Dr. John's Health Matters
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The articles posted here are from various sources who are duly acknowledged. I would appreciate being immediately notified, if any copywritten material needs to be removed. This blog is not intended to replace the qualified advice of a licensed health practitioner. Readers should exercise their own judgment. Enjoy, subscribe, participate and tell others :)
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Posts tagged "cognitive"
Wednesday, Sep 2nd, 2009 ↓High-Carb, High-Fat Diets Better for Cognitive Performance →
September 1, 2009 (Medscape.com) — Diets high in carbohydrates or fat can lead to significantly better cognitive-performance and inflight-testing scores in pilots than diets high in protein, according to results reported in a poster presentation at the Military Health Research Forum (MHRF) 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri.
In addition, a high-carbohydrate diet helped study pilots sleep better, and a high-fat diet appeared to lead to significantly faster short-term memory.
“We started out thinking that the high-protein diet would lead to being the sharpest afterward,” said colead investigator Glenda Lindseth, RN, PhD, licensed registered dietician and professor of nursing at the University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks. “But we were surprised by our findings that it was actually the high-carb or high-fat diets that were the best. Eating a diet that’s high in protein just isn’t going to help you perform optimally.”
“As a retired air-force pilot and a pilot for over 30 years, I believe this type of study is definitely needed,” said the other colead author, Paul Lindseth, PhD, professor of aviation and associate dean at the UND Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences. “This is important for pilots in the military and in combat situations, where they need to be sharp and alert.”
For full medical article, see link above.
Tags: high carb carbohydrate fat protein macronutrient diet nutrition cognitive performance testing score sleep short term memory performance alertness
High Blood Pressure Linked To Memory Problems In Middle Age →
Aug 26, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—High blood pressure is linked to memory problems in people over 45, according to research published in the August 25, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The study found that people with high diastolic blood pressure, which is the bottom number of a blood pressure reading, were more likely to have cognitive impairment, or problems with their memory and thinking skills, than people with normal diastolic readings.
For every 10 point increase in the reading, the odds of a person having cognitive problems was seven percent higher. The results were valid after adjusting for other factors that could affect cognitive abilities, such as age, smoking status, exercise level, education, diabetes or high cholesterol.
The study involved nearly 20,000 people age 45 and older across the country who participated in the Reasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study and had never had a stroke or mini-stroke. A total of 1,505 of the participants, or 7.6 percent, had cognitive problems, and 9,844, or 49.6 percent, were taking medication for high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is defined as a reading equal to or higher than 140/90 or taking medication for high blood pressure.
“It’s possible that by preventing or treating high blood pressure, we could potentially prevent cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia,” said study author Georgios Tsivgoulis, MD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
Research has shown that high diastolic blood pressure leads to weakening of small arteries in the brain, which can result in the development of small areas of brain damage.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: memory high blood pressure cognitive impairment artery brain dementia damage stroke
More Obesity Blues: Obese People Are At Greater Risk For Developing Alzheimer's, Study Finds →
Aug 25, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Obesity is on a rampage, with the World Health Organization pegging the numbers at more than 300 million worldwide, with a billion more overweight. With obesity comes the increased risk for cardiovascular disease, Type II diabetes, and hypertension.
Now comes more discouraging news. In the current online edition of the journal Human Brain Mapping, Paul Thompson, senior author and a UCLA professor of neurology, and lead author Cyrus A. Raji, a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and colleagues compared the brains of people who were obese, overweight, and of normal weight, to see if they had differences in brain structure; that is, did their brains look equally healthy.
They found that obese people had 8 percent less brain tissue than people with normal weight, while overweight people had 4 percent less tissue. According to Thompson, who is also a member of UCLA’s Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, this is the first time anyone has established a link between being overweight and having what he describes as “severe brain degeneration.”
“That’s a big loss of tissue and it depletes your cognitive reserves, putting you at much greater risk of Alzheimer’s and other diseases that attack the brain,” said Thompson. “But you can greatly reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s, if you can eat healthily and keep your weight under control.”
Tags: risk danger diabetes hypertension cardiovascular brain obesity structure tissue overweight degeneration cognitive reserve alzheimer's
Sleep Training Eases Insomnia Tied to Arthritis →
Aug 21, 2009 (Therapytimes.com)—Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia helps improve pain and sleep in older people with osteoarthritis and insomnia, researchers say.
Their study included 23 patients (mean age 69) who received CBT-I and 28 patients (mean age 66.5) who were assigned to a control group that received information on stress management and wellness. The CBT-I program consisted of eight weekly two-hour classes in which they received sleep-training tips and exercises.
