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Alzheimer’s
Healthy lifestyle may offset genetic risk of dementia
Living a healthy lifestyle may help offset a person’s genetic risk of dementia, according to new research.
The study was led by the University of Exeter – simultaneously published today in JAMA and presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2019 in Los Angeles. The research found that the risk of dementia was 32 per cent lower in people with a high genetic risk if they had followed a healthy lifestyle, compared to those who had an unhealthy lifestyle.
Participants with high genetic risk and an unfavourable lifestyle were almost three times more likely to develop dementia compared to those with a low genetic risk and favourable lifestyle.
Joint lead author Dr El?bieta Ku?ma, at the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “This is the first study to analyse the extent to which you may offset your genetic risk of dementia by living a healthy lifestyle. Our findings are exciting as they show that we can take action to try to offset our genetic risk for dementia. Sticking to a healthy lifestyle was associated with a reduced risk of dementia, regardless of the genetic risk.”
The study analysed data from 196,383 adults of European ancestry aged 60 and older from UK Biobank. The researchers identified 1,769 cases of dementia over a follow-up period of eight years. The team grouped the participants into those with high, intermediate and low genetic risk for dementia.
To assess genetic risk, the researchers looked at previously published data and identified all known genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. Each genetic risk factor was weighted according to the strength of its association with Alzheimer’s disease.
To assess lifestyle, researchers grouped participants into favourable, intermediate and unfavourable categories based on their self-reported diet, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption. The researchers considered no current smoking, regular physical activity, healthy diet and moderate alcohol consumption as healthy behaviours. The team found that living a healthy lifestyle was associated with a reduced dementia risk across all genetic risk groups.
Joint lead author Dr David Llewellyn, from the University of Exeter Medical School and the Alan Turing Institute, said: “This research delivers a really important message that undermines a fatalistic view of dementia. Some people believe it’s inevitable they’ll develop dementia because of their genetics. However it appears that you may be able to substantially reduce your dementia risk by living a healthy lifestyle.”
Could hazelnuts help with Alzheimer’s disease and other age related conditions?
Hazelnuts improve older adults’ micronutrient levels
Older adults who added hazelnuts to their diet for a few months significantly improved their levels of two key micronutrients, new research at Oregon State University indicates.
In the study, 32 people age 55 and older ate about 57 grams of hazelnuts – 2 ounces or about one-third cup – daily for 16 weeks.
Results showed increased blood concentrations of magnesium and elevated urinary levels of a breakdown product of alpha tocopherol, commonly known as vitamin E.
The findings, published in the Journal of Nutrition, are important because many Americans do not eat adequate amounts of either micronutrient. Older adults are at particular risk – lower concentrations of the micronutrients are associated with increased risk of age-related health problems including Alzheimer’s disease.
“This is one of the first times a study of this type has focused only on older adults,” said co-author Alex Michels, a researcher at OSU’s Linus Pauling Institute. “We wanted to fill in a piece of the puzzle – can hazelnuts improve the nutritional status of older adults specifically?”
Michels also noted few hazelnut studies have involved Oregon hazelnuts, which account for 99 percent of U.S. production of a nut also known as the filbert.
“Not that we think Oregon hazelnuts are much different than other sources,” he said, “but now the booming crop that we have in this state finally has science behind it. Perhaps other benefits of Oregon hazelnuts are awaiting future study.”
Maret Traber, the study’s corresponding author, notes that she and her collaborators used a novel biomarker – an alpha tocopherol metabolite – to determine hazelnuts had improved the research subjects’ vitamin E levels.
“It’s hard to determine changes in α-tocopherol levels in the blood of older adults because they tend toward elevated cholesterol levels which leads to more α-tocopherol being retained in the blood,” said Traber, a professor in the OSU College of Public Health and Human Sciences and the Ava Helen Pauling Professor at the Linus Pauling Institute. “So what we did instead was look at the urine to see how much of a vitamin E catabolite was in it. The catabolite should only increase if the body is getting enough vitamin E.”
The catabolite is alpha carboxyethyl hydroxychromanol, abbreviated to α-CEHC.
“It’s basically a vitamin E molecule where the tail has been chewed up into nothing, part of the natural breakdown process of vitamin E as the body uses it,” Michels said. “We saw urinary α-CEHC levels go up in almost every participant.”
In addition, blood analysis showed decreases in glucose and low-density lipoproteins, also known as “bad” cholesterol, in addition to increases in magnesium.
