Dr Kao and Alzheimer’s Disease

The announcement of Nobel Prize seldom makes headline news in Hong Kong but it is different this year. Dr Charles K Kao, the Father of Fiber Optics wins the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009. Dr Kao is considered as a local scholar in Hong Kong because he founded the Department of Electronic Engineering of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and also served as the vice-chancellor of the same university for 9 years. However, most of his research in fiber optic communications was indeed conducted in England and the U.S.

How glass fibers work is probably beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, we can only admire Dr Kao’s insight and creativity in making the breakthrough with fiber optics which benefits all of us today. What hit us is the fact that Dr Kao suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and can no longer understand or explain his own research now. For many days, news and interview with the old couple were shown on TV and newspapers. Dr Kao always smiles like a child in front of the camera. His wife has once broken into tears and said the man she has known and married for decades are now gone because of the disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is often called “old man disease” but it can happen to young to middle aged people with gene mutations associated with Alzheimer’s. It is an irreversible progressive brain disease that destroys memory, reasoning and thinking skills. The brain tissues of Alzheimer’s patients have abnormal clumps (amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibers (neurofibrillary tangles). These plaques and tangles cause the death of neurons (connections between nerve cells) and the brain will shrink significantly at end stage of the disease.

We often hear that cognition training can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. But if an intellectual and a scientist like Dr Kao can get it (Dr Kao’s father also had Alzheimer’s, so it may be genetic), just keeping your brain active may not always work. Alzheimer’s disease is incurable, so prevention is better than cure.

No one knows how the plaques and tangles are formed in the brain, but supposedly, things that improve blood circulation in the brain or protect the brain tissue would help. Regular exercise, good and balanced diet and healthy lifestyle are beneficial to the brain. Antioxidants like aged garlic extract, curcumin, melatonin, resveratrol, Ginkgo biloba extract, green tea, vitamin C and vitamin E are agents that show promise in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. Out of these antioxidants, Ginkgo seems to be one of the most promising ones. Ginkgo is a “brain herb” that has been used by the Chinese for centuries. It is now widely used in Europe for treating dementia. Ginkgo biloba extracts may help some people to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Some studies have found that ginkgo may be as effective as leading AD medications in delaying the symptoms of dementia in Alzheimer’s patients.

Fish oil which is high in DHA may also help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. However, a recent clinical trial shows that DHA supplement cannot slow the progression of Alzheimer’s. However, the findings indicate that DHA did improve learning and memory recall in age-related cognitive decline.

I often worry that I will get Alzheimer’s disease one day. Not because it is as deadly as cancer or heart disease, but getting Alzheimer’s means that I will forget who I am and I can’t make decision for myself anymore. Having seen Dr Kao’s example, I am sure I will be more conscious in living a brain healthy way.