Homocysteine is an amino acid that can be measured with a simple blood test. The study, which appeared in the Journal of Affective Disorders in August 2013, studied 358 people aged 50 and up who had symptoms of depression.
They gave the subjects cognitive tests that looked at immediate and delayed memory, as well as global cognitive performance. They measured Continue reading “Diminished Cognitive Function in Elderly Linked to Homocysteine”
There is no cure for the degenerative brain disease called Alzheimer’s, and current conventional treatments have a limited effect. However, research into a drug used to treat skin cancer may show “stunning” potential to help with Alzheimer’s disease.
The drug is called bexarotene. So far, the experiments have only been done on mice. The research was done at Case Western Reserve University.
Alzheimer’s occurs in older people, and symptoms include a pattern of forgetfulness, disorientation, misplacing things, short attention span, difficulty in performing routine tasks, poor judgment, language problems, problems with thinking, depression, irritability, paranoia, hostility, and lack of initiative. It is also called “Elderly Dementia.”
The disease is not fully understood, and its cause — or causes — are not yet clear. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease cannot properly clear the protein amyloid beta from their brains. The excessive amount of the protein accumulate as plaque, which blocks synapses and kills nerve cells.
Bexarotene — also known as Targretin — wipes out amyloid beta. Continue reading “Cancer Drug May Help Alzheimer’s Disease”
A new study of lab rats recently published in the journal Nutrition shows that blueberries can increase memory.
One month of a blueberry rich diet made older rats perform as well as young rats on memory tests and the benefits lasted even after they stopped eating the blueberry diet.
Researchers credit the power of antioxidants with this increase brain performance.
Source: nutraingredients
We also know that antioxidants in blueberries and their cousins the bilberry can help improve and maintain eye health. Antioxidants can help prevent and treat macular degeneration and cataracts.
A new study published by The Bioscience Resource Project offers further support to something that we have long shared with our patients and clients: genes are not necessarily the cause of common diseases.
Researchers from around the world came to a similar conclusion: though there are genetic factors that make people susceptible to many diseases, very few are strong enough to be of any importance. These findings could have an effect on how we look at the development of heart disease, stroke, cancers, diabetes, autism, ADHD, dementia, schizophrenia, and depression.
Study authors are explaining their results in a way that will be very familiar to those who know how we approach health at Natural Eye Care. Factors like diet and nutrition, lifestyle habits, and stress management all play key factors in the development of disease. Source: lef.org
Learn more about preventing diseases of the eyes and body at our website.
Scientists at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have discovered capillaries have a unique method of expelling debris, such as blood clots, cholesterol or calcium plaque, that blocks the flow of essential nutrients to brain cells. The capillaries spit out the blockage by growing a membrane that envelopes the obstruction and then shoves it out of the blood vessel.
Scientists at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have discovered capillaries have a unique method of expelling debris, such as blood clots, cholesterol or calcium plaque, that blocks the flow of essential nutrients to brain cells. The capillaries spit out the blockage by growing a membrane that envelopes the obstruction and then shoves it out of the blood vessel.
Scientists also found this critical process is 30 to 50 percent slower in an aging brain and likely results in the death of more capillaries.
“The slowdown may be a factor in age-related cognitive decline and may also explain why elderly patients who get strokes do not recover as well as younger patients,” said Jaime Grutzendler, senior author and principal investigator of the study and assistant professor of neurology and of physiology at Feinberg. “Their recovery is much slower.”
The study with mice, funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), will be published May 27 in the journal Nature.
Editor’s Note: See more information on nutrition and dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease,