More Visceral Fat, Greater Cognitive Decline in Later Life
Modern studies of the effects of excess body weight on long term health use measures, such as waist circumference or weight-adjusted waist index, that are more sensitive to visceral fat than subcutaneous fat. Excess visceral fat in the abdomen is actively harmful, in large part via causing an increased level of chronic inflammation via a variety of distinct mechanisms. Chronic inflammation accelerates the onset and drives the progression of neurodegenerative conditions, and thus might be expected to correlate with cognitive decline.
Some studies suggest that excessive obesity can lead to cognitive decline and deme...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 20, 2024 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Circulating Protein Biomarkers Correlate with Future Risk of Dementia
Researchers here demonstrate a predictive biomarker panel for Alzheimer's disease risk based on protein levels assessed in a blood sample. This is a one of a number of similar tests developed in recent years. The question is what one might do given a measurement that suggests high risk of Alzheimer's disease. At present, the only option is to generally improve lifestyle choices, but Alzheimer's is not as correlated with lifestyle factors as is the case for, say, type 2 diabetes. Based on the suggestion that senescent cells are important to neurodegeneration, one might take senolytic drugs intermittently, a few times a year...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 20, 2024 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
To What Degree is Alzheimer's Disease a Modern Phenomenon?
Here find an interesting commentary on what might be gleaned of the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in antiquity from the body of ancient writings on the topic of aging, memory, and health. The consensus is that Alzheimer's disease is a creation of modernity, some combination of a longer life expectancy for a greater fraction of the population coupled with increased calorie intake and less active lives. Yet unlike type 2 diabetes, risk of Alzheimer's risk doesn't correlate well with the usual suspect lifestyle choices that raise the risk of age-related disease and lower life expectancy.
This line of thinking has l...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 19, 2024 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
The 7 Decade History of ChatGPT
By MIKE MAGEE
Over the past year, the general popularization of AI orArtificial Intelligence has captured the world’s imagination. Of course, academicians often emphasize historical context. But entrepreneurs tend to agree with Thomas Jefferson who said, “I like dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”
This particular dream however is all about language, its standing and significance in human society. Throughout history, language has been a species accelerant, a secret power that has allowed us to dominate and rise quickly (for better or worse) to the position of “masters of the un...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 19, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Tech AI ChatGPT History of AI Mike Magee Source Type: blogs
The difficult balance between evidence-based healthcare … and person-centred self-management
For decades I’ve been an advocate for evidence-based healthcare because the alternative is ’eminence-based healthcare’ (for healthcare, read ‘medicine’ in the original!). Eminence-based healthcare is based on opinion and leverages power based on a hierarchy from within biomedicine (read this for more!). EBHC appealed because in clinical practice I heard the stories of people living with chronic pain who had experienced treatment after treatment of often invasive and typically unhelpful therapies, and EBHC offered a sifting mechanism to filter out the useless from the useful.
Where has EBHC...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - February 18, 2024 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Clinical reasoning Coping strategies Pain conditions Professional topics Research Science in practice pain management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs
Autism spectrum disorder and medicine: strengths, challenges, and stories
Dr. Shaun Murphy (played by Freddie Highmore) stars in ABC’s The Good Doctor, a television drama that centers around an autistic surgeon whose job at the hospital was frequently threatened and would be lost if it were not for the practical and emotional support from the hospital president. I don’t know how many “Doctor Murphys”
Read more…
Autism spectrum disorder and medicine: strengths, challenges, and stories originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 18, 2024 Category: General Medicine Authors: Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA Tags: Conditions Neurology Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, February 19th 2024
This study aimed to explore the metabolic mechanisms and potential biomarkers associated with declining HGS among older adults. We recruited 15 age- and environment-matched inpatients (age, 77-90 years) with low or normal HGS. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene sequencing were performed to analyze the metabolome of serum and stool samples and the gut microbiome composition of stool samples. Spearman's correlation analysis was used to identify the potential serum and fecal metabolites associated with HGS.
