dementia tagged posts

Vitamin D Deficiency directly linked to Dementia

Vitamin D supplement

Dementia is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide, affecting thinking and behaviors as you age. But what if you could stop this degenerative disease in its tracks?

A world-first study from the University of South Australia could make this a reality as new genetic research shows a direct link between dementia and a lack of vitamin D.

Investigating the association between vitamin D, neuroimaging features, and the risk of dementia and stroke, the study found:

  • low levels of vitamin D were associated with lower brain volumes and an increased risk of dementia and stroke
  • genetic analyses supported a causal effect of vitamin D deficiency and dementia.
  • in some populations as much as 17% of dementia cases might be prevented by increasing everyo...
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Quantum Brain Sensors could be crucial in Spotting Dementia after scientists find they can Track Brain Waves

Lead research author Aikaterini Gialopsou with magnetic shield where participant brain signal measurements are taken

New highly sensitive quantum sensors for the brain may in the future be able to identify brain diseases such as dementia, ALS and Parkinson’s, by spotting a slowing in the speed at which signals travel across the brain. The research findings from a paper led by University of Sussex quantum physicists are published in Scientific Reports journal.

The quantum scanners being developed by the scientists can detect the magnetic fields generated when neurons fire. Measuring moment-to-moment changes in the brain, they track the speed at which signals move across the brain...

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Forty percent of Dementia cases could be Prevented or Delayed by Targeting 12 Risk Factors throughout life

Modifying 12 risk factors over a lifetime could delay or prevent 40% of dementia cases.
Infographic courtesy of Keck Medicine of USC

Modifying 12 risk factors over a lifetime could delay or prevent 40% of dementia cases, according to an updated report by the Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC 2020).

Twenty-eight world-leading dementia experts added three new risk factors in the new report — excessive alcohol intake and head injury in mid-life and air pollution in later life...

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Objective Subtle Cognitive Difficulties predict Amyloid Accumulation and Neurodegeneration

A rendering of amyloid protein plaques accumulating between neurons in the brain
A rendering of amyloid protein plaques accumulating between neurons in the brain. Credit: National Institute of Aging

Rresearchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System report that accumulating amyloid – an abnormal protein linked to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) – occurred faster among persons deemed to have “objectively-defined subtle cognitive difficulties” (Obj-SCD) than among persons considered to be “cognitively normal.”

Classification of Obj-SCD, which has been previously shown to predict progression to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, is determined using non-invasive but sensitive neuropsychological measures, including measures of how efficiently someone learns ...

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