“All of which says that hazelnuts are good for you,” Traber said. “The findings demonstrate the power of adding hazelnuts to your diet, of just changing one thing. Vitamin E and magnesium are two of the most underconsumed micronutrients in the U.S. population, and there’s much more to hazelnuts than what we analyzed here. They’re also a great source of healthy fats, copper and B6. People don’t like taking multivitamins, but hazelnuts represent a multivitamin in a natural form.”
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Looking For A New Pet? Science-Proven Health Benefits Of Owning An Aquarium
Looking For A New Pet? Science-Proven Health Benefits Of Owning An Aquarium
Aquariums have the ability to reduce anxiety and stress by inducing the calming effort of a natural setting. A study in 2004 revealed that patients experienced a 12% reduction in anxiety during the presence of an aquarium. It is the sound effects of ocean waves, running streams, and rainstorms that are peaceful and relaxing to the mind. So, do you experience stress, high blood pressure, or frequent events of insomnia?
Keeping a fish tank in your home may be good therapy. In fact, studies since the late ‘80s have shown just how aquariums may improve your sleep, reduce stress, and lower blood pressure.
Calm-inducing properties in water
People with a “blue mind” experience a meditative state of calmness, unity, and a general sense of happiness within the moment, according to marine biologist, Wallace J. Nichols. Watching the livelihood of fish in their habitat helps to relax and calm children with hyperactivity disorder. Other studies revealed that dental patients experienced less pain after viewing a fish tank during their visit. Not to mention, research also showed a significant reduction in blood pressure in senior citizens.
Improve heart rate and blood pressure
Fish tanks have the ability to play a positive effect on one’s physical condition, according to a study by the UK’s Plymouth University. Scientists also found that staring at swimming fish could greatly improve an individual’s well-being. In fact, researchers also found the following:
3% reduction in heart rate when aquarium contained only rock and seaweed
7% reduction in low blood pressure when fish occupied the tank
An overall boost in mood when the tank contained high numbers of fish
Experts also believe that while public aquariums may emphasize habitat awareness, they can also offer a place for stress relief, especially for those unable to experience outdoor natural environments.
Reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease
Researchers learned that aquariums could improve eating habits and behavioral patterns in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. A study by Purdue University revealed that an aquarium increases the patients’ food intake by 21.1% – benefiting the need for less nutritional supplements, health care expenses, and boosting healthy eating practices. In fact, research also revealed an increase in attentiveness as patients viewing a fish tank for up to 30 minutes.
Induce better quality sleep
Eighty percent of individuals with sleep apnea are undiagnosed and left untreated. This is often due to an airway obstruction resulting in pauses of breathing. Meanwhile, sixty-six percent of surveyors said that their fish tanks not only helped them relieve stress and anxiety but also improve their quality of sleep. Therefore, those experiencing difficulties in sleep would benefit from gazing at a fish-filled aquarium to aid in insomnia.
Owning an aquarium comes with tons of benefits as some say the purpose of fish is to absorb the negative energy, based on Feng Shui. Others believe that fishes may even protect the home and spare you bad luck. So, whether these sayings are true or not, one thing’s for sure: a stunning fish tank can improve your health and overall well-being.
Don’t lose sleep over reports that one bad night can spark dementia
Don’t lose sleep over reports that one bad night can spark dementia
“Just one bad night’s sleep ‘increases your chances of Alzheimer’s’,” is the misleading headline in The Sun, which the Mail Online more than matches with the baseless claim that “Just one sleepless night could spark Alzheimer’s”.
The study that prompted the claim involved only 20 people, none of whom had Alzheimer’s disease. They were tracked over the course of just two nights of monitored sleep. During that time they were allowed to sleep as much as they wanted for the first night, and then on the second night they were kept awake by a nurse.
The researchers then used brain scans to measure levels of a protein called beta-amyloid that builds up naturally in the brain. This protein is found in larger amounts in people with Alzheimer’s disease, although it is not clear if simply having higher levels of it for a short time increases the risk of Alzheimer’s.
The study showed that people had slightly higher (5%) levels of beta-amyloid in their brains after a night of sleep deprivation compared with their levels after a good night’s sleep. This brief assessment provides no proof these middle-aged people would go on to develop Alzheimer’s if they continued to have sleepless nights. We don’t know how their levels of beta-amyloid may vary over time.
We can’t draw any conclusions about the relationship between sleep and Alzheimer’s disease from this research. All we can say is that generally, getting a good night’s sleep brings other important physical and mental health benefits – you can read here about how to sleep better.
Where did the story come from?
