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brain atrophy

Brains of overweight people ‘ten years older’ than lean counterparts at middle-age

Data from 473 adults aged 20-87 has found striking differences in the volume of white matter among middle-aged and older adults, depending on the weight of the individuals. These changes were also associated with greater brain shrinkage. These differences were equivalent to some 10 years in brain age – e.g., an overweight person at, say, 50 years old had a comparable white matter volume to a lean person aged 60 years.

The differences were not found among younger adults. Nor was there any connection between being overweight or obese and an individual’s cognitive abilities, as measured using a standard test similar to an IQ test.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-08/uoc-boo080316.php

Ronan, L et al. Obesity associated with increased brain-age from mid-life. Neurobiology of Aging; e-pub 27 July 2016; DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.07.010

Maintaining heart health may protect against cognitive decline

Data from 1,588 dementia-free older adults (average age 79.5) from the very long-running Rush Memory and Aging Project found that a higher cardiovascular risk burden was associated with faster decline in episodic memory, working memory and perceptual speed. It didn’t significantly affect semantic memory or visuospatial ability.

Cardiovascular risk was assessed using the Framingham General Cardiovascular Risk Scores (FGCRS).

Brain scans for some of these participants also found that higher FGCRS was associated with smaller volumes of hippocampus, cortical gray matter and total brain, and a greater volume of white matter hyperintensities. Decreases in hippocampal and gray matter are typical markers of Alzheimer’s.

Episodic memory and working memory were related to hippocampal volume, but perceptual speed was associated with white matter hyperintensities.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-05/acoc-mhh051420.php

Song, R., Xu, H., Dintica, C. S., Pan, K.-Y., Qi, X., Buchman, A. S., Bennett, D. A., & Xu, W. (2020). Associations Between Cardiovascular Risk, Structural Brain Changes, and Cognitive Decline. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 75(20), 2525–2534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2020.03.053

Benefits of exercise for the brain

Moderate intensity exercise can benefit memory performance

Three experiments involving a total of 59 people provides more evidence that moderate intensity exercise (e.g., brisk walking, water aerobics, cycling) is enough for cognitive improvement. Indeed, moderate intensity exercise had the most beneficial effect on memory performance.

Improving fitness may counteract brain atrophy in older adults, including those with MCI

A study involving 30 previously physically inactive older adults (aged 61-88) found that a three-month exercise program reversed some brain atrophy.

Participants included 14 with MCI. The exercise program included moderate intensity walking on a treadmill four times a week over a twelve-week period. On average, cardiorespiratory fitness improved by about 8% as a result of the training in both the healthy and MCI participants. Fitness was assessed using peak oxygen capacity rates.

Is soda bad for your brain, especially diet soda?

Data from the large and very long-running Framingham Heart Study has revealed that people who drink sugary drinks frequently are more likely to have poorer memory, smaller overall brain volume, and a significantly smaller hippocampus. Moreover, a second study found that those who drank diet soda daily were almost three times as likely to develop stroke and dementia over a 10-year period, compared to those who didn’t – suggesting that substituting artificial sweeteners for the sugar doesn’t make matters better.

Slower walking speeds linked to dementia risk

Data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, in which nearly 4,000 older adults (60+) had their walking speed assessed on two occasions in 2002-2003 and in 2004-2005, those with a slower walking speed were more likely to develop dementia in the next 10 years. Those who experienced a faster decline in walking speed over the two-year period were also more likely to develop dementia.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/ags-oaw032318.php

Vascular health linked to dementia risk

Optimal levels of cardiovascular health in older age associated with lower dementia risk

A French study involving 6,626 older adults (65+) found that having optimal levels in more measures of cardiovascular health (nonsmoking, weight, diet, physical activity, cholesterol, blood glucose and blood pressure) was associated with lower dementia risk and slower rates of cognitive decline. Dementia risk and rates of cognitive decline lowered with each additional metric at the recommended optimal level.

Stress in midlife affects cognitive decline later in life

Stressors in middle age linked to cognitive decline in older women

Data from some 900 older adults has linked stressful life experiences among middle-aged women, but not men, to greater memory decline in later life.

Previous research has found that the effect of age on the stress response is three times greater in women than in men.

Cognitive tests for MCI & Alzheimer's

Memory tests predict brain atrophy and Alzheimer's disease

Data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), involving 230 cognitively normal individuals and 394 individuals with diagnosed with MCI on the basis of one episodic test, has found that performance on two tests markedly improved the identification of those whose MCI was more serious.

MCI can be a step on the road to Alzheimer's, but it can also be a reversible condition, and it’s obviously helpful to be able to distinguish the two.

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