Newsline — Wednesday, November 26, 2014 9:00
High-fat Diet May Postpone Brain Aging
Depression, Overwhelming Guilt in Preschool Years Linked to Brain Changes
Tuesday, November 25, 2014 13:00
A research team from the Washington University School of Medicine published a study in the online journal JAMA Psychiatry which identified a physical similarity between the brains of children diagnosed with pathological guilt and those who were at high risk for depression. Building on research conducted in the Preschool Depression Study program, participants from ages three to six were assessed for various conditions and were later given regular MRI scans to analyze how depression affected their development. Participants afflicted with pathological guilt were unanimously reported as being diagnosed with depression later in life, which confirmed previous research. However, brain scans revealed that those children had underdeveloped insula in the right half of their brains. This same abnormality is common in adults with depression, leading to the current belief that this section of the brain is involved in emotion and self-perception. While this correlation draws into question whether pathological guilt is a symptom of early depression, or if guilt increases the likelihood of depression, researchers are optimistic about the study’s contributions. “Either way, the discovery that…
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Dietary Flavanols Reverse Age Related Memory Decline
Tuesday, November 25, 2014 9:00
According to a recent study conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, naturally occurring bioactives found in cocoa reversed age-related memory decline in healthy older adults. The study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, provides the first direct evidence that one component of age-related memory decline in humans is caused by changes in a specific region of the brain and can be improved by a dietary intervention. Previous studies have shown that changes in a specific part of the brain — the dentate gyrus — are associated with age-related memory decline. However, the evidence only showed a correlational link, not a causal. To test if the dentate gyrus is the source of age-related memory decline in humans, researchers experimented with compounds called cocoa flavanols to see if they could improve the function of this brain region and improve memory. A cocoa flavanol test-drink was prepared specifically for research purposes. “When we imaged our research subjects’ brains, we found noticeable improvements in the function of the dentate gyrus in those who consumed the high-cocoa-flavanol drink,”…
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Did Robin Williams Have Dementia?
Monday, November 24, 2014 13:00
The recent release of the autopsy and coroner reports for actor Robin Williams have raised questions about his state of health at the time of his suicide earlier this year. The Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) has provided information about what can and cannot be concluded from these reports. The autopsy indicated the presence of ‘diffuse Lewy body dementia’ in the brain of Williams. More commonly referred to as ‘diffuse Lewy body disease,’ the term reflects the biological disease process in the brain. “The use of the term dementia in the neuropathology report should not be inferred to mean that dementia was observed during life,” explained a member of the LBDA Scientific Advisory Council. Lewy bodies are misfolded protein deposits found in the brains of individuals with several different disorders including Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). In early Parkinson’s disease, Lewy bodies are generally limited in distribution, but with DLB, the Lewy bodies are spread widely throughout the brain, as was the case with Robin Williams. The autopsy and coroner’s report further states that…
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Long-term Shift Work Lessens Brain Power
Monday, November 24, 2014 9:20
Researchers from the University of Swansea and the University of Toulouse have discovered a link between working sporadically scheduled shift hours and reduced cognition, memory and processing speed. In a study published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, a long-term analysis of current and retired workers was conducted to determine how shift work, known for requiring overnight hours, affected employees both during and after their career. Around 2,000 participants with backgrounds in both shift work and regular hours were given a battery of cognitive tests in 1996, 2001 and 2006 in order to compare their demographics, and then analyze how shift employees adjusted to typical work hours or retirement. Results showed that by disrupting the circadian rhythms of the employees, the memory and cognition of shift workers had been notably reduced. This condition was not a temporary result of recent shifts, as shift workers continued to demonstrate these deficiencies for around five years, even after switching careers or retirement. This new research expands upon earlier studies which revealed that shift work caused excessive physical…
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Researchers Discover Possible Causes of Common Dementia
Friday, November 21, 2014 15:33
