Dementia
How Can You Keep Your Brain Healthy?
Are there ways to keep your brain healthy as well as your body? Scientists with the Rush Memory and Aging Project suggest that the concept "use it or lose it" applies to gray matter as well as muscle.…
Could a Daily Multivitamin Help You Stay Sharp?
A common multivitamin may provide some protection against cognitive decline as we age. Findings from the COSMOS-Mind study have just been published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. The res…
How to Stay Healthy with a Mediterranean Diet
Would you like to be able to improve your health by what you put on your plate? Health professionals and patients alike may doubt that diet can be as powerful as pills. When it comes to important bene…
Could Step Counters Help Us Ward Off Dementia?
Do you wear a FitBit or a fancy watch? What about a lower-tech pedometer? Step counters are popular because they give us feedback on how many steps we have taken in a day. Even if the common goal of 1…
Reduce Your Risk of Dementia with Physical Activ…
Older people who would like to stay sharp can take one simple step: keep moving! Research from Rush University Medical Center suggests that physical activity can reduce elders' risk of dementia (Buchm…
Will Benzodiazepine Use Increase Your Risk for A…
Americans love benzodiazepines (aka benzos). These anti-anxiety agents are used as all-purpose psych drugs. Millions of people take benzos to calm jittery nerves, ease anxiety and overcome insomnia. T…
Do ADHD Drugs Help People with Alzheimer Disease…
Most of the medications currently used to treat Alzheimer disease work by increasing acetylcholine levels in the brain. This neurotransmitter is important, but it certainly is not the only chemical br…
Will COVID-19 Increase the Risk for Later Dement…
Scientists have been concerned that COVID-19 could predispose older individuals to later dementia. Now, an epidemiological study has shown that Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease and stroke are inde…
Do Flu Shots Protect You from Alzheimer Disease …
Doctors are confident flu shots protect you from influenza, although the level of protection varies from year to year. Unfortunately, older people who are at highest risk from flu infections are less …
Should You Be Taking Vitamin Supplements?
Vitamins were among the most exciting discoveries of the early 20th century. Since then, however, doctors have been expressing a lot of skepticism about the value of taking vitamin supplements. The la…
Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Risk of Alzheimer…
Most vitamins must come from our food (or supplements) because we don't make them ourselves. Vitamin D is an exception, because our skin makes the precursor to this hormone when we expose ourselves to…
Could Research in Mice Change How We Look at Alz…
A new study in mice suggests that the usual way neuroscientists look at Alzheimer disease might be wrong. For decades, researchers have identified plaques of amyloid beta as the major feature of Alzhe…
Which Coffee Compounds Protect the Brain?
If you, like many people, can’t face the day without a hot cup of coffee, there’s good news. Scientists at Rutgers have evidence that the combination of caffeine with a special fatty acid present …
Will Spices Help Protect Your Memory?
Dementia is as frightening to most people as the prospect of heart disease or cancer. You probably know that to avoid heart disease you want to control your weight, eat a healthful high-vegetable diet…
Heartburn Drugs like PPIs Are Linked to Dementia
PPIs (proton pump inhibitors) are incredibly popular. Drugs like esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid) and omeprazole (Prilosec) used to be only available by prescription. Physicians loved th…
What Should You Eat to Reduce Your Risk of Demen…
Do you know how to keep your brain healthy as you grow older? Often, people want to know what you should eat to reduce your risk of dementia. The Framingham Offspring Study offered some answers to tha…
Can You Prevent Alzheimer Disease with L-Lysine?
Intriguing research suggests that the dementia we call Alzheimer disease may be triggered by a common infection: herpes virus. Although the story is not yet complete, the brain's immune response to th…
Staying Fit Helps the Brain as Well as the Body
Most people know that staying fit is a great way to maintain health. People who are physically active are less likely to suffer cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks or strokes (Advances in Ex…
Should You Drink Cherry Juice for Your Brain?
Tart cherry juice has a reputation for fighting inflammation. Readers of our syndicated newspaper column have been singing the praises of tart cherries for decades. They have been using this sour frui…
Hypertension Heresy: Are We Overtreating High Bl…
Prepare for whiplash. What I am about to share with you will confuse you and make your doctor quite anxious. But I feel obligated to share data that are contradictory. Pretending that there aren't inc…
Is a Rapid Heart Rate a Risk for Dementia?
