medicalcondition:memory loss

Valium: It’s more addictive than heroin, with horrifying side-effects, so why is it still given to millions? | Daily Mail Online
▻http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2289311/Valium-Its-addictive-heroin-horrifying-effects-given-millions.html

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/03/07/article-2289311-187C7EBD000005DC-537_1024x615_large.jpg

One of the first - and most infamous - of the ‘benzos’ was Valium. Launched in the 1960s it quickly became the pill for every ill, dished out in profligate quantities to anyone struggling with the travails of daily life. Sixty per cent of users were women and Valium was soon dubbed ’mother’s little helper’.

But Valium and the other benzos are derived from chemical compounds which make some of them more addictive even than heroin.

And their legacy is a vast group of people suffering appalling withdrawal symptoms so severe they are unfit for work, relationships or even independent living. Some have also been left with permanent effects, including memory loss.

Increasingly worried about what the drug might be doing to her after six years on it, Baylissa started researching clonazepam-type drugs on the internet and was shocked by what she read. People reported memory loss, dementia, paranoia, hallucinations and excruciating pain, either as a result of being on the drug or coming off it.

Valium’s pernicious legacy has touched everyone from schoolgirls and poverty stricken single mothers to middle-class divorcees and wealthy socialites. In some cases, distraught addicts resort to suicide: Department of Health figures show the drug is implicated in 300-500 deaths a year in this country.

But the scale of the problem has been largely ignored. Despite guidelines dating back to 1988, which warn doctors to limit the prescribing of this potent and controversial drug, clinicians have found it an effective way to handle many hard-to-diagnose, hard-to-treat patients.

There are now 183 different formulations of Valium-derived medications. Doctors in Britain issue almost 18 million prescriptions a year for benzodiazepiones, and every GP has at least 180 long-term users on their books.

Despite being highly addictive and having alarming side-effects, Valium had become one of the world’s best-selling drugs by the mid-Seventies. It was originally manufactured by Hoffmann La Roche, but the company lost its patent protection in 1985. Some 500 different versions of the drug were subsequently marketed by different companies worldwide.

It was on a holiday to France in April 2011 that Fiona made the life-changing decision to stop taking Valium. ’I didn’t take enough with me — I don’t know if that was on purpose or not — and we were sitting in a cafe one day when I had a panic attack, mewling like a puppy.

’People were staring and it was awful, but it took about three weeks for the real withdrawal symptoms to appear. By then I was whimpering and shaking the whole time, I couldn’t sleep, I was depressed and just exhausted.’

Back home, with no further help from her GP, Fiona sought information about Valium withdrawal on the internet and tackled her long-term dependency by gradually reducing her dose to zero over five months.

’It was absolute hell,’ she says. ’I felt sick, I had long periods of shaking uncontrollably, excruciating muscle cramps, and all the symptoms of severe flu. I couldn’t go out, leave the house at all, or do anything at all.’

#Opioides #Sackler #Valium

CTE found in 99% of studied brains from deceased NFL players - CNN.com
▻http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/25/health/cte-nfl-players-brains-study/index.html

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, was found in 99% of deceased NFL players’ brains that were donated to scientific research, according to a study published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA.

The neurodegenerative brain disease can be found in individuals who have been exposed to repeated head trauma. The disease is pathologically marked by an buildup of abnormal tau protein in the brain that can disable neuropathways and lead to a variety of clinical symptoms. These include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, aggression, depression, anxiety, impulse control issues and sometimes suicidal behavior.
[…]
The study points out potential bias because relatives of these players may have submitted their brains due to clinical symptoms they noticed while they were living. It also acknowledges the lack of a comparison group that represents all individuals exposed to college-level or professional football. Without that, the study lacks an overall estimate on the risk of participation in football and its effects on the brain.

Out of 202 deceased former football players total — a combination of high school, college and professional players — CTE was neuropathologically diagnosed in 177, the study said. The disease was identified in 110 out of 111 former NFL players. It was also found in three of the 14 high school players and 48 of the 53 college players.

#football_américain

Alzheimer’s Disease: Period Pain Drug Cures Symptoms In Mice, New Research Shows
▻http://www.ibtimes.com/alzheimers-disease-period-pain-drug-cures-symptoms-mice-new-research-shows-

The incurable Alzheimer’s disease may now have a cure. A new research by the University of Manchester shows that the most common form of dementia can be fully cured with an anti-inflammatory drug, commonly used for period pain.

Almost 7.5 million new cases of Alzheimer’s — a disease that causes acute problems with memory, thinking ability and behavior — diagnosed around the world every year. In the United States, about five million people currently suffer from the degenerative disease that has claimed one in three senior citizens with some form of dementia.

The team, led by Dr. David Brough, worked with mice to find that a common Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) routinely used to relieve menstrual pain — mefenamic acid — completely reversed the inflammation of the brain and lost memory in the specimen.

For the study, 20 mice were genetically altered to exhibit symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Ten of these were treated with mefenamic acid by using a mini-pump under their skin for one month, while the other 10 mice were treated in the same way with a placebo.

Researchers found that the mice treated with mefenamic acid saw a complete reversal of memory loss, while the placebo group’s condition remained unchanged.

#Alzheimer

New data confirms a dementia epidemic as the Baby Boomers age - Your Houston News : Living
▻http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/humble/living/new-data-confirms-a-dementia-epidemic-as-the-baby-boomers/article_35b99796-cd80-51c7-8f81-9b6632a1a763.html

Voilà un…
En fait, et contrairement à ce que suggère ce titre pas du tout inquiétant, « l’épidémie » de démences correspond simplement à l’arrivée des classes pleines à l’âge où celles-ci se manifestent…

According to survey results of 21 states, nearly 13 percent of Americans aged 60 years or older (1 in 8) reported confusion or memory loss happening more often or getting worse in the previous 12 months.
(…)
“Unfortunately, the number of people affected by dementia is growing at an alarming rate as the baby boomer population grows older,” said Richard Elbein, CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association, Houston & Southeast Texas Chapter. “Most people don’t know when forgetting becomes a serious health problem. By putting off learning more about their condition, people impacted by dementia are being diagnosed too late and miss the opportunity to get the best help possible.”

Donc, l’info provient d’une association spécialisée dont la vision est

Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s

et qui justifie le dépistage des troubles de mémoire par l’accès aux traitements disponibles… dont la caractéristique principale est de ne pas exister…

Early detection allows people to get the maximum benefit from available treatments, consider participating in a clinical trial, establish a support network and plan for the future.