Nicotine and Memory Problems

[Vocalek]

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Association Between Lifetime Cigarette Smoking and Lewy Body Accumulation


The abstract can be read here:

Wiley InterScience :: Session Cookies

Lewy Body Disease (LBD) is a form of dementia often confused with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The differences are that LBD is actually a form of Parkinson's and also involves progressive stiffness and mobility issues.

The dementia associated with Lewy body disease affects:

• memory
• language
• the ability to judge distances
• the ability to carry out simple actions
• the ability to reason.

People with this form of dementia suffer hallucinations for example seeing a person or pet on a bed or a chair when nothing is there.

My 87-year old mother, a lifetime nonsmoker, has FINALLY been diagnosed with LBD. In the past, when I have abstained from all forms of nicotine, I have had similar symptoms (but not the hallucinations, which my mother DOES have.)

Apparently the nicotine is protecting me from turning into my mother. Please, dear God, don't let the "quit or die" FDA take away my nicotine, and along with it, my sanity.

 

[TropicalBob]

Do remember the multitude of nicotine sources: snus, dissolvables, nasal snuff, tobacco pieces (Oliver Twist). Also cigars and pipes that are not inhaled. Don't limit yourself to the limited nicotine we get from e-cigs. Broaden your sources and have options if an ax chops off one.

Yes, nicotine has benefits, as well as some vascular consequences. It behooves each of us addicts to know them all.

 

[Kate51]

TB,
Let me put a word here. I have ADD (all my life), which does HUGELY affect short-term memory access, and long-term memory recall.
I'm actually a little afraid of going 0 nic. No, make that a LOT afraid.
The difference between smoking cigarettes and vaping is immeasurable.
I suspect the dirty parts of a cigarette masked over the benefit of the nicotine, does that sound right? So you with your snuss are probably getting it right.
My short-term and long-term memory access was getting sharper and sharper, from the time I started vaping, almost 6 months ago. Now it seems as though it has become stable, improvement leveled off. But I have NOT experienced the frustrating, humiliating, embarrassing, debilitating, and depression-causing symptoms of ADD in that frequency as before going to Vapor! Call me crazy..... But it was so profound and surprising I couln't help but notice it. Umm, my husband noticed too. Says I'm not so quick tempered. Geez, wha.tf 8-oThat is the frustration factor. Doesn't mean he's any easier to live with, for sure!
Your Mom and you have my deepest sympathy, my husband's mother's family had issues with dimentia and Alzheimers'. It is so devastating for everyone.

 

[Vocalek]

Thanks, Kate.

 

[Vocalek]

I found out the link I posted did not work. Here is an extract from the abstract (she said distractedly).

Brain Pathology. 2009 June 15 [Epub ahead of print]
Association Between Lifetime Cigarette Smoking and Lewy Body Accumulation.


Tsuang D, Larson EB, Li G, Shofer JB, Montine KS, Thompson ML, Sonnen JA, Crane PK, Leverenz JB, Montine TJ.
Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

We tested the hypothesis that lifetime cigarette use might be associated with reduced risk of neuropathologic changes of Lewy-related pathology (LRP) in multiple brain regions or with reduced risk of consensus neuropathologic changes of AD in a prospective community-based study of brain aging and dementia, the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study. We observed that heavy lifetime cigarette smoking (>50 pack years) was associated with significantly reduced relative risk (RR) for LRP, but not AD-type pathologic changes, after correcting for selection bias, and with significantly reduced frequency of LRP in the substantia nigra. These findings are the first of which we are aware to associate reduced LRP in human brain with any exposure, and substantiate observational studies that have associated cigarette smoking with reduced risk of PD. Although cigarette smoking is too toxic to suggest as a treatment, if confirmed, these findings may guide future therapeutic strategies that attempt to suppress LRP in human brain by other means.

 

[TheLizinator]

My grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson's, couldn't tolerate L-dopa, so he lived with the tremors, flat affect, etc. for just under 20 years! He was a health-nut long before it was fashionable to be one; he was also a welter-wt. professional prize-fighter and sparred with a few of the world champ heavyweights. Took many head blows during those years and it was speculated that it contributed to the Parkinson's. While the disease progressed, he still maintained a fairly decent quality of life over two decades. LOL he always liked to pinch my grandmother's .... when she passed by but the tremors made it tough. I would see him take his other hand, clamp down on the "pinching" arm so he could get a grip on her.

He was a brilliant man, studied and taught graduate level calculus and physics without more than 2 years total formal education, so finding out he had a brain disorder was a harsh reality for him to accept. He kept up his intellectual pursuits right up till the final few months of his life when he vacillated between being lucid and going into states of apparent incoherence. The final phase he was not conscious, but hung on with strong vitals for a very long time. He passed at the age of 86. Getting a dx for Parkinson's is not a death sentence anymore and science has made huge strides in treating the disease (and thus prolonging life expectancy).

