Strong Brain Blog

Brain plasticity is generally understood to mean that networks of neurons can reorganize themselves under a variety of conditions. A new study from Harvard Stem Cell Institute shows that individual neurons themselves may turn from one form of neuron into another in a living animal brain. Moreover, “neighboring neurons recognize the reprogrammed cells as different and adapt by changing how they communicate with them.” Articles about the study and the study itself have been linked in Neuro-Psych as listed here:

Neurons reprogrammed in animals

Neurons Can Be Changed from One Type Into Another from Within the Brain

Instructing Perisomatic Inhibition by Direct Lineage Reprogramming of Neocortical Projection Neurons

A new study of 16,000+ men being treated for prostate cancer demonstrated that those who got any kind of androgen deprivation therapy had nearly twice the risk of developing Alzheimer’s over the next 2 ½ years as men getting other treatments. The result, based on the men’s medical records, is only a correlation, and not proof of causality, but is prompting cancer researchers to look more closely.

Links to the study and to articles about the study have been posted in Risk Factors:

Common Prostate Cancer Treatment May Double Risk for Alzheimer’s

Common prostate cancer treatment may double Alzheimer’s risk

Original article:
Androgen Deprivation Therapy and Future Alzheimer’s Disease Risk [Abstract free; Full text: Paywall]

We’ve posted two worthwhile new articles in
Caregivers and Coping Stories:

Dementia is not an individual’s disease, it’s something that can tear families apart

Alzheimer’s is a young(er) person’s disease — so get to work

Synapses are the connections between neurons. Without synapses, neurons are pretty much good for nothing. This study demonstrates how a molecule (NCAM2) essential to synaptic connections is broken down by the molecule called beta-amyloid, which is the main component of the plaques that build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.

Links to the study together with articles about it have been posted in

Neurology & Neuroplasticity:

Synapse Discovery Could Lead to New Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease

Study: Synapse discovery could lead to new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease

Original article:
Aβ-dependent reduction of NCAM2-mediated synaptic adhesion contributes to synapse loss in Alzheimer’s disease

An increasing number of studies have revealed beneficial effects of coffee, but this November 2015 study is really striking: it might reduce your chances of dying. In a very large study of 250,000 people (200,000 women and 50,000 men), Harvard Medical School researchers found that nonsmoking coffee-drinkers who drank somewhere between under a cup of coffee or up to three cups a day had 6% to 8% lower risk of dying than non coffee drinkers. And those who drank from three to five cups or more had 15% and 12% lower death rates. This was true of both caffeinated coffee and decaf. The findings showed that coffee drinkers were about 10% less likely to die of heart disease, and that they were also between 9% and 37% less likely to die of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and dementia. [On the worldwide longevity list, Sweden is tied in third place. In Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, the characters are always sitting down for a cup of coffee. Maybe there’s a connection?]

Links to an article about the study, as well as the the study itself, are posted on both the Health/Diet and Alzheimers/Amelioration/Prevention/Caffeine
pages.

The article about the study is:
Coffee could literally be a lifesaver,

while the study itself is at:
Association of Coffee Consumption with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality in Three Large Prospective Cohorts.

A new study of 15,000 people world-wide has identified 1,450 genes tied with the aging process and has indicated that our aging process is tied to changes in how these genes are expressed (i.e., how genes => RNA => protein transcription occurs). Using this information, the researchers were able to devise a measure of “biological age”, often different than chronological age. And in particular, they were able to observe that individuals whose “biological age” is older than their chronological age tended to suffer higher cholesterol levels, blood pressure and body mass index (BMI). Links to two articles on the study, together with the study itself, have been posted in Aging.

The links to the articles and study are:
Signs of faster aging process identified through gene research

Mitochondria Involvement in Aging Reinforced in Study

Original article:
The transcriptional landscape of age in human peripheral blood

A large-scale study (7000) of adults 50+ has definitively shown that online mental exercises works to keep minds sharp and help people with everyday skills such as shopping and cooking. The study lasted 6 months, with the volunteers divided into a training group which played online brain training games 10 minutes at a time, and a control group which only performed online searches. Those in the training group who played at least 5 times per week showed benefits, and those 60 and above reported better scores for carrying out essential everyday tasks. Links to articles about the study, together with a link to the published work, have been posted in Mental Agility:

Online brain training ‘helps older adults with everyday tasks’

Brain training improves memory and performance of everyday tasks in older people

a gold-standard study on brain training

The Effect of an Online Cognitive Training Package in Healthy Older Adults: An Online Randomized Controlled Trial

Young people (18-30) who are genetically disposed to Alzheimer’s seemed to navigate a virtual reality maze differently than controls in a recent German study. This may be a clue to determining why people with dementia may have difficulty navigating the physical world, and may also lead to diagnostic keys. Links to an article on the work, together with the published work, have been posted in Alzheimer’s > Risk Factors > Genetics:

Virtual reality maze ‘predicts Alzheimer’s disease’

Reduced grid-cell–like representations in adults at genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease

Donepezil (Aricept) is used in early stages of dementia, but previously has been believed to have little benefit in later stages. A new British study has shown that withdrawing donepezil doubled the chances of an Alzheimer’s patient being moved into a nursing home after a year. Links to two articles about the study, together with the published work itself, have been posted in Alzheimers > Treatment > Drugs:

Alzheimer’s drug may keep late-stage sufferers out of nursing homes

Withdrawing dementia drug doubles risk of nursing home placement

Nursing home placement in the Donepezil and Memantine in Moderate to Severe Alzheimer’s Disease (DOMINO-AD) trial: secondary and post-hoc analyses

Lewy body disease (LBD) is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. It appears to have been the ultimate cause of Robin Williams’ death, as indicated in Robin Williams’ Death Report Finds Lewy Body Dementia and What is Lewy body dementia?

The recently developed Lewy Body Composite Risk Score (LBCRS) is a 10-question survey based on the signs and symptoms of LBD. It is intended to increase the ability of doctors to diagnose LBD, and will also help with future clinical trials and studies for its treatment and prevention. A link to an article about the LBCRS has been posted in Alzheimers > Diagnosis & Tests:

Three-minute test can detect hard to diagnose form of dementia