By uncovering a mechanism that causes damage to brain synapses during Alzheimer’s disease, researchers might have found a key to reducing or preventing nerve degeneration for these patients.

According to a report in the April 3 issue of Science, researchers at the U.S.-based Burnham Institute for Medical Research have shown that beta-amyloid protein “multimers” create excessive nitric oxide. This free radical then reacts with the protein Drp1, causing the fragmentation of mitochondria — the cell’s energy storehouses — in the brain, a violent process that causes the neurodegeneration linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Finish reading this article at: Brain Cells Give New Clues

When is a memory lapse just a lapse and when is it a sign of something much more serious? Loss of memory is a great fear among older adults. Our memories define us.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, every 71 seconds someone develops Alzheimer’s and 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s disease in their lifetime.

All of us over a certain age have probably experienced a few “senior moments” — those disconcerting memory blips when you can’t come up with the right word, remember where you put the remote or even remember why you walked into a room. When we are younger, we can laugh off these memory lapses, but as we age they can become worrisome.

In the same way people have worked to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease through diet and exercise, people can work to improve the health of their brains. Brain fitness can delay and even help reclaim some age-related cognitive decline and memory loss. Studies have shown it is not just a case of “use it or lose it.” With the right stimulation, it’s more like “use it and boost it.”
The article continues by explaining ways for individuals to stimulate their brain cells. If you are interested in learning about this, click the following link: Focus on Aging Brain

On 8 March 1969, an extraordinary experiment was reported in the pages of Nature, Europe’s leading science journal. A group of people took turns sitting in an old dentist’s chair and describing the room around them. They commented on the presence of a phone on the table, a nearby vase, facial expressions and how they wore their hair. It was remarkable because all were blind.

The scientific establishment took a dim view of the work and, for the most part, dismissed it as implausible. But today it stands as one of the first, and most striking, demonstrations of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to adapt. The blind people had learned to “see” through the sensation of touch.
Read more about this experiment at: Brain Won’t Be Contained

Do you misplace your keys or regularly miss appointments? Do you often forget the names of people you know well?  Do you feel like your memory is slowly getting worse? If so, then you may find yourself considering those brain games advertised everywhere. Sales pitches such as “where the sweat is figurative, but results are real” and “your brain will thank you” are amusingly alluring. But you may find yourself wondering whether they are really worth the time and expense. You shell out the money, play a few rounds and your brain will start spitting out names, dates and pin numbers like you’re 18 again—right?

Yes, those computerized brain-training games seem like a cool idea. They are based in large part on clear evidence that living in an enriched environment with lots of mental stimulation produces positive brain changes. And we agree there’s huge potential for tapping into your own neuroplasticity (that is, the brain’s ability to change itself by remodeling nerve cell connections after experience) to enhance mental fitness and prevent age-related memory decline. The well-established benefits of early life education on reducing later risk for dementia has also given much credence to the theory that building a greater cognitive reserve capacity can help the brain compensate for injury—analagous to the concept that more cell phone towers equals fewer dropped calls. Furthermore, several brilliant neuroscientists have, in recent years, served as the designers of the best brain games on the market.

But there’s a crucial catch: most of these early studies were done on rodents. So lost in the brain game buzz is the obvious question: Are these claims true when it comes to human brain performance and aging? Can they really make your brain faster and stronger? Are there really better than the tried-and-true approach: remaining healthy, active, and engaged in the world around you? In other words, are they worth the money?
Interested in learning more about brain games? Read the rest of this article at: Brain Games

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