Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that currently affects nearly 5% of people 65-year old and over 30% of those 85-year old. It is now estimated that there are 18−24 million people suffering from AD worldwide, two-thirds of whom are living in developed or developing countries, and this number is expected to reach 34 million by 2025. AD is characterized by the progressive accumulation of amyloid beta peptide (Aβ), neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and hyperphosphorylated microtubule-associated tau protein. Many regions involved in memory and learning processes, such as the hippocampus and frontal cortex, show neuron apoptosis several years before clinical signs appear. Today there is no cure for this devastating disease and therefore it is of great interest for researchers to find new drugs that can hinder the disease process.  Current drugs on the market improve the function of still intact neurons, but do not inhibit the ongoing degenerative process leading to neuronal cell death. Curcumin, a biologically active component of turmeric (Curcuma longa) is used as a curry spice and herbal medicine for the treatment of inflammatory conditions, cancer, AIDS and other diseases. Epidemical studies in India, where turmeric is used routinely, show that the incidence of AD between the ages of 70 and 79 years is 4.4-fold less than in the USA.  Results on mice show that a low dose of curcumin significantly suppressed the inflammation, reduced oxidative damage and plaque burden and decreased the amount of insoluble amyloid. Compared to other antioxidant drugs, such as NSAID or ibuprofen, curcumin had fewer side effects. Evidence suggests that metals are concentrated in the AD brain and curcumin is a chelator which can bind the iron and copper (but not zinc) on beta amyloid, which may be one mechanism potentially contributing to amyloid reduction. In vivo, curcumin may protect cells from the beta amyloid attack and subsequent oxidative stress-induced damage in the antioxidant pathway. The findings of a previous study prove curcumin can induce cognitive improvement by enhancing the cholinergic system and its antioxidant activity. The studies on curcumin are incomplete and there needs to be further investigation of its neuroprotective mechanism.

See the research study here

Getting older is unavoidable, but falling apart mentally or physically is not. The biological mind-body connection becomes more important as you age. After all, a sound mind won’t do you much good if your body fails.

Loss of memory or cognitive decline shows up in the little things first. You have a harder time calling to mind the names of people and places, you have something at the tip of your tongue but just can’t remember what it is, you go into a room to get something and can’t remember what it was. The prefrontal cortex, which is your search engine for your memory, can’t call it up. Everyone has this happen at some point in their life. When this happens, the hippocampus kicks in to provide other associations to try to jog your memory, but those names and places which used to come easily become more difficult.

Brain-function research shows that as you age the cells throughout your body gradually lose their ability to adapt to stress. In the brain, when neurons get worn down from cellular stress, synapses erode, which eventually severs connections. Dendrites physically wither, and you start losing a signal here or there. Losing a signal here or there isn’t such a big deal at first, because the brain is designed to compensate by rerouting information around dead patches in the network and recruiting other areas to help with trafficking. The good news is your brain is a social network; it thrives on making new connections and is constantly rewiring itself and adapting – provided there’s enough stimulation to spur the growth of new neurons.

Memory is possible because of your neurons. Neurons are electrically excitable cells in the nervous system that process and transmit information. Neurons never actually touch each other. They reach toward each other across a gap (synapse) with their axons and dendrites (tiny hair-like filaments that project out).

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People who have lost brain cells in the hippocampus area of the brain are more likely to develop dementia, researchers report. The findings add to a growing body of evidence that shrinkage of the brain, particularly in the hippocampal area, may be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, occurring years before obvious memory loss and other symptoms appear.

The study, from researchers in the Netherlands, appeared in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. It involved 64 people with Alzheimer’s disease, 44 people with mild cognitive impairment, a less severe form of memory loss that sometimes precedes Alzheimer’s disease, and 34 people with no memory or thinking problems.

Read the rest of this article by clicking the following link: Hippocampus and Alzheimer’s

The benefits of exercise:

• In children, college students and young adults, exercise or physical activity improves learning and intelligence scores.

• Exercise in childhood increases the resilience of the brain in later life resulting in a cognitive reserve.

• The decline of memory, cortex and hippocampus atrophy in aging humans can be attenuated by exercise.

• Physical activity improves memory and cognition.

• Exercise protects against brain damage caused by stroke.

• Exercise promotes recovery after brain injury.

• Exercise can be an antidepressant.

The brain needs certain ingredients to flourish or to life up to the expectations of every day problems. The brain has priority when it comes to certain ingredients. A variety of foods can be beneficial for learning. Positive effects on brain function have been reported for fish oil, teas, fruits, folate, spices, cocoa, chocolate and vitamins.

To read more about exercise and the brain,visit the following link: Exercise and the Brain

We’ve heard that meditation can help lower your blood pressure and help you relax. But can it make your brain bigger? That’s what scientists at UCLA wanted to find out.

Meditation is a deeply personal practice. For some people meditation brings them focus, relaxation and lowers stress. But it may also be making their brains bigger — yes, bigger.

Dr. Eileen Luders wanted to explore the connection between focused thinking – and brain size.

“If you imagine the brain like a muscle then meditation for the brain is like physical exercise for the body. Meditation is a mental workout,” said Dr. Luders, UCLA.
Read the rest of this article at: Meditation and Brain Size

This article on findings released at the BIO conference in Atlanta this week, discussed findings that all anti-depressant drugs achieve at least some of their effects by stimulating the growth of neurons in a region of the brain called the hippocampus, which is involved in learning and memory.  This seems to make sense since taking ant-depressant drugs can takes weeks to take affect.  If the affect is not realized until after new neurons are created and become an active in the brain, it may take many weeks.  They have confirmed this in some animal tests in the laboratory.

Until the late 1990s, Neurogenesis (development of new cells in the brain)  was believed stop soon after birth.  Now we know that it continues throughout life.  We even know that we can encourage neurogenesis though physical and mental exercise, reduction in stress, proper sleep, and a good diet.  These activities can help keep our brains sharp as we age and may even help with some mild forms of mental diseases.  If you need variety in getting that mental exercise, come to Myfitbrain.