The Social Secret To Delaying Dementia By 5 Years (M)
This activity isn’t just fun — it’s a scientifically proven brain booster.
Category: Dementia
This Personality Trait Could Triple Your Dementia Risk
The trait has already been linked with worse physical health, but what is it doing to the brain?
The trait has already been linked with worse physical health, but what is it doing to the brain?
People with high levels of cynicism are more likely to develop dementia.
It’s already been found that those who believe others are mainly motivated by selfish concerns — the definition of cynical distrust — have worse physical health; for example, cynicism has been linked to heart disease.
Now you can add dementia to the list.
In the study, conducted in Finland, 1,449 people were given tests of their cynicism that included questions like:
- “I think most people would lie to get ahead.”
- “It is safer to trust nobody.”
- “Most people will use somewhat unfair reasons to gain profit or an advantage rather than lose it.”
The more people endorsed these statements, the stronger their cynical distrust was deemed to be.
They were also given tests of dementia and other factors that might affect their risk of developing dementia later on, like smoking and high cholesterol levels.
Eight years later, people were tested again to see if they had developed any symptoms of dementia.
Forty-six people had, and in that group, people who were high on cynical distrust were three times more likely to develop dementia than those low on that measure.
One of the study’s authors, Dr Anna-Maija Tolppanen, said:
“These results add to the evidence that people’s view on life and personality may have an impact on their health.
Understanding how a personality trait like cynicism affects risk for dementia might provide us with important insights on how to reduce risks for dementia.”
The study was published in the journal Neurology (Neuvonen et al., 2014).
The Popular Drink Linked To Cognitive Decline — Yet Again
While the drink used to be thought safe for brain health, the latest research finds otherwise.
While the drink used to be thought safe for brain health, the latest research finds otherwise.
Drinking as little as three glasses of wine or three cans of beer per week is linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, research finds.
People who drank more than this amount of any alcohol, the study found, had elevated levels of iron in their brains.
Iron accumulation has been found in both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease and may help to explain cognitive decline.
The research included over 20,000 people included in the UK Biobank study.
All had reported their alcohol consumption and had their brains scanned, while 7,000 had had MRIs of their livers to assess iron levels.
Average alcohol intake was around 18 UK units, which is equivalent to over 7 cans of beer or 6 large glasses of wine.
The results showed that anything above 7 units per week was linked to high levels of iron in the basal ganglia, a group of neurons involved in a whide range of cognitive functions, such as learning, movement and the emotions.
Dr Anya Topiwala, the study’s first author, said:
“In the largest study to date, we found drinking greater than 7 units of alcohol weekly associated with iron accumulation in the brain.
Higher brain iron in turn linked to poorer cognitive performance.
Iron accumulation could underlie alcohol-related cognitive decline.”
In the US, 7 units is about 4 standard drinks, which are 12 oz of beer, 5 oz of wine or 1.5 oz of a distilled spirit.
Reassessing alcohol’s effect on the brain
While moderate drinking used to be thought safe for brain health, the latest research finds otherwise.
Lower and lower amounts of alcohol have been linked to cognitive decline and neurodegeneration.
For example, as little as one alcoholic drink per day has been linked to brain shrinkage.
People who have as little as a glass of wine or pint of beer each day show greater signs of brain shrinkage with age.
Averaging four drinks a day was linked by this study to the equivalent of 10 years of brain aging.
The more people drink, therefore, the stronger the association gets between alcohol and brain shrinkage.
And alcohol continues to cause brain damage even six weeks after giving it up.
The study was published in the journal PLOS Medicine (Topiwala et al., 2022).
2 Natural Supplements Together Halve Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment Becoming Alzheimer’s
Scientists studied 250 people with mild cognitive impairment: a condition that can progress to dementia.
Scientists studied 250 people with mild cognitive impairment: a condition that can progress to dementia.
B vitamins combined with omega-3 can help slow mental decline in older people with memory problems.
Dr Celeste de Jager, one of the study’s authors, said:
“We previously found that B vitamins are able to slow or prevent the atrophy of the brain and memory decline in people with MCI.
This was most effective in those who had above average blood levels of homocysteine, a factor related to B vitamin status that may be toxic to the brain.
Scientists in our team initially found that there was a link between Omega-3 levels, homocysteine, and brain atrophy rates.
We wanted to find out whether Omega-3 and B vitamins might interact to prevent cognitive decline.”
The scientists studied 250 people with mild cognitive impairment.
This condition can progress to dementia.
The study’s first author, Dr Abderrahim Oulhaj explained the results:
“We found that for people with low levels of Omega-3, the vitamin supplements had little to no effect.
But for those with high baseline Omega-3 levels, the B vitamins were very effective in preventing cognitive decline compared to the placebo.
This result complements our previous finding that B vitamins slow the rate of brain atrophy in MCI only in those with a good Omega-3 level to start with.”
Dr Doug Brown, Director of Research and Development at Alzheimer’s Society said:
“These results help us to tease apart who could benefit from taking B vitamins, suggesting that they might only improve cognition in people who have high levels of Omega-3 oils in their blood.