Patients in the CBT-I group reported significantly decreased time to fall asleep (an average decrease of 16.9 minutes at the beginning of the study and 11 minutes at one year after treatment). The cognitive behavioral therapy group also had a decrease in wake after sleep-onset times (an average of 37 minutes initially and 19.9 minutes one year later) and pain (improvement of 9.7 points initially and 4.7 points one year later). Increased sleep efficiency was also noted in the CBT-I group (improvement of 13 percent initially and 8 percent one year after treatment), the researchers found.
No significant improvements in any measure were reported in the control group.
The findings suggest that insomnia is not just a symptom of osteoarthritis but is actually a co-existing illness, lead study author Michael V. Vitiello, a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, said in a news release. About 60 percent of people with osteoarthritis report pain during the night, and better sleep quality can reduce their suffering, he added.
“The particular strength of CBT-I is that once an individual learns how to improve their sleep, study after study has shown that the improvement persists for a year or more,” Vitiello said in the news release.
Tags: sleep training insomnia arthritis osteoarthritis stress management behavioural therapy cognitive treatment
Mediterranean diet lowers Alzheimer's risk →
Aug 12, 2009 (Presstv.com)—Individuals who follow the Mediterranean diet and are physically active are reported to be at a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Unlike the typical American diet, the Mediterranean diet is very low in red meat and poultry but rich in fish, fruits, nuts, legumes, vegetables, and cereals.
In addition to cardiovascular and cancer benefits, a new study finds that the Mediterranean diet can protect individuals against cognitive decline.
According to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, seniors whose eating habits resemble the Mediterranean diet are 40 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Engaging in regular physical activity, similarly, may tackle cognitive decline by 33 percent.
For full article see link above.
Tags: diet nutrition prevention alzheimer's disease fish fruit nut legume vegetable cereal cardiovascular cancer cognitive decline exercise physical activity dementia
Formal Education Lessens Impact Of Alzheimer’s Disease -- Even If Brain Volume Is Already Reduced →
Aug 12, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Researchers at the Department of Psychiatry, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, investigated the effects of formal education on the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. They were able to show that education diminishes the impact of Alzheimer’s disease on cognition even if a manifest brain volume loss has already occurred.
The results are published in the current issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Dr. Robert Perneczky, Department of Psychiatry at Klinikum rechts der Isar explains: “We know that there is not always a close association between brain damage due to Alzheimer’s disease and the resulting symptoms of dementia. In fact, there are individuals with severe brain pathology with almost no signs of dementia, whereas others with only minor brain lesions exhibit a considerable degree of clinical symptoms.”
These phenomena are often ascribed to the theoretical concept of cognitive reserve. A high level of cognitive reserve results in a strong individual resilience against symptoms of brain damage; cognitive reserve can therefore be seen as protective against brain damage.
For full article see link above.
Tags: alzheimer's disease brain loss memory education risk damage dementia cognitive reserve schooling
Texting 'changes behaviour' of youth →
Aug 11, 2009 (Cbc.ca)—Young people who regularly send text messages seem to perform certain brain tasks more quickly but with less accuracy, say Australian experts.
In one of the first studies of its kind, epidemiology professor Michael Abramson of Monash University and his colleagues analyzed the cognitive capacities and mobile phone use of 317 children aged between 11 and 14 around Melbourne. The team considered cellphone use in terms of making calls as well as sending text messages, known as SMS or short message service.
The findings were reported online ahead of print publication in the journal Bioelectromagnetics.
“We suspect that using mobile phones a lot, particularly things like predictive texts for SMS, is training kids to be fast but inaccurate,” said Abramson. (When someone enters the first few letters of a word, predictive texting software offers to fill in the rest.)
For full article see link above.
Tags: cellphone texting teenager teen youth brain accuracy cognitive capacities SMS speed typing
Vitamin D Key to Healthy Brain →
Aug 10, 2009 (Naturalnews.com)—Sufficient vitamin D intake may play a critical role in maintaining brain function later in life, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Manchester and published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
“This is further evidence from observational studies that vitamin D is likely to be beneficial to reduce many age-related diseases,” said Tim Spector of King’s College London, who was not involved in the study. “Taken together with similar data that shows its importance in reducing arthritis, osteoporotic fractures, as well as heart disease and some cancers, this underscores the importance of vitamin D for humans and why evolution gave us a liking for the sun.”
Researchers measured blood levels of vitamin D in more than 3,000 European men between the ages of 40 and 79 then had the men undergo various tests of mental function, including memory and information processing. They found that the men with the highest blood levels did best on the test, while those with the lowest levels performed worst.
Another study earlier this year also found that higher levels of vitamin D appeared to protect against age-related cognitive decline.
For full article see link above.
Tags: vitamin d antioxidant supplement brain cognitive disease prevention heart cancer cardiovascular function
Is There Long-term Brain Damage After Bypass Surgery? More Evidence Puts The Blame On Heart Disease →
Aug 6, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Brain scientists and cardiac surgeons at Johns Hopkins have evidence from 227 heart bypass surgery patients that long-term memory losses and cognitive problems they experience are due to the underlying coronary artery disease itself and not ill after-effects from having used a heart-lung machine.
