Memory Key News for November 2007

A large, long-running study has found that men who took beta carotene supplements for 15 years or longer had significantly higher scores on several cognitive tests compared with men who took placebo.

http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Nov.htm#carotene

Relationship between statins and cognitive decline more complex than thought

A three year epidemiological study of older African Americans has now found cognitive decline in statin users was less than those who did not take statins, but those who continued to take statins from 2001 to 2004 had greater cognitive decline than those who were taking statins in 2001 but were no longer taking them in 2004.

http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Nov.htm#statins

Not enough 'good' cholesterol makes it harder to recover from stroke

A large study involving men and women over age 35 in the United States, Canada, and Scotland who had suffered a mild to moderate stroke within the past three months, found several factors predicted memory and disability problems after stroke: increased age, non-Caucasian race, recurrent stroke, diabetes, stroke in the left hemisphere of the brain, higher levels of homocysteine and lower levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), otherwise known as "good" cholesterol.

http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Nov.htm#chol

Children with gene show reduced cognitive function

A new study has found that children aged 7 to 10 who possess the ‘Alzheimer's’ gene apoE4 already show signs of reduced cognitive function.

http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Nov.htm#gene

Early math skills best predict school success

A review of data from six studies of close to 36,000 preschoolers has revealed that the single most important factor in predicting later academic achievement is that children begin school with a mastery of early math and literacy concepts. The very strongest predictor of future academic success was beginning school with a knowledge of numbers, number order and other rudimentary math concepts.

http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Nov.htm#Early

Gesturing helps grade-schoolers solve math problems

Two studies of children in late third and early fourth grade, who made mistakes in solving math problems, have found that children told to move their hands when explaining how they’d solve a problem were four times as likely as kids given no instructions to manually express correct new ways to solve problems.

http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Nov.htm#Gesturing

Gene governs IQ boost from breastfeeding

In two studies of breast-fed infants involving more than 3,000 children in Britain and New Zealand, breastfeeding was found to raise intelligence an average of nearly 7 IQ points if the children had a particular version of a gene called FADS2. The gene variant is the common one — 90% of the children had at least one copy of it.

http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Nov.htm#breast

Nicotine may enhance attention and working memory in recovering alcoholics

New findings show that nicotine patches may enhance cognitive functioning among newly recovering alcoholics with a history of smoking. Nicotine (but not tobacco) has been shown to have a cognitive benefit, particularly on attention processes.

http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Nov.htm#Nicotine

Club drugs inflict damage similar to traumatic brain injury

A series of rat studies over the past five years has shown using the popular club drug Ecstasy, also called MDMA, and other forms of methamphetamine lead to the same type of brain injury that occur after a person endures a sharp blow to the head.

http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Nov.htm#Club

How stress affects memory

We know stress affects memory. Now a rat study tells us one of the ways it does that.

http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Nov.htm#stress

Brain protein that's a personal trainer for your memory

A brain protein called kalirin has been shown to be critical for helping you learn and remember what you learned. When you learn something new, kalirin makes the synaptic spines on your neurons grow bigger and stronger the more you repeat the lesson. This may help explain why continued intellectual activity and learning delays cognitive decline as people grow older.

http://www.memory-key.com/news/2007/news_2007Nov.htm#protein

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ALZHEIMER'S NEWS
<http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_news.htm>

November 2007
<http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2007b.htm>

Healthy diet lowers risk of dementia

A very large study of older adults has found that those who regularly consumed omega-3 rich oils reduced their risk of dementia by 60% compared to people who did not regularly consume such oils, and those who ate fruits and vegetables daily also reduced their risk of dementia by 30%.

http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2007b.htm#healthydiet

High blood pressure or irregular heartbeat linked to Alzheimer's disease progression

A study has found that those with high blood pressure at the time of diagnosis showed a rate of memory loss roughly 100% faster than those with normal blood pressure, and those with atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat) showed a rate of memory decline that was 75% faster than those with normal heartbeats.

http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2007b.htm#High

Drugs may not delay onset of dementia

A review of six clinical trials that had addressed the use of cholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine) with MCI patients has found that in none of the trials did the use of the drugs significantly reduce the rate of progression from MCI to dementia.

http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2007b.htm#Drugs

Maternal inheritance more importance than paternal for Alzheimer's risk?

A preliminary study suggests having a mother with Alzheimer’s increases risk but having an affected father doesn’t.

http://www.memory-key.com/Seniors/Alzheimers/Alzheimers_2007b.htm#Maternal

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