Salt Intake Not Associated with Mortality or Risk of Cardiovascular Disease, Heart Failure in Older Adults
Salt Intake Not Associated with Mortality or Risk of Cardiovascular Disease, Heart Failure in Older Adults Like salty foods? Salt intake was not associated with mortality or risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and health failure (HF) in older adults based on self-reported estimated sodium intake, according to a study published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. Data on sodium restriction among older adults are scarce, especially those with their blood pressure on target. Achieving a sodium intake of less than 1,500 mg/day as currently recommended for adults over 50 also is difficult for older adults in part because of long-held dietary habits. So the incremental benefit of restricting sodium to lower targets needs to be evaluated, according to background information. Andreas P. Kalogeropoulos, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., of Emory University, Atlanta, and coauthors looked at the association between dietary sodium intake and mortality, CVD and HF in a group of 2,642 adults who ranged in age from 71 to 80 (51.2 percent of the participants were female and 61.7 percent were white). The authors analyzed 10-year follow-up data on the adults who were participating in this community-based study where dietary sodium intake was assessed at baseline with a questionnaire. After 10 years, 881 of the participants had died, 572 had developed CVD and 398 had developed HF. Sodium intake was not associated with mortality, or new development ofåÊ CVD or HF, according to study results.
Spice Turmeric Could Fight Alzheimer’s
Spice Turmeric Could Fight Alzheimer’s (Vanderbilt University) Curcumin, a natural product found in the spice turmeric, has been used by many Asian cultures for centuries, and a new study indicates a close chemical analog of curcumin has properties that may make it useful as a treatment for the brain disease. ÛÏCurcumin has demonstrated ability to enter the brain, bind and destroy the beta-amyloid plaques present in AlzheimerÛªs with reduced toxicity,Û said Wellington Pham, Ph.D., assistant professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt and senior author of the study, published recently in the Journal of AlzheimerÛªs Disease. Accumulation and aggregation of protein fragments, known as beta-amyloid, drives the irreversible loss of neurons in AlzheimerÛªs disease. Pham and colleagues at Shiga University of Medical Science in Otsu, Japan, developed a new strategy to deliver a molecule similar to curcumin more effectively to the brain. ÛÏTo work around the problems of giving the drug intravenously, the researchers decided to develop an aerosol. ÛÏIn this way the drug can be breathed in and delivered to the brain,Û he said, noting that nebulizers are out in the market already, and are relatively inexpensive.
Playing Catch Can Improve Balance and Prevent Falls
Playing Catch Can Improve Balance and Prevent Falls The simple training exercise of catching a weighted medicine ball can improve balance and may help prevent falls in the elderly, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago. When someone is jostled by a bump or a stumble, the brain uses two strategies to maintain balance and prevent a fall, says Alexander Aruin, professor of physical therapy at UIC and principal investigator on the two studies. ÛÏYou brace yourself,Û AruinåÊsaid. The brain activates muscles in anticipation of the jolt. The second strategy is corrective ÛÓ the brain engages musclesåÊ to prevent us from losing our balance. As we age, we lose our ability to ready ourselves to maintain balance. Aruin and his colleagues asked a group of healthy young adults to stand and catch a medicine ball. In the second study, they asked the same ofåÊa group of healthy older adults. The researchers measured the electrical activity of leg and trunk muscles to look for differences in the two age groupsÛª ability to generate postural adjustments both before and after the single short training session. Training-related improvements were seen in both groups.åÊIn older adults, the researchers found that not only can they improve, but they also improve at performing a task that was not part of the training. ÛÏIt seems that most people have very positive memories associated with playing catch,Û he said. – See more at: http://news.uic.edu/playing-catch-improves-balance-may-prevent-falls-in-seniors#sthash.Jh5rl8Q6.dpuf Infographic – Preventing Falls in Older Adults
Preventing Falls in Older Adults – Built by Easy Climber Infographic – Preventing Falls in Older Adults
Senior Depression, Behavior Changes May Start in AlzheimerÛªs Even Before Memory Changes
Senior Depression, Behavior Changes May Start in AlzheimerÛªs Even Before Memory Changes Depression and other behavior changes may show up in people who will later develop AlzheimerÛªs disease even before they start having memory problems, according to a new study published in the Neurologyå¨, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. ÛÏWhile earlier studies have shown that an estimated 90 percent of people with AlzheimerÛªs experience behavioral or psychological symptoms such as depression, anxiety and agitation, this study suggests that these changes begin before people even have diagnosable dementia,Û said study author Catherine M. Roe, PhD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. The study looked at 2,416 people age 50 and older who had no cognitive problems at their first visit to one of 34 AlzheimerÛªs disease centers across the country. The participants were followed for up to seven years. Of the participants, 1,198 people stayed cognitively normal, with no memory or thinking problems, during the study. They were compared with 1,218 people who were followed for about the same length of time, but who developed dementia. The people who developed dementia during the study also developed behavior and mood symptoms such as apathy, appetite changes, irritability and depression sooner than the people who did not develop dementia. For example, 30 percent of people who would develop dementia had depression after four years in the study, compared to 15 percent of those who did not develop dementia. Those who developed dementia were more than twice as likely to develop depression sooner than those without dementia and more than 12 times more likely to develop delusions than those without dementia. Roe said the study adds to the conflicting evidence on depression and dementia. ÛÏWe still donÛªt know whether depression is a response to the psychological process of AlzheimerÛªs disease or a result of the same underlying changes in the brain,Û she said. ÛÏMore research is needed to identify the relationship between these two conditions.Û
