ScienceDaily (Apr. 18, 2012) — A new study suggests there may be a starting point at which blows to the head or other head trauma suffered in combat sports start to affect memory and thinking abilities and can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in the brain.
The research was released April 18 and will be presented as part of the Emerging Science program at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.
"While we already know that boxing and other combat sports are linked to brain damage, little is known about how this process develops and who may be on the path to developing CTE, which is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes and others with a history of multiple concussions and brain damage," said study author Charles Bernick, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. CTE is only diagnosed through autopsy after death, but symptoms include memory loss, aggression and difficulty thinking.
The study involved 35 boxers and 43 mixed martial arts athletes with an average age of 29 who were part of the ongoing Professional Fighters Brain Health Study. The fighters were given computer tests that measured memory and thinking skills and underwent MRI brain scans. Years of fighting and number of fights were recorded based on self-reporting and published records. The fighters were then split into two groups: those who fought for nine or fewer years and those with more than nine years of fighting history.
In both groups, those with more years of fighting and more fights per year were more likely to have lower brain volumes in three areas of the brain. In those with fewer than nine years of fighting, there was no relationship between the years of fighting or the number of fights per year and the results on memory and thinking tests. But for those who had fought for nine or more years, those with more fights per year performed worse on the thinking and memory tests than those with fewer fights per year.
"Our study shows there appears to be a threshold at which continued repetitive blows to the brain begin to cause measurable changes in memory and thinking, despite brain volume changes that can be found earlier," said Bernick.
The study was supported by the Lincy Foundation.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Physical Activity May Reduce Alzheimer’s Disease Risk at Any Age
ScienceDaily (Apr. 18, 2012) — Daily physical activity may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline, even in people over the age of 80, according to a new study by neurological researchers from Rush University Medical Center that will be published in the online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology on April 18.
"The results of our study indicate that all physical activities including exercise as well as other activities such as cooking, washing the dishes, and cleaning are associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Aron S. Buchman, lead author of the study and associate professor of neurological sciences at Rush. "These results provide support for efforts to encourage all types of physical activity even in very old adults who might not be able to participate in formal exercise, but can still benefit from a more active lifestyle."
"This is the first study to use an objective measurement of physical activity in addition to self-reporting," said Dr. Aron S. Buchman, lead author of the study and associate professor of neurological sciences at Rush. "This is important because people may not be able to remember the details correctly."
To measure total daily exercise and non-exercise physical activity, researchers from Rush asked 716 older individuals without dementia with an average age of 82 to wear a device called an actigraph, which monitors activity, on their non-dominant wrist continuously for 10 days.
All exercise and non-exercise physical activity was recorded. Study participants also were given annual cognitive tests during this ongoing study to measure memory and thinking abilities. Participants also self-reported their physical and social activities. Study participants were individuals from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, an ongoing, longitudinal community study of common chronic conditions of old age.
Over a mean of 3.5 years of follow-up, 71 participants developed Alzheimer's disease The research found that people in the bottom 10 percent of daily physical activity were more than twice as likely (2.3 times) to develop Alzheimer's disease as people in the top 10 percent of daily activity.
The study also showed that those individuals in the bottom 10 percent of intensity of physical activity were almost three times (2.8 times) as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as people in the top percent of the intensity of physical activity.
"Since the actigraph was attached to the wrist, activities like cooking, washing the dishes, playing cards and even moving a wheelchair with a person's arms were beneficial," said Buchman. "These are low-cost, easily accessible and side-effect free activities people can do at any age, including very old age, to possibly prevent Alzheimer's."
The number of Americans older than 65 years of age will double to 80 million by 2030. "Our study shows that physical activity, which is an easily modifiable risk factor, is associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. This has important public health consequences," said Buchman.
Co-authors of the study from Rush are Patricia Boyle, PhD; Li Yu, PhD; Dr. Raj C. Shah; Robert S. Wilson, PhD; and Dr. David A. Bennett.
The National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Robert C. Borwell Endowment Fund helped fund the study.
"The results of our study indicate that all physical activities including exercise as well as other activities such as cooking, washing the dishes, and cleaning are associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Aron S. Buchman, lead author of the study and associate professor of neurological sciences at Rush. "These results provide support for efforts to encourage all types of physical activity even in very old adults who might not be able to participate in formal exercise, but can still benefit from a more active lifestyle."
"This is the first study to use an objective measurement of physical activity in addition to self-reporting," said Dr. Aron S. Buchman, lead author of the study and associate professor of neurological sciences at Rush. "This is important because people may not be able to remember the details correctly."
To measure total daily exercise and non-exercise physical activity, researchers from Rush asked 716 older individuals without dementia with an average age of 82 to wear a device called an actigraph, which monitors activity, on their non-dominant wrist continuously for 10 days.
All exercise and non-exercise physical activity was recorded. Study participants also were given annual cognitive tests during this ongoing study to measure memory and thinking abilities. Participants also self-reported their physical and social activities. Study participants were individuals from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, an ongoing, longitudinal community study of common chronic conditions of old age.
