Reading and writing keeps ageing
brains healthy!
A
new study says that reading and writing can preserve brains of older people and
insure them against deterioration as they age.
Konstantinos
Arfanakis and colleagues from Rush University Medical Centre and Illinois
Institute of Technology, Chicago, examined the effect of late-life cognitive
activity on the brain’s white matter, composed of nerve fibres, or axons, that
transmit information through the brain. Previous research, unlike that of
Arfanakis, had linked late-life cognitive activity with better mental
sharpness, according to a statement from Rush University and Illinois
Institute.
‘Reading
the newspaper, writing letters, visiting a library, attending a play or playing
games, such chess or checkers, are all simple activities that can contribute to
a healthier brain,’ Arfanakis said.
The
researchers used a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method known as DTI to
generate data on diffusion anisotropy, a measure of how water molecules move
through the brain. These values in white matter drop with aging, injury and
disease.
The
study included 152 elderly participants with an average age of 81 years, from
the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a large-scale study looking at risk factors
for Alzheimer’s disease. They were without dementia or mild cognitive
impairment, based on a detailed clinical evaluation. Researchers asked them to
rate on a scale of one to 5 the frequency with which they participated in a
list of mentally engaging activities during last year, such as reading
newspapers and magazines, writing letters and playing cards and board games.
Data
analysis revealed significant associations between the frequency of cognitive
activity in later life and higher water molecule diffusion in the brain.
These
findings were presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of
North America (RSNA) in Chicago in the US.
Source: http://health.india.com
26.11.2012
Drug that sends cancers
'to sleep' brings hope for millions
Scientists have discovered how to send cancer cells “to sleep” to
stop the disease in its tracks.
They have created a new drug that “flips” molecular switches in
the cancer’s structure so it cannot multiply, the Daily Express
reported.
The drug, called Aflibercept, which is administered as a 30-minute
infusion alongside chemotherapy, uses a novel mechanism that effectively fools
tumours into becoming dormant.
Trials involving 1,406 patients have shown the breakthrough could
prolong life by two years in some patients with advanced bowel cancer who have
already undergone chemotherapy.
Aflibercept had a “statistically significant survival benefit”
compared to conventional drug regimes treating bowel cancer, the researchers
said.
Dr Rob Glynne Jones, Macmillan Clinical Lead for Gastrointestinal
Cancer at Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood, Middlesex, said: “The trial
results were positive."
“Around 10,000 patients a year die from bowel cancer and most of
them are having some form of chemotherapy so it is theoretically applicable to
those. I am sure this drug will have a research programme and they will be
extending it to all other cancers. Maybe they will find other cancers where it
may be more effective,” he added.
The study has been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Source:
www.dnaindia.com
26.11.2012
Choose
the life that is most useful, and habit will make it the most agreeable
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