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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: cognitive decline

cognitive decline stories: 13 news summaries

 Music Prompts 
 Memory in 
 Alzheimer's 
 Patients 

iPod therapy stimulates cognitive functions lost to disease

Nov 17, 09 1:26 PM CST
(Newser) - Therapists and doctors who treat Alzheimer's are now using music not only to soothe and entertain their patients but to restore some cognitive function. For decades it's been recognized that Alzheimer's patients can still remember and sing songs long after they've stopped recognizing names and faces. Now it's thought that... More »

MORE ABOUT:
memory • dementia • iPod • brain • cognitive decline • caregivers • Alzheimer's Disease • musical therapy

Infections Quicken Memory Loss in Alzheimer's Patients

Ailments boost inflammatory protein which may speed decline

Sep 8, 09 10:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - Urinary tract, chest, and other infections may double the speed of memory loss among Alzheimer’s sufferers, researchers in Britain find. About half of subjects in a six-month study got infections outside the brain that prompted increased levels of an inflammatory protein; those who suffered such events, called SIEs, showed... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cognitive decline • infection • protein • memory loss • Britain • health research • urinary tract infection • Alzheimer's Disease

 Obesity May Shrink Your Brain 

Study finds cognitive regions smaller in obese elderly

Aug 24, 09 9:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - Important cognitive brain regions are smaller in older obese people than fit ones, scientists have found. Shrinking brains are tied to dementia, so the discovery fuels the notion that obesity can raise the risk of the cognitive disorder, New Scientist reports. In a review of 94 brain scans, subjects with... More »

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obesity • dementia • cognitive decline • overweight • scientific study • brain scans

A Couple Drinks Daily May Prevent Dementia: Study

Moderate drinkers developed dementia less often than teetotalers

Jul 13, 09 5:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - Moderate drinking may prevent the onset of dementia, MedPage Today reports. A study found that adults aged 75 and over who had one or two drinks daily were 37% less likely to develop dementia. Across the study’s 6-year window, adults who drank more than two drinks a day were... More »

MORE ABOUT:
dementia • alcohol • drinking • cognitive decline • old age • drinkers • mild cognitive impairment • older people

glossies

Video Games May
Stave Off Mental Decline


Jul 11, 09 7:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Shelling goblins and building medieval empires may be perfect ways to stave off cognitive decline, Anita Hamilton writes in Time. Research already shows that challenging tasks can keep brains sharp in old age, but now multi-million-dollar studies are getting the elderly to play video games—not puzzle or math games,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
elderly • brain • cognitive decline • cognitive development • video games • cognitive enhancement

Caffeine May Reverse
Effects of Alzheimer's

Stimulant alleviates cognitive decline in lab mice

Jul 6, 09 2:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - Caffeine may reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study indicates. University of Florida researchers investigated the effects of a high caffeine diet on mice genetically engineered to suffer from high levels of beta-amyloid—a protein associated with human Alzheimer's—that causes cognitive decline in old age. The... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mice • caffeine • treatment • cognitive decline • memory loss • Alzheimer's Society • Alzheimer's Disease • women's issues

A Tipple a Day Keeps Dementia at Bay: Study

Daily glass of wine improves female
brain, delays decline

Dec 28, 08 5:25 PM CST
(Newser) - A little wine with dinner can make women smarter and even help them stave off dementia, the Daily Telegraph reports. Scottish scientists served up vino for thousands of subjects aged 70 to 84, and found women who drank up to a glass a day performed better on mental tests. Men... More »

MORE ABOUT:
dementia • wine • cognitive decline • scientific study



 Science 
 Probes 
 'Senior 
 Moments' 

Researchers discover why an aging brain is prone to distraction

Dec 2, 08 1:14 PM CST
(Newser) - Science has found clues to why older people tend to lose their train of thought so easily: Slower internal brain communications are behind those misplaced names, words, keys, and other “senior moments,” the Wall Street Journal reports. A 200-millisecond difference in an older person’s ability to quickly... More »

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elderly • age • brain • cognitive decline • memory loss • distraction

Staying Sharp While Aging:
It Has a Price

Exercising the brain can stem tide of memory loss

Aug 17, 08 5:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Fighting the aging process is more about hard work than anti-wrinkle cream and hair dye, Jonah Lehrer writes in the Washington Post. The issue for most of us is not to dance like Madonna or swim like US Olympian Dara Torres; it's to remember names and places and find the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
memory • aging • brain • cognitive decline • cognitive behavioral therapy

 10 Factors That Affect Memory

From diet to depression, here's what to watch

Aug 6, 08 1:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - New research suggests our lifestyle choices affect memory loss almost as much as aging. Forbes looks at 10 surprising factors, positive and negative, that determine how sharp you'll stay:  
  1. Tofu—eating too much can increase dementia in the elderly.
  1. Carbs—likewise, too
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
memory • health • dementia • list • cognitive decline • Forbes • Alzheimer's Disease

 'Pre-Dementia' on the Rise

Mild impairment strikes nearly a million elderly a year, especially men

Jul 29, 08 5:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Almost a million Americans each year develop a mild form of memory loss that is often a precursor to Alzheimer's, according to new research. Mild Cognitive Impairment—more serious than normal "senior moments"—was found to be more common in men, the Los Angeles Times reports. Doctors warn... More »

MORE ABOUT:
elderly • dementia • aging • cognitive decline • neurology • Alzheimer's Disease

Mental Decline Strikes 1/3
of Seniors

Alzheimer's will afflict
1 in 8 baby boomers, report projects

Mar 18, 08 12:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - Cognitive problems ranging from forgetting what day it is to full-blown dementia are affecting one-third of the nation's seniors, reports a new study by the National Institute on Aging. The report says 22% of those over 71 have mild impairment, added to 16% suffering dementia, the Washington Post reports. An... More »

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elderly • dementia • public health • aging • cognitive decline • old age • eldercare • National Institute on Aging • Alzheimer's Disease

Is Dick Cheney's Heart the Culprit?

The VP's "darkening persona" may be linked to ticker troubles

Mar 12, 07 9:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Dick Cheney watchers who've puzzled over the vice president's increasingly rigid, defiant, and tone-deaf behavior are beginning to consider whether could be his heart, literally, that's the culprit. With speculation about the Cheney's "darkening persona" an obsession in the capital, Michele Cottle explores the connection between long-term cardiovascular problems... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Dick Cheney • cardiovascular disease • health • dementia • heart • stress • cognitive decline

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