There are lots of things that put people at higher risk for cognitive decline and dementia. Traumatic brain injury puts veterans at increased risk of dementia. Boxing and blows to the head can also in…
Can Cataract Surgery Help Delay Dementia?
Millions of people go in for cataract surgery every year in the US. That is, however, a small proportion of the people who have clouded lenses in their eyes. Beside improving vision, cataract removal …
What Is It About Coffee That Protects Your Brain…
Java lovers appear to enjoy a variety of health benefits, including a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Most recently, Australian scientists discovered that coffee dri…
Are You Suffering Senility or Vitamin B12 Defici…
Whether they admit it or not, a lot of middle-aged and older people worry about senility. By this, they mean cognitive difficulties or even dementia, perhaps coupled with physical frailty. However, ge…
Sauna Bathing and Its Health Benefits
Finnish researchers have been studying the health benefits of sauna bathing for years. Now, a study published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings reviews the evidence for cardiovascular and other health be…
Anticholinergic Drugs and Dementia: The Link Get…
We have been writing about the dangers of anticholinergic drugs and dementia for more than a decade. There are dozens of studies and hundreds of articles referencing anticholinergic drugs and dementia…
Show 1269: How the First Survivors of Alzheimer&…
For more than a century, people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease have been condemned to a relentless slide into dementia. Experts stress that there is no cure for this devastating condition. Even …
Which Blood Pressure Pills Help Protect Memory?
High blood pressure is a risk factor for dementia as people age. However, people who take certain blood pressure medicines that cross the blood-brain barrier might be able to protect memory and c…
Is Type 2 Diabetes Linked to Dementia Risk?
Some experts who study Alzheimer disease have suggested that it is closely linked to the metabolic problems of diabetes. Alternatively, they have proposed a diabetes-related dementia may differ from c…
Can Skimping on Sleep in Middle Age Lead to Deme…
Have you been skimping on sleep? Some people have more to do in a single day than they can accomplish in the hours they have. As a result, they steal time from the hours they should be sleeping. Young…
Show 1231: How Can Women Reduce Their Risk for D…
Two out three people with Alzheimer disease are women. Why are they at higher risk for this devastating condition than men? Even more important, how can they reduce their risk for dementia? Many of th…
Does Eating Fish Protect the Brain from Pollutio…
Have you ever heard the "old wives' tale" that fish is brain food? Although scientists were skeptical for a long time, studies show that eating fish is linked to a range of beneficial effects in the b…
Are There Cognitive Benefits to Moderate Drinkin…
Researchers have been disputing the benefits and risks of moderate alcohol consumption for decades. Some studies have suggested that several drinks a week might be beneficial for the cardiovascular sy…
Show 1214: How to Defend Your Brain During the P…
For decades, neurologists have been telling us that Alzheimer disease is driven largely by the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaque in the brain. They have suspected that this is determined in large me…
Will Blood Pressure Medicines Prevent Alzheimer …
Doctors have been debating the link between high blood pressure (hypertension) and cognitive decline for decades (BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, Nov. 3, 2016). They have been equally divided and uncert…
Could Dementia Genes Make You Vulnerable to COVI…
Investigators are trying to determine why some people remain asymptomatic after catching the SARS-2 virus while others become deathly ill. Could dementia genes make a difference? That earlier research…
PPIs and Cognitive Dysfunction: Anticholinergic …
What happens when people end up taking two or three anticholinergic medicines? The greater the “load” of such drugs in the body, the higher the risk of brain fog. Could there be a connection betwe…
Show 1132: Are Infections to Blame for Alzheimer…
With nearly six million Americans living with Alzheimer disease, this condition is a serious public health problem. It robs people of their memories, their ability to function independently and even t…
What Can Help You Stay Sharp as You Age?
Do you know how to stay healthy? Chances are you are aware that exercise and diet are keystones of good health throughout your life. You and your health care provider may also be paying attention to y…
Surgery Doesn’t Boost Risk of Alzheimer Di…
There’s good news and bad news about surgery under general anesthesia. Anesthesiologists have been debating the effects or surgical anesthetics on brain function for years. Some research suggests th…