Cognitive Function

Multipronged Lifestyle Change Reduces Cognitive Impairment

Medscape Medical News > Conference News Susan Jeffrey July 16, 2014 COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Results of a randomized trial suggest lifestyle intervention that addresses a variety of risk factors simultaneously can have cognitive benefits for people at risk for cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The 2-year trial, called the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to […]

Obesity and Brain Abnormalities an Editorial

The Study: Obesity is associated with structural and functional brain abnormalities: where do we go from here? The Facts: a. Obesity is the number one cause of preventable death. b. 35.9% of American adults are obese. c. It is associated with many complications including “impairments of brain structure and function.” d. However the mechanisms by […]

Better Heart Health Tied to Better Cognition

Published: Jun 11, 2014 Download Complimentary Source PDF By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Story Source Action Points Compared with low cardiovascular health, intermediate and high levels of health were both associated with substantially lower incidence of cognitive impairment, researchers found. Note that the lack of a dose-response relationship suggests that it is […]

Statin Use Linked to Memory Decline in Elderly

Frontline Medical News, 2014 Jul 10, MA Otto Story Source CHICAGO (FRONTLINE MEDICAL NEWS) – More liberal lipid targets in elderly patients and lower statin doses might offset the risk of memory decline associated with statin use in these patients, Australian investigators suggested. Dr. Katherine Samaras and her associates did neuropsychometric testing on 377 subjects […]

Green Tea’s Impact on Cognitive Function Now Visible

Medscape Medical News > Psychiatry Megan Brooks April 16, 2014 Green tea appears to boost memory by enhancing functional brain connectivity, a new imaging study suggests. A study led by Stefan Borgwardt, MD, PhD, from the Department of Psychiatry, University of Basel, Switzerland, shows that drinking a green tea extract enhances memory performance, a finding […]

Green Tea’s Impact on Cognitive Function Now Visible

Megan Brooks April 16, 2014 Green tea appears to boost memory by enhancing functional brain connectivity, a new imaging study suggests. A study led by Stefan Borgwardt, MD, PhD, from the Department of Psychiatry, University of Basel, Switzerland, shows that drinking a green tea extract enhances memory performance, a finding that researchers suggest may have important clinical […]

Recognizing Subtle Signs of Early Stage Neurodegeneration

Holistic Primary Care Thursday, 27 February 2014 10:51 By Janet Gulland, Contributing Writer Full Story DALLAS–A sharp eye and a few simple physical tests can reveal a wealth of information about early-stage neurodegeneration, opening up a window for lifestyle-based interventions, said Datis Kharrazian, DC, at the Institute for Functional Medicine’s annual international conference. At their […]

Role of walnuts in maintaining brain health with age

The Journal of Nutrition, 02/21/2014  Review Article  Journal Abstract PubMed Reference Poulose SM, et al. – Because of the combination of population growth and population aging, increases in the incidence of chronic neurodegenerative disorders have become a societal concern, both in terms of decreased quality of life and increased financial burden. Clinical manifestation of many of these […]

Green Tea, Blueberry Supplement May Improve Cognition

Megan Brooks February 13, 2014 A commercially available nutraceutical supplement composed of, among other ingredients, green tea and blueberries led to modest improvements in cognitive processing speed in older, cognitively healthy adults, according to results of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. This finding is “noteworthy” given that processing speed is “most often affected early on in […]

Dementia: Is Gluten the Culprit?

Bret S. Stetka, MD, David Perlmutter, MD January 21, 2014 Full Story (may require free registration) In his new book Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar — Your Brain’s Silent Killers, Dr. David Perlmutter, Associate Professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine, advocates that lifestyle modifications, starting with a high-fat, nearly […]

Dementia: Is Gluten the Culprit?

Medscape Neurology Bret S. Stetka, MD, David Perlmutter, MD January 21, 2014 Full Story Editor’s Note : In his new book Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar — Your Brain’s Silent Killers, Dr. David Perlmutter, Associate Professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine, advocates that lifestyle modifications, starting with a high-fat, nearly […]

Skipping Meals May Shed Lbs., Boost Brain

Published: Nov 18, 2013 | Updated: Nov 18, 2013 By Kristina Fiore, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Full Story:  http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ObesityWeek/42966 Action Points Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. This pilot study found […]

What Grain Is Doing To Your Brain

Full Story:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2013/11/14/what-grain-is-doing-to-your-brain/ It’s tempting to call David Perlmutter’s dietary advice radical. The neurologist and president of the Perlmutter Health Center in Naples, Fla., believes all carbs, including highly touted whole grains, are devastating to our brains. He claims we must make major changes in our eating habits as a society to ward off terrifying increases in Alzheimer’s disease […]

Effect of Commonly Used Drugs and Supplements on Cognition in Older Adults

Alzheimers Dement 2013 Nov 01;9(6)724-732, KR Obermann, JC Morris, CM Roe Research · December 19, 2013 Practice Update Website Story:  http://www.practiceupdate.com/journalscan/7193 Journal Abstract:  http://www.alzheimersanddementia.com/article/S1552-5260(12)02574-5/abstract TAKE-HOME MESSAGE Results of this exploratory analysis of 100 drugs showed that common medications used by older adults, 10% in this study, are associated with increases or decreases in cognitive performance. […]

DO OUR BONES INFLUENCE OUR MINDS?

NOVEMBER 4, 2013 POSTED BY AMANDA SCHAFFER Full Story:  http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/11/do-our-bones-influence-our-minds.html In the mid-nineteen-nineties, a young French geneticist and physician named Gerard Karsenty became curious about a mysterious protein, called osteocalcin, that is found at high concentrations in the skeleton. He worked with mice that had been engineered to lack the substance, expecting to find problems […]

Post-Menopause Brain Drain Tied to Progesterone

Published: Nov 26, 2013 By Kristina Fiore, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Full Story Action Points Estrogen levels after menopause may have no impact on cognitive function, but progesterone levels might. Point out that progesterone did appear to be related to verbal memory and global cognition among women who were newly postmenopausal. Estrogen levels after menopause […]

Chocolate and the brain

Neurobiological impact of cocoa flavanols on cognition and behavior Sokolov AN Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2013 Jun 26. pii: S0149-7634(13)00168-1 Abstract Cocoa products and chocolate have recently been recognized as a rich source of flavonoids, mainly flavanols, potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents with established benefits for cardiovascular health but largely unproven effects on neurocognition and behavior. […]

Blood Sugar Tied to Cognitive Function

This cross-sectional study of non-diabetic German adults revealed modest but significant associations between hemoglobin A1C levels and cognitive parameters.

COPD Linked to Cognitive Impairment and Memory Loss

Laurie Barclay, MD December 12, 2013 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was associated with increased odds of having mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and memory loss in a cross-sectional, population-based study. The study, published in the November issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, also showed a dose–response relationship with COPD duration and increasing risk for cognitive […]

Effects of Daily Iron Supplementation in Primary-School-Aged Children

Iron supplementation improved global cognitive scores, intelligence quotient among anemic children, and measures of attention and concentration, as well as age-adjusted height among all children and age-adjusted weight among anemic children.