New research adds further support to the idea that the higher your education level, the less likely you are to get Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

The study found this to be the case even after adjusting for socioeconomic status and other medical diseases. [

Last year I posted about the powerfully negative effects chronic stress has on your memory and brain. Now, a new study

From a recent update posted on the Medscape Neurology section:

Researchers at the American Academy of Neurology 59th Annual Meeting presented preliminary results from a study showing that long term exposure to secondhand smoke

It is commonly said that "elephants never forget". From the website Elephant Voices:

Marijuana

This bit really caught me by surprise: Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found that the active ingredient in marijuana (THC) appears to be quite effective in preventing the brain buildup of amyloid plaque. Amyloid is one of the main pathologic markers for Alzheimer’s disease.

Is the brain like the muscles in your body? Can it be trained with cognitive exercises to improve mental agility and sharpness as you get older?

Quite a bit of research has come out lately indicating that the answer to this question is a resounding ‘Yes’.

Back in medical school, I remember a professor teaching us older patients tend to overreport memory problems and don’t really have much insight into the true status of their memory ability.

Now, a recent study published in the journal Neurology indicates that this may not be true.

Recent research out of the Rush University Alzheimer’s Disease center seems to indicate that loneliness- in the form of emotional isolation- appears to be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.

As per the news release from

Andre Waters was an NFL defensive back for 12 years. During his playing years, he sustained multiple concussions. He committed suicide November 2006 at the age of 44.

The headlines from the last few days would make you think so: “Folic Acid may boost brain power”, “Folic acid boosts minds of over-50’s”, “Folic acid improves memory in elderly”, “Folic acid boosts cognition in older adults”.

The truth, however, is that this new study published in The Lancet shows that

A study which appears in the January issue of Neuropsychology indicates that a simple blood test- checking for uric acid levels- may help predict risk of cognitive impairment in older adults.

Patients with high-normal uric acid levels were found to have lower scores on tests of:

• mental processing speed
• verbal memory
• working memory

One of the most common reasons patients get upset with neurologists is when we tell them they should no longer drive. Most older folks are very independent, and when you take their car away from them, they are not happy. In fact, many become belligerent and act as if you’re personally out to get them.

As strange as this may sound, currently, there is no good scientific test for Alzheimer’s disease. In other words, there is no specific blood test, spinal fluid test, or brain imaging study (MRI, CT, PET) that can definitely tell whether you have the disease or not.

Most everyone knows that when you develop Alzheimer’s disease, your memory begins to fail. Specifically, your short term memory

Reading through the latest issue of Neurology Today, came across some interesting tidbits on how beneficial exercise can be for your brain:

• As mentioned in earlier posts, exercise leads to the creation of new brain cells in the hippocampus

Came across some amazing research

A new study reveals that both green and black tea have the ability to inhibit the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). This enzyme is important, because it breaks down the acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter in the brain.

Researchers at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute found Gingko Biloba triggers significant improvement in verbal memory in subjects with age-associated memory impairment compared to placebo.

Many earlier studies with Ginkgo Biloba have produced conflicting results. According to

Compared to those who drank less than one glass of fruit or vegetable juice per week, those who drank three or more were 76% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Qi Dai and colleagues out of Vanderbilt School of Medicine reported these results in the September issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

You can read the full article

Although I’m still wondering how Grandma knew “fish is brain food”, while leafing through my latest issue of Archives of Neurology, I came across another neat study that illustrates how beneficial DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) is for your brain.

Prednisone is a corticosteroid, and neurologists typically prescribe it quite often, as many of the diseases we see respond dramatically to it.

A very unique approach to boosting memory was just published in the journal Nature.

While medical students slept, electrodes placed on their scalp came to life, slowly and gently applying current to the brain tissue beneath the skull. The currents were designed to induce and magnify the slow oscillating brain waves of deep sleep.

Could a rut of persistent negative thoughts lead not only to depression but also contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease? I believe there may potentially be a causal link, and new study published in Cognitive Therapy and Research

Just read how in the UK, drugs like Aricpet, Exelon, and Reminyl are no longer available as treatment for mild cases of Alzheimer’s disease.

They are felt to offer too little benefit compared to their expense.

I believe this offers a taste of things to come in the US, as healthcare funds become more and more scarce.

Most forms of dementia are not very treatable or reversible. For example, there is not much you can really do for patients with Alzheimer’s disease or multi-infarct dementia when it comes to reversing the memory loss and cognitive decline.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalous and Celiac disease, however, are two fairly common reversible dementias frequently misdiagnosed and overlooked.

New research with pomegranate juice is revealing how the fruit may turn out to be a super brain food.

A new study (by lead researcher Richard Hartman out of Loma Linda University in California) published in the journal Neurobiology of Disease