Washington, Feb 19 (ANI): When you're in love, you might hide it from your friends and family, but you can't hide it from neuroscientists.

With the help of brain scans, neuroscientists can now tell that you're madly in love.

By charting brain activity with an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) machine, scientists can spot telltale regions of your brain glowing joyously when you look at a photograph of your beloved.

In addition, they can also tell as to whether you and your loved one will be happily married years from now, or bitterly separated by studying your brain activity alone.

Several years ago, Xiaomeng Xu, now a postdoctoral fellow at Brown University School of Medicine, and her colleagues performed fMRI scans on 18 Chinese men and women who reported being in the early stages of romantic love.

Though all the study participants showed clear signs of love - looking at the face of their beloved triggered a flurry of activity in the areas of their brains involved in reward and motivation - the researchers identified subtle differences between the individuals' brain scans.

When the team followed up with the study participants 18 months later to learn how their budding relationships had turned out, they found a surprisingly strong correlation between certain characteristics in the original brain scans and the participants' relationship status a year and a half later. The team detailed its results in the journal Human Brain Mapping in early 2010.

Now, another two years have passed, and the researchers have contacted 12 of the original study participants. Half of the participants are still in the relationships they had just begun at the time of the brain scans three and a half years ago; the other six aren't. Among the admittedly small sample, there is a striking divide between the original brain activity of the people whose relationships lasted and those whose relationships fell apart.

"Even with this small number of people, the results are really interesting," said Lucy Brown, a leading expert on the neuroscience of love at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and a member of the research team.

Two key aspects of the participants' brain activity correlated with their relationship longevity, Brown said.

Among the people whose relationships became long-term, looking at a picture of their beloved "caused a decrease in activity in regions that we associate with making judgments, and also a decrease in activity in systems associated with a person's sense of self," she said.

"Sense of self" can be thought of awareness of one's own existence, interests and desires.

These two brain responses, and the associated behavioural traits, suggest that a promising relationship is one in which people refrain from judging their new partners, and instead, tend to overrate them, even finding the positive aspect of a patently negative trait.

A promising new romance is also one in which people give great importance to their loved one's interests and desires, even to the subjugation of their own. Both these tendencies seem to be "a huge help in the longevity of a relationship," Brown told Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site to LiveScience.

The researchers plan to conduct a larger-scale study to see if the correlation between relationship longevity and the two fMRI signatures - corresponding to the two behavioural traits - is as strong as their small data set implies.

They also intend to investigate whether certain people more easily exhibit the traits in question, and are thus inherently more suited to long-term attachments, than others. (ANI)

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Brain scans can reveal 'you're in love' and predict 'if your relationship will last'

MIAMI • There I was, scooting awkwardly across the floor of the warmed pool, lifting my water weights high in the air, palm trees swaying in the background, when a woman next to me leaned in and whispered, "This place is a miracle. It's changed my life."

Caroline Pinkus, 53, of London, wasn't kidding. Nearing the end of her monthlong stay at the Pritikin Longevity Center + Spa, she was losing weight and feeling better, and more importantly had gone from taking five blood pressure pills a day to half a pill.

"I'd gone through life burying my head in the sand. I thought if I dressed nice and fixed my hair and my nails, I still looked good, but I was carrying this weight and I wasn't healthy," she said. "This place has reformed me."

Pritikin has been changing lives for nearly 40 years. In the 1970s, Nathan Pritikin was among the first to assert that diet and exercise, not drugs and surgery, should be the first line of defense against cardiovascular disease. He brought that philosophy to the first Pritikin Longevity Center, which opened in 1975 in California.

Today, the Pritikin Longevity Center + Spa calls Miami home. About two years ago, it moved into the spa portion of the Doral Golf Resort. The resort itself includes a large spa, suites, meeting rooms, several pools, a fitness center, dining and golf.

Today, Pritikin is owned by Sam Fox, a former St. Louis Citizen of the Year. Bob Franceschelli, who also lives in St. Louis, is the president of Pritikin (he commutes).

WHY A HEALTH VACATION?

For most of us, part of enjoying a new city or country involves sampling local fare. Often, we sample lots of it. But what if you actually lost weight on vacation? Pinkus did. In my three-day stay at Pritikin I lost three pounds, and my husband lost five (yes, much of it was water weight, but I didn't feel bloated and disgusting on the airplane home as I normally do after a vacation).

