Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

How Exercise And Other Activities Beat Back Dementia

Excerpt from: NPR (click for full article)

 

The numbers are pretty grim: More than half of all 85-year-olds suffer some form of .

But here's the good news: Brain researchers say there are ways to boost brain power and stave off problems in memory and thinking.

In other words, brain decline is not necessarily an inevitable part of aging. "It's simply not pre-destined for all human beings," Bryan James tells Shots. He's an epidemiologist at the in Chicago. "Lots of people live into their 90s and even 100s with no symptoms of dementia."

So what can you do to increase the odds? Neuroscientist Art Kramer, who directs the at the University of Illinois, has a number of suggestions. First and foremost, Kramer says, is to exercise. Research shows it's the best thing you can do for your brain.

Kramer did a in which he scanned the brains of 120 older adults, half of whom started a program of moderate aerobic exercise — just 45 minutes, three days a week, mostly walking. After a year, the MRI scans showed that for the aerobic group, the volume of their brains actually increased.

Older and Wiser - A Better Brain Is Just Not Wishful Thinking Anymore

Excerpt from: The Caregiver Partnership (click for full article)

 

Now for some really good news about brain health. Scientists (and thus the rest of us) used to think that after reaching age thirty it was a slow, then fast slide downhill for our brains. Many wonder–if that is true then why are most of the CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies over the age of 50?

New research shows that older brains may well have abilities that younger brains have not yet developed. In the competitive and success driven leadership arena, there is no room for error. The acuity of these executives is tested daily and scrutinized regularly. They must be equal to the task or be replaced.

In the new book "Hope I Don't Die Before I Get Old" Tracey Bowman and Mary Boone Wellington detail scientific discoveries that explain this phenomena. New research shows that older brains may well have abilities that younger brains have not yet developed. In an unprecedented longitudinal study (using the same people over a period of years), Sherry Willis of Penn State University found that in vocabulary, verbal memory, spacial orientation and inductive reasoning, people performed best between the ages of forty and sixty five. They found that the ability to do fast calculations does decline after age twenty five, but by better utilization of both halves of the brain, seniors excel at drawing fast and meaningful conclusions.

The Impact Of Traumatic Brain Injury On Sexuality And The Importance Of Rehabilitation Strategies

Excerpt from: Medical News Today (click for full article)

 

Each year more than three million Americans are living with traumatic brain injury (TBI), a condition that is associated with physical, cognitive, and emotional problems that often affect their sexuality, and subsequently their marital stability, identity, and self-esteem. Taking an in-depth look at the impact of TBI on sexuality, an investigative team critically reviews fourteen studies representing a collective study sample of nearly 1,500 patients, partners, spouses, control individuals, and rehabilitation professionals to examine brain injury and sexuality. It is published in NeuroRehabilitation: An International Journal.

"Sexuality in patients with chronic disease or physical handicaps warrants attention and consideration so that effective intervention plans can be formulated. A healthy sex life may decrease muscular and emotional tension, increase pain threshold, reduce physical stress, improve sleep, and diminish emotional stress within relationships," says Jhon Alexander Moreno, doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada. He has made this important issue the central topic of his research work, which is conducted under the international direction of Professors Michelle McKerral at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation in Montréal, and Juan Carlos Arango Lasprilla from the University of Deusto, Spain, in collaboration with Caron Gan from Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto, Canada. "A lack of information and education on sexuality and disability is a major contributing factor towards the stigma attached to them."

A Court Test for Suits About Head Trauma

Excerpt from: The New York Times (click for full article)

 

The N.F.L. will face off in court Tuesday against thousands of retirees in a case that will help determine the league’s role in caring for players with dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases.

The issue in front of United States District Court Judge Anita Brody in Philadelphia is whether to grant the N.F.L.’s request to dismiss more than 200 cases brought by more than 4,000 former players who accused the league of hiding information about the dangers of head trauma. The players are seeking damages for their injuries.

The league has insisted the cases, filed in the last few years, essentially involved workplace safety issues covered by the collective bargaining agreements that players agreed to. Therefore, the players should plead their cases to arbitrators in grievance procedures, not a judge, the league has said.

Brain-injury survivors, including war and sports victims, are honored in exhibit

Excerpt from: The Washington Post (click for full article)

 

Hemorrhages, blunt-force trauma and bullet wounds don’t exactly scream “art.” But in a new exhibit, the National Museum of Health and Medicine is honoring men and women who survived such traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

The temporary exhibit — titled “Whack’ed . . . and then everything was different” — expands on the museum’s standing TBI installation, which showcases human brain specimens as well as medical tools used for surgery, treatment and rehabilitation. Artist and TBI survivor Eliette Markhbein created the larger-than-life portrait series to raise awareness of TBIs.

Single Concussion May Lead to Lasting Brain Damage

Excerpt from: Health (click for full article)

 

Just one concussion can cause long-term structural damage to the brain, according to a new study.

Researchers used 3-D MRI to examine the volume of gray and white brain matter in 19 concussion patients one year after their injury, and in 12 people who had not suffered a concussion. The scans revealed measurable losses of gray and white matter (brain atrophy) in the concussion patients, according to the study, which was published online March 12 in the journal Radiology.

The finding is the first of its kind and shows that brain atrophy occurs not only in people who have suffered severe brain injuries, but also in those who have had just one concussion, said Dr. Yvonne Lui, neuroradiology section chief and assistant professor of radiology at the NYU Langone School of Medicine, in New York City.

NFL Concussions Require Long-Term Care

Excerpt from: Science 2.0 (click for full article)

 

A psychologist that consulted with the Montreal Canadiens hockey team and treated players with concussions for 15 years undertook research into the effects of concussions on children and young athletes as well as older athletes. 

To study the effects of concussions,
Dr. Maryse Lassonde, a neuropsychologist and the scientific director of the Quebec Nature and Technologies Granting Agency
had athletes perform specific visual and auditory tasks and also mapped their brains with the help of EEG and MRI equipment, in addition to testing brain chemistry.

Her research found that brain waves remain abnormal in young athletes for two years following a concussion, and atrophy occurs in the motor pathways of the brain following a hit.

Should Medicare Pay For Alzheimer's Scans?

Excerpt from: NPR (click for full article)

 

Though increasingly common, Alzheimer's disease still isn't all that easy to diagnose, especially in its early stages.

Since last year there's been a new drug to help. The Food and Drug Administration approved a radioactive tracer called Amyvid for use in PET scans to identify clumps of proteins in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers have embraced the drug as a tool to gauge these so-called amyloid plaques in the brain. They've already found that amyloid shows up years before people start having problems with memory or thinking.

But is the test appropriate for widespread clinical use? A panel of advisers grappled with that question Wednesday at a public meeting to consider whether Medicare should pay for the test.

Junior Seau's Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against NFL

Excerpt from: NPR (click for full article)

 

The family of former NFL linebacker Junior Seau has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NFL, the Associated Press is reporting.

According to the wire service, Seau's family accuses the NFL of "acts or omissions" that "hid the dangers of repetitive blows to the head."

As we've reported, Seau committed suicide last May and a postmortem study of his brain by the National Institutes of Health found that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease associated with receptive injuries to the head.

The AP reports that the family also included the helmet manufacturer Riddell Inc. in the suit, claiming it was "negligent in their design, testing, assembly, manufacture, marketing, and engineering of the helmets."

Brain Imaging for Proper Diagnoses

Excerpt from: Making Special Education Actually Work (click for full article)