Spring Arbor Living Blog

Scientists are reporting that fasting one or two days a week can boost your brain health and increase longevity.

The study comes from the National Institute on Aging, where researchers looked at whether intermittent fasting—eating no more than 500 calories per day, one or two days per week—could help protect the brain against Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other degenerative diseases. The results in both animals and humans so far have been promising.

That’s not surprising. Earlier this month, Mayo Clinic researchers reported that overeating can double the risk of memory loss in older adults. There’s increasing evidence of links between obesity, diabetes and dementia, and that things like trans fats can cause brain shrinkage.

Conversely, the effects of a low-calorie diet on longevity and brain health are well known. Rats and mice on calorie-restricted diets have increased their lifespan by up to 40%.
 
But consistently keeping caloric intake low is something not a lot of people have the desire or willpower to do—which is why NIA researchers want to see whether regular, short-term bursts of Calorie Reduction could have the same effect. Or maybe it could work even better. Mark Mattson, head of the NIA’s neuroscience laboratory, thinks overall calorie restriction “is not likely to be the best method of triggering” brain protection.

However, the Alzheimer’s association and many studies have proved that: ”The best way to cut down your chances of developing dementia is to combine a balanced diet with regular exercise, not smoking, and getting your blood pressure and cholesterol regularly checked.”

The research on the interplay of diet, brain health and longevity is fascinating and important. Eating for health requires an overall commitment. The upside is that cutting back on processed foods and eating a diet high in Omega-3′s, fruits, vegetables and whole grains can also boost or extend your brain’s health.

Blisstree

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Even moderate exercise can increase the size of your brain. The best thing you can do to keep your brain healthy is to get off the couch go for a brisk walk. Just one year of walking three times a week can increase the size of the hippocampus, a part of the brain that's key to memory.

Scientists know that the hippocampus begins to shrink as we age, leading to impaired memory and an increased risk of dementia. Researchers have shown that aerobic exercise can reverse the shrinkage and improve memory, a finding that builds on past evidence pointing to a relationship between fitness and brain function.

"This important study goes well beyond saying that exercise is good for older people, a statement that often leads people to roll their eyes and say, 'Of course,' " says Columbia University neurologist Scott Small, M.D. "It links exercise specifically to a way in which aging affects the brain and clearly establishes a means to slow the onset of age-related memory loss."

For the study, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Illinois, Rice University and Ohio State University recruited 120 sedentary older people without dementia.

The men and women, 55 to 80 years old who in the previous six months had participated in less than one weekly session of physical activity lasting at least 30 minutes.

The participants were randomly assigned to one of two supervised groups, either an aerobic exercise program of walking around a track for 40 minutes a day, three days a week, or a program of yoga and toning with resistance bands. They provided blood samples, had MRI brain scans and took memory tests at the beginning of the one-year study, after six months and at the end.

After the study ended, brain scans showed that the hippocampus had increased in size by about 2% among the walking group, which effectively reversed age-related loss by one to two years, while it shrank by about 1.4% in the stretching group. The exercise group also showed improved performance on a memory test and increased levels of BDNF, a protein involved in learning and memory.

This is an inexpensive and painless way to improve memory and brain health. All you need is a good pair of shoes.

AARP

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They're often called middle-aged pauses or senior moments. One of the country's leading memory experts says that by age 45 people start having memory lapses, but you can do something about it. "People have more control than they think when it comes to their brain health," Dr. Gary Small says.

He is the director of the UCLA Longevity Center and has written "The Alzheimer's Prevention Program," which includes a simple memory-improving technique called "Look Snap Connect."


In the following video Dr. Small gives some ideas on how to prevent or hold off Alzheimer's Disease.



Original article KSEE news

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Alzheimer’s disease is a debilitating mental health disease for the patient and the family. There are ways to extend the quality of life for both the care taker and the victim, but that involves commitment and honesty on both sides of the disease.

Caregivers can extend the time that their loved ones are in their own homes by establishing routines and being committed. However, this takes a toll on the caregiver, often resulting in depression and decreased mental and physical health.

At the onset of Alzheimer’s, the most successful patients are those who have a supportive family that is involved in the process, understands the implications of what is happening, and who is cared for properly.

See this video by

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Lifting weights and other forms of resistance training is great brain exercise for older adults as well as their physical health.

Canadian researchers found that strength and balance training improved cognitive ability among a group of 28 older men and women with a history of falling who took part in a fall prevention program.

