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 ...
A growing body of research suggests that physical activity is associated with maintaining a strong and healthy mind, boosting memory and learning, and possibly delaying age-related cognitive decline. A new study supported by the National Institute for Health (NIH) and published in Cell Metabolism found a specific protein secreted by skeletal muscle cells during physical activity that enters the bloodstream and can cross the blood-brain barrier, which is noteworthy because not all proteins cross it. In mice, this protein is thought to be neuro-protective and associated with the production of new neurons in part of the brain associated with memory, thus physical activity induced secretion of this protein may prevent or delay Alzheimer's disease.. Adults who exercise more ...
Patients with early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that can affect Latinos and all people, often have trouble remembering recent experiences. However, a new study by MIT indicates that Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t destroy memories; instead “they just can’t be easily accessed,” Univision reports. For the study, researchers stimulated specific areas of the brain of lab rats with blue light and found that they were able to access memories they previously couldn’t remember. “The important point is, this a proof of concept," said Susumu Tonegawa, lead study author. "That is, even if a memory seems to be gone, it is still there. It’s a matter of how to retrieve it.” According to the authors, the results of their study show that there’s hope for a cure ...
