Category Archives: Seniors

Living Life Purposefully Might Ward Off Alzheimer’s

March 12, 2010 – 7:13 pm

A new study published in this month’s issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry uncovers that people who say their lives have a purpose are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or its precursor, mild cognitive impairment.
The study was designed to test whether a positive attitude and purposeful life has a positive effect on decreasing [...]

By Michael Rucker | Also posted in Alzheimers, Brain Research, Cognitive Impairment, mild cognitive impairment | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Alzheimer’s Disease 2010 Facts & Figures

March 11, 2010 – 9:11 pm

This week the Alzheimer’s Association issued its 2010 Fact and Figures and the numbers show no surprises. That is, we were all expecting the numbers to be on a continual increase year over year and that was pretty evident in the reading. Let’s review the basic numbers:

As the 7th leading cause of death in the [...]

By Laura Fay | Also posted in Alzheimers, Brain Decline, Brain Research, Brain health, Mental Health, dementia | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Baby Boomers, Social Media, and Brain Fitness

February 12, 2010 – 5:27 pm

It is no secret that Baby Boomers are great communicators. No matter what side of the political coin a Boomer falls on, being a young adult in the 1960s usually meant engaging in some sort of social activity or some form of civil discourse. With the propensity towards engagement in social interaction during this period, [...]

By Michael Rucker | Also posted in Baby Boomers, Health & Wellness, computers | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Are Older Brains Wiser?

January 27, 2010 – 2:13 am

Older brains may be wiser brains!

By Dr. Bernard Croisile | Also posted in Aging Well, Memory | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Does Your Brain Need to Go Back to School?

January 7, 2010 – 8:15 pm

For most adolescents, teenagers, and young adults, January marks the end of winter break and a return to school. But what about those of us who are far removed from formal educational experiences? Could our brains benefit from schooling? Recently there was an article in the New York Times entitled How to Train the Aging Brain by Barbara Strauch. In the article, Barbara asks whether the aging brain is, “…a brain that should be in school?” In other words, are there activities that we can participate in that will help us improve our brain function as we age?

By Michael Rucker | Also posted in Brain Fitness Websites, Brain Training, Brain exercises, Brain health, Cognitive Training, Health & Wellness | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Diabetes and Memory Loss

October 30, 2009 – 2:55 pm

Diabetes slows down memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease! Researchers conducted a 4-year study on 608 subjects with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, out of which 63 people also had diabetes. Their memory and thinking skills were tested regularly. Those with diabetes turned out to have a slower rate of memory decline than those [...]

By Dr. Bernard Croisile | Also posted in Alzheimers, memory loss | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

October 28, 2009 – 7:27 pm

You can teach an old dog new tricks, say UCLA scientists who found that middle-aged and older adults with little Internet experience were able to trigger key centers in the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning after just one week of surfing the Web.
The findings, presented Oct. 19 at the 2009 meeting of the [...]

By Sandrine Belier Ph.D. | Also posted in Brain Training, Cognitive Neuroscience | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

A Warning Sign of Something Worse?

September 28, 2009 – 4:13 pm

Scientific American posted an interesting article that proposed to put a predictive time line on the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Read about it here.
Whether it’s decision making, judgment, basic math, memory loss  or other brain function, it is increasingly important to stimulate all these cognitive capabilities on a regular basis. One is rarely used in [...]

By Dr. Michel Noir | Also posted in Alzheimers, Brain Decline, memory loss, mild cognitive impairment | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

The Elephant in the Room

September 24, 2009 – 12:36 pm

Alzheimer’s disease is the elephant in the room that is not effectively being planned for or dealt with by the Government or the Health Care industry. Consider just a few stats – By 2050, 115M people will be afflicted with the disease primarily due to the simple fact of living longer than earlier generations.  The [...]

By Laura Fay | Also posted in Aging Well, Alzheimers, Baby Boomers, Brain Decline, neural connections | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Get Social For Your Brain Health

September 18, 2009 – 10:32 am

So you understand that maintaining a social network of friends is important to your cognitive health. Do you feel like your social life could use a boost? Try these tips for enhancing your social interactions and relationships:

Call a friend or relative you haven’t talked to in a while
Schedule a regular lunch or dinner date with [...]

By Dr. Michel Noir | Also posted in Brain Decline, Brain health, Cognitive Neuroscience, Health & Wellness | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)