The study was carried out by researchers from the National Institutes of Health in the US, Piramal Pharma Inc., and Yale School of Medicine. It was funded by the US National Institutes of Health and the (US) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
The UK media’s headlines were needlessly alarming. If it were the case that a single bad night’s sleep could, as the Mail Online suggests, “spark Alzheimer’s” then we would expect far higher rates of the disease, as hardly anyone goes through life without sleeping badly from time to time.
And for some people, such as the parents of a newborn, disturbed sleep is a daily occurrence.
What kind of research was this?
This was an experimental study in which the researchers influenced the sleeping patterns of the participants to look at the effects of sleep deprivation.
There are lots of different ways in which this study could have been improved. We would ideally need a study that assessed people’s beta-amyloid levels over time to see what they were like to start with and how they varied from day to day. You could then look at levels of beta-amyloid over several nights of good sleep followed by poor sleep and then good sleep again to get an indication of how much they are influenced by sleep.
A randomised controlled trial that compared people assigned to periods of good and bad sleep could give an even better idea of the direct effect of sleep. This study design would make sure the two groups were similar in all ways apart from the amount of sleep people had.
But even with a trial, it would be hard to see if short-term changes in beta-amyloid were associated with the risk of Alzheimer’s disease developing.
A cohort study that followed a large number of people over long periods of time, taking regular brain scans and sleep assessments, then looking at who developed Alzheimer’s, may be the best way to explore this possible link. But this is unlikely to be feasible due to both the likely costs involved and the length of follow-up time that would probably be required to make a meaningful assessment.
What did the research involve?
Just 20 healthy people aged 22 to 72 (average 40 years) had brain scans to measure the amount of beta-amyloid in their brains. The researchers had excluded people with a range of physical and mental health conditions, including any history of alcohol or substance misuse, people taking any prescription medications, and those who had recently taken sedatives, stimulants or strong painkillers.
Each person in the study was measured after a good night’s sleep and after sleep deprivation at the research centre. The good night’s sleep involved sleeping from 10pm to 7am, with a nurse checking every hour whether the person was asleep. The brain scan was scheduled for lunchtime. Sleep deprivation involved waking up at 8am the morning before, and being accompanied by a nurse who made sure they did not fall asleep at all before they were scanned the next day at 1.30pm.
The scans took around 2 hours and people were encouraged to listen to music during the scan to keep themselves awake. No caffeinated drinks were allowed for 24 hours before or during the study, and no food was allowed between midnight and breakfast.
As well as beta-amyloid, the researchers also used questionnaires to assess people’s mood, and looked at whether they had particular genes associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
What were the basic results?
The study showed that people had slightly higher (5%) levels of beta-amyloid in their brains following the night of sleep deprivation compared to their results following good sleep. However, there was a lot of variation from person to person. There was no association with the person’s age, gender, or genetic likelihood of getting Alzheimer’s.
The study also showed that people’s mood was worse after sleep deprivation compared to good sleep, and that people who had a bigger increase in beta-amyloid had the greatest change in their mood.
How did the researchers interpret the results?
The researchers described their study as “preliminary evidence” that sleep could be one of the factors that affects levels of beta-amyloid in the brain. They speculate that improving sleeping habits could be a potential way to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
They noted, however, that the methods used meant it was not possible to tell the difference between beta-amyloid that had accumulated in the brain in solid plaques (insoluble), and the soluble form that could still be “flushed away” by the body.
Conclusion
This study has many limitations. While it points to some avenues for more research, we can’t draw any reliable conclusions from it regarding any possible influence of sleep on Alzheimer’s risk.
The biggest problem is that this was a tiny study of a sample of healthy middle-aged adults – none of whom had any signs of dementia. It was a very brief intervention and assessment and there was no long-term follow-up of the people involved.
We don’t know:
how their levels of beta-amyloid may normally vary from day to day
whether beta-amyloid would accumulate in greater amounts with ongoing sleep deprivation
whether any of the people in the study would develop Alzheimer’s disease or not
what the “dose effect” might be if there is any link – in other words, whether short-term increases in beta-amyloid from a few bad nights’ sleep could really affect risk of Alzheimer’s disease
It’s also worth noting that the sleep deprivation used in the study was quite extreme (people were awake for around 31 hours), which doesn’t necessarily reflect the kind of “poor sleep” that people might experience in their normal lives.
It’s probably going to be difficult to gather regular assessments of large numbers of people over time to more reliably answer the question of whether lack of sleep could influence risk of Alzheimer’s.
Unfortunately, this research brings us no further forward to answering the possible causes of Alzheimer’s.
Analysis by Bazian
Edited by NHS Choices