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People with epilepsy suffer quicker declines in thinking than people without the brain disorder, particularly if they also have risk factors like high blood pressure or diabetes, a new study finds. The difference was significant: Over the course of the 14-year study, those with epilepsy experienced a 65% to 70% faster decline in memory and thinking skills. On top of that, having risk factors for heart disease pushed that percentage 20% higher. “While epilepsy itself is associated with [mild cognitive impairment] and dementia, this risk is substantially magnified in those who also have high blood pressure, diabetes or other cardiovascular risk factors,” said lead researcher Dr. Ifrah Zawar, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Researchers said their study is unique because it tracked the transition to mild cognitive impairment and dementia in more than 13,700 people who started the study with healthy brains. The participants were recruited at 39 Alzheimer’s disease centers across the United States between September 2005 and December 2021. Fewer than 1% had epilepsy, researchers said. The rate of decline from mild cognitive impairment to dementia was the same in patients with or without epilepsy. The researchers speculate that’s probably because heart risk factors play a much bigger role than epilepsy in the later stages of dementia. The findings were presented Friday at the American Epilepsy… read on > read on >

Unhealthy air from wildfires is causing hundreds of additional deaths in the western United States every year, a new study claims. Wildfires have undercut progress made in cleaning America’s air, and between 2000 and 2020 caused an increase of 670 premature deaths each year in the West, researchers report Dec. 4 in The Lancet Planetary Health journal. “Our air is supposed to be cleaner and cleaner, due mostly to EPA regulations on emissions, but the fires have limited or erased these air-quality gains,” said lead researcher Jun Wang, chair of chemical and biochemical engineering at the University of Iowa. “In other words, all the efforts for the past 20 years by the EPA to make our air cleaner basically have been lost in fire-prone areas and downwind regions,” Wang added in a university news release. “We are losing ground.” For this study, researchers calculated the concentration of airborne black carbon, a fine-particle air pollutant linked to respiratory and heart disease, across the continental United States. For their calculations, researchers used an AI program to analyze air quality data from satellites and ground-based stations. Premature deaths were calculated using a formula that took into account average lifespan, black carbon exposure and population density. “This is the first time to look at black carbon concentrations everywhere, and at one-kilometer resolution,” Wang says. They found that black carbon… read on > read on >

Teenagers with epilepsy are more likely to have an eating disorder than those not suffering from the brain disease, a new study shows. About 8.4% of children ages 10 to 19 treated at a Boston epilepsy clinic had eating disorders, three times the national average of 2.7% of teens with an eating disorder, researchers found. “Adolescents with epilepsy may feel a loss of control because they don’t know when they’ll have a seizure,” said lead researcher Dr. Itay Tokatly Latzer, an epilepsy fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Controlling what they eat or don’t eat can presumably make them feel they have regained some control,” Tokatly Latzer added in a hospital news release. “This is one of the ways epilepsy may lead to eating disorders, in people who have a biological or psychological predisposition to develop eating disorders.” For the study, Tokatly Latzer and colleagues analyzed data on 1,740 teens treated at least once at Boston Children’s Epilepsy Center for any conditions involving seizures between 2013 and 2022. None of the teens had an intellectual disability or autism. Of those children, 146 were diagnosed with an eating disorder. During the 10-year-period, the number of teens treated at the center who had eating disorders increased annually, rising from 12 in 2013 to 22 in 2022. Anorexia was more common than either bulimia or binge eating among teens… read on > read on >

