As an update, I notice my husband has stopped waking up in the middle of the night and much to my surprise, he managed to remember to use his Exelon patch every now and then last week without my gentle reminders. If anything, I'd say the memory improvements are subtle but sleepiness after usage of this device is something I can definitely attest to.
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From another forum user, whom I find very useful for updating myself and my husband on this bleak plague.
"This article is on near-infrared light for Parkinson's disease but the discussion is relevant for Alzheimer's disease:
Parkinson's disease is a common progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease. Thus, therapeutic approaches that improve mitochondrial function may prove to be beneficial. Previously, we have documented that near-infrared light via light-emitting diode (LED) treatment was therapeutic to neurons functionally inactivated by tetrodotoxin, potassium cyanide (KCN), or methanol intoxication, and LED pretreatment rescued neurons from KCN-induced apoptotic cell death...
LED treatment down-regulated nitrotyrosine expression in neurons
Nitrotyrosine is an indicator of cell damage and results from the nitration of tyrosine residues in proteins by peroxynitrite, a product of nitric oxide and superoxide. The expression of nitrotyrosine was at a low level (10.5%) in normal primary cultures. However, the number of nitrotyrosine-positive neurons increased significantly after exposure to 300 µM of KCN for 3 days (P P Fig. 4F)...
In summary, our results demonstrate that LED treatment twice a day was more effective in increasing the cellular ATP content and cytochrome oxidase activity and rescuing neurons from toxin-induced cell death. Twice a day LED treatment significantly counteracted both rotenone-and MPP+-induced neurotoxicity. Optimizing endogenous energy production and protecting neurons from neurotoxin-induced cell death are worthy measures to be considered in PD treatment and clinical therapy."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2587428/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12384247