by Cardon & Associates:

Because our cognitive functions peak at age 30, it’s very important to do all we can to keep our brains fit as we age. Like our bodies, there are many things we can do physically, emotionally, and nutritionally to keep our brains healthy.

Keep Moving

Keeping our hearts pumping and blood flowing through aerobic exercise is as important for our brain health as for the rest of our body.

Walking, swimming, tennis, and other fun activities not only help your heart stay healthy, but keep your brain healthy by boosting neural growth and synapse connectivity, which are essential for memory. Twin studies indicate that the twin who participates in moderate exercise in midlife has less risk of dementia in old age than the twin who doesn’t exercise.

by Christine Hsu for Counsel & Heal:

Postmenopausal women who suffer from depression may be at an increased risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, new research suggests.

A new study revealed that postmenopausal women who are on antidepressants or suffer from depression are more likely to have a higher body mass index, larger waist circumference and inflammation.  Researchers explain that these factors are all strongly linked to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“It may be prudent to monitor post-menopausal women who have elevated depression symptoms or are taking antidepressant medication to prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” researcher Dr. Yunsheng Ma of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, said in a news release.

by Todd Neale for MedPage Today:

Depression appears to be a risk factor for stroke among middle-age women, even after accounting for other variables, an Australian study showed.

Among women in their late 40s and early 50s who were followed for up to 12 years, meeting criteria for depression was associated with more than double the likelihood of having a stroke (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.78-3.27), according to Caroline Jackson, PhD, and Gita Mishra, PhD, of the University of Queensland in Australia.

The relationship was partly explained by age, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, and physiological factors, but remained statistically significant after adjustment for those variables (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.37- 2.74), they reported online in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

by Judith Graham for The New York Times:

by HR.BLR:

During the last 3 years, an increasing number of employers have been using brain health programs to reduce employee stress and its associated costs, and interest in brain health is expected to rise significantly over the next few years.

n fact, brain health will likely become mainstreamed in corporate America within 5 to 8 years, says Alvaro Fernandez, CEO of SharpBrains, an independent market research firm that tracks brain health innovation.

“Brain health is not just about disease. It’s not just about depression or anxiety,” says Fernandez, who is coauthor of The SharpBrains’ Guide to Brain Fitness: How to Invest in Your Brain to Maximize Mental Performance for Life, which was scheduled to be released in March. Instead, this new phenomenon focuses on making sure employees can adapt and thrive in their jobs, helping them make good decisions, and making them feel as productive as possible, he says.

by Newswise:

More symptoms of depression and lower cognitive status are independently associated with a more rapid decline in the ability to handle tasks of everyday living, according to a study by Columbia University Medical Center researchers in this month’s Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Although these findings are observational, they could suggest that providing mental health treatment for people with Alzheimer’s disease might slow the loss of independence, said senior author Yaakov Stern, PhD, professor of neuropsychology (in neurology, psychiatry, psychology, the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain and the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center) at CUMC.

“This is the first paper to show that declines in function and cognition are inter-related over time, and that the presence of depression is associated with more rapid functional decline,” said Dr. Stern, who also directs the Cognitive Neuroscience Division of the Department of Neurology at CUMC.

by Health Day News:

Helping people with dementia to eat more regularly improves their physical health and may lower symptoms of depression, a small new study from Taiwan suggests.

The research included 63 dementia patients who were trained to remember proper eating habits and 27 patients who received usual care. The memory training used a method called spaced retrieval, which requires people to recall a piece of information over increasingly longer time intervals. Another memory-training tool involved practicing tasks associated with daily living.

The patients underwent tests for nutrition, body-mass index (a measurement of body fat based on height and weight) and depression before the start of the study and again six months later.

by Huffington Post:

What you drink could be linked with how you feel, according to new research.

A study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology suggests an increased risk of depression from drinking sweetened beverages, as well as a decreased risk of depression from drinking coffee.

Specifically, researchers found an association between drinking four cups/cans of soda daily and a 30 percent higher risk of depression, as well as an association between drinking four cans of fruit punch daily and a 38 percent high risk of depression. The effect was more pronounced with diet fruit punch/soda, compared with non-diet versions of the drinks.

Meanwhile, researchers found an association between drinking four cups of coffee daily and a 10 percent lower risk of depression.

by Alysha Reid for Everyday Health:

There’s growing evidence that small changes in the way you walk, chew, sleep, and feel may be subtle early indicators of dementia.

Dementia is characterized by the progressive loss of cognitive functioning as brain cells are destroyed. Major symptoms of dementia include personality changes, memory loss, neglecting to maintain personal hygiene, and trouble with speaking and socializing. While Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause, dementia can also be triggered by a stroke, long-term substance abuse, Parkinson’s disease, severe head injuries, and other health conditions.

But long before you show obvious signs of dementia, certain changes in your behavior could signal that you may have the condition.

by The Herald:

Kronos Longevity Research Institute (KLRI) today announced that a major finding of the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS) indicates that hormone therapy (HT) improves symptoms of depression and anxiety in recently menopausal women, without adverse effects on cognition.  The findings come as a result of a four-year randomized clinical trial involving nearly 730 menopausal women. The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society, Oct. 3-6, 2012, in Orlando, Fla.

“The KEEPS was a complex study to address issues that are important to menopausal women and their caregivers,” said KLRI Director and President S. Mitchell Harman, M.D., Ph.D. “These preliminary results are of major clinical significance, as they will help clinicians assess the overall risk-benefit profile for each woman wishing to receive hormone therapy for symptoms of menopause.”