_ Brain HealthSeeing the Inner Workings of the Brain By Sondra Forsyth articleA team of scientists at Stanford University has improved a technique called CLARITY that they developed in 2013 to look into brains from deceased donors, according to a paper published June 19th 2014 in Nature Protocols. A release from the university explains that without this tool, the fatty outer covering of the brain’s nerve cells blocks microscopes from taking images of the intricate connections between deep brain cells. CLARITY eliminates the fatty covering while keeping the brain intact with all its intricate inner wiring.
_ Aging Well Memory Loss Stress Management Stress-Free LivingStress Linked to Memory Loss as We Age By Sondra Forsyth articleResearch done at the University of Iowa reports a potential link between stress hormones and short-term memory loss in older adults. The study, published in June 2014 in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that prolonged high levels of cortisol can lead to memory lapses as we age.
_ Brain HealthLearning a 2nd Language Aids Your Aging Brain By Sondra Forsyth articleIf you grew up bilingual or learned a second language in high school, you’ve done your aging brain a favor. However, even if you start mastering a second language as an older adult, you can benefit from the positive effect your new non-native tongue will have on cognition as you age. That’s the finding of research done at the Centre for Cognitive Aging and Cognitive Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh and published in June 2014 in Annals of Neurology.
_ StrokeA Longer Window for Treating Stroke? By Adprime Admin articleThere is an urgent need for developing new drugs that can alleviate the harmful effects of a stroke because current treatment possibilities using thrombolysis are limited to the first hours following a stroke. To that end, researchers at Lund University in Sweden are studying brain cells known as pericytes. The team discovered in 2012 that pericytes can for new cells. According to a release from the university, the 2014 research shows for the first time that pericytes are directly involved in the reaction of the brain tissue after stroke.
_ Alzheimer's Disease and other Dementias SexWhat Happens to Your Sex Life When Your Partner Develops Dementia? By articleBy Douglas Wornell MD What happens with sex in an established relationship -- perhaps one that’s been going on for decades -- when dementia enters the picture? At first glance, one might guess that the couple is likely older and sex isn’t happening anyway. Secondly, many may feel that the dementia will only push the couple further apart and therefore extinguish what glimmer of sexual activity was happening.
_ Brain Health Mental & Emotional Health Stress Management Stress-Free LivingNature’s Balm for the Stressed Brain By articleNew findings on nociception, a system in the brain that naturally moderates the effects of stress, shows promise for the development of therapies for anxiety and addiction. Collaborating scientists at The Scripps Research Institute, the National Institutes of Health, and the University of Camerino in Italy published their results in the January 8th in the Journal of Neuroscience.
MigraineWeather May Cause Migraines By articleIf you suffer from migraine headaches, you might want to blame the winds. Canadian researchers say warm winds may trigger migraines. The report appears in the Jan. 25 issue of the scientific journal Neurology.Dr. Wernher Becker and a team of scientists at the University of Calgary studied the effects of warm westerly winds called "chinooks" on 75 migraine patients. Nearly half of the sufferers appeared to be affected by a change in the weather with the arrival of the chinook.