- People with high levels of body fat stored in their belly or arms may be more likely to develop diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. However, people with a high level of muscle strength were less likely to develop these diseases, finds new study of 412,691 people over ~9 years. https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/5189 5 comments science
- People who have more disrupted sleep in their 30s and 40s may be more likely to have memory and thinking problems a decade later, according to new research n=526 followed for 11 years https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/5136 192 comments science
- Research on more than 88,000 people in the U.K. found that those with the most irregular sleep patterns were 53% more likely to develop dementia compared to people with more regular sleep patterns. https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/5132 33 comments science
- Study: Even with statins, high triglycerides may increase risk of second stroke. Elevated triglyceride levels are thought to contribute to hardening of the arteries and increased risk of heart attack, heart disease and stroke. https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/4967 9 comments science
- Study: People with mild traumatic brain injuries may be more likely to have cognitive impairment, cognitive decline or both one year later, compared to people who were not injured. People with poor cognitive outcomes also more likely to have other symptoms like anxiety & lower satisfaction with life https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/4952 28 comments science
- Study: Subtle changes in the structure and the diastolic function of a person’s heart between early adulthood and middle age may be associated with a decline in thinking and memory skills. The diastolic function of the heart is when it rests between beats and the chambers fill with blood. https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/4948 6 comments science
- A new study shows that people with Parkinson’s disease who eat a diet that includes three or more servings per week of foods high in flavonoids, like tea, apples, berries and red wine, may have a lower chance of dying during the study period than people who do not eat as many flavonoids. https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/4949 18 comments science
- A new study suggests that people with early-stage Parkinson’s disease who regularly got one to two hours of moderate exercise twice a week, like walking or gardening, may have less trouble balancing, walking and doing daily activities later. https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/4946 60 comments science
- Blood sugar control has always been important for people with diabetes when it comes to preventing stroke. Study shows there is an optimal blood sugar level that may start to minimize the risk of having another stroke, a heart attack or other vascular problems, and it’s right in the 6.8% to 7% range https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/4926 8 comments science
- Keeping the brain active in old age has always been a smart idea, but a new study suggests that reading, writing letters and playing card games or puzzles in later life may delay onset of Alzheimer’s dementia by up to five years. It may be beneficial to start doing these things even in the 80s. https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/4909 15 comments science
- Study: A modified ketogenic diet may be worth exploring for people with brain tumors. Since ketogenic diet is low in sugar, the body changes what it uses for energy—instead of carbohydrates, it uses ketones. Normal brain cells can survive on ketones, but cancer cells cannot use ketones for energy. https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/4907 4 comments science
- A new study suggests that even when differences in socioeconomic status are taken into consideration, Black people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be more negatively impacted by the disease than white people with MS. Black people also had—on average—larger lesion volumes on their brain scans. https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/4906 7 comments science
- Middle-age & older people living in more disadvantaged neighborhoods—areas with higher poverty levels and fewer educational and employment opportunities—had more brain shrinkage on brain scans and showed faster decline on cognitive tests than people living in neighborhoods with fewer disadvantages. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/4881 4 comments science
- Losing some hearing or eyesight is often a part of getting older, but a new study says losing function in both senses may put you at greater risk of dementia and cognitive decline years later. Dementia was more than twice as common in the group with both impairments at the beginning of the study. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/4879 6 comments science
- It’s not uncommon for people who experience a concussion to have moderate to severe headaches in the weeks after injury. A new study has found a combination of two drugs, both common anti-nausea medications, given intravenously in the emergency room may relieve those headaches better than a placebo. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/4876 8 comments science
- A new study of Medicare payments has found that over a 5-year period, payments for medications prescribed to people with neurologic conditions like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy increased by 50% while number of claims for these prescription medications only rose by only 8%. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/4873 12 comments science
- Study: Greater amounts of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity like walking briskly, running and biking in middle age through later life may have protective effect on the brain. Engaging in more than 2.5 hours of physical activity per week was associated with fewer signs of brain disease https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/3850 8 comments science
- High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy Linked to Worse Memory 15 Years Later https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/3846 4 comments science
- Just like with drug costs, the amount of money people pay out-of-pocket for diagnostic tests and office visits for neurologic conditions has risen over 15 years. People enrolled in high-deductible health plans were more likely to have high out-of-pocket costs than people in other types of plans. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/3845 10 comments science