Over a mean of 3.5 years of follow-up, 71 participants developed Alzheimer's disease The research found that people in the bottom 10 percent of daily physical activity were more than twice as likely (2.3 times) to develop Alzheimer's disease as people in the top 10 percent of daily activity.
The study also showed that those individuals in the bottom 10 percent of intensity of physical activity were almost three times (2.8 times) as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as people in the top percent of the intensity of physical activity.
"Since the actigraph was attached to the wrist, activities like cooking, washing the dishes, playing cards and even moving a wheelchair with a person's arms were beneficial," said Buchman. "These are low-cost, easily accessible and side-effect free activities people can do at any age, including very old age, to possibly prevent Alzheimer's."
The number of Americans older than 65 years of age will double to 80 million by 2030. "Our study shows that physical activity, which is an easily modifiable risk factor, is associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. This has important public health consequences," said Buchman.
Co-authors of the study from Rush are Patricia Boyle, PhD; Li Yu, PhD; Dr. Raj C. Shah; Robert S. Wilson, PhD; and Dr. David A. Bennett.
The National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Robert C. Borwell Endowment Fund helped fund the study.
New Medication Offers Hope to Patients With Frequent, Uncontrollable Seizures
ScienceDaily (Apr. 18, 2012) — A new type of anti-epilepsy medication that selectively targets proteins in the brain that control excitability may significantly reduce seizure frequency in people whose recurrent seizures have been resistant to even the latest medications, new Johns Hopkins-led research suggests. "Many other drugs to treat frequent seizures have been released in the last 10 years and for many people, they just don't work," says study leader Gregory L. Krauss, M.D., a professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "For a drug-resistant population that has run out of options, this study is good news. These are patients who are tough to treat and are fairly desperate."
Perampanel is the first in a new class of drugs that appears to blunt an excitatory response in the brain by inhibiting a specific form of glutamate receptor called an AMPA receptor and therefore reducing seizures without causing major side effects. Other drugs targeting all three forms of glutamate receptors in the brain have tended to make patients too sleepy to function, even putting them in comas, Krauss says. But this new medication, he says, may potentially offer relief not only to people with epilepsy, but to those struggling with drug addiction problems or the neurodegenerative disorder ALS.
"For years, people have been trying to modify glutamate receptors to cure disease," he says. "It's been a very difficult area to develop new drugs in."
In a multinational, blinded, placebo-controlled trial of more than 700 people with uncontrolled partial-onset seizures, roughly one-third of participants saw the frequency of their seizures fall by more than 50 percent when they were given 8 milligrams a day of perampanel. Partial-onset seizures -- the most common form in epilepsy -- begin in one part of the brain, occurring when there is an injury or abnormality in one of the brain's electrical networks. They can involve anything from the twitching of a limb to confusion to convulsions. Those in this trial typically had roughly 10 seizures a day at baseline.
One in 200 Americans have epilepsy and more than half have partial-onset seizures.
The participants in the study, being reported this week in the journal Neurology, were all taking one to three anti-epileptic drugs before adding perampanel (or a placebo) to their regimen. Krauss and his colleagues assigned each to receive a placebo, two milligrams, four milligrams or eight milligrams per day of the drug. The lowest effective dose was four milligrams per day and the higher the dose, they found, the better the results. Another trial is currently looking at a 12 milligram per day dose. The most common side effect was dizziness, Krauss says.
The study was paid for by Eisai Inc., a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical firm. Krauss says he believes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will review perampanel in the next year.
Perampanel is the first in a new class of drugs that appears to blunt an excitatory response in the brain by inhibiting a specific form of glutamate receptor called an AMPA receptor and therefore reducing seizures without causing major side effects. Other drugs targeting all three forms of glutamate receptors in the brain have tended to make patients too sleepy to function, even putting them in comas, Krauss says. But this new medication, he says, may potentially offer relief not only to people with epilepsy, but to those struggling with drug addiction problems or the neurodegenerative disorder ALS.
"For years, people have been trying to modify glutamate receptors to cure disease," he says. "It's been a very difficult area to develop new drugs in."
In a multinational, blinded, placebo-controlled trial of more than 700 people with uncontrolled partial-onset seizures, roughly one-third of participants saw the frequency of their seizures fall by more than 50 percent when they were given 8 milligrams a day of perampanel. Partial-onset seizures -- the most common form in epilepsy -- begin in one part of the brain, occurring when there is an injury or abnormality in one of the brain's electrical networks. They can involve anything from the twitching of a limb to confusion to convulsions. Those in this trial typically had roughly 10 seizures a day at baseline.
One in 200 Americans have epilepsy and more than half have partial-onset seizures.
The participants in the study, being reported this week in the journal Neurology, were all taking one to three anti-epileptic drugs before adding perampanel (or a placebo) to their regimen. Krauss and his colleagues assigned each to receive a placebo, two milligrams, four milligrams or eight milligrams per day of the drug. The lowest effective dose was four milligrams per day and the higher the dose, they found, the better the results. Another trial is currently looking at a 12 milligram per day dose. The most common side effect was dizziness, Krauss says.
The study was paid for by Eisai Inc., a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical firm. Krauss says he believes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will review perampanel in the next year.
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