Showing posts with label Alzheimer's Disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alzheimer's Disease. Show all posts

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Exercise, lactate and brain health--introductory material

"It has been well established in epidemiological studies and randomized controlled trials that habitual exercise is beneficial for brain health, such as cognition and mental health. Generally, it may be reasonable to say that the physiological benefits of acute exercise can prevent brain disorders in late life if such exercise is habitually/chronically conducted. "
 
 Title:  Effect of Exercise on Brain Health: The Potential Role of Lactate as a Myokine
Takeshi Hashimoto,1 Hayato Tsukamoto,1 Soichi Ando,2 and Shigehiko Ogoh3,*
Metabolites. 2021 Dec; 11(12): 813.
Published online 2021 Nov 29. doi: 10.3390/metabo11120813  PMCID: PMC8709217
PMID: 34940571
Norbert Nemeth, Academic Editor
-------------------------------------------

"Population aging has become a worldwide phenomenon. Degenerative changes in brain structure and function occur with aging, causing a cognitive decline in older adults. In addition to aging, vascular dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson's disease, Huntington and other neurodegenerative diseases, as well as some metabolic diseases such as diabetes, are accompanied by an increased risk of cognitive impairment or dementia. This poses a great challenge to public health and socio-economic development in many countries. However, due to the difficulties in developing new drugs for cognitive impairment, especially in AD, and the lack of drug-specific therapeutics available for the treatment of AD dementia stage, more and more researchers now focus on non-pharmacological intervention.

As an economical and practical non-pharmacological therapy with no toxic side effects, regular exercise was proved to be an effective means for preventing and treating cognitive impairment or dementia, which could reduce the risk of dementia in healthy people and even higher risk gene carriers. The comprehensive health benefits of exercise are systemic, multi-dimensional and multi-organ, including skeletal muscle, cardio-respiratory system, vascular system, liver, fat, and brain. Hormones, exerkines, and metabolites produced by different tissues, and organs during and after exercise are secreted into the blood circulation and then act on brain tissue, thereby playing a neuroprotective role. The discovery of novel mediators associated with exercise and their mechanism of action will be an important development direction in this field."

Title: The potential mechanisms of lactate in mediating exercise-enhanced cognitive function: a dual role as an energy supply substrate and a signaling molecule
Xiangli XueBeibei LiuJingyun HuXuepeng BianShujie Lou
Nutrition & Metabolism volume 19, Article number: 52 (2022)

---------------------------------------------  





Wednesday, February 08, 2023

If I get dementia, by Anonymous

This was recently posted on Facebook. It's always a sobering reminder. It seems every month or so I see someone who is acting a little differently.  So perhaps it's time for understanding. . .

“If I get dementia, I want my friends and family to embrace my reality. If I think my spouse is still alive, or if I think we’re visiting my parents for dinner, let me believe those things. I’ll be much happier for it.
If I get dementia, don’t argue with me about what is true for me versus what is true for you.
If I get dementia, and I am not sure who you are, do not take it personally. My timeline is confusing to me.
If I get dementia, and can no longer use utensils, do not start feeding me. Instead, switch me to a finger-food diet, and see if I can still feed myself.
If I get dementia, and I am sad or anxious, hold my hand and listen. Do not tell me that my feelings are unfounded.
If I get dementia, I don’t want to be treated like a child. Talk to me like the adult that I am.
If I get dementia, I still want to enjoy the things that I’ve always enjoyed. Help me find a way to exercise, read, and visit with friends.
If I get dementia, ask me to tell you a story from my past.
If I get dementia, and I become agitated, take the time to figure out what is bothering me.
If I get dementia, treat me the way that you would want to be treated.
If I get dementia, make sure that there are plenty of snacks for me in the house. Even now if I don’t eat I get angry, and if I have dementia, I may have trouble explaining what I need.
If I get dementia, don’t talk about me as if I’m not in the room.
If I get dementia, don’t feel guilty if you cannot care for me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s not your fault, and you’ve done your best. Find someone who can help you, or choose a great new place for me to live.
If I get dementia, and I live in a dementia care community, please visit me often.
If I get dementia, don’t act frustrated if I mix up names, events, or places. Take a deep breath. It’s not my fault.
If I get dementia, make sure I always have my favorite music playing within earshot.
If I get dementia, and I like to pick up items and carry them around, help me return those items to their original places.
If I get dementia, don’t exclude me from parties and family gatherings.
If I get dementia, know that I still like receiving hugs or handshakes.
If I get dementia, remember that I am still the person you know and love... “

Copy and paste in Honor of someone you know or knew who has dementia/alzheimer's.....

