A large, five-year study challenges the idea that omega-3 fatty acids can slow age-related cognitive decline. The study, involving 4,000 older adults, was part of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), which established that daily high doses of certain antioxidants and minerals can help slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration. However, a follow-up study found the addition of omega-3 fatty acids to the AREDS formula made no difference.
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A study involving 39 older adults has found that those randomly assigned to a “high-challenge” group showed improved cognitive performance and more efficient brain activity compared with those assigned to a low-challenge group, or a control group.
A study involving 60 undergraduate students confirms the value of even a single instance of retrieval practice in an everyday setting, and also confirms the value of cues for peripheral details, which are forgotten more readily.
A small study involving 71 adults who struggled with persistent cognitive difficulties after suffering a traumatic brain injury at least four months before has compared two cognitive training programs with and without drug therapy.
The two six-week programs were
New findings identify a mechanism that accelerates aging in the brain and gives rise to Alzheimer's disease.
The findings center on “enhancers”, which turn the activity of genes up or down based on influences like aging and environmental factors. Comparing enhancers in brain cells of people at varying stages of Alzheimer's and healthy people has revealed that in normal aging, there is a progressive loss of important epigenetic marks on enhancers. This loss is accelerated in the brains of people with Alzheimer's.
Large study shows level of beneficial alcohol consumption much lower than thought
A UK study using data from 13,342 middle-aged and older adults (40-73) has found that having up to one standard unit of alcohol a day improved reaction time, but more than that amount harmed cognitive performance. The effect was more pronounced in older adults.
A largish Chinese study, involving 541 9-11-year-olds, has found that those who ate fish at least once a week slept better and had higher IQ scores, on average, than those who ate fish less frequently or not at all.
The study suggests that sleep may be a reason for the association previous research has found between the consumption of fish / omega-3 oils and better cognition.
Two studies help explain why kidney disease increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure and vascular calcification. The mediator seems to be a hormone called FGF23, which is sensitive to the level of phosphates in the body.
Phosphate rich foods include processed cheese, Parmesan, cola, baking powder and most processed foods.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-05/uovm-nco050514.php
A study in which 23 healthy volunteers ate half a kilo of strawberries every day for a month has found that their levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides reduced significantly.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/f-sf-slc022514.php
Following on from the evidence that Alzheimer’s brains show higher levels of metals such as iron, copper, and zinc, a mouse study has found that amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s-like brains with significant neurodegeneration have about 25% more copper than those with little neurodegeneration. This is consistent with a human study showing very high levels of copper in Alzheimer’s plaques.
Iron, though doubled in Alzheimer’s brains compared to controls, was not significantly different as a function of neurodegeneration, and zinc showed very little difference.