Most of the people I talked with at Pritikin were on a return trip or an extended stay, and many said the reason for their trip was to become more healthy. Some were taking a week out of their busy schedules running companies; others brought their retired parents, hoping that the experience would inspire them to live healthier.

The environment, made safe by doctors, trainers, nutritionists and spa workers around every corner, is what draws many of them.

"I feel safe, and not scared to do new things," Pinkus told me.

Other health vacations might have the spa, the food and the exercise, but Pritikin prides itself on the educational component. "We give you the tools you need to be successful after you've left here," says Hubert Wewer, the general manager.

Indeed, the Pritikin program involves at least four one-hour classes a day, teaching everything from label reading to cooking to dealing with stress. Dietitians take you grocery shopping and even escort you to a Japanese steakhouse, so you know how to order.

The Pritikin philosophy is built on three components: eating right, exercise and a healthy mind-body connection.

The eating right is often the hardest part, but it's a simple philosophy. You eat healthful, satisfying foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes, nonfat dairy, soy and small portions of lean animal protein. You eliminate high-calorie foods that don't fill you up (such as oils and fatty cheeses). It's a matter of what's called calorie density, how dense a food is with calories in relation to its weight. For example, if you eat two pounds of something healthful such as tomatoes, you only take in about 160 calories. If you eat two pounds of candy bars, you will have taken in at least 4,000 calories. Those 160 calories of tomatoes would make you feel much more full than 160 calories of a candy bar.

"Most diet and exercise programs fail because they ignore biological issues like hunger," said Jay Kenney, nutritional research specialist and educator. "This isn't rocket science. It's nothing new. It's common sense. And it makes a lot of sense."

THE DINING

The classes, in both the classroom and the cooking school, help you make sense of the program. But perhaps the biggest education comes in the dining room, where Pritikin serves three meals and two snacks a day.

You don't get much meat; beans provide protein. You don't drink your calories, which, at the resort means no alcohol and no caffeinated beverages. The diet features very little salt, which takes some getting used to, but by the second day, I wasn't missing it.

Breakfast and lunch are buffets. Dinner is a sit-down meal, and you can order as much (or as little) as you want off either of two menus, one hard-core and the other with options to help you ease into the Pritikin plan. Some of my meals were more successful than others. The crab cake made of a soy product was a miss; the scallops in a citrus sauce and the vegetable pasta were delicious.

THE WORKOUTS

Exercise is another large component of the program, and there's lots to choose from. When you arrive, you'll be given a stress test to assess your fitness level. You'll be put into color-coded groups, and your workouts will be based on your heart rate.

It's important to note that most of the other guests I saw at Pritikin were probably over age 60; some in fabulous shape, some in not-so-fabulous shape. Trainers and heath professionals are there to monitor you and make sure you don't overdo it. Trainers are also there to make to your workouts harder. My trainer, Brandicus Coleman, would even come by and crank up my machine for me. How sweet.

My day started at 7:30 a.m. with a 45-minute cardio workout. I chose a treadmill, but you could do elliptical or bike. One day, we'd get in our heart rate training zone, the next we'd do interval training. Next, was a 45-minute weight training or toning class, followed by an optional class. I tried yoga and aquatics; Zumba and tai chi are also available.

THE MEDICAL FACTOR

More than 100 studies in top medical journals have documented the results achieved by guests at Pritikin. Here are highlights:

• Cholesterol and triglyceride levels fell 23 percent and 33 percent, respectively, after a three-week stay (Archives of Internal Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine).

• More than 70 percent of diabetics on medication left drug-free after a three-week stay (Diabetes Care).

• Nearly 60 percent of people with hypertension normalized blood pressure and left drug-free after a three-week stay (Journal of Applied Physiology).

• Overweight individuals lose 11 pounds and more within three weeks (Archives of Internal Medicine).

Much of this success is achieved through individualized medical attention. On my second day there, I had a nearly one-hour meeting with a physician. When is the last time your doctor spent an hour with you? My husband had a nearly two-hour appointment with Frank Musumeci, biomechanical and musculoskeletal director.

OTHER THINGS TO DO THERE

Pritikin shares space with the Spa at Doral, which means Pritikin guests have unlimited access to the sauna, rainshower and hot and cold baths of the spa. It also means you are just a short walk from a relaxing massage or a more intense facial treatment.

