Alzheimer’s
takes more rapid toll on women than men
A study has found that women suffering from
Alzheimer’s deteriorate faster than men – even when both are apparently at the
same stage of the disease.
Women sufferers were found to show greater loss
of their mental faculties than men, which suggests that men’s brains are better
at coping with the ravages of the disease.
Men with Alzheimer’s consistently outperformed
women sufferers in detailed tests of memory and even verbal ability – in which,
among healthy people, women normally have the advantage – the Daily Mail reported.
A review of data from 15 studies by researchers
from the University of Hertfordshire, published in the Journal of Clinical
and Experimental Neuropsychology, discovered that men with Alzheimer’s
consistently and significantly outperformed women with the disease across five
cognitive areas examined in detailed tests.
These included tests of episodic memory, where
people recall events from the past, and semantic memory involving factual
information.
But a ‘striking’ finding was the verbal skills of
women with Alzheimer’s are worse compared with men who appear to be at the same
disease stage.
“Unlike mental decline associated with normal aging,
something about Alzheimer’s specifically disadvantages women,” said Keith Laws,
a professor of psychology who led the analysis.
There could be a hormonal explanation, he said,
because women lose oestrogen supplies after the menopause, which play a key
role in the brain.
“Men’s cognitive reserve appears to compensate
for the disease process. Other research using scans shows men can have brains
that are badly damaged yet their skills are not as impaired as they should be.
“For whatever reason, and it’s not about greater
intellect, men are better able to stave off the effects for longer,” he added.
Source: www.dnaindia.com
03.11.2012
Bangalore sitting on a ticking diabetes bomb
As many as 88% of
Bangaloreans do not consider going for screening for diabetes, despite having
at least one of their family members already diagnosed with diabetes, a recent
survey has revealed.
People are reluctant to
act on preventive measures despite the fact that diabetes has assumed epidemic
proportions in India today. According to the survey conducted as part of the
Sanofi Diabetes Blue Fortnight 2012- Sweetened by Nirlife NutraSweet by HEAL
Foundation, there is a huge need to convert awareness into action, especially
among those with a family history of diabetes.
The Fortnight is an
initiative of the ministry of health & family welfare, International
Diabetes Federation, Archaeological Survey of India and HEAL Foundation, a
not-for-profit health awareness and advocacy group.
The survey, titled
‘INDIA POLD’ (Perceptions in families Of people Living with Diabetes), was
conducted across three cities - Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi - and involved
900 individuals from families with at least one member diagnosed with diabetes.
There were 300 respondents from Bangalore. The survey’s findings show that the
whopping majority constituting 88% of the city’s residents do not go for blood
sugar level screenings even though they have a family history of diabetes, and
one or more of the family members has already been diagnosed with the disease.
The survey revealed
that only 50% of the people, who had at least one family member suffering from
diabetes, are aware of correct causative mechanism of the disease; yet they do
not get themselves screened for diabetes at regular intervals despite being at
high risk.
At least 49% of
Bangaloreans are unaware of how diabetes behaves in the long run and 19%
believe that it can be cured by treatment. A staggering 70% of the people in
Bangalore do not know anything about the complications of the disease. Most
importantly, 57% of the people are not physically active at all and 90% have
never seen a nutritionist for planning meals for them or their family members
despite being at a high risk.
“Over the past few
years, the prevalence of diabetes in the country has really assumed epidemic
proportions and is now a very large public health problem, growing
astronomically year after year. The problem is set to increase manifold if
awareness among the masses does not translate into action,” said Dr Mala
Dharmalingam, head of department, endocrinology, MS Ramaiah Medical College.
Dr Pawan Gupta,
advisor, HEAL Foundation, said “The survey will be a great help while aligning
future strategies around diabetes awareness and education.”
Source: www.dnaindia.com
03.11.2012
Character
never builds itself by destroying others
No comments:
Post a Comment