful days back by supporting cognitive function’s recovery.
We stay active on our mission.
Contents
〇 Connection between periodontal disease bacteria and Alzheimer’s disease (study by a Kyushu Univ. research team)
〇 Levy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease
〇 Notes on overseas order of KOUKA
〇 Connection between periodontal disease bacteria and Alzheimer’s disease (study by a Kyushu Univ. research team)
In November 2019, a remarkable fact was found by Zhou Wu and Junjun Ni, associate professors of the Department of Aging Science and Pharmacology, Faculty of Dental Sciences, Kyushu University and their team, in joint research with Prof. Yanmin Zhou, Ran Nie, et al. of the Department of Dental Implantology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Jilin University.
They succeeded to observe amyloid- β (Aβ), a component of senile plaques in the brain, was generated in the liver of mice receiving chronic administration of Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis), known as periodontal disease-causing bacteria.
https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad190298
In 2020, another joint research by Zhou Wu, Junjun Ni, et al. revealed P. gingivalis infection enhances transportation of Aβ, generated outside the brain of normal middle aged mice, from periphery into the brain.
The chronic administration for 3 weeks increased Aβ level in brain parenchyma around cerebral vascular endothelial cells making up the blood brain barrier of the mice.
This result constructively demonstrates the former research that revealed P. gingivalis infection induces production of Aβ in the livers of middle aged mice.
The finding is the first evidence showing that P. gingivalis infection enhances transfer of Aβ from periphery into the brain, while inducing production of Aβ in peripheral inflammatory tissues.
The research offers a new understanding about the mechanism on how periodontal disease affects to Alzheimer’s.
Prevention or treatment of periodontal disease are highly expected to delay onset or progression of Alzheimer’s.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jnc.15096
Hopefully, this finding contributes to establishment of a treatment of dementia.
One of the researchers said as follows.
“I am very surprised that P. gingivalis infection enhances transfer of a component of senile plaques into the brain, as well as inducing production of it in gums or other inflammatory tissues. Oral care is very important to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.”
〇 Levy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease
Dementia has said to have almost 70 variations.
Among them, there is a type found by a Japanese doctor.
In 1976, Dr. Kenji Kosaka was working on his research on dementia and other diseases in the brain.
One day, he published a report on a new type of dementia closely associated to Parkinson’s disease, which was called dementia with Lewy bodies.
This type of dementia account for 10-20% of the whole disease, as another report revealed.
It composes four major types along with Alzheimer’s, cerebral vascular and frontotemporal dementia.
Dr. Kosaka’s report illustrates how he found the disease when observing symptoms occurred in a woman who died at the age of 65.
The woman had dementia, and also showed symptoms of Parkinsonism such as stiffness of her body or tremor in a limb.
After autonomic functions are impaired and guts motion was declined, she finally died from an intestinal obstruction.
Dr. Kosaka went into full detail about the cause of death.
Then, Levy body, a protein already known through research on Parkinson’s, was found in her cerebrum.
Levy body is usually found in nerve cells in substantia nigra of mesencephalon relating to motor functions.
In this case, however, the protein was found also in nerve cells in the cerebrum responsible for cognitive functions.
This is how he found the new type of dementia closely associated to Parkinson’s.
Levy body is a clod of a specific type of protein called α-synuclein.
When it is accumulated in the brain to a certain level, the number of nerve cells for signal processing or transduction starts gradual decline.
The reason for the decline is still not thoroughly identified.
What is clear is accumulation of α-synuclein in autonomic nerve cells causes symptoms associated to autonomic functions.
Substantia nigra produces dopamine, a transmitter that enhances motion of human beings.
When dopamine production is declined to insufficient level due to reduction in number of nerve cells in substantia nigra caused by accumulation of Levy body, symptoms of parkinsonism start to appear.
One of the elements that play key roles for dopamine production is serotonin.
Our association’s advisor Masao Mori, an advisory professor of the Fudan University, developed Anti Stress, a supplement containing herb extracts.
https://dis-shop.info/product/anti-stress/
Anti Stress is effective against Levy body dementia and Parkinson’s by enhancing production of serotonin.
It also improves depression symptoms.
In Japan, the number of suicides went over 30 thousand in 1998, but from 2010 on it has been declining.
Anti Stress, now widely known to society, might be one reason for the decline.
Dementia with Levy bodies and Parkinson’s are called Levy body disease, as both of them are caused by Levy body’s accumulation.
In dementia with Levy bodies, it accumulates in the cerebrum and mesencephalon, which causes cognitive impairment and motor symptoms.
In Parkinson’s, it accumulates mainly in mesencephalon, which causes predominantly motor symptoms without accompanying cognitive dysfunction at the early stage.
However, recent research revealed Levy body in the mesencephalon spreads to cerebrum in a couple of decades, which finally leads to onset of dementia.
That is why Parkinson’s gets very similar to dementia with Levy body as it progressed, so you could say these two diseases are like brothers.
The following is 4 typical symptoms of dementia with Levy bodies.
(1) Behavior disorders during REM sleep
– Loud sleep talking
– Being violent and beating a wall or somebody sleeping together
(2) Inconsistent cognitive functions
– Significant ups and downs from day to day or hour to hour on how the symptoms appear
– Sometimes mind is very clear and sometimes not.
