dementia

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Global Rates of Alzheimer's Disease Soar

Aging populations drive increase; developing world will be hit hard

(Newser) - Rising life expectancy in the developing world will lead to a dramatic increase in the number of people stricken by Alzheimer’s disease, HealthDay News reports. The number of dementia cases worldwide will reach 35.6 million in 2010, a 10% increase over the total in 2005. That number is...

Blueberry Smoothies Boost Brain Power

'Super food' can increase powers of concentration, ward off dementia

(Newser) - A blueberry smoothie in the morning is good for your brain in the afternoon—and in the long run, according to new research. Scientists at a British university found that one blueberry smoothie increased powers of concentration by as much as 20% in a single day. Consumption of blueberries can...

Obesity May Shrink Your Brain
 Obesity May Shrink Your Brain 
Aug 24, 2009 9:38 AM CDT

Obesity May Shrink Your Brain

Study finds cognitive regions smaller in obese elderly

(Newser) - Important cognitive brain regions are smaller in older obese people than fit ones, scientists have found. Shrinking brains are tied to dementia, so the discovery fuels the notion that obesity can raise the risk of the cognitive disorder, New Scientist reports. In a review of 94 brain scans, subjects with...

Alzheimer's: Vision May Play a Role

(Newser) - Moments of forgetfulness attributed to Alzheimer’s disease could in fact be caused by a loss of vision, the Boston Globe reports, and new research asserts that cranking up contrast—by using colored dinner plates, for instance—could help. “Let’s say you put keys down on the counter...

High Cholesterol in 40s Tied to Dementia Later

Lowering it won't necessarily help, studies suggest

(Newser) - High cholesterol in middle age may increase a person’s future risk of Alzheimer’s disease, NPR reports. “Our study shows that even moderately high cholesterol levels in your 40s puts people at greater risk for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia in later life,” says one researcher, who...

Studies Agree: Happiness Comes With Age

Mental health keeps improving even into one's '90s

(Newser) - Greater happiness and better mental health may be the big payoff for aging. Exceptions abound, of course, but people generally get happier as they get older because they've learned how to tune out all the negative stuff, say researchers. A spate of new studies suggests that older people have better...

15-Letter Phrase for Memory Boost? Crossword Puzzle

Activity may fend off the start of memory loss

(Newser) - Doing crossword puzzles may delay the slide into forgetfulness associated with dementia, a study shows. Researchers monitored the frequency with which a group of elderly subjects engaged in reading, writing, group discussions, playing music, playing cards, and doing crossword puzzles, and found that those who developed dementia took part in...

Immunotherapy Offers New Hope on Alzheimer's

(Newser) - An immune-system booster already used in the treatment of other diseases could prove to be a powerful weapon in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, researchers have found. Analyzing the records of patients who received intravenous immunoglobulin—IVIg—they discovered that recipients were 42% less likely to develop Alzheimer's, HealthDay reports.

A Couple Drinks Daily May Prevent Dementia: Study

Moderate drinkers developed dementia less often than teetotalers

(Newser) - Moderate drinking may prevent the onset of dementia, MedPage Today reports. A study found that adults aged 75 and over who had one or two drinks daily were 37% less likely to develop dementia. Across the study’s 6-year window, adults who drank more than two drinks a day were...

Fox's Kilmeade Decries Ethnic Mixing of 'Pure' Yanks

(Newser) - Fox and Friends anchor Brian Kilmeade yesterday lamented the ethnic mixing that has diluted "pure" Americans, Gawker points out. He made his comments as he criticized a study concluding that married people stave off dementia better than singles. Kilmeade insisted the results were skewed because the Scandinavian study used...

Butler: Astor's Mind Was Gone
 Butler: Astor's Mind Was Gone 
Jun 9, 2009 11:37 AM CDT

Butler: Astor's Mind Was Gone

(Newser) - Brooke Astor spent her final years in a haze as her faculties deserted her, her butler testified yesterday at the fraud trial of Astor’s son Anthony Marshall. As early as 1997, Astor’s memory started to fail her, leaving her unable to recall her servants’ names or even what...

GPS Shoes to Track Alzheimer's Patients

Shoe-maker and tech firm team up

(Newser) - Two companies are developing GPS-trackable footwear to essentially LoJack Alzheimer's patients, AFP reports. The shoes will spot their location within 30 feet "anywhere on the planet," said a consultant. Sixty percent of Alzheimer's sufferers wander off at least once during the disease, he said, but most retain enough...

Brooke Settles With Tabloid for 'Momnapping'

National Enquirer will publicly apologize

(Newser) - Brooke Shields has settled with the National Enquirer after two tabloid journalists reportedly signed her mother out of her New Jersey nursing home last month, reports People. The tabloid has agreed not to publish the story, will publicly apologize, and will donate money to research on dementia, a condition from...

Wife to Remain in Charge of Falk: Judge

But ailing 'Columbo' assured visits from adopted daughter

(Newser) - Peter Falk's wife will remain in charge of the former actor's care and affairs, but must allow bimonthly visits with his adopted daughter under a new conservatorship established by a Los Angeles court. The former Columbo star, 81, suffers from severe dementia and no longer remembers his trademark detective role....

Bridge May Help Super-Seniors Trump Dementia

Nursing home study suggests that social engagement maintains memory

(Newser) - An exclusive club of senior citizens—people who have passed 90 without suffering from dementia—is helping researchers delve into the secrets of aging and the keys to staving off mental decline. "The most successful agers on earth," who represent just one-half of 1% of the population, are...

Journos Sign Shields' Mom Out of Nursing Home

Enquirer accused of looking for scoop

(Newser) - An outraged Brooke Shields says a pair of tabloid reporters hungry for a story checked her mother, a dementia sufferer, out of a nursing home earlier this week, People reports. Shields says police informed her that two National Enquirer reporters posing as her mother's friends signed her out of the...

Binge Drinking Could Fuel Dementia 'Epidemic'

Up to a quarter of UK dementia cases may be booze-linked

(Newser) - It’s no secret that drinking kills brain cells—but doctors in Britain now fear an “epidemic” of brain damage from binge drinking, the Guardian reports. Up to a quarter of dementia cases in the UK may be brought on by heavy drinking, they say, noting that some people...

States, Congress Mull 'Silver Alert' for Missing Elderly

(Newser) - States across the US are moving to create procedures that would alert the public about older people in the grips of dementia who’ve gone missing, the AP reports. The so-called “Silver Alert” system has already been taken up by 15 states, and the House has approved a national...

Healthy Greek Isle Fosters Longer Lives

(Newser) - Researchers have discovered every health nut's dream in the North Aegean Sea: an island with the highest percentage of nonagenarians on the planet, NPR reports. On the Greek isle of Icaria, nearly one in three make it to age 90, and residents have far lower rates of cancer, heart disease,...

As Memory Slips Away, Music Lingers

(Newser) - The Alzheimer’s patient had forgotten nearly everything, including his own name, but the sound of Frank Sinatra moved him to grab his wife and dance. The phenomenon demonstrates how deep-seated music is in the human brain, Sara Davidson writes for the New York Times’ New Old Age blog. “...

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