After six months, the participants, age 70 and older, showed a 13% improvement in high-level thinking skills. The skills of a control group of 24 people who also had a history of falling but received standard care deteriorated 10%.
According to researcher Teresa Liu-Ambrose of the University of British Columbia, those whose brain function improved received regular visits from a physiotherapist who encouraged them to go through specific strength training exercises and balance exercises for seniors three times weekly and to walk at least twice weekly. Individuals in the control group were expected to initiate the exercise program on their own; none of them did.

The exercise program also helped reduce falls: After one year, 43% of the exercise group had repeat falls, compared with 67% of the standard care group.

Most research to date has focused on the benefits of aerobic exercise on the brain, but mounting evidence shows that resistance training may also help with brain health.

The link between cognitive function and exercise is just beginning to emerge. There are many other positive benefits to resistance training, but we now see that exercise can also help maintain cognitive skills as we age.

Original article AARP

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A study published in Neurology has found that as problems not traditionally associated with brain health pile up, a person's chance of developing dementia increases.

As we age, those minor physical ailments – including sore feet, poorly fitting dentures and skin irritations – may turn out to be not so minor after all.

The 10-year study included more than 7,200 cognitively healthy 65-year-old Canadians who were asked questions about their health. The questions included known risk factors for Alzheimer's, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, they included 19 problems that seemingly have no connection with brain health – including vision and hearing, loose dentures, sinus congestion, arthritis, morning cough, and problems with the skin, stomach, kidneys or bowel.

Any healthy 65-year-old has an 18% chance of developing dementia in 10 years from aging, the study found that each health problem not traditionally associated with Alzheimer's increased that risk by 3.2%. The risk accelerated as more and more conditions were added, jumping to 40% among those in the study who reported as many as 12 conditions. Since age is a major risk factor for Alzheimer's, the study is in a sense identifying people who "age badly" - their biological age exceeds their chronological age.

Taking care of minor ailments improves a person's quality of life, no one has yet proved that fixing each problem would necessarily reduce the risk for Alzheimer's.

Walking as little as 30 minutes a day, three days a week decreases risk factors for dementia and improves overall health.

Original article AARP

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Lewy body dementia is a form of dementia that may account for as many as 20% of all dementia cases. Lewy bodies are tiny spherical deposits of a protein called alpha-synuclein that are found in the brains of patients with this disorder. The presence of Lewy bodies throughout the brain disrupts the brain's normal functioning. Lewy body dementia is now believed to be the second most common specific cause of dementia after Alzheimer's disease.

There is considerable overlap between Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. In Lewy body dementia, patients experience a loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells similar to that seen in Parkinson's disease. They also lose acetylcholine-producing nerve cells, similar to what occurs in Alzheimer's disease.

Patients with Lewy body dementia often experience cognitive problems associated with Alzheimer's disease, such as memory loss, spatial impairment and language difficulties. They may also develop parkinsonian symptoms, such as muscle rigidity, a blank facial expression, soft voice, tremor, poor balance and gait disturbances. Some patients initially diagnosed with Parkinson's disease later go on to develop a dementia that closely resembles Lewy body dementia.

Certain symptoms of Lewy body dementia help distinguish it however. For example, early in the illness Lewy body dementia patients often experience detailed and extremely vivid hallucinations, unlike people with Alzheimer's disease. People with Lewy body dementia also tend to show marked fluctuations in their cognitive functioning, often several times a day. In addition, they tend to fall asleep easily during the day and have restless, disturbed sleep with behavioral acting out.

Recognition of these symptoms leads to an accurate diagnosis of Lewy body dementia. A correct diagnosis is particularly important because the medical management of patients with Lewy body dementia presents special challenges. The drugs that are normally used can aggravate other problems and cause potentially serious adverse reactions. In particular, antipsychotic drugs can provoke dangerous side effects, including a return to psychosis, and must be used cautiously, if at all. In addition, levodopa, a drug normally used to treat parkinsonian symptoms, may worsen hallucinations, so its dosage needs to be carefully adjusted in patients with Lewy body dementia.

This disease is named for Frederick Lewy, the physician who first identified them in 1912 while working in the laboratory of Dr. Alois Alzheimer.

Original article from Johns Hopkins

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Dr. Potter, chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center says:

Stay mentally active. What actually happens is that as we get older, synapses in the brain are stimulated by mental activity, so this helps to preserve mental ability. Just being well-educated is a good idea. Education and mental stimulation helps to create and preserve and develop new connections. So taking a course later in life is a good idea.

Following a good heart-healthy diet is good for memory because what's good for your heart is good for your brain. And you can actually stimulate develop of new brain cells with physical activity.