- Women who work in the paid labor force in early adulthood and middle age may have slower memory decline later in life than women who do not work for pay. Researchers found an association between working for pay and slower memory decline regardless of a woman’s marital or parenthood status. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/3832 3 comments science
- Older adults with severe apathy, or lack of interest in usual activities, may have a greater chance of developing dementia than people with few symptoms of apathy, according to a study. Apathy may be a very early sign of dementia and it can be evaluated with a brief questionnaire. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/3828 770 comments science
- Autism is considered a disorder of the brain. But a new study suggests that the peripheral nervous system, the nerves that control our sense of touch, pain and other sensations, may play a role as well. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/3827 1137 comments science
- A class of drugs used for many conditions, including allergies, colds, high blood pressure and depression, may be associated with an increased risk of developing mild thinking and memory problems, particularly in people who have genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/3818 3 comments science
- Taking vitamin D and calcium twice a day may reduce your chances of getting vertigo again. A study suggests that for people with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, taking a supplement of vitamin D and calcium is a simple, low-risk way to prevent vertigo from recurring. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/3811 11 comments science
- Eating fish may protect our brains from air pollution: Older women who eat more than one to two servings a week of baked or broiled fish or shellfish may consume enough omega-3 fatty acids to counteract the effects of air pollution on the brain, according to a new study https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/3805 9 comments science
- How well eight-year-olds score on a test of thinking skills may be a predictor of how they will perform on tests of thinking and memory skills when they are 70 years old. Someone whose cognitive performance was in the top 25 percent as a child, was likely to remain in the top 25 percent at age 70. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/2754 14 comments science
- A new study has found that mentally stimulating activities like using a computer, playing games, crafting and participating in social activities are linked to a lower risk or delay of age-related memory loss called mild cognitive impairment. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/2733 18 comments science
- Regular aerobic exercise such as walking, cycling or climbing stairs may improve thinking skills not only in older people but in people as young as 20, suggests a new study. People who exercised were testing as if they were about 10 years younger at age 40 and about 20 years younger at age 60. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/2691 3 comments science
- If you kick or yell during sleep, a new study has found that taking antidepressants for depression, having post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety diagnosed by a doctor, are risk factors for a disruptive and sometimes violent sleep disorder called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/2685 6 comments science
- Children who grow up in poverty or who are otherwise socially and economically disadvantaged may be more likely in old age to score lower than others on tests of cognitive skills, according to a new study. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/1672 8 comments science
- When medical marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is taken for chronic nerve pain, it may provide pain relief by reducing connections between areas of the brain that process emotions and sensory signals, according to a new randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial published in Neurology. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/1669 26 comments science
- People who feel faint, dizzy or lightheaded when standing up may be experiencing a sudden drop in blood pressure called orthostatic hypotension. Now a new study (N=11,709) says middle-aged people who experience such a drop may have a greater risk of developing dementia or stroke decades later. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/1663 386 comments science
- People who feel faint, dizzy or lightheaded when standing up may be experiencing a sudden drop in blood pressure called orthostatic hypotension. Now a new study says middle-aged people who experience such a drop may have a greater risk of developing dementia or stroke decades later. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/1663 20 comments science
- People with exposure to paint or other solvents are 50% more likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) than people with no exposure. People with exposure to solvents who also carry the genes that make them more susceptible to MS are nearly 7 times as likely to develop the disease, finds new study. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/1658 56 comments science
- People who eat a diet rich in vegetables, fruit, nuts and fish may have bigger brains, according to a study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study included 4,213 people in the Netherlands with an average age of 66 who did not have dementia. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/1650 778 comments science
- Consuming at least 3 servings of low-fat dairy a day is associated with a greater risk of developing Parkinson’s disease compared to consuming less than 1 serving a day, according to a large study published in Neurology, the American Academy of Neurology journal. https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/1558 22 comments science
- Heavy drinking in middle age may speed memory loss by up to six sears in men; moderate drinking may not harm memory and executive function https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/1233 6 comments science
- Having shingles may increase the risk of having a stroke years later, according to new research: People age 18 to 40 who had shingles were more likely to have a stroke, heart attack or transient ischemic attack, called TIA or warning for a stroke, years later than people who had not had shingles https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/1230 48 comments science
- Does Being a Bookworm Boost Your Brainpower in Old Age? http://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/1195 64 comments science
- NFL Players May Be at Higher Risk for Depression as They Age http://www.aan.com/press/index.cfm?fuseaction=release.view&release=1134 3 comments nfl