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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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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Many boxers have developed the disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. But CTE has received greater attention recently. More and more athletes -- professional athletes as well as recreational players and weekend warriors -- have been found to have it.

Though chronic traumatic encephalopathy is most common in boxers and football players, it has been found in other people who suffer repeated head trauma: mostly hockey, soccer and rugby players, wrestlers and equestrians, but also domestic abuse victims.
 
The outward symptoms of CTE will sound familiar to anyone who has experience with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias: memory problems, disorientation and difficulty concentrating are the earliest signs. As chronic traumatic encephalopathy progresses, people begin to show poor judgment, erratic behavior, significant memory loss and some degree of Parkinson's disease (impaired speech, difficulty with motor skills, slow movement and a loss of balance). In more advanced stages of CTE, patients experience tremors, full-blown Parkinsonism, a staggering gait, deafness and dementia.
 
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is also commonly associated with psychological problems like depression, agitation, aggression and violence, loss of inhibitions, sexual compulsiveness, euphoria, drug and alcohol abuse and suicide.
 
The substance-abuse death of 42-year old football coach Mike Borich highlights these aspects of the disease. Borich's life had become a swirl of alcohol and drug abuse, and violent mood swings were complicated by bouts of disorientation, depression and forgetfulness. Examination of his brain after his death showed that he had suffered from CTE.
 
The symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy usually show up a few years after an individual has stopped playing a sport, and some researchers believe that the severity of the disease may correlate with the length of time spent in the activity. Sadly, a 2009 analysis of 51 chronic traumatic encephalopathy sufferers revealed that the average lifespan of people with the disease is just 51 years.
 
Original Article was written for Johns Hopkins Health Alerts

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