 

[Vocalek]

Although related, LBD is a bit different from straight Parkinson's. Dementia is the #1 feature of LBD, with the Parkinsonian symptoms a secondary consideration. My mother has no tremors whatsoever. She has stiffness, problems arising from a chair, getting into and out of a car, and balance issues. She falls about once a month and cannot get up.
Central feature

• Progressive dementia – deficits in attention and executive function are typical. Prominent memory impairment may not be evident in the early stages.

Core features:

• Fluctuating cognition with pronounced variations in attention and alertness.
• Recurrent complex visual hallucinations, typically well formed and detailed.
• Spontaneous features of parkinsonism.

Supportive features:

• Repeated falls and syncope (fainting).
• Transient, unexplained loss of consciousness.
• Autonomic dysfunction.
• Hallucinations of other modalities.
• Visuospatial abnormalities.
• Other psychiatric disturbances.

She gets very frustrated at her inability to remember things. She has stopped using the stove and oven altogether. Last time she used the oven, she set her potholders on fire. So she uses the microwave and her slow-cooker.

I got her a cell phone that is super-simple to operate. To answer a call, you open it up. To hang up, you close the phone (clam-shell type). I showed her how to use it several times. One day I asked her about it and she said, "Well I can't use it until you show me how it works." So I showed her again, on several more occasions.

One day she said to me, "You should get me a cell phone." That's when I decided that I had been wasting the money for the extra account and took the damn thing home with me.

She doesn't just have hallucinations (like the cat and dog who show up on her patio every night and never move), she has delusions, as well.
She has an angel who lives on top of her TV set and two demons that live in her curio cabinet. The reason she falls down is that the demons push her down.

So no, this is not a death sentence.

No cure or definitive treatment for Lewy body dementia has been discovered as yet. The disease has an average duration of 5 to 7 years. It is possible, though, for the time span to be anywhere from 2 to 20 years, depending on several factors, including the person’s overall health, age and severity of symptoms.

Lucky for mom, she loves fruits and vegetables and has never had a heart attack or stroke. So she will probably stick around for the 20 years.

 

[sunkissedbeach]

My father in law smoked three packs a day of unfiltered Paul Malls for fifty years.
He stopped smoking around ten years ago and around that time developed Alzheimer's.
He is in the very advanced stages now, it is very sad.

 

[stevo_tdo]

My father in law smoked three packs a day of unfiltered Paul Malls for fifty years.
He stopped smoking around ten years ago and around that time developed Alzheimer's.
He is in the very advanced stages now, it is very sad.

I used to chain smoke like crazy. I'm very grateful now to be off cigarettes but my mind is wearing thin. I have schizophrenia and there have been plenty of studies on the benefits of nicotine, memory, and mental function. I would estimate that I get somewhere around ten times less nicotine then I did a month ago (based on the amount I vape, the strength of my juice, and the results of nicotine absorbtion from the New Zealand study). As my brain chemistry gets used to less nic it is becoming more apparent how much i need it.

Hell I can't remember words or places or names half the time anymore. I think i'm going to have to bump my nic juice way up there now. I didn't want to smoke myself to death with tobacco but at the same time papa needs his nic.

 

[TropicalBob]

Steve: Use other alternatives. Seriously. Use them all!

You need nicotine. It does good things for your brain. You're not imagining benefits; they are real. E-smoking is not likely to EVER satisfy your nicotine needs, even at high levels in e-liquid. Get thee quickly to snus, dissolveables, nasal snuff, etc. Use them all!

How can anyone look at the Health New Zealand studies and think e-smoking is THE answer? It is only part of an answer.

You might even consider puffing, not inhaling, cigars or a pipe. Nicotine is not a demon, especially in your case. Use it to your benefit.

 

[stevo_tdo]

Steve: Use other alternatives. Seriously. Use them all!

You need nicotine. It does good things for your brain. You're not imagining benefits; they are real. E-smoking is not likely to EVER satisfy your nicotine needs, even at high levels in e-liquid. Get thee quickly to snus, dissolveables, nasal snuff, etc. Use them all!

How can anyone look at the Health New Zealand studies and think e-smoking is THE answer? It is only part of an answer.

You might even consider puffing, not inhaling, cigars or a pipe. Nicotine is not a demon, especially in your case. Use it to your benefit.

I believe that is the realization i came to last night. Looks like snus and e-cigs for me then. Good nicotine delivery from snus and the hand to mouth from the ecig.

Btw, I scoured through the tobacco alternatives section last night and think It'll be what I need.

 

[TropicalBob]

Good for you. You are on a track that many others using this forum should follow. Best of luck in finding exactly what fits your needs.

 

[dragonpuff]

I used to chain smoke like crazy. I'm very grateful now to be off cigarettes but my mind is wearing thin. I have schizophrenia and there have been plenty of studies on the benefits of nicotine, memory, and mental function. I would estimate that I get somewhere around ten times less nicotine then I did a month ago (based on the amount I vape, the strength of my juice, and the results of nicotine absorbtion from the New Zealand study). As my brain chemistry gets used to less nic it is becoming more apparent how much i need it.

