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submitted by: admin on 09/19/2013
Many of our seniors having surgery suffer cognitive loss and the question that often comes up is does the anesthesia or surgery itself cause the problem. An article published in the September issue of Annals of Surgery compared the effect of anesthesia alone vs anesthesia plus surgery and showed that in fact the surgery itself is the most potent in...
submitted by: admin on 06/26/2016
A study out of Singapore, published in Annals of Oncology in March of 2012, showed that breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy had symptoms of chemobrain manifested by memory loss, difficulty in decision making and speech problems. Patients were generally not aware they had symptoms because they attributed them to fatigue, anxiety, and mood...
submitted by: admin on 09/19/2013
Medications with anticholinergic activity, which include many drugs taken by older adults, cause cognitive impairment. Over the counter sleeping aids such as Excedrin PM, Nytol, Sominex, Tylenol PM, and Unisom are especially problematic. Other drugs include Paxil, Detol, Demerol, and Elavil. Anticholinergics work by blocking the brain's neurotransmitter,...
submitted by: admin on 09/20/2013
Dr. Len and Nurse Vicki review the long list of drugs that have the potential to create cognitive decline in the elderly. The value and importance of lifestyle is highlighted and the lack of effectiveness of drugs to treat cognitive decline is revealed.
submitted by: admin on 09/20/2013
A report from the Montreal Geriatric University Institute in November of 2012 reviewed 68 trials on benzodiazepines, 12 on antihistamines, and 15 on tricyclic antidepressants and concluded that these families of drugs have a significant negative impact on memory and concentration in the elderly. The American Geriatrics Society proclaimed that these...
submitted by: admin on 09/21/2013
A study done at the Montreal Heart Institute in October of 2012 showed that high intensity interval training made overweight and inactive people aged 49 years old healthier and also smarter! Scientists set up a program lasting 4 months where people exercised twice weekly with interval training and twice weekly with resistance training. They measured cognitive...
submitted by: admin on 09/21/2013
A study in October of 2012 at the Montreal Heart Institute showed that high-intensity interval training makes middle-aged people both healthier and smarter. The program was 4 months long and consisted of 2 days a week of interval training and 2 days of resistance training. Cognitive function and physical conditioning improved greatly, showing that...
submitted by: admin on 08/18/2014
A Rhode Island Hospital retrospective study published in the July 2014 issue of the journal, Alzheimer's & Dementia, showed that the participants with normal cognition at the start of the study who reported taking fish oil had fewer signs of Alzheimer's disease. These patients were followed every 6 months with MRI scans. Those people with...
submitted by: admin on 09/22/2013
An article in Annals of Neurology in February of 2012 showed that in mice the anesthetic Forane caused impaired cognitive function that were much like the changes in Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies have documented that patients undergoing general anesthesia may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Transient cognitive dysfunction...
submitted by: admin on 10/09/2013
The benefits of breastfeeding compared to infant formula was studied in 133 babies from 10 months to 4 years of age. Those fed with breast milk had much better brain development than those fed formula according to a June 2013 issue of the journal Neuroimage.
There was a 20-30% greater development in language skills, emotional function, and cognition...
submitted by: admin on 10/09/2013
According to a Mayo Clinic study published in November of 2012 in the journal, Hospital Medicine, the use of sleeping pills such as Ambien (zolpidem) quadruple the risk of falls. These drugs, which stimulate GABA brain receptors, have side effects such as dizziness, ataxia, hallucinations, and even sleep walking, may be much of the reason why. Falls...
submitted by: admin on 04/12/2015
Older adults with insomnia have an altered immune response to stress that increases levels of interlukin 6 up to 4 fold, which may increase the risk of illness and death. In this study that was published in February of 2012 in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, there were 83 people with an average age of 61. Twenty seven percent were poor...
submitted by: admin on 04/11/2014
Is the Gulf War Illness real? You bet it is! Why has it taken 20+ years to figure this out? Why has the VA hospital system failed to recognize that this illness is real and start helping our young soldiers who have suffered serious disabilities from the Gulf War in Kuwait? Is this all about money?
According to a study at the UC San Diego School of Medicine...
submitted by: admin on 10/12/2013
A study published in Neurology in December of 2011 showed that people with higher serum levels of vitamins and essential fatty acids had better cognitive ability and bigger brains on MRI studies.
submitted by: admin on 10/12/2013
A study by NYU Med School researchers and published in the August 2012 issue of Pediatrics showed that the metabolic syndrome in adolescents is associated with cognitive and brain impairments. These students had lower scores in math, reading, spelling, attention span, and mental flexibility. The impairments were generally more severe than in adults...
submitted by: admin on 10/14/2013
A new study documents that poor vitamin B12 status is a risk factor for brain atrophy and cognitive impairment and highlights the importance of its metabolites that are not routinely assessed. Higher levels of several markers of vitamin B12 deficiency, especially methlmalonic acid (MMA), homocysteine, 2-methycitrate, and cystathionine, are associated with...
submitted by: admin on 10/14/2013
According to an article published in the December 2012 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, MDs should not prescribe cognitive enhancers to healthy people to enhance concentration, memory, alertness, or mood. They claim there is no published scientific evidence that they work. Some things we know without having to do expensive scientific study however! ...
submitted by: admin on 10/16/2013
Women who abruptly and prematurely suffer from estrogen deficiency caused by surgical menopause have a two fold increase in cognitive decline and dementia. This conclusion comes from research published in the March issue of the journal, Brain that was done on rats with surgical menopause, of which some were given no estrogen replacement, some late...
submitted by: admin on 12/16/2013
Scientists from the Research Institute of McGill University Health Center published an article in the journal, Cerebral Cortex, in December of 2013 showing that the absence of the father during critical growth periods leads to impaired social and behavioral defects in mice. Surprisingly, mice are ideal for a study like this because they are raised by...
submitted by: admin on 10/17/2013
People with low B12 levels are at risk for cognitive decline. Measuring B12 levels and markers are the best way to detect deficiencies. Some issues related to homocysteine metabolism are involved.