Pritikin guests stay in either the luxurious suites adjacent to the main spa building or in nearby rooms that are part of the larger Marriott complex.

If you are only staying for one week, you won't have a lot of downtime. In fact, I had to skip a lecture just to catch some rays at the pool (hey, I was in Miami in January!). But for those staying longer (Franceschelli said the average stay is just under two weeks) you could find time for golf, sunbathing, shopping and more.

In fact, every night they show a movie at 8 or 8:30. But truthfully, by 8:30 I was wiped. A hot bath and warm bed beckoned me because I knew the next day, I had work to do.

IF YOU GO

More information • 1-800-327-4914 or pritikin.com

How much • Average price per week for one is about $4,500, which is all-inclusive (for two people it starts at $6,500). That includes medical and fitness consultations, meals, hotel accommodations and classes. Medical services are often covered under private insurance plans. And for guests who are Medicare beneficiaries, about half of the cost of a two-week stay is Medicare-reimbursable if the guest qualifies for a new Medicare category called intensive cardiac rehabilitation.

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Relax, refresh and get healthy at Florida's Pritikin Center

A six-month program of Tai Chi exercises helped people with various stages of Parkinson's disease improve stability, their ability to walk and reduced the frequency of falls.

A study released this week in the New England Journal of Medicine compared a six-month tailored Tai Chi program to resistance training and stretching to see which was most effective at improving functional movement, walking and balance for Parkinson's patients.

Researchers randomly assigned 195 men and women ages 40 to 85 who were in stages one to four of Parkinson's disease (on a scale of one to five). Parkinson's is a neurological disorder caused by a loss of neurons that produce dopamine, a chemical involved with muscle function and movement coordination. That can result in tremors, stiffness, poor coordination and more difficulty doing daily activities. It can also lead to a higher risk of falls, which can cause serious injuries.

Tai Chi, a discipline that incorporates slow, deliberate movements, plus breathing, has health benefits that include reducing stress and improving balance and posture.

The study participants were randomly assigned to hourlong, twice weekly sessions of Tai Chi, resistance training or stretching for six months. Researchers assessed their status at the beginning of the study, at three and six months, and three months after the study ended.

The Tai Chi group did better than the stretching group on a few measures: leaning without losing balance, having better directional control of their body, and walking skills. They outperformed the resistance training group on balance and stride length. Those in the Tai Chi group also reduced their frequency of falls more than the stretching group, and on a par with the resistance group.

Three months after the study ended, those in the Tai Chi group were able to maintain the benefits they had gained.

“Since many training features in the program are functionally oriented,” said Oregon Research Institute scientist Fuzhong Li in a news release, “the improvements in the balance and gait measures that we demonstrated highlight the potential of Tai Chi-based movements in rehabilitating patients with these types of problems and, consequently, easing cardinal symptoms of Parkinson's disease and improving mobility, flexibility, balance and range of motion.” Li was the lead author of the study.

He added that Tai Chi has several advantages: “It is a low-cost activity that does not require equipment, it can be done anywhere, at any time, and the movements can be easily learned. It can also be incorporated into a rehabilitation setting as part of existing treatment. Similarly, because of its simplicity, certain aspects of this Tai Chi program can also be prescribed to patients as a self-care/home activity.”

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Tai Chi may help Parkinson's patients regain balance

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POSTED: 4:31 pm MST February 14, 2012

