by Cole Petrochko for MedPage Today:

Women who had surgically induced menopause at an early age saw a decline in cognitive function and possible signs of Alzheimer’s disease pathology, researchers reported here.

Among women who had surgically induced menopause, younger age was significantly tied to declines in episodic memory (P=0.0003), semantic memory (P=0.0022), and global cognition (P=0.0007) compared with women who had natural menopause, according to Riley Bove, MD, of Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues.

Younger age at surgical menopause was also significantly associated with global Alzheimer’s disease pathology (P=0.038) and neuritic plaques (P=0.013), Bove said at the meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. However, no significant association was seen with incident Alzheimer’s disease (P=0.093).

Bove noted that estrogen was neuroprotective in animals models and that prior studies had shown that “loss of estrogen associated with early age at menopause may increase risk of cognitive decline, especially in surgical menopause.”

by Lesly Bailey for NWI Times:

End-of-day anxiety and the search for comfort is a lifelong experience that can increase with aging, particularly for those with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.

Sundowner’s Syndrome is a facet of the diseases that magnifies a feeling of being at “loose ends” when the day is wrapped up and there is anticipation for tomorrow, says Barbara Dzikowski, director of Alzheimer’s & Dementia Services of Northern Indiana Inc.

“Sundowner’s can include increased agitation, anxiety, some kind of confusion and sudden mood shifts,” Dzikowski says. “Not everyone with dementia has Sundowner’s, but it’s so prevalent that it is very much identified with dementia.”

by Zee News:

Popping a multivitamin tablet daily may boost the memory and slow mental decline, according to new research.

Researchers have found that taking supplements has a beneficial effect on memory and may work by increasing efficiency of brain cells.

The body needs 13 vitamins to function properly and maintain health. Vitamins A, C, D, E and K and the eight B vitamins each have specific job in the body. Vitamin C keeps cells healthy, D regulates calcium and E maintains cell structure, while the B vitamins, including folic acid, have a wide range of functions.

by Futurity:

Memory impairments for people diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s disease may be due in part to difficulty seeing the differences between similar objects.

The findings, published in the journal Hippocampus, also support growing research indicating that a part of the brain once believed to support memory exclusively—the medial temporal lobe—also plays a role in object perception.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a disorder commonly thought to be a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. Investigators from Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and the University of Toronto partnered with the Emory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center to test MCI patients on their ability to determine whether two rotated, side-by-side pictures were different or identical.

by Everyday Health for Huffington Post:

Worried about losing your memory? Help may be as close as your kitchen. Amy Jamieson-Petonic, R.D., of Cleveland Clinic, shares five foods that harbor nutrients proven to better your brain health.

1. Blueberries

Berries contain anthocyanin, an antioxidant pigment that increases your ability to remember things. One three-month research study showed improved learning recall in older adults who drank blueberry juice to improved learning recall.

2.  Almonds

by Bonnie Miller Rubin for Chicago Tribune:

Everyone will exhibit some kind of cognitive decline with advancing years. But the idea that we can shield ourselves from the most devastating brain diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, is an intriguing prospect and an area of great interest to scientists and an aging population.

In a new study published last week in the journal Neurology, researchers identified a group of elderly men with no mental impairments to find out about their relatives’ brains. We turned to the study’s lead author, Jeremy Silverman, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, to tell us more.

Q: How did you conduct the study?

by Serena Gordon for HealthDay:

Treatment with growth hormone-releasing hormone improves memory and focus in healthy adults and in those who already show some signs of mental decline, new research finds.

“Growth hormone-releasing hormone doesn’t target one specific area in the body and brain,” said study lead author Laura Baker, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle. “It stimulates a whole cascade of hormones in the body and brain; it stimulates normal function of a system that was working at a younger age so that cells can do what they were programmed to do at birth.”

Results of the study are published in the Aug. 6 issue of theArchives of Neurology.

As levels of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) decrease with age, so too do other hormones stimulated by GHRH, such as growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1. All of these hormones are believed to play a role in brain health, and decreasing levels of these hormones are suspected to play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

by Ed Yeates for Desert News:

Researchers find taking creatine supplement along with antidepressants help women recover faster from depression.

Athletes know all about an amino acid called creatine. It’s been used for decades to improve performance in competition. Our body makes about half of what we need. The rest comes from eating meat and fish. But this dietary supplement appears to do a lot more than just build muscles.

Researchers at the University of Utah and three South Korean universities have documented what may be the brain protecting properties of this substance.

The eight-week study included 52 women, ages 19-65, with depression. All were taking the antidepressant Lexapro. Researchers observed dramatic improvements in women’s brain chemistry after combining only 5 grams of creatine with their daily doses of antidepressant medications.

by Huffington Post:

Scientists at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio are investigating a potential new drug that could improve learning and memory during aging — thanks to Easter Island?

The drug, called rapamycin, comes from isolated bacterial products in the soil of the Polynesian island, known as the home to the famous moai statues. When given to mice, rapamycin seems to boost cognitive skills in young and old mice.

by Counsel & Heal:

Has your memory failed you today, such as struggling to recall a word that’s “on the tip of your tongue?” If so, you’re not alone.

New University of Michigan research indicates that “tip-of-the-tongue” errors happen often to adults ages 65-92. In a study of 105 healthy, highly-educated older adults, 61 percent reported this memory mishap.

The study’s participants completed a checklist of the memory errors made in the last 24 hours, as well as several other tests. About half of them reported making other errors that may be related to absent-mindedness, such as having to re-read a sentence because they forgot what it said, or forgetting where they placed an item.