Brain and Mental Performance

German scientists develop a nasal spray they show improves memory.

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In those individuals who have suffered a stroke, prevention of a second incident becomes paramount to reduce the person’s chance of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.

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Seniors who engage in mind-stimulating activities slash their risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

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Diastolic blood pressure, represented by the bottom number in a blood pressure reading, is measured when your heart is at-rest. Georgios Tsivgoulis, from University of Alabama (USA), and colleagues have found that elevated diastolic blood pressure appears to be associated with cognitive impairment in people ages 45 and older.

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Mercury in fish has been a public health issue for some time. The FDA says the metal can build up in the blood stream provoking reproductive problems in women and damaging the development of the nervous system in children.  The US Geological Survey sampled fish in 291 streams across the US and found mercury in every one. About a quarter of the fish were found to contain enough mercury to push consumption of the metal above the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended limit of 0.33ppm in people who eat about two fish meals a week.

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Older adults who sleep nine or more hours a day may be at higher risk of developing dementia than those who sleep eight hours.  Julian Benito-Leon, from University Hospital '12 de Octubre’ (Spain), and colleagues studied 3,286 men and women, ages 65+, for of period of 3.2 years.

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Previous research has linked declines in thinking and memory skills with unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, sedentary lifestyle, low fruit and vegetable consumption, and other factors.  Severine Sabia, from Hopital Paul Brousse (France), and colleagues studied 5,123 men and women enrolled in the Whitehall II study (United Kingdom), following them for a 17-year period.  

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While the benefits of physical activity are clear among the majority of the population, there has been little research on its effects in older people.  Jeremy M. Jacobs, from Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School (Jerusalem, Israel), and colleagues examined the effects of continuing, increasing, or decreasing physical activity on levels on survival, function, and health status among the very old.

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Uncontrolled high blood pressure can cause heart attack, stroke, heart failure and kindney failure. New research shows that it is also linked to memory problems and cognitive impairment. A study in the journal "Neurology" is the largest of its kind to look at the connection between memory problems and high blood pressure. Continue reading…

A worldwide project called NeuroNano seeks to explore the role of human-engineered nanoparticles found in sunscreen and in an additive in some diesel fuels, investigating their connection to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Continue reading…