Researchers say their latest findings explain study results presented last year, which showed that the heart-lung machines – used to pump blood and supply the body with oxygen while the heart is stopped during surgery – did not cause postoperative long-term brain deficits.
“Our results hammer home the message that heart-lung machines are not to be blamed for cognitive declines observed years later in people who have had bypass surgery,” says lead study investigator Ola A. Selnes, Ph.D., a professor in the Division of Cognitive Neuroscience in the neurology department at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The new results stand in contrast to the impact of heart-lung machines on so-called “pumphead” syndrome, the temporary memory loss, vision and slurred speech observed right after surgery in many heart bypass patients.
For full article see link above.
Tags: heart disease cardiovascular coronary artery heart-lung machine blood oxygen brain cognitive decline bypass surgery memory vision speech
Tags: stevia supplement cognitive brain function learning memory alertness psychosocial pressure steviol nmda receptor synaptic transmission chemical signalling
Under A Cloud: Darkness Linked To 'Brain Drain' In Depressed People →
July 29, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—A lack of sunlight is associated with reduced cognitive function among depressed people. Researchers writing in BioMed Central’s open access journal Environmental Health used weather data from NASA satellites to measure sunlight exposure across the United States and linked this information to the prevalence of cognitive impairment in depressed people.
Shia Kent, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, led a team of US researchers who used cross-sectional data from 14,474 people in the NIH-NINDS-funded REGARDS study, a longitudinal study investigating stroke incidence and risk factors, to study associations between depression, cognitive function and sunlight.
He said: “We found that among participants with depression, low exposure to sunlight was associated with a significantly higher predicted probability of cognitive impairment. This relationship remained significant after adjustment for season. This new finding that weather may not only affect mood, but also cognition, has significant implications for the treatment of depression, particularly seasonal affective disorder.”
For full article see link above.
Anemia Increases Risk Of Death In The Very Elderly →
July 27, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Anemia in very elderly people aged 85 and older appears to be associated with an increased risk of death, according to a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
The study was part of the Leiden 85-plus study that looked at 562 people aged 85 years in the Netherlands and followed them until age 90. Twenty-seven per cent of participants had anemia at the start of the study (prevalent anemia) and, in the follow up period, incident anemia developed in 24% of the people without anemia at the start of the study.
Anemia in elderly people is generally associated with increased death as well as decreased mobility, cognitive impairment, depression, falls and fractures, hospital admission and diminished quality of life. It can significantly affect health care needs and costs in ageing Western societies.
In the study group, the risk of death was similar among men and women, and among people in long-term care facilities and in the community.
“We found a strong, independent association between prevalent anemia in participants at age 85 years and risk of death,” write Ms. Wendy den Elzen of the Leiden University Medical Center and coauthors, confirming results of previous studies of people in the Netherlands and North America. “We found that incident anemia in participants beyond the age of 85 years had an even stronger impact on mortality than prevalent anemia at age 85.”
For full article see link above.
Tags: iron anemia elderly mobility cognitive impairment depression fall fracture death risk
Improving Impaired Attention May Help Patients Recover From Stroke →
July 25, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—It may be possible to improve impaired attention after stroke — which could aid recovery — according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Impaired attention is the most prominent stroke-related neuropsychological change and is reported in at least 46 percent and as many as 92 percent of stroke survivors, said Suzanne L. Barker-Collo, Ph.D., a senior lecturer and neuropsychologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
Impaired attention can reduce cognitive productivity and the ability to focus on tasks. It’s key to re-learning motor skills.
For full article see link above.
Tags: hiv drink alcohol therapy cognitive motor function antiretroviral brain alcoholism chronic impairment memory visuospatial processing movement
Drug-Induced Dementia Common in Seniors →
July 23, 2009 (Naturalnews.com)—Many cases of senior dementia are actually caused by drug side effects and could be reversed with a change in prescription, reports the consumer advocacy nonprofit Public Citizen on its Web site WorstPills.org.
“Sadly, doctors don’t always recognize cognitive impairment as a side effect, so many patients needlessly suffer from this debilitating but reversible condition,” said Sidney Wolfe, the organization’s acting president. “After beginning new drugs, doctors, patients and their families should watch for subtle changes in cognition and assume changes may be caused by drug therapy. People already suffering from some cognitive impairment are most susceptible.”
While most people are more familiar with irreversible forms of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease, Public Citizen has catalogued 136 commonly prescribed drugs that can produce symptoms of dementia or delirium. The assessments are based on reviews of published data from prestigious medical journals and unpublished data from the FDA.
For full article see link above.