Dr. Mastrianni, Associate Professor of Neurology; Co-Director, Center for Comprehensive Care and Research on Memory Disorders at the University of Chicago Medical Center says:

There things one can do to avoid developing Alzheimer's disease or memory decline associated with aging.  Lifestyle changes that have shown benefit include routine physical exercise, staying socially active and eating a heart-healthy diet. At least 30 minutes a day of physical activity gets your heart pumping and improves oxygenation of brain cells.

Social activity may include staying actively working, or volunteering in local organizations or clubs.  Research suggests that having a large network of social interactions helps to maintain good brain function and even delay Alzheimer's disease.

Finally, eliminating unhealthy practices such as cigarettes, too little sleep, and too much stress can't hurt and are likely to help your brain function better.

Dr. Shulman, assistant professor of neurology and associate director of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology at the Pearl Barlow Center for Memory Evaluation and Treatment at the Silberstein Alzheimer's Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center says:

There are four main pillars of keeping healthy memory or maintaining brain fitness: healthy diet, exercise, keeping mentally stimulated and avoiding depression. There is no single entity that we can modify that will decrease the likelihood of someone developing Alzheimer's. It's a combination of applying all of these.

The issue with avoiding depression is a controversial one: Is depression itself a risk factor for dementia, or is the early sign of depression the earliest sign of dementia itself? It looks increasingly like it's a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, and there's a whole host of complicated reasons, but it does seem that if you keep stress-free and depression-free, that in and of itself is insurance for healthy aging.

Original article My Health News Daily

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Up to half of Alzheimer's disease cases worldwide are potentially attributable to seven preventable risk factors, a new study suggests. 

The findings show that Alzheimer's cases could be reduced if people quit smoking, increased their physical activity, enhanced their mental activity, controlled their blood pressure and diabetes, and managed their obesity and depression. 

The top 3 factors

In this study by University of California, San Fransisco, the authors reviewed previous research that examined factors that predispose people to developing Alzheimer's. They identified seven factors that were potentially within a person's control to change. 

Enhancing mental activity could make the biggest difference in developing Alzheimer's. That's because the study showed "low educational attainment" was the factor that impacts the largest portion of Alzheimer's cases worldwide. They defined low educational attainment as not completing higher education, having a low IQ or not participating in mentally stimulating leisure time activities, and found it contributes to 19% of Alzheimer's cases, or 6.5 million cases worldwide. 

Smoking contributes to the second-highest number of cases, 14% of cases, or 4.7 million cases worldwide.
Physical inactivity contributed to 13% of worldwide cases and was the third-largest factor. However, it was the highest contributor to cases in the U.S. — contributing to 21%, or 1.1 million cases. 

What really mattered was how common the risk factors were in the population. In the U.S., about a third of the population is sedentary, so a large number of Alzheimer's cases are potentially attributable to physical inactivity. 

However, worldwide, low education was more important, because so many people throughout the world are illiterate or are not educated beyond elementary school. And, smoking also contributed to a large percentage of cases worldwide because it is still very common. 

This suggests that smoking cessation and initiatives to increase physical activity could dramatically decrease  the number of Alzheimer's cases. 

A note of caution

It has been noted that while these seven factors may contribute to the development of Alzheimer's, none of the factors have been shown to cause the disease. 

However, the findings suggest "that preventive and therapeutic interventions have great potential," and that interventions should be carried out in high-risk populations. 

Globally, an estimated 33.9 million people have Alzheimer's, but that number could be reduced by 3 million if there was a 25% reduction in all seven of these risk factors. A 10% reduction in these seven factors could prevent 1.1 million cases. The number of worldwide cases is expected to triple over the next 40 years.

The results of the study were presented July 20 at The Alzheimer's Association 2011 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD), held in Paris. The study was simultaneously published online in the journal The Lancet Neurology. 

Original article on MSNBC.com

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As we age and our memory starts to fade, we all worry about our mental health and the potential for cognitive decline. But maintaining our mental health may not be any harder than going for a walk. A new, nine year study found that walking can keep dementia at bay. So put on your sneakers and go for a walk. Walking six miles a week protects the brain from shrinkage, which may slow the progress of cognitive decline.

Brain size shrinks late in adulthood which often is the start of dementia. Other studies suggest that physical activity protects against the deterioration of brain tissue, but no long-term studies have tested that theory. A study from the University of Pittsburgh wanted to do just that.

They asked 299 healthy, dementia-free men and women, average age 78, to keep track of the number of blocks they walked in a week.

After nine years, the researchers measured the brain size of the participants using high-resolution brain scans. The men and women who walked more had more gray matter. Those who walked approximately six to nine miles a week fared best, even after taking into account variables such as age, sex, body mass index and education. Walking more than 6-9 miles in a week didn't provide extra benefits.

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