Encouragingly, these findings suggest that for some older people a combination of fish oil supplements and B vitamins may help to improve thinking and memory.
As this study shows, the relationship between nutrition and brain health is complex and we need to see increased research efforts to help us understand the role that diet and nutrition can play in reducing a person’s risk of dementia.”
Related
The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (Oulhaj et al., 2016).
These Common Foods Could Be Aging Your Brain Faster (M)
This common food has been linked to years of cognitive aging. Are you consuming too much?
12 Brain-Boosting Strategies That Protect Against Mild Cognitive Impairment (P)
From puzzles to probiotics, discover the everyday activities that protect your brain.
These Common Drugs Increase Alzheimer’s Risk
Nearly a hundred commonly used drugs linked to increased dementia risk.
Nearly a hundred commonly used drugs linked to increased dementia risk.
A class of drug used for many conditions, from depression to high blood pressure, are linked to an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Anticholinergic drugs are used for conditions including bladder control, colds and hay fever. Many of the drugs can be bought over-the-counter, without prescription. People who took at least one anticholinergic drug were 47 percent more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the researchers found. MCI is a common precursor to Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. Four commonly used drugs which have strong anticholinergic effects are:- Doxepin (Sinequan) – an older antidepressant.
- Chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton) – an antihistamine used to treat hayfever.
- Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) – another antihistamine often used to treat hay fever and sometimes used to aid sleep.
- Oxybutynin (Ditropan) – for bladder control.
“This study suggests that reducing anticholinergic drug use before cognitive problems appear may be important for preventing future negative effects on memory and thinking skills, especially for people at greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease.”The study included 688 older people, none with memory problems at the outset, who were tracked for up to 10 years. One-third were taking at least one kind of anticholinergic drug, with the average being almost five drugs per person. Among people at high genetic risk of Alzheimer’s, those who also took anticholinergic drugs were at four times the risk of developing MCI than those not taking the drugs. Ms Alexandra Weigand, the study’s first author, said:
“We believe this interaction between anticholinergic drugs and Alzheimer’s risk biomarkers acts in a ‘double hit’ manner. In the first hit, Alzheimer’s biomarkers indicate that pathology has started to accumulate in and degenerate a small region called the basal forebrain that produces the chemical acetylcholine, which promotes thinking and memory. In the second hit, anticholinergic drugs further deplete the brain’s store of acetylcholine. This combined effect most significantly impacts a person’s thinking and memory.”Over half the people in the study were taking double the minimum effective dose of anticholinergic drugs, the researchers found. Almost one-in-five were taking four times the minimum dose. Ms Weigand said
“This points to a potential area for improvement since reducing anticholinergic drug dosages may possibly delay cognitive decline. It’s important for older adults who take anticholinergic medications to regularly consult with their doctors and discuss medication use and dosages.”The study was published in the journal Neurology (Weigand et al., 2020).
The Sedentary Hobbies That Increase Dementia Risk — Swap To Brain Boosting Alternatives (M)
Even swapping an activity for just 5 minutes could make a difference.
The Common Drink Linked To Alzheimer’s Disease
The drink made genetic changes to microglial cells, degrading their functioning.
The drink made genetic changes to microglial cells, degrading their functioning.
Alcohol may slow down the brain’s ability to clear waste, possibly leading to Alzheimer’s.
The study on rat cells found that alcohol made genetic changes to microglial cells, degrading their functioning.
The amount of alcohol used was equivalent to a session of binge drinking in humans.
The microglia are cells in the brain that help regulate normal functioning.
When these cells stop working properly, the brain begins to degrade.
The link between alcohol and Alzheimer’s disease has been controversial.
Some studies have suggested low alcohol intake may have a protective effect.
However, recently researchers have identified a link between alcohol and brain inflammation.
Research has revealed that alcohol might hinder phagocytosis: the process by which proteins linked to Alzheimer’s are cleared from the brain.
Professor Douglas Feinstein, who led the study, said:
“Among the genes we saw altered were many involved in phagocytosis, which is the first time this has been shown.
While these studies were performed in isolated cells, our results suggest that alcohol impedes the ability of microglia to keep the brain clear of amyloid beta and may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.”
The results showed that phagocytosis was suppressed by around 15 percent one hour after alcohol exposure.
Professor Feinstein said:
“We didn’t continue the study to see whether phagocytosis was further impaired after longer exposures to alcohol, but it appears that these changes in microglial cells could be a contributing factor to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.”
Another study has found that low doses of alcohol may help clear the brain of waste.
The previous study gave varying amounts of alcohol to mice and looked at the effect on their brains.
However, those given high levels of alcohol over a long period showed increasing levels of damaging inflammation.
The study was published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation (Kalinin et al., 2018).
Only One Type Of Fat Predicts Alzheimer’s Two Decades Before Any Symptoms (M)
A type of body fat has been linked to the build-up of abnormal proteins in the brain leading to Alzheimer’s disease.