Gina Arata had a bright future, wrapping up college and preparing for law school, when a 2001 car wreck left her with lasting brain damage. After her recovery, Arata wound up taking a job sorting mail, but struggled even in that. “I couldn’t remember anything,” said Arata, who lives in Modesto with her parents. “My left foot dropped, so I’d trip over things all the time. I was always in car accidents. And I had no filter — I’d get pissed off really easily.” But Arata is doing much better now, thanks to a device that doctors surgically implanted deep inside her brain in 2018. The experimental deep-brain stimulator is carefully calibrated to feed electrical activity to neural networks damaged by Arata’s brain injury. Now, a new study from Stanford researchers details how such implants help patients with brain injuries recover some of their thinking skills. For Arata, the difference was immediate. For example, the device allowed her to rattle off a list of fruits and vegetables when asked to name items found in the produce aisle of a grocery store. But when a researcher turned the device off, she couldn’t name a single one. “Since the implant, I haven’t had any speeding tickets,” Arata added. “I don’t trip anymore. I can remember how much money is in my bank account. I wasn’t able to… read on > read on >

Holiday festivities bring joy to many, but they also give rise to quite a few unhealthy habits, a new survey has found. Two-thirds of people say they overindulge in food during the holidays, and nearly half (45%) said they take a break from exercise, according to a new survey from Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center. Meanwhile, a third admit they drink more alcohol during the holidays, and more than half report feeling tired and having less time for themselves. “Holiday travel, activities with friends and family, and trying to get a bunch of things done can cause people to lose track of their healthy habits,” said Dr. Barbara Bawer, a family medicine physician at Wexner. The survey involved 1,007 people polled between Oct. 20 and 23, with a 3.6 percentage point margin of error. Folks need to stick to their normal routine as much as possible to avoid starting unhealthy habits, Bawer said.. “Once you’re out of a routine, which typically happens around the holidays, it’s really hard to get back on track, partly because the motivation is no longer there,” Bawer said in a university news release. People should keep in mind that it’s okay to say no, whether it be for one more holiday party or one more rich dish at the buffet, Bawer said. Bawer also recommends that people: Maintain their… read on > read on >

Women who enter menopause early could be at increased risk of muscle loss in their senior years, a new study suggests. Conversely, the more extended a woman’s reproductive period, the lower the risk of declining muscle mass as measured by handgrip strength. “This study showed that a longer reproductive period and later age at menopause were linked to a lower risk of low handgrip strength in postmenopausal Korean women,” said Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director for The Menopause Society. “This finding may relate to the beneficial effects of estrogen on skeletal muscle,” she added in a society news release. It’s projected that by 2045 more than 70% of people over 65 will be affected by sarcopenia, a decline in muscle mass and function that occurs as part of the aging process, researchers said in background notes. A woman’s reproductive lifespan — the time between the beginning and end of her periods — is known to affect the way she ages. However, no research has focused on the relationship between sarcopenia and the reproductive period, the researchers noted. The new study evaluated more than 2,300 postmenopausal Korean women between the ages of 45 and 75, testing their handgrip strength – one of the most common ways to check for muscle loss. Researchers found that the age at menopause was associated with reduced handgrip strength, but not… read on > read on >

SATURDAY, Dec. 2, 2023 (Healthday News) — The holidays are typically a happy whirlwind of gift-buying, house decorating, party planning and family gatherings, but all that work can also stress people out. Luckily, experts at UT Southwestern Medical Center say there are things you can do to keep your stress levels under control and help make your holidays happy. “Excess stress wears and tears on our bodies,” said Rita Smith, a clinical social worker in the Clinical Heart and Vascular Center at UT Southwestern. “The best holiday gifts you can give yourself are equal doses of self-care and grace.” Start with realistic expectations, which will ease the pressure of trying to be perfect. Remembering the holidays are all about gratitude will also help, said Sarah Woods, vice chair of research in UT Southwestern’s Department of Family and Community Medicine. “Think about what you’re grateful for and put it in writing,” Woods suggested in a university news release. “Focusing on the good can help you relax and cope with the not-so-good.” Another stressor during the holidays? Money. Smith said it’s best to make a spending plan for gifts and celebrations because holiday debts can be overwhelming. So, try to be practical yet creative with your gifting. Then there’s family relationships, which are sometimes strained. Woods said stress linked to difficult family relationships can produce more cortisol.… read on > read on >