UPDATED: 4:59 pm MST February 14, 2012

LOS ANGELES — More than one million Americans are living with Parkinson's disease. Right now, doctors diagnose it by conducting a physical exam that?s often unreliable, but that?s about to change.William used to be a professional welterweight fighter. Today, he?s fighting a different yet powerful opponent, Parkinson?s disease.”I got Parkinson?s, Parkinson?s ain?t got me,” William “Tank” Hill, a former boxer said. Debora Bergstrom is also battling the condition that causes tremors, balance problems and speech issues. The mom of three was diagnosed four years ago by a neurologist.”She told me to stand up, walk, she rotated my arms and hands, and she said, yes, you have Parkinson's,” Debora Bergstrom said.Many people wait years before getting that diagnosis. Doctors physically examine patients for the telltale symptoms to formulate their conclusion, but their observations aren?t always accurate.Forty percent of Parkinson?s patients are undiagnosed and at least 10 percent who are diagnosed don?t really have it. Doctor Louise Thomson says a new imaging test called DATscan is giving doctors a glimpse inside the Parkinson?s brain. First, doctors inject patients with a tracer. Then they scan the brain for dopamine, a chemical that Parkinson?s patients lack.Thomson says the test can tell doctors if the patient has Parkinson?s or just a tremor disorder, which is treated differently”This is a game changer. It?s going to lead to earlier diagnosis and clearer diagnosis for patients with tremors,” Doctor Louise Thomson, MBChB, from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center explained.An earlier diagnosis means patients can start treatments sooner, potentially slowing symptom development of this devastating disease. For William and Debora, every symptom-free day matters. Now , doctors are one step closer to figuring that out. The following are comments from our users. Opinions expressed are neither created nor endorsed by TheDenverChannel.com. By posting a comment you agree to accept our Terms of Use. Comments are moderated by the community. To report an offensive or otherwise inappropriate comment, click the “Flag” link that appears beneath that comment. Comments that are flagged by a set number of users will be automatically removed.

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Medical Breakthrough: First Test To Show Parkinson's Disease

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Erin Pradia • Originally published February 18, 2012 at 10:42 p.m., updated February 19, 2012 at 8:18 a.m. For the record

The oldest person whoever lived in Texas:

Margaret Skeete,who lived to 114 and 192 days. She died in 1999.

The oldest living person in Texas:

Naomi Conner,

112, of McGregor

Source: The Los Angeles Gerontology Research Group

Laughter, the Lord, the little things - and not having a husband - have kept Tamer Lee Brooks Owens alive and well for 110 years, said her friends and family.

They were celebrating her "century and a decade" birthday at a party in her honor Saturday.

Owens also drank a concoction of honey, vinegar and garlic daily for good health, but the Victoria woman said she doesn't know the secret to her longevity.

"I don't know what has kept me living so long," Owens said. "I guess the Lord intended for me to stay here this long."

Her great niece Jernice Lara, of Victoria, said Owens was an example of a virtuous Proverbs 31 woman, but also an example of an Ephesians 6 child, honoring her parents and her elders so her days would be long on Earth.

As the eighth born in a family of 12 children, Owens celebrated her birthday with extended family and friends in the fellowship hall of Palestine Baptist Church.

The guests shared a fried chicken dinner and a big white sheet cake decorated with red and green flowers.

Her great nephew Joseph Powell, 53, of Crosby, said he enjoys visiting his great aunt and looking at the framed letters she has from the presidents of the United States commemorating each birthday she had since she turned 100.

Owens said so much has happened since she was born, Feb. 15, 1902 - it is hard to remember it all.

While she does recall the sinking of the Titanic and World War II, she said she didn't think it was important to dwell on bad events.

"People think when things happen these days it is a big deal to keep them in mind," Owens said. "People didn't think it was so important to remember back then."

Technology has also dramatically changed since 1902.

"It is wonderful you can take a telephone now and talk all over the world," Owens said.

Owens said she did not receive much schooling. When she was growing up attending a one-room schoolhouse in the country, many of the teachers had not even finished college.

But Owens enjoyed remaining busy. Before her eyesight began to fail, Owens enjoyed reading and sewing.

"I sewed clothes, quilts, embroidered ..." Owens said.

"I just loved to do needlework and always stay busy."

Members of the Crossroads community also remember Owens' culinary skills - especially her peach cobbler.

Owens said it is harder to get around these days so she mostly sits around and talks to people who come to visit such as her best friends Betty McMurray, Dorothy Harris and Kathryn Combs, all of Victoria.

"Are you still sassy?" said Betty McMurray, 84, of Victoria, as she greeted Owens at the start of the party.

"I've known Tamer Lee all my life, and she always says what she thinks and doesn't hold nothing back," McMurray said.

Owens laughed as family members and friends shared memories they made with her during her life, but especially during the past year.

When Dorothy Harris went to visit her at Twin Pines Nursing and Rehabilitation Center a few weeks ago, she was coaxing Owens to eat her lunch.

"It's really good, you should eat it," Harris said as she attempted to encourage Owens.

"If it's so good, why don't you eat it?" Owens replied.

"I made the mistake of telling her, 'I don't like sauerkraut,'" Harris said. "'I don't either,' was her response."