(3) Visual hallucination or false perception
– Seeing something that doesn’t exist (visual hallucination)
– Seeing something incorrectly e.g. mistaking an electric cord for a snake (false perception)
(4) Parkinsonisms
– Tremor in a limb
– Slowness
– Short stepped gait
– Stiffness
Dementia with Levy bodies has some warning symptoms.
The first is behavior disorders during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.
Sleep has a cycle composed of two periods, REM and non REM sleep.
In REM sleep, muscle activity is inhibited and body doesn’t move, except the eyes moving rapidly.
In this mode people dreams very often, unlike in non REM period.
However, Levy body dementia patients’ muscles are sometimes active during REM sleep, so they move or scream when having a dream of fighting against somebody else.
Those who have this kind of behavior are predisposed to develop dementia with Levy bodies, Parkinson’s or multiple system atrophy in rare cases.
The second is serious disorder of smell.
The olfactory bulb situated deep in the nose catches odor substances, from which the stimuli are transmitted as electric signals to the brain.
Levy bodies generated on the channel prevent signals from transmitted, which triggers smell disorders.
Actually, impaired smell often emerges well before perkinsonisms or cognitive dysfunctions appears.
If you have something wrong with smell without having a trouble on your nose or ears, it could be a sign of dementia with Levy bodies or Parkinson’s.
Other symptoms include constipation, color vision deficiency or depression.
These are also signs for Parkinson’s, but age of onset tends to be higher in Levy body dementia.
Above symptoms don’t necessarily mean onset of Levy body dementia.
If Levy bodies are already accumulated, obvious symptoms don’t appear before neuro cells in substantia nigra are reduced to half of the normal.
According to a report on how long it takes from the first sign to memory impairment (by Dr. Hiroki Fujishiro, 2013), more than 70% of 90 patients had constipation and smell disorders, respectively 9.3 and 8.7 years before memory impairment started.
In japan, there are many anti-dementia prescriptions.
Some of them are excluded from the coverage of medical insurance in France.
Wherever you live, people should have proper prescriptions for their specific conditions.
Everyone has different character and situation.
And of course, you want to avoid any side effect as much as possible.
Trihexyphenidyl hydrochloride (Artane) used to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s tends to increase visual hallucination or false perception.
Basically, Artane is not prescribed to Levy body dementia patients.
In this type of dementia, how symptoms appear varies a lot.
Doctors should have consultation with patients to decide which and how much to use, and show them how to take it.
In Japan, however, some doctors only follow healthcare system’s policy and sometimes patients are forced to suffer side effects.
We recommend those diagnosed as having dementia suffering depression or parkinsonisms to take KOUKA, along with Anti Stress which support the balance of dopamine.
Anti Stress is also recommended to caregivers, as it works for insomnia.
For those with milder parkinsonisms, light aerobic exercises like walking are also recommended.
There is a report demonstrating that aerobics are effective for preventing cognitive decline.
〇 Notes on overseas order of KOUKA
Our product KOUKA, a supplement patented as composition of matter to ameliorate cognitive dysfunctions, has been enormously well-received by many users around the world.
However, now it is difficult to dispatch the items to overseas customers due to COVID-19.
The items are usually delivered via EMS, which is currently unavailable in many countries and regions as they suspended to accept international mails.
Also, transportation routes are almost lost because of a significant number of cancellation or reduction of flights from Japan.
Please be advised that every overseas customer needs to check your own country’s situation to make sure if you can receive EMS, before ordering.
For your information, sea mail is available in many countries, although it takes longer (approximately 2-3 months).
If you want another delivery method, find possible option and check the fee required, and let us know the details as below via email.
1. Name
2. Address
3. Phone number
4. Email address
5. Recipient’s age, current status and other details that should be informed
6. Number of order (a package weighs about 600g)
7. Name of carrier
8. Charge for delivery
We charge the total amount including the product’s price (39,000JPY) and the delivery charge (declared in above 8) via PayPal.
The item will be dispatched upon confirmation of the payment.
Customers will be notified via email if we find something wrong on operation or delivery charge of designated carriers.
We will notify customers if anything wrong happens on operation or delivery charge of designated carriers.
Customers also need to check on the custom duty for your country before ordering.
Don’t forget to make sure if you can receive the item in your area, as some countries prohibit the import of supplements.
Thank you very much for your understanding and support to our activities.
We greatly appreciate medical professionals in the world for their dedicated work against the treats of COVID19.
Our association aims to bring more smiles in families, by supporting cognitive function’s recovery.
For the recovery, normalizing microcirculation is highly efficacious.
We found dosing proper amount of reishi, a gift of nature, is essential for better microcirculation.
KOUKA is a processed food product of Ganoderma Lucidum (reishi), patented in Japan as a composition of matter to ameliorate cognitive dysfunctions.
Almost 100% of KOUKA users who took it for 3 months experienced alleviation of cognitive dysfunctions and life style diseases.
We strongly believe cognitive functions can be recovered and there is no need to give up even after the onset of dementia.
With this conviction, our association has conducted physiological studies for more understanding of the nature of human body, as well as offering a wide range of awareness campaigns.
We are always open to share what we found with many people as possible.
We deliver further information at the official website.
DISAJP distributes valuable information on the 4th of each month to the world.
We welcome your feedback.
You can purchase the high quality reishi supplement KOUKA efficacious for improving cognitive functions at DIS SHOP.
