Architecture can influence many aspects of health, including body temperature and allergies — even our mental health. From window placement to floor design, how buildings are laid out will influence the way a person feels. More importantly, this influence can impact the day-to-day lives of people, according to Ben Channon, a U.K. architect and author of "Happy by Design." "We spend 80% of time indoors, but we give little thought to how bricks and mortar impact us physiologically," Channon told Planning, BIM & Construction Today. "Most building design prioritizes cost efficiencies and overheads, rather than paying attention to the nuances of human experience."
Design, Characterless and Inexpensive
Whether a room is small and cozy or large and grandiose, it can shift aspects ...
By Jason Resendez and Stephanie Monroe
UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Alzheimer’s Disease Disparities Engagement Network This month is National Minority Health Month and across the country communities are reflecting on the numerous challenges and injustices people of color face when it comes to healthcare in the U.S. For example, African Americans and Latinos face a higher risk for some of our country’s most common health problems, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, high blood pressure, stroke, Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To understand and address these disparities, greater attention must be paid to the role of the social determinants of health like income inequality, housing and food security, and educational opportunity. We know that this approach ...
In Latino culture, family is at the heart and center of life. As parents begin to age, children are often expected to become their caregivers. 1 in every 3 U.S. Latino households has at least one family caregiver. These Latino caregivers—mainly women in their 40s—often juggle multiple jobs or leave the workforce entirely to enter, the respectable but high-stress, role of taking care of aging family members.
How Do Neighborhood Characteristics Affect Caregivers?
Latino caregivers who provide support to older family members and report high levels of neighborhood cohesion, have fewer depressive symptoms than those caregivers living in less cohesive neighborhoods, according to one recent study. The study goes on to highlight the protective role that neighborhood characteristics ...
U.S. Latinos are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than whites. But the reasons for this big disparity is still poorly understood—and highly controversial. Scientists believe that many factors influence when Alzheimer's disease begins and how it progresses. The more they study this devastating disease, the more they realize that genes play an important role. Research conducted and funded by the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health and others is advancing our understanding of Alzheimer's disease genetics.
Genetic Mutation in Alzheimer's Disease
Some diseases are caused by a genetic mutation, or permanent change in one or more specific genes, according to a fact sheet by the National Institute on Aging. If a person inherits ...
Effect of alcohol consumption on Alzheimer’s disease have been controversial. Some studies show alcohol has a protective effect against the disease, while other studies have pointed to a harmful role for alcohol in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurocognitive diseases. A new study from the University of Illinois, Chicago found that some of the genes affected by alcohol and inflammation are also concerned with beta amyloid peptides. These peptides form the main component of the amyloid plaques found in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients, which causes negative impact on communication between the neurons. The study suggests that alcohol consumption, and its impact on the immune system and inflammation in the brain, may be the vehicle through which alcohol ...
A childhood virus that infects almost everyone and lies dormant in the body for life might be involved in Alzheimer’s disease, NBC News reports. A recent study by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai examined 622 brains afflicted with Alzheimer’s and 322 disease-free brains. Researchers found increased levels of two Roseoloviruses—human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) and human herpesvirus 7 (HHV7)—interacting with gene networks in areas of the brain that are known to be affected in Alzheimer’s Disease. HHV-6 and HHV-7 cause roseola, a disease that usually infects babies and toddlers and is found in 90% of U.S. children. Roseola usually causes a fever and sometimes a rash and rarely causes complications, although it can cause a dangerous brain inflammation called ...
If you don't get enough sleep, you run a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, anxiety, and depression. Now lack of sleep is being tied to Alzheimer’s disease, too. Losing just one night of sleep led to an immediate increase in beta-amyloid, a protein in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Beta amyloid forms the main component of the amyloid plaques found in the brain of Alzheimer’s patient. It harms communication between neurons. A separate study also recently found that sleep deprivation impacts the beta-amyloid burden in regions of the brain implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. This situation also resulted in ...
In Latino culture, family is the heart and children are expected to be caregivers for their aging parents. 1 in every 3 U.S. Latino households has at least one family caregiver. These Latino caregivers—mainly women in their 40s—juggle multiple jobs or leave the workforce entirely to enter the respectable but high-stress role of taking care of aging family members, who are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and other age-related mental health issues. Latino caregivers of Alzheimer’s Disease patients deal with high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms, studies show. "Too often, Latino caregivers do not know where to turn for guidance, relief, and support for their caregiving activities," according to a recent report from the National Hispanic ...
More than 5.7 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease, a number expected to rise to 14 million by 2050, according to a March 2018 report by the Alzheimer’s Association. There is one new Alzheimer’s case every 65 seconds. Sadly, U.S. Latinos are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than whites, studies show. Preventing Alzheimer’s is critical as the young Latino population ages. “The number of Hispanic elders with Alzheimer's and related dementias could increase more than six-fold, from fewer than 200,000 today to as many as 1.3 million by 2050,” according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Alzheimer’s Disease in Latinos In the U.S., two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients are women. Latinas are at higher risk than ...