"She and my aunt were partners in crime," remembered Harris. "They were inseparable friends."

Harris said her aunt and Owens would walk everywhere, from church to work - and she was hard to keep up with.

Harris said most adults were referred to as "Mr." or "Mrs." and then their last name, but not Owens.

"She was always just Tamer Lee to all of us," Harris said.

Even at 110, Owens remains sharp.

Kathryn Combs, "old as black pepper," of Victoria, lived two doors down from Owens for as long as she can remember. Combs traveled with her husband as he served in the military, but moved back down the street from Owens in the 1960s.

As Owens' eyesight began to fail she couldn't look up Combs' number in the phone book so she memorized it and still calls her from time to time to hear the latest news.

Owens' family and friends believe she remains a living tribute to the saying, "Laughter is the best medicine."

Continued here:
At age 110, Victoria woman celebrates; friends say laughter is the best medicine

News Release

UB's Feng says the use of iPSCs was “a game-changer for Parkinson's disease. It finally allowed us to obtain the material we needed to study this disease.”

Download JPEG

Release Date: February 7, 2012

Summary:

— UB researchers have discovered how mutations in parkin disrupt proper function of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that controls body movement.

— They found that parkin mutations disrupt the precise actions of dopamine and produce more free radicals, which in turn destroy the dopamine neurons, leading to Parkinson's disease.

— This is the first study to use live human neurons to investigate what role parkin plays in Parkinson's disease; this dramatic advance was made possible by the use of induced pluripotent stem cells.

— Funding was provided by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research; the National Institutes of Health; SUNY REACH, a research network of SUNY academic medical centers; and NYSTEM, New York State's stem cell initiative.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Parkinson's disease researchers at the University at Buffalo have discovered how mutations in the parkin gene cause the disease, which afflicts at least 500,000 Americans and for which there is no cure.

The results are published in the current issue of Nature Communications.

The UB findings reveal potential new drug targets for the disease as well as a screening platform for discovering new treatments that might mimic the protective functions of parkin. UB has applied for patent protection on the screening platform.

“This is the first time that human dopamine neurons have ever been generated from Parkinson's disease patients with parkin mutations,” says Jian Feng, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the study's lead author.

As the first study of human neurons affected by parkin, the UB research overcomes a major roadblock in research on Parkinson's disease and on neurological diseases in general.

The problem has been that human neurons live in a complex network in the brain and thus are off-limits to invasive studies, Feng explains.

“Before this, we didn't even think about being able to study the disease in human neurons,” he says. “The brain is so fully integrated. It's impossible to obtain live human neurons to study.”

But studying human neurons is critical in Parkinson's disease, Feng explains, because animal models that lack the parkin gene do not develop the disease; thus, human neurons are thought to have “unique vulnerabilities.”

“Our large brains may use more dopamine to support the neural computation needed for bipedal movement, compared to quadrupedal movement of almost all other animals,” he says.

Since in 2007, when Japanese researchers announced they had converted human cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that could then be converted to nearly any cells in the body, mimicking embryonic stem cells, Feng and his UB colleagues saw their enormous potential. They have been working on it ever since.

“This new technology was a game-changer for Parkinson's disease and for other neurological diseases,” says Feng. “It finally allowed us to obtain the material we needed to study this disease.”

The current paper is the fruition of the UB team's ability to “reverse engineer” human neurons from human skin cells taken from four subjects: two with a rare type of Parkinson's disease in which the parkin mutation is the cause of their disease and two healthy subjects who served as controls.

“Once parkin is mutated, it can no longer precisely control the action of dopamine, which supports the neural computation required for our movement,” says Feng.

The UB team also found that parkin mutations prevent it from tightly controlling the production of monoamine oxidase (MAO), which catalyzes dopamine oxidation.

“Normally, parkin makes sure that MAO, which can be toxic, is expressed at a very low level so that dopamine oxidation is under control,” Feng explains. “But we found that when parkin is mutated, that regulation is gone, so MAO is expressed at a much higher level. The nerve cells from our Parkinson's patients had much higher levels of MAO expression than those from our controls. We suggest in our study that it might be possible to design a new class of drugs that would dial down the expression level of MAO.”

He notes that one of the drugs currently used to treat Parkinson's disease inhibits the enzymatic activity of MAO and has been shown in clinical trials to slow down the progression of the disease.

