High Blood pressure is enemy #1 of the brain. It ravages the small blood vessels that feed brain tissue, and over time leads to many little holes in the brain (technically known as infarcts or strokes).

In our quest to be ever more productive at work, we put in longer and longer hours. In doing so, however, we may be setting our brains up for long-term failure:

According to a new study out of the University of California in Irvine, the more hours you put in at work, the more likely you are to have high blood pressure. Those working more than 51 hours a week were 29 percent more likely to have high blood pressure than those working 11 to 39 hours a week.

“American workers now work longer hours than workers in any other industrial country in the world — including Japan,” Dean Baker, one of the study authors said.

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A recent report in the journal Neurology notes that people who were exposed to lead many years ago may develop progressive, ongoing brain degeneration and injury.

Why is this study important? In an editorial in the same journal, Andrew Roland, PhD summarizes it nicely when he says: “Exposure to inorganic lead, like that found in paint, is still an important public health problem. In addition, those of us who grew up before the late 1970s still carry high levels of lead in our bodies. We need more studies addressing the potential chronic health effects of those exposures.”

The study looked at workers who were exposed to lead while working in a chemical plant in New Jersey. On average, the workers were exposed 18 years previously. Despite the fact the exposure occurred years earlier, the researchers found brain damage characterized by:

• smaller brain volume
• severe and extensive white matter lesions

“It’s one of the first studies that shows that an exposure in the distant past can affect the brain and cause what we call progressive changes,” Dr. Walter Stewart of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health told Reuters in an interview.

What Jobs are Associated with Lead Poisoning?

• Producing or smelting lead
• Melting and casting brass, copper or lead
• Demolishing old structures
• Stripping or sanding old paint
• Welding old, painted metal
• Machining and grinding lead alloys
• Manufacturing batteries
• Repairing radiators
• Handling scrap metal
• Soldering lead
• Using indoor firing ranges
• Mixing ceramic glazes

However, here are some sources from the home which can lead to poisoning:

• Lead-Based Paint-Present on many surfaces in homes not recently rebuilt or remodeled
• Lead Pipes-More common in older homes
• Lead Solder -On pipes and water heaters
• Enameled or Ceramic Pots and Dishware-Improper glazing can leech lead into foods
• Paper Wrappings-Holiday paper and party decorations (10g/kg)
• Food Packages-Polythene plastic bags, flour bags(20mg/kg),cardboard boxes with dyes (50mg/kg)
• Candy Packaging-Candy bar wrappers(7g/kg), Colored sports trading cards packaged with gum(88mg/kg)

Importantly, while it has been commonly believed amongst neurologists that children’s brains are much more susceptible to inorganic lead poisoning than adults (For example, it is well known that childhood lead exposure leads to lower IQs, multiple cognitive and behavioral problems), Dr. Stewart notes, however, that “We have evidence to suggest that inorganic lead is probably toxic to adults”.

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As pharmaceutical companies come out with newer, more effective brain boosting pills (see an earlier post on ampakines), more and more people will be chiming in on the ethics of brain enhancement.

Just came across an article that says the UK’s chief scientific advisor “urges brain pills for all”. The article states that Sir David King has called for a removal of restrictions on “cognitive enhancers”. According to the article, he believes “smart drugs to make people think faster, improve their memory, and reduce tiredness will be commonplace within 20 years.”

Within 20 years? Studies of college students on U.S. campuses already show as many as 25% are using stimulant drugs like Ritalin, Adderall, and Dexedrine to improve their concentration and get better grades.

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The answer, according to a new study by Thomas Dee, a professor of economics at Swarthmore College, depends on your gender.

His findings, based on a survey of 25,000 8th graders, show that boys learn best from male teachers, and girls learn best from female teachers.

Interestingly, when I think back to elementary and high school, and even college, I actually find this to be personally true…

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Technology is really progressing at a dizzying pace. We are rapidly approaching the day when scientists will be able to interface brains and computer chips. For many, these neurochips might seem like something straight out of a science fiction novel, but over the past several months I’ve noticed a flurry of breakthroughs that indicate neurochips are close to becoming a reality.

The illustration above is based on work done by researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry. The scientists layered a thin section of rat brain hippocampus on top of a semiconductor with 16,384 sensory transistors per square millimeter. The neurochip is able to map the pattern of electrical excitation in the hippocampus.

In March of 2006, nanofibres were used as scaffolding to allow damaged nerves to regrow. In another breakthrough, researchers have devised a way to use carbon nanotubes to actually send electrical signals to individual nerve cells.

Based on the above technologies, it seems we now have ways to not only record brain cell activity, but also to stimulate and modulate the activity of individual brain cells.

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Bombay, Shanghai, Delhi, Beijing, New York, London, Los Angeles, Tokyo are some of the most populated cities on earth. It turns out living in these sorts of places may be really bad for your long term brain health. A new study out of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California indicates that smog may speed the development of atherosclerosis.

Nino Kuenzil, an associate professor of preventative medicine at USC notes: “If confirmed, the public-health relevance would be enormous. Atherosclerosis plays a major role in a broad array of diseases, and almost everybody is regularly exposed to ambient air pollution, 24 hours a day, over a lifetime.”

As I’ve commented on in several earlier posts, the ability of your brain to function well is critically dependent on its blood supply. The better the blood supply, the better your brain will function as you get older. Since atherosclerosis cripples the blood supply to the brain, avoiding atherosclerosis is incredibly important when it comes to maintaining brain power.

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