A new study of identical twins has provided fresh evidence that a vegan diet can vastly improve a person’s heart health. Twins assigned a vegan diet for two months had significant improvements in cholesterol, insulin and body weight compared to their siblings, who ate a healthy diet that included animal protein. “Based on these results and thinking about longevity, most of us would benefit from going to a more plant-based diet,” said researcher Christopher Gardner, a professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. It’s well-known that cutting back on meat consumption improves heart health, but differences between participants in diet studies — things like genetics, upbringing and lifestyle choices — make it hard for researchers to draw definitive conclusions. Gardner and his colleagues chose to study identical twins because they share the same genetics, grew up in the same household and often have similar lifestyles. “Not only did this study provide a groundbreaking way to assert that a vegan diet is healthier than the conventional omnivore diet, but the twins were also a riot to work with,” Gardner noted in a university news release. “They dressed the same, they talked the same and they had a banter between them that you could have only if you spent an inordinate amount of time together.” The research team recruited 22 pairs of identical twins… read on > read on >

Got a naturally sunny disposition? It might protect you from dementia as the years advance, new research shows. A team at Northwestern University in Chicago report that certain personality traits — being conscientious, outgoing and positive — appear to lower a person’s odds for a dementia diagnosis. On the other hand, being neurotic and more negative in outlook and behavior was tied to a higher risk for mental decline, the same study found. The good news: Daily behaviors are probably the key factor here, and behaviors can be changed. People’s personalities can influence whether or not daily habits are healthy or unhealthy for the brain, explained a team led by researcher Eileen Graham, an associate professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern. “Neuroticism is related to dementia decline, and people with neuroticism are more prone to anxiousness, moodiness and worry, whereas conscientious people are more likely to exercise, make and go to preventive health appointments and drink less,” Graham said in a university news release. “So, maybe that’s where an intervention might be useful to improve someone’s health behaviors for better health outcomes,” Graham reasoned. The new analysis focused on what psychologists have long called the “Big Five” personality traits: conscientiousness, extraversion, openness to experience, neuroticism and agreeableness. Graham’s team looked at data from eight studies. Together, the studies included more than 44,000 people —… read on > read on >

Doing some squats during commercial breaks or between YouTube videos can help couch potatoes keep their minds sharp, a new study suggests. Young volunteers who did short sets of squat exercises every now and then while relaxing performed better in brain games than when they simply sat around for hours, researchers report. Short bursts of exercise might help the brains of people who spend long periods on the couch or behind a desk, the study concluded. “Our half-squat intervention may be able to be used by individuals seeking to break up their sedentary behavior in an effort to preserve cognition during times, such as in the workplace,” the researchers wrote. For the study, a group of young adult volunteers participated in two scenarios: sitting without interruption for three hours; or sitting for three hours but performing a minute of half-squats every 20 minutes. In both settings, the researchers measured volunteers’ blood pressure, blood flow through the carotid artery — which accounts for 75% of total blood flow to the brain — and heart rate after 10 minutes, one hour, two hours and three hours. At the end of each trial, the volunteers completed three thinking tests. In one test, participants were asked to quickly identify if a word they were shown – “red,” “blue,” “yellow,” “green” or “black” – was printed in the same color… read on > read on >

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Cognitive Decline May Come Earlier for People With Epilepsy

Wildfires Are Undoing Gains Made Against Air Pollution

Teens With Epilepsy Face Higher Odds for Eating Disorders

Head Injury Left Her Memory-Impaired. A New Brain Implant Has Brought Memory Back

Do You Overindulge During the Holidays? Poll Finds You’re Not Alone

Timing of Menopause Could Affect a Woman’s Muscle Loss

Trim Your Holiday Stress This Season: Experts Offer Tips

Identical Twins Study Shows Vegan Diets Helping the Heart

Your Personality Might Help Shield You From Dementia

Couch Potatoes, ‘Squatting Breaks’ Could Keep Your Mind Sharp