Hell I can't remember words or places or names half the time anymore. I think i'm going to have to bump my nic juice way up there now. I didn't want to smoke myself to death with tobacco but at the same time papa needs his nic.

Steve, i can sympathize.

I have Bipolar I; it's technically called a "mood" disorder but the more severe varieties of it (like mine) cause major cognitive problems as well. Since i quit smoking and started vaping i've noticed my moods have calmed down a bit, but now when my moods act up or i don't vape for a while, the cognitive problems are worse, i'm having more significant confusion than i'm used to.

I had an incident yesterday that scared me. I was a bit sleep deprived and forgot to take my meds the night before. I got to class on time, but when i tried to get into the building, i couldn't cuz all the doors were locked! I didn't understand why the building would be locked when my class was currently in it, maybe something happened? I waited outside for a few min til i saw someone come out and asked him about it; he said it was open. I tried again... turns out i forgot to pull on the door when i turned the knob i showed up to class 5 minutes late, then failed the quiz because i forgot half the material

It never occurred to me i could get so confused i'd forget how to open a door or forget stuff i just learned yesterday...

Sorry, i just had to get that off my chest. My point is, my condition is treated based on it being a mood problem, so the moods are treated assuming the cognitive garbage is caused by mania or depression. Unfortunately, this only results in my mood being treated and my thought problems are still there.

That's where nicotine comes in. When i'm feeling tired and unfocused, flaky, moody and confused, i vape more, and it helps a lot. I've tried the same technique using NRT's, but the dose is so painfully low that it doesn't work at all.

Steve, i wanna suggest maybe try a higher mg content, that made a big difference with me. Also, keep in mind that the tobacco that you used to smoke contained an MAOI, which is a very effective antidepressant. Going off that could definitely change your mental functioning (something i'm going to explore once i find a new doc). It's worth looking into, at least.

(Hmm.. i'm wondering if i should've split this into two different posts...)

 

[Stubby]

I believe that is the realization i came to last night. Looks like snus and e-cigs for me then. Good nicotine delivery from snus and the hand to mouth from the ecig.

Btw, I scoured through the tobacco alternatives section last night and think It'll be what I need.

I can sympathize with your problems. I've been self-medicating for ADD since I was 14. That was 40 years ago. The one time I managed to quit smoking for three months I almost stopped functioning. Talk about a space brain, and no drugs needed.

The good thing for me is that I don't seem to need massive doses of nicotine. That has likely been my saving grace. I'm still in relatively good health even after 40 years of smoking. Snus gives me that sure steady dose of nicotine I need to keep functioning. God help me if my nicotine ever gets taken away. In a years time I would probably be a urine soaked bum sleeping on the streets instead of the bosses go to guy.

I still do miss that hit I get with cigarettes at times, and I still do think about them. But I'm doing okay without them.

 

[Kurt]

My biggest fear of quitting smoking was would I be able to keep up the intense mental work I have to do as a quantum chemist. So it was always, "Well, not THIS month, maybe next", which of course would never come.

Now with vaping I am getting all the mental focus and abilities that I got with analogs, but without the sickly feeling I also got, so it is WAY BETTER!! My fears of quitting smoking have gone up in a sweet plume of vapor. I am a couple of weeks into this world, down to 1 or 2 analogs a day from 1+ pack a day, and I am FAR more capable mentally than I was before. And I do not vape high conc nic...highest is about 12 mg. The combustion fog has lifted.

It seems nicotine lights up all the higher thinking areas of the brain, something about the central reticular core, which connects them all. No wonder I prefer being with smokers.

The reason BP won't go with nicotine as an AD or PD treatment is because the market says nicotine=bad, so they just won't entertain any R&D with it. Pity.

Kurt

 

[sunkissedbeach]

My father in law smoked three packs a day of unfiltered Paul Malls for fifty years.
He stopped smoking around ten years ago and around that time developed Alzheimer's.
He is in the very advanced stages now, it is very sad.

Update:

My Father in Law died on Oct 11, 09.
RIP Dad

 

[JamieJ]

Is there a study you can point me to in regard to nicotine improving memory? That sounds interesting! Did not know that!

 

[Jules22871]

Update:

My Father in Law died on Oct 11, 09.
RIP Dad

I am very sorry to hear that. My thoughts are with you and your family.

I have to get tested for MS soon. I have a lot of the symptoms, the main one being the optical neuritis. It has me scared to death since they found that and did some basic non-invasive testing. Reading this about nicotine and doing just a quick search on MS and nicotine has put me a little at ease over this. We'll just have to see what time will tell us all.

 

[frankie1]

SUNKISSEDBEACH: I am sorry for your loss. Please know our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

 

[bratzdad]

Is this the juice forum?