Friday, April 01, 2022

Ketogenic and low carb diets and cognition in the elderly

This article is really complicated with lots of tabs to open so you can review the results of the research, so I'm just providing the abstract and the conclusions, however, from my limited knowledge of nutrition and chemistry, I'd say it's worth a try.

To Keto or Not to Keto? A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials Assessing the Effects of Ketogenic Therapy on Alzheimer Disease


Advances in Nutrition, Volume 11, Issue 6, November 2020, Pages 1583–1602, https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmaa073
Published: 29 June 2020

ABSTRACT

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a global health concern with the majority of pharmacotherapy choices consisting of symptomatic treatment. Recently, ketogenic therapies have been tested in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), focusing on delaying disease progression and ameliorating cognitive function. The present systematic review aimed to aggregate the results of trials examining the effects of ketogenic therapy on patients with AD/mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A systematic search was conducted on PubMed, CENTRAL, clinicaltrials.gov, and gray literature for RCTs performed on adults, published in English until 1 April, 2019, assessing the effects of ketogenic therapy on MCI and/or AD compared against placebo, usual diet, or meals lacking ketogenic agents. Two researchers independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias with the Cochrane tool. A total of 10 RCTs were identified, fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Interventions were heterogeneous, acute or long term (45–180 d), including adherence to a ketogenic diet, intake of ready-to-consume drinks, medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) powder for drinks preparation, yoghurt enriched with MCTs, MCT capsules, and ketogenic formulas/meals. The use of ketoneurotherapeutics proved effective in improving general cognition using the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive, in interventions of either duration. In addition, long-term ketogenic therapy improved episodic and secondary memory. Psychological health, executive ability, and attention were not improved. Increases in blood ketone concentrations were unanimous and correlated to the neurocognitive battery based on various tests. Cerebral ketone uptake and utilization were improved, as indicated by the global brain cerebral metabolic rate for ketones and [11C] acetoacetate. Ketone concentrations and cognitive performance differed between APOE ε4(+) and APOE ε4(−) participants, indicating a delayed response among the former and an improved response among the latter. Although research on the subject is still in the early stages and highly heterogeneous in terms of study design, interventions, and outcome measures, ketogenic therapy appears promising in improving both acute and long-term cognition among patients with AD/MCI.

Conclusions

Currently, there are no approved drugs to delay or halt the progress of cognitive decline in AD (124). Although faith in the therapeutic effects of the KD was initially attributed to Hippocrates (136), research on ketoneurotherapeutics for AD appears young. The results underline that, collectively, the efficacy of ketogenic therapy in MCI/AD appears promising, indicating that it is more than a symptomatic remedy (137). Nevertheless, research is still scattered and heterogeneous in terms of study design, intervention, participants, and outcomes of interest. Predefining a set of important outcomes for relevant RCTs would add weight to the evidence and aid toward the development of recommendations advocating for the usefulness of ketogenic therapy in AD. Thus, apart from reviewing the available RCTs assessing the efficacy of ketoneurotherapeutics on AD, the present study can also serve as a primer for the design of future clinical trials, to support public health translation and promote the KD as an evidence-based AD prescription remedy.

A second review: probably a lot of duplication.

Ketogenic Diet for the Treatment and Prevention of Dementia: A Review. 
Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology 2021, Vol. 34(1) 3-10  (excerpt) 

Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat and low carbohydrate-based diet. It is thought to simulate the metabolic effects of starvation by forcing the body away from its traditional fuel source, glucose, to primarily use fats. Fats are converted by the body to various ketone bodies (eg, acetoacetate, b-hydroxybutyrate, and acetone) used by the cells for fuel. This diet was originally described in the 1920s after the observation of the beneficial effects of starvation on seizure frequency in children with epilepsy.18 The keys to a ketogenic diet are to limit total caloric intake and, more importantly, carbohydrate intake. In this diet, total daily carbohydrate intake is typically limited to 10 to 50 grams or 5% to 10% of total caloric intake.19,21,22 It is important to note that a ketogenic diet differs from other low-carbohydrate diets. The level of carbohydrates in a ketogenic diet is drastically lower than that of most traditional “low-carbohydrate” diets used for weight loss. One form of the various ketogenic diet protocols uses large amounts of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) as part of the diet to help enhance ketone production.23 Shorter than traditional triglyceride chains, MCTs are transported more directly to the liver and enter without the assistance of carnitine, a metabolic compound responsible for the transport of fatty acid chains that are broken down for energy. The MCTs are more rapidly broken down into ketones and energy. Regardless of specific carbohydrate consumption levels, the essential goal of the ketogenic diet is the production of ketone bodies. The degree of ketone body production will vary by individual and diet factors. Some people using this diet will even test themselves for ketones using either blood or urine to ensure the adequacy of their regimen.

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Exercise and cognitive benefits


FNDC5, Fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5, the precursor of irisin, is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein that is encoded by the FNDC5 gene. Irisin is a cleaved version of FNDC5, named after the Greek messenger goddess Iris.
 
Researchers found that irisin, an exercise-induced hormone, improves cognitive performance in mice.
The hormone, which is identical in people, could potentially be used to treat cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Friday, November 27, 2020

Alzheimer’s Disease Hot Spots

If you see this link as Wall Street Journal, there is a fire wall. You can read it at MSN. The WSJ article refers to several studies. One study co-author is Jeffrey Wing, assistant professor of epidemiology at OSU. Article is: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 76, no. 4, pp. 1309-1316, 2020. If you see the words "equity," or "disparity," in titles or names of organizations, the focus will be race. Always good for fund raising. Wing's focus is rural areas, specifically Appalachia. I've read it--looks solid, but author admits needs much more investigation. I've tried to look at the UsAgainstAlzheimer organization (also mentioned in WSJ article), but a big splashy ad for Giving Tuesday covers everything up, so I can't tell you much about it except its focus is blacks and latinos.

Alzheimer's Research Looks at Hot Spots Across the U.S. (msn.com)

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Eggs, meat and dementia

Will researchers ever make up their minds about meat and eggs? This study says it protects us from dementia.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190806101530.htm

“The new study now shows that the risk of dementia was 28% lower in men with the highest intake of dietary phosphatidylcholine, when compared to men with the lowest intake. Men with the highest intake of dietary phosphatidylcholine also excelled in tests measuring their memory and linguistic abilities. These findings are significant, considering that more than 50 million people worldwide are suffering from a memory disorder that has led to dementia, and the number is expected to grow as the population ages. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, for which no cure currently exists. The new findings may, therefore, play a vital role in the prevention of dementia. Successful dementia prevention is a sum of many things and in this equation, even small individual factors can have a positive effect on the overall risk, possibly by preventing or delaying the disease onset.”

Needs more study . . .

Monday, April 27, 2020

Stop the insanity

Old people like me are at risk for Covid19. But no more so than the flu, falls and pneumonia. The shut down/lock up is hurting us more. There are shelves of research showing that being social is key to being healthy in old age; that moving even 45 minutes a day can extend your life, maybe more than 3 hours at the gym. Mall walking with a friend or shopping or a stroll in the park help us more than it helps young whipper snapper reporters opining about the evils of people who want the lock down to end. We may not remember the sermon, but we need our Sunday School class or choir participation or working with the ladies in the kitchen to connect. And yes, Alzheimer's doubles every 5 years after 65, but it's those tiny little strokes, the ones you can't detect on the phone, that really slow down our brains over time.
Governor, stop the insanity. You're killing us.

Friday, November 09, 2018

Women and Brain Health

NEW YORK -- Former First Lady Laura Bush launched the Campaign for Women's Brain Health here on Tuesday evening to empower women with the tools they need to become more knowledgeable about the brain, and to better implement brain care for themselves and their families.

The project is a collaboration between UsAgainstAlzheimer's, WomenAgainstAlzheimer's, and Woman's Day magazine. The campaign's goal is to expand the fight against Alzheimer's to include all aspects of brain health, noted George Vrandenburg, of USAgainstAlzheimer's, and Jill Lesser, of WomenAgainstAlzheimer's.

"To achieve this, the partnership is engaging three key groups: families and communities; providers, payers, and health systems; and policymakers," Vrandenburg and Lesser stated.

Rest of the article   https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/alzheimersdisease/76199?

