Are Concussions Related To Alzheimer's Disease? - Huffington Post

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A serious concussion early in life could contribute to Alzheimer's risk decades down the line ^[1] , according to a new study from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Researchers publishing in Neurology found that elderly people who tested for memory and cognitive problems and recalled suffering from at least one serious concussion in their youths also had higher levels of amyloids, a fibrous protein deposit that's associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers believe that concussions damage the myelin coating within neurons, reported the Los Angeles Times ^[2] , and that this damage may have encouraged higher amyloid levels among the impaired group.

The study involved a total of 589 septuagenarian and octogenarian Minnesotans. After a series of cognitive tests, researchers determined that 141 of the study participants had memory or thinking problems, while the remaining 448 had healthy cognitive functioning. Approximately 17 percent of the healthy group and 18 percent of the problem group reported having had, at some point in their lives, a concussion severe enough that they lost consciousness or memory.

Since the cognitively healthy group suffered from serious concussion at nearly the same rate as the problem group, the study did not determine a definitive link between loss of consciousness and Alzheimer's risk. Instead, researchers interpreted the results as another clue into the complex group of factors that leads to dementia in old age.

"Our results add merit to the idea that concussion and Alzheimer's disease brain pathology may be related," study author Michelle Mielke, Ph.D. said in a statement. "However, the fact that we did not find a relationship in those without memory and thinking problems suggests that any association between head trauma and amyloid is complex."

Although this is one of the first studies to measure amyloid build up via brain scan, several studies have previously investigated the link between head trauma and Alzheimer's risk. Research in mice and in post-mortem brain samples found a connection between head trauma and Alzheimer's ^[3] and a 2013 analysis of brain scans of concussion patients ^[4] found that they looked similar to the brain scans of Alzheimer's patients.

"In my view, these findings are consistent with the idea that traumatic brain injury may lead to amyloid accumulation and Alzheimer's disease," Richard Lipton, director of the Division of Cognitive Aging and Dementia and the Montefiore Headache Center at Albert Einstein College Of Medicine in New York City, told USA Today ^[5] , adding that once a more definitive link had been determined, researchers could use studies like this to help create treatments to block the development of amyloid build-up.

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Daily Chores And Exercise

A recent study in the <a href="http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2012/04/18/WNL.0b013e3182535f0e.extract" target="_hplink">journal Neurology</a> showed that simple activities like <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/20/chores-alzheimers-exercise-_n_1440969.html" target="_hplink">cooking, cleaning and washing the dishes</a> -- as well as good, old-fashioned exercise -- is associated with a decreased Alzheimer's disease risk, even among people who are age 80 and older.
 
 
Researchers found that the people who were the least active each day -- in the bottom 10th percentile in the study -- were two times more likely to go on to develop Alzheimer's disease, compared with people who were in the top 10th percentile for daily activity.
 
 
The results were even more marked when evaluating the intensity of physical activity: Those who were in the bottom 10th percentile for physical activity intensity were three times more likely to develop Alzheimer's, compared with those in the top 10th percentile.

Speak Two Languages

Being bilingual could strengthen your brainpower and protect against dementia, according to a recent study published in the <a href="http://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/" target="_hplink">journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences</a>.
 
 
HuffPost Canada Living <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/04/02/benefits-of-being-bilingual_n_1396671.html" target="_hplink">explains why</a>:
 
 
<blockquote>The anticipation of having to speak one of two language at any given time forces the brain to run continually, and results in an experience that helps avoid a mental conflict between languages.</blockquote>
 
 
"It is rather like a reserve tank in a car. When you run out of fuel, you can keep going for longer because there is a bit more in the safety tank," study researcher Dr. Ellen Bialystok <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/feb/18/bilingual-alzheimers-brain-power-multitasking" target="_hplink">told The Guardian</a>.

Consume Curcumin

Research in flies suggests that the main compound in turmeric, called curcumin, could have powers against Alzheimer's.
 
 
The Telegraph reported on a study in the journal PLoS ONE, which suggested that <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9084973/Having-a-curry-could-help-ward-off-dementia.html" target="_hplink">curcumin may work</a> by reducing the amount of oligomers, which are the "precursor" forms of amyloid plaques in the brain.
 
 
A previous study in the journal Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology discussed the possible <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2781139/" target="_hplink">effects of curcumin on Alzheimer's</a>. Researchers wrote:
 
 
<blockquote>Due to various effects of curcumin, such as decreased Beta-amyloid plaques, delayed degradation of neurons, metal-chelation, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and decreased microglia formation, the overall memory in patients with AD has improved.</blockquote>

Do Puzzles

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/01/puzzles-and-exercise-help-beat-dementia-symptoms_n_1122502.html" target="_hplink">Doing some puzzles</a> and playing games every day could ward off mental decline, according to a recent study in the journal BMC Medicine.
 
 
Researchers from the University of Erlangen conducted a study in dementia patients in nursing homes, and had the study participants do exercises like bowling and solving puzzles together, the Press Association reported. They also spent some time doing things like woodwork and gardening.
 
 
The researchers found that all of these activities seemed to have the same effect on the study participants' <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/01/puzzles-and-exercise-help-beat-dementia-symptoms_n_1122502.html" target="_hplink">brain functioning</a>, compared with the typical dementia medication, the Press Association reported.
 
 
Another recent study in the journal Archives of Neurology showed that life-long reading and game-playing could <a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=153901" target="_hplink">decrease beta amyloid levels</a> in the brain, which are considered a "hallmark of the condition," MedicineNet reported.
 
 
"Staying cognitively active over the lifetime may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's by preventing the accumulation of Alzheimer's-related pathology," study researcher Susan Landau, a research scientist at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, <a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=153901" target="_hplink">told MedicineNet</a>.

Walk!

Elderly people who <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11537068" target="_hplink">walk six to nine miles a week</a> could decrease their risk of dementia and brain functioning problems, BBC News reported.
 
 
The 2009 study in Neurology included 299 people whose average age was 78. Researchers found that people who walked the most in the study -- six to nine miles a week -- had a halved risk of developing the brain problems as people who walked the least in the study, according to BBC News.
 
 
Similarly, a 2007 study that also appeared in the journal Neurology showed that people age 65 and older who regularly exercise have a <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-12/aaon-wam121107.php" target="_hplink">decreased risk of vascular dementia</a>. That study included 749 people.

Eat Your Fish And Nuts

Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center found that eating a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/06/omega-3-fatty-acids-alzheimers-memory-brain_n_1475806.html" target="_hplink">diet high in omega-3 fatty acids</a> -- such as fish, nuts and chicken -- is linked with lower levels of of beta-amyloid protein, which is linked with Alzheimer's disease.
 
 
The study, published in the journal Neurology, included 1,219 people age 65 and older who didn't have dementia. The researchers found that the higher their consumption of the omega-3 fatty acids, the lower the beta-amyloid in the blood.

Drink Green Tea

That refreshing green brew could have powers against Alzheimer's disease, according to research from Newcastle University.
 
 
WebMD reported that when <a href="http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20110106/green-tea-may-help-prevent-alzheimers-disease" target="_hplink">green tea is digested</a>, the released compounds have protective effects against Alzheimer's.
 
 
"When green tea is digested by enzymes in the gut, the resulting chemicals are actually more effective against key triggers of Alzheimer's development than the undigested form of the tea," study researcher Ed Okello <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jan/06/green-tea-alzheimers-cancer" target="_hplink">told The Guardian</a>.