According to research published in the journal Annals of Neurology, researchers from the Krembil Neuroscience Centre have potentially discovered one of the major causes of dementia. With this particular type of dementia, there is damage to the white matter (nerve fibers) of the brain, made apparent on CT and MRI scans of older individuals. Previous studies have established that the more white matter disease there is in the brain, the more likely patients are to have symptoms of dementia, such as cognitive impairment or changes in behavior. During this study, researchers hypothesized that the white matter disease (also called leukoaraiosis) may be the result of many small, unnoticed strokes accumulating over time. Weekly MRI scans over the course of 16 consecutive weeks revealed new spots arising in the brain’s white matter that were characteristics of small strokes, which came to resemble white matter disease. “We were surprised by the study findings,” said the lead investigator of the study. “The findings suggest that the tiny, silent strokes are likely much more common than physicians previously appreciated,…
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Renewing Brain’s Aging Support Cells May Help Neurons Survive
Friday, November 21, 2014 13:00
In a recent study published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, researchers from the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute looked into the involvement of astrocyte cells and their effect on neurons in relation to the progression of Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Earlier studies suggested the possible involvement of these support cells in ALS development and progression, but this study is the first to directly measure the effects of aging on the ability of astrocytes to sustain motor neurons. During the animal study, the researchers were surprised to find that very young ALS astrocytes were supportive, but ALS astrocytes from older animals were not. More surprisingly, it wasn’t just diseased astrocytes that were affected by age. Researchers discovered that even normal aging of astrocytes reduces their ability to support motor neurons. “Aging astrocytes lose their ability to support motor neurons in general, and they clearly fail to help those attacked by ALS,” said the study’s senior author. “Our findings have implications for scientists studying neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and Alzheimer’s…
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Brain Protein Influences Stress Management, Suggests New Depression Treatment
Thursday, November 20, 2014 13:00
Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a correlation between protein deficiencies in depression sufferers, which could lay the groundwork for new methods of treating the condition. The study, published in the November 2014 issue of Nature, utilized a combination of mouse studies and human autopsies to measure the beta-catenin protein in those being treated for depression. The beta-catenin protein regulates nerve cells within the brain’s reward and motivation center and contributes to resiliency towards stress. Results of the study reveal that this protein was found to be deficient in participants regardless of the methods used to treat their depression. “While most prior efforts in antidepressant drug discovery have focused on ways to undo the bad effects of stress, our findings provide a pathway to generate novel antidepressants that instead activate mechanisms of natural resilience,” said the lead researcher of the study. This newfound connection between beta-catenin and stress tolerance redefines modern understanding of depression, and suggests that future therapy techniques could proactively alleviate stress damage rather than treating the resulting symptoms….
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Radiation a Risk Factor for Brain Tumors in Young People
Thursday, November 20, 2014 9:34
In a recent study conducted by researchers at Loyola University, radiation was found to be a risk factor for developing meningiomas in people under age 30. During the study, published in the journal Neuroscience Discovery, researchers analyzed records of 35 patients who were diagnosed with meningiomas before the age of 30. Five had been exposed to ionizing radiation earlier in their lives, two patients received radiation for leukemia at ages five and six, one received radiation at age three for a medulloblastoma brain tumor and one received radiation for an earlier skull base tumor. Another patient had been exposed at age nine to radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear power-plant disaster in Ukraine and went on to develop a meningioma 20 years later. In those patients, the average latency period for the tumors was 23.5 years. “The results of this preliminary study have prompted us to look closely at radiation’s effects on the brain,” the study’s lead author and neurosurgeon at Loyola. The research team will be conducting a follow-up study on patients of all ages…
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Playing Action Video Games Can Boost Learning
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 15:00
Researchers from the University of Rochester and the University of Princeton recently published a study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences linking fast-paced video gaming to heightened learning ability and knowledge retention. Subjects with minimal experience in video gaming were required to complete a rigorous regime of action-based gameplay throughout a nine-week study, and then were tested in pattern discrimination to measure their ability to process and retain new skills. Compared to a control group that played slower-paced games, the action gamers excelled. Follow-up testing found that this enhanced skill level was retained several months after initial testing. “Prior research by our group and others has shown that action gamers excel at many tasks. In this new study, we show they excel because they are better learners,” said the study’s lead researcher. The study also reported that while the action gamers began each task on equal footing with non-gamers, their ability to adapt their perception and improvise solutions has been augmented through gameplay, which requires split-second predictions and estimations. To learn more…
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