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Speaking of having a purpose

Most women I know over 60 have one purpose in life--the grandchildren and/or great grandchildren--men go another direction, either still working or they are on boards or the golf course. I don't have any of those in my life, and I'm not huge on volunteering (I have a few activities in that category). My FBF tell me posting at my blog or Facebook just won't count. But having a purpose is really good for you.

Sample of questions asked of participants in the study over 7 years.  "Effect of a Purpose in Life on Risk of Incident Alzheimer Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Persons" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2897172/ 
Statement
1I feel good when I think of what I have done in the past and what I hope to do in the future.
2I live life 1 day at a time and do not really think about the future.
3I tend to focus on the present because the future nearly always brings me problems.
4I have a sense of direction and purpose in life.
5My daily activities often seem trivial and unimportant to me.
6I used to set goals for myself, but that now seems like a waste of time.
7I enjoy making plans for the future and working them to a reality.
8I am an active person in carrying out the plans I set for myself.
9Some people wander aimlessly through life, but I am not one of them.
10I sometimes feel as if I have done all there is to do in life.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4054865/ 
"Cognitive and Social Lifestyle: Links with Neuropathology and Cognition in Late Life"  This article is more skeptical.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Lancet report on Alzheimer's stresses modifiable behavior




Read the full Lancet Dementia 2017 Commission:
The Lancet: Dementia prevention, intervention, and care

Take away:  Invite an old lady to lunch today. Improve her social contacts.

Wednesday, April 05, 2017

Life style or genetics: The super agers

 I know a few "super agers" over 90, and although I can't comment on their exercise habits, I do know they maintain an active intellectual life (including e-mail, internet, music) and have a better social life than many younger people. 

"While there’s currently no proven method to preserve cortex volume, research has shown specific lifestyle changes that seniors can perform to help keep themselves sharp as they age, Kornel and Wright said. These include:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/brain-scans-reveal-mental-secret-of-super-agers/ 

Links to recent research on lifestyle and cognitive decline:

https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/paperchase-aging/pdf/NjJf3fWGKw4e99CyC.pdf This is the 2014 article with the chart on lifestyle changes like diet, exercise, supplements.
.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4931830/  This is the follow up article on the previous one. Reports on changes and brain scans.
 
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/circj/81/2/81_CJ-16-1011/_pdf Published this year about B12 and homocysteine. 
 
http://www.buckinstitute.org/buck-news/Memory-loss-associated-with-Alzheimers-reversed The above cognitive studies explained in everyday English

Saturday, September 03, 2016

Keep your mind challenged

Just in case you think the only reason to discuss things, argue and research for a blog or Facebook is to change someone's mind,  keep in mind we’re fighting dementia! It's good for us.  Each time you shut down an idea you don't agree with or say "Oh, let's talk about something more pleasant," you might be depriving yourself of a brain boost.

College is protective by about a decade, but lifelong intellectual activities such as playing music or reading keeps the mind fit as people age and also delayed Alzheimer’s by years for those at risk of the disease who weren’t college educated or worked at challenging jobs. http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1883334 This is a free access article. 
 
Since I read it to my husband about 2 years ago, he has taken up guitar. Had zero musical training so also had to learn to read music.
 
At our cottage in Lakeside where we attend lectures and concerts daily.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Elevated tau tied to volume loss in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex

Malfunction of a key brain protein called tau is the likely culprit behind Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, a2-14 study in mice concluded. Now there is tau imaging able to distinguish patients with Alzheimer's disease from those without. Making progress. . . http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/AlzheimersDisease/59526?xid=fb_o_

From the editorial: "Now that we can measure brain Aβ in living people we have entered a phase of research in which we can test aspects of this hypothesis during life. The recent addition of tau positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has made it possible to examine the interactions between these 2 proteins, which will be crucial to understanding the etiology of AD and its eventual treatment."

http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2537339

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Reasons to love bacon





GC Science's photo.
Yesterday for lunch at the lake house with our daughter and son-in-law and niece and husband, we had  bacon-lettuce and tomato sandwiches.  Gosh, it had been ages since I'd had one. Then I also munched a little on the extra bacon.  Joan had brought along a pound of thin sliced, and I had a pound of thick, so I cooked them up ahead of time, we put out the sliced farm tomatoes, and leaf lettuce and let every one fix their own.  Fresh fruit and chips completed the banquet.

Here is a list of the Top 10 Reasons why bacon is actually healthy for you!

Pork-Powered Protein: The protein found in bacon is extremely valuable to maintaining our energy levels and a fully functioning, healthy body, with a minimum of those nasty, waist, thigh and butt expanding, fat-building carbohydrates.

Bacon’s Blood-Balancing Bounty: Several university and medical center studies have shown that including bacon as a regular, moderate part of one’s diet naturally works to lower the body’s blood pressure and blood sugar levels, helping to prevent and/or alleviate the effects of diabetes, as well as heart disease, stroke and heart attack.

Flushing Fat With Flavorful, Friendly Flesh: While people have heard horror stories for years that bacon is full of harmful fat and after all, if you are what you eat, who wants to be a PIG? But the facts are completely the opposite, as bacon helps to fully satiate our appetite with high protein / low carb energy, helping the body lose weight, raise one’s metabolism and build leaner, stronger muscles.
Bacon actually has less total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than many popular cuts of beef and chicken. While some fish has less fat and cholesterol than bacon, bacon has more protein power and does not contain toxins such as mercury.

Bacon’s Brain Building Business: Bacon is chock full of a very important nutrient called “choline,” which helps increase our intelligence and memory, from conception to Senior Status, and has been shown in University studies to help fight off the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s Disease and other chronic mental impairments.

Bacon Lets You “Pig Out” On Essential Vitamins & Minerals: Bacon provides us with substantial amounts of the important, necessary vitamins and minerals our bodies need to function healthfully. From bacon, we receive: 65% of our Recommended Daily Intake of Thiamin (Vitamin B1) as well as 47% of our Niacin (Vitamin B3), 38% of our Vitamin B12, 36% of our Zinc, 24% of our Vitamin B6, 22% of our Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), 22% of our Phosphorus, 10% of our Pantothenate, 10% of our Magnesium, 9% of our Iron and the Protein to fat balance in bacon is actually 4 to 1, which is one of the highest protein to fat balances found in any meat, fish or fowl found on Earth.

Effective Mood Elevator: Bacon makes you feel happy, satisfied, blissful, which greatly reduces stress in our lives and effectively relieves the negative effects of frustration, self-deprivation and sense of lack in one’s existence.

Nitrates and Nitrites – Now Non-Issues: The fact is, while it is true that nitrates and nitrites are unhealthy for your body, what most pro -veggie, chicken and fish nutritionists fail to tell you is that you can easily avoid nitrates and nitrites by simply (A) not burning / charring / over cooking your bacon or by (B) Baking your bacon in the oven.

Some people also choose to avoid nitrates and nitrites by (C) cooking their bacon in the microwave, however, some medical research shows a strong correlation between microwaved proteins (all meats and proteins, from beef to fish, from cheese to eggs and even milk) and cancers caused by protein mutation under the conditions of microwave bombardment, so we recommend using the oven, 400 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes per side.

P.S. if you always include some dairy and citrus in your bacon meal, the vitamins A, D and E work to effectively prevent conversion of “nitrates and nitrites into dangerously toxic “nitrosamines” in the stomach, rendering them harmless to the body.

Bacon Power Now Expands To Our Vehicles and Industry: Yes, believe it or not, a company in The United Kingdom, TMI Foods has already successfully found a way to use bacon fat and grease to manufacture a powerful, low emission, environmentally friendly, all-natural, bio-diesel fuel that can be used to effectively and inexpensively run anything from motor vehicles to turbines and from the various engines of industry to illuminating and empowering generators. That’s right … Pig Power now also means “Power To The People!”

Universally Beloved Flavor Enhancer: Because bacon tastes so amazingly awesome, we’re a LOT more willing to set many of our finicky ways aside to enthusiastically eat many of the boring, icky, lackluster, so-called, “healthy, nutritious food items” that are supposedly good for us, as long as they come wrapped in bacon or with lots of bacon bits broken up and served with or within them.

While We Heart Bacon – Bacon Heart’s Your Heart: While people over the years have mistakenly made jokes about bacon being a leading contributor to heart disease, actually there are in fact several studies that show that the Omega-3 Fatty Acids and “choline” found in bacon can actually protect the heart from developing detrimental problems, as well as actually help HEAL such anomalies, after they have occurred!
Unlike the Omega-3 Fatty Acids supplements derived from fish sources, the ones that come from bacon aren’t chock full of poisonous mercury, like most of the popular fish oil versions are. So bacon Omega-3’s can not only help prevent heart disease, as well as lower your cholesterol, reduce inflammation and improve circulation, but also help you to avoid mercury and other toxic poisons being regularly spewed into our planet’s oceans.