We assessed the levels of serum and fecal metabolites belonging to...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 18, 2024 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Why I Don ’t Care About Being Popular Anymore
In middle school, being popular felt like the most important thing in the world. I just wanted to fit in and be liked. I tried so hard to impress the “cool kids” and obsessed over my social media followers. But pursuing popularity made me utterly miserable.
I had low self-esteem and based my worth on external validation. I posted endless photos and memes seeking compliments and filtered my true self. I changed how I dressed, talked and acted to gain approval from others. But inside, I felt like a fraud.
My insecurity reached its peak after a falling out with friends’ in my freshman year. I realized the people I...
Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement - February 16, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Colton Fidelman Tags: career confidence creativity featured happiness philosophy relationships self confidence self-improvement popular Source Type: blogs
Brain Cells Exhibit Maladaptive Changes in Response to an Aged Signaling Environment
How much of the declining function characteristic of aging is a matter of accumulated damage versus maladaptive responses to that damage? Damage to tissues alters the balance of molecules secreted by cells in those tissues, thereby changing the signaling environment both locally and throughout the body, causing other cells and tissues to react. Some of those reactions are harmful. The chronic inflammation of aging is a prominent example, the immune system serving as a broadcast network enabling dysfunction in one location in the body to contribute to harmful consequences everywhere else.
Aging brings about a myria...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 16, 2024 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
The knowledge machine
That ' s the title of a book my Michael Strevens, which I recommend. (Liveright, New York, 2020)Strevens presents his own take on the philosophy of science accessibly and persuasively. If you ' ve even dabbled in this area you ' ve heard of the so-called demarcation problem -- how can we tell science from pseudoscience -- and the two best-known modern conceptions of science, Kuhn ' s construct of paradigms and paradigm shifts, and Popper ' s construct of falsfiability. Strevens doesn ' t think Kuhn or Popper are quite right. However I would say that without quite realizing it, he ' s pretty close to Popper -- he just...
Source: Stayin' Alive - February 15, 2024 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Abdominal Fat Correlates with Cognitive Decline
This study investigated the association between abdominal adiposity at baseline and change in cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults using longitudinal data collected separately for men and women over 10 years. Cognitive function was evaluated biennially using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) over 10 years. Waist circumference (WC) was measured at the naval level, and subcutaneous fat area (SFA) and visceral fat area (VFA) were assessed using baseline computed tomography scans.
This study included 873 older adults. In men, the groups with the highest levels of WC, SFA, and VFA exhibited a grea...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 15, 2024 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Psychodermatology: A skin-brain axis exists, so what are you doing about it?
Skin and mental health are intertwined. This is evident embryologically, as we know that the skin and brain are derived from ectoderm, forming a skin-brain axis. Furthermore, scientific pathophysiology has shown that conditions such as acne, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis are directly influenced by mood. Whether you are a patient, a provider, or an aesthetics
Read more…
Psychodermatology: A skin-brain axis exists, so what are you doing about it? originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 14, 2024 Category: General Medicine Authors: Erika Balfour, MD Tags: Conditions Dermatology Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
How Romantic Obsession Alters The Brain And Makes You Manic (M)
Find out why early love can mimic symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the brain. (Source: PsyBlog | Psychology Blog)
Source: PsyBlog | Psychology Blog - February 14, 2024 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jeremy Dean Tags: Neuroscience Social psychology subscribers-only Source Type: blogs
Best books on brain health and cognitive fitness according to ChatSpot and ChatGPT
Out of curiosity we queried a couple popular AI chatbots, ChatSpot and ChatGPT free versions, about the best books in a couple of key topics we discuss a lot in this blog. Here are the fascinating results, and some brief commentary at the end. (Links open corresponding Amazon book pages.)
Best books on brain health, per ChatSpot:
There are several great books on brain health that provide valuable insights and practical tips. Here are some highly recommended ones:
1. “The Brain That Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge: This book explores the concept of neuroplasticity and how the brain can rewire itself to overcome various...
Source: SharpBrains - February 14, 2024 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Books Education & Lifelong Learning brain-books Brain-Fitness brain-health-books ChatGPT ChatSpot cognitive-fitness cognitive-health-books neuroplasticity Source Type: blogs
