A Culture–Brain Link: Negative Age Stereotypes Predict Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers.Levy, Becca R.; Ferrucci, Luigi; Zonderman, Alan B.; Slade, Martin D.; Troncoso, Juan; Resnick, Susan M.
Psychology and Aging, Dec 7 , 2015, No Pagination Specified. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pag0000062
Abstract
Although negative age stereotypes have been found to predict adverse outcomes among older individuals, it was unknown whether the influence of stereotypes extends to brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. To consider this possibility, we drew on dementia-free participants, in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, whose age stereotypes were assessed decades before yearly magnetic resonance images and brain autopsies were performed. Those holding more-negative age stereotypes earlier in life had significantly steeper hippocampal-volume loss and significantly greater accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques, adjusting for relevant covariates. These findings suggest a new pathway to identifying mechanisms and potential interventions related to the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)
Role of Infection in Alzheimer's Ignored, Experts Say
Nancy A. Melville
| March 18, 2016
The potentially critical role of infection in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease is largely neglected, despite decades of robust evidence from hundreds of human studies, as well as the possible therapeutic implications, experts say.
"Despite all the supportive evidence, the topic [of linking infections to Alzheimer's disease] is often dismissed as 'controversial,' " the authors of an editorial, signed by an international group of 33 researchers and clinicians, write.
Chicken or the Egg?
Commenting on the editorial for Medscape Medical News, Richard B. Lipton, MD, Edwin S. Lowe Professor, vice chair of neurology, and director of the Division of Cognitive Aging and Dementia at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, applauded the effort to raise awareness of the issue.
"The authors are to be commended for reminding us of the hypothesis that infection may contribute to Alzheimer's disease," he told Medscape Medical News.
He noted the variety of genetic and environmental factors that can influence onset and progression of complex disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.
"For Alzheimer's disease, most people would agree that cardiovascular risk factors, traumatic brain injury, and stress increase risk of disease," he said.
"It is entirely plausible that infectious agents may be one of many factors that contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease. Infectious agents could operate through several mechanisms."
The evidence does not necessarily prove a causative role, he added.
"Temporality means that infection precedes disease," he said. "The studies showing infectious and inflammatory markers in the Alzheimer's brain don't tell us which came first. Alzheimer's disease could be a state which predisposes to infection."
The editorialists' financial disclosures are available online. Dr Lipton has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
J Alzheimers Dis. Published online March 8, 2016. Editorial
Edible and medicinal mushrooms show potential to mitigate neurodegenerative diseasesEdible and medicinal mushrooms show potential to mitigate neurodegenerative diseases
Certain edible and medicinal mushrooms contain bioactive compounds that may enhance nerve growth in the brain and protect against neurotoxic stimuli such as inflammation that contribute to neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acn3.431/full
Full open paper for your convenience
@ Marianne Levon Shahsuvaryan: The link above leads to a paper about extra-virgin olive oil. Please give the correct link to the paper about medicinal mushrooms
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