Thursday, March 03, 2016

Social dancing is good protection against Alzheimer's Disease


"The theory proposed by Dr. Verghese and his fellow researchers is that social dance is an activity that activates and takes advantage of our brains' neuroplasticity. That is, according to Dr. Joseph Coyle, a commentator on the study, "The cerebral cortex and hippocampus, which are critical to these activities [greater cognitive reserve and increased complexity of neuronal synapses], are remarkably plastic, and they rewire themselves based upon their use."

When the aging process causes our brain cells to begin to die off, our memory of nouns (like the names of people we know and love) often go first, because there is only one neural pathway connected to that bit of stored information. If that neural connection is lost, so is access to the piece of information it pointed to. It's like taking the same well-worn path through a forest, and one day not being able to find the entrance to that path. In patients suffering from dementia, even if they can physically see their destination, they sometimes can't figure out how to get there, because they've forgotten how to find the path they were accustomed to take.

The key to avoiding this, in the researchers' opinion, is to continually forge new neural pathways. And the way to do this is to constantly challenge the mind and force it to make split-second, rapid-fire decisions. Each of these decisions has the effect of creating greater cognitive reserve and a more complex network of neuronal synapses. In short, the more pathways your brain has to the information stored in it, the more accessible that information becomes, and the less likely you are to forget it.

But again, why dancing?
Dance, especially ballroom dance and other forms that involve cooperation between two partners – one leading and the other following, or both following not just preset steps but having the ability to improvise – causes the very rapid-fire decision-making that forges new neural pathways. The researchers emphasize that not all forms of dancing will accomplish this; for example, types of dance that rely on retracing the same memorized steps will form no new connections in the brain. Improvements to cognitive function occur when we learn something new, something we haven't done before. The dancers in the recent study who showed the most resistance to dementia practiced what is referred to as freestyle social dancing – foxtrot, waltz, swing, tango, and Latin dance.

In the 21-year study, seniors who danced regularly showed more resistance to dementia than those who only danced occasionally; just as with doing crossword puzzles, more is better. Those who "changed partners" more often benefitted more than those who stuck with the same dance partner, possibly because they had to adjust to the new partner and make more split-second decisions to adapt to their different style.
Interestingly enough, women may benefit slightly more than men from social dancing, because they follow their male partner's lead, and thus are constantly having to make rapid-fire decisions. But this piece of information can help the men, too. By becoming more attentive to your partner's style and constantly adjusting your own to insure their comfort and continuity of motion, you can become not only a better dancer, but improve your brain's cognitive abilities as well.   Juliette Siegfried

http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/16525/1/The-Best-Means-of-Avoiding-Alzheimers-Is-Dance.html

Based on New England Journal of Medicine journal, June 19, 2003 


Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Behavior can alter path to dementia

I won't go into detail--if you have a computer you can google it--but I read about 2 exciting advancements for Alzheimer's and dementia yesterday. More and more research points to your behavior assisting your own body systems to fight this scourge. Check out these proteins, BDNF and VEGF. They protect your brain, and are increased with good social support (is this a reason to party?), a lower calorie diet, regular exercise and good heart health. Make 2016 the year you're kind to your brain.

Check the link (partial article)

One of the gifts in this research is donation of brains of nuns and priests. The Religious Orders Study enrolls Catholic nuns, priests and brothers, from more than 40 groups across the United States. Participants are without known dementia and agree to annual clinical evaluation and brain donation (some in the Chicago area also agree to donate, spinal cord, nerve, and muscle). Now that's a way to have both eternal life, and to continue to serve in the temporal life.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Turmeric, pt. 2

“Turmeric is the spice commonly found in curry — and, according to new research published in Stem Cell Research and Therapy, it may boost your brain proliferation or its power to repair itself.”

I looked through my blogs to see what I’ve written about turmeric—not much, and usually I wrote that I don’t use it.  But since writing about it last week after watching a review of Brain Fog, I’ve been trying it in apple cider.  That sort of covers up the taste and color.  A few sprinkles on food or salad dressing probably isn’t enough, so I’m trying about 1/2 teaspoon in cider until I get used to it.  So far, no stomach upset, and it’s not awful.

“Outside of this study [on neurodegenerative diseases], turmeric is considered the “spice for life.” Another one of its active ingredients is curcumin, and curcumin is considered an anti-inflammatory. This ingredient has also been associated with the ability to prevent diabetes, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s. But as is the case with the rat research, the potential of turmeric acting as modern medicine is uncertain, though adding turmeric powder to food or tea is believed to supplement a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle. Doing so sets you ahead of the game if turmeric is found to be capable of repairing the human brain.”

http://www.medicaldaily.com/turmeric-helps-your-brain-heal-itself-spice-your-brain-power-curry-305242

Source: Hucklenbroich J, Klein R, Neumaier B, Graf R, Fink G, et al. Aromatic-turmerone induces neural stem cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Stem Cell Research & Therapy. 2014.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Walking vs. stationary bike

"Exercise expert Dr. Kenneth Cooper ranks walking and stationary bicycling as two of the six best exercises. He writes that walking is particularly good for previously sedentary people and older people. He recommends stationary bicycling because it simultaneously strengthens bicyclists’ arms and legs and causes far fewer injuries than jogging and outdoors bicycling. The Merck Manual Home Health Handbook’s “Choosing the Right Exercise” report lists 10 exercises, including stat...ionary bicycling and walking. Walking is praised for being “relatively easy” on joints throughout the body and being better than stationary bicycling for people with knee problems. Stationary bicycling improves strength more than walking and lets people change the intensity of their workouts by changing the bicycle’s resistance." Walking is almost out of the question for me except for brief errands. That's why I just love my stationary bike, a power spin 210. http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/stationary-bicycle-vs-walking-exercise-9889.html

". . .the latest research reveals that the magic number for maintaining cognitive fitness with age and preventing Alzheimer’s is to work up to a level of 150 minutes per week of a combination of cardio exercise and strength training. Great ways to get in your aerobic exercise include brisk walking, jogging, dancing, swimming, and playing tennis, or going to the gym and utilizing an elliptical, treadmill or stationary bike." http://www.alzheimersprevention.org/.../exercise-and...

coming down

Walking in Spain with a cane and strong friend.

Turmeric and Alzheimer’s research

http://alzheimer.neurology.ucla.edu/Curcumin.html

I was watching someone plug his book “Brain Fog” today and in addition to the usual walk a mile a day, drink coffee and wine and eat blueberries, he mentioned turmeric and black pepper.  So I looked that up.  Seems to be a lot of pre-prepared items you can buy.

Curcumin (Turmeric), an ancient Indian herb used in curry powder, has been extensively studied in modern medicine and Indian systems of medicine for the treatment of various medical conditions, including cystic fibrosis, haemorrhoids, gastric ulcer, colon cancer, breast cancer, atherosclerosis, liver diseases and arthritis. It has been used in various types of treatments for dementia and traumatic brain injury. Curcumin also has a potential role in the prevention and treatment of AD. Curcumin as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and lipophilic action improves the cognitive functions in patients with AD. A growing body of evidence indicates that oxidative stress, free radicals, beta amyloid, cerebral deregulation caused by bio-metal toxicity and abnormal inflammatory reactions contribute to the key event in Alzheimer's disease pathology. Due to various effects of curcumin, such as decreased Beta-amyloid plaques, delayed degradation of neurons, metal-chelation, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and decreased microglia formation, the overall memory in patients with AD has improved. . .

Worldwide, there are over 1000 published animal and human studies, both in vivo and in vitro in which the effects of curcumin on various diseases have been examined. Studies include epidemiological, basic and clinical research on AD. . . .

Epidemiological studies have shown that prevalence of AD is 4.4 lower amongst Indian Asians as compared to people of western origin. Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2008 Jan-Mar; 11(1): 13–19.

Saturday, August 08, 2015

Alzheimer’s disease

Dementia awareness 2015's photo.

This could be turned around a bit.

1. Agree instead of argue

2. Divert instead of reason

3. Distract instead of shame

4. Reassure instead of lecture

5. Reminisce instead of saying remember

6. Repeat/regroup instead of saying “I told you”

7. Do what they can instead of saying “you can’t

8. Ask/model instead of command/demand

9. Encourage instead of condescend

10. Reinforce instead of force.