Parkinson's disease is caused by the death of dopamine neurons. In the vast majority of cases, the reason for this is unknown, Feng explains. But in 10 percent of Parkinson's cases, the disease is caused by mutations of genes, such as parkin: the subjects with Parkinson's in the UB study had this rare form of the disease.

“We found that a key reason for the death of dopamine neurons is oxidative stress due to the overproduction of MAO,” explains Feng. “But before the death of the neurons, the precise action of dopamine in supporting neural computation is disrupted by parkin mutations. This paper provides the first clues about what the parkin gene is doing in healthy controls and what it fails to achieve in Parkinson's patients.”

He noted in this study that these defects are reversed by delivering the normal parkin gene into the patients' neurons, thus offering hope that these neurons may be used as a screening platform for discovering new drug candidates that could mimic the protective functions of parkin and potentially even lead to a cure for Parkinson's.

While the parkin mutations are only responsible for a small percentage of Parkinson's cases, Feng notes that understanding how parkin works is relevant to all Parkinson's patients. His ongoing research on sporadic Parkinson's disease, in which the cause is unknown, also points to the same direction.

In addition to Feng, co-authors are Houbo Jiang, PhD, Yong Ren, PhD, Eunice Y. Yuen, all research assistant professors at UB; Ping Zhong, PhD, research scientist, Mahboobe Ghaedi, PhD, postdoctoral associate, Zhixing Hu, PhD, postdoctoral associate, and Zhen Yan, PhD, professor, all of the UB Department of Physiology and Biophysics. Other co-authors are Gissou Azabdaftari, MD, of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and Kazuhiro Nakaso, MD, of Tottori University in Japan.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.

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Parkinson's Disease: Study of Live Human Neurons Reveals the Disease's Genetic Origins, New Drug Targets

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By a GenomeWeb staff reporter

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Cleveland Clinic today said that it will recruit Parkinson's disease patients for 23andMe and the consumer genetics firm's ongoing research efforts in that area.

The patients will be recruited to contribute their DNA to 23andMe's research database and complete online surveys regarding their health. Participants will be enrolled in 23andMe's Parkinson's Disease Research Community, enabling them to engage with other Parkinson's patients while getting full access to 23andMe's Personal Genome Service.

Cleveland Clinic said the project is part of its own personalized healthcare initiative, which seeks to better predict risk for disease and response to therapies.

“We are offering this opportunity to our patients because as part of our 'Patients First' mission, we feel it is an important collaboration that could lead to improvements in our ability to predict and treat Parkinson's disease,” Kathryn Teng, director of the Center for Personalized Healthcare at Cleveland Clinic, said in a statement.

23andMe began a research collaboration in March 2009 with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, and the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center aimed at enrolling 10,000 people to be part of its Parkinson's Disease Research Community.

That collaboration led to a study published last year in PLoS Genetics that identified two new loci contributing to Parkinson's disease risk. The genome-wide association study involved 3,426 individuals with Parkinson's disease enrolled over an 18-month period.

23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki said that the firm already has more than 6,500 individuals with Parkinson's disease in its research community, which she said is the largest cohort of Parkinson's disease patients in the world. Cleveland Clinic said that it expects to add about 1,000 patients to the program.

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February 14, 2012, 4:03 PM EST

By Nicole Ostrow

Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) — Tai chi, a Chinese martial art of precise, gentle movements, helps patients with mild-to-moderate Parkinson’s disease improve their balance, a study found.

Patients who did tai chi twice a week for six months had improvement in steadiness that was 2.5 times greater than those who engaged in resistance training and 4 times greater than those who did only stretching exercise, according to research published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Doctors recommend exercise for patients with Parkinson’s disease, a brain disorder that causes trembling, stiffness and balance impairment and increases the risk of falls, the authors wrote. Tai chi, known for its series of exact postures that flow one into the next, requires concentration and weight shifting that may have extra benefits for those with mild to moderate Parkinson’s, said lead study author Fuzhong Li.

“We have clearly shown that tai chi has the potential to help patients ease some of the movement disorder,” Li, a senior research scientist at the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene, Oregon, said in a Feb. 6 telephone interview. “It will definitely help people improve their balance. My recommendation would be to build it into daily activity.”

The study is the first to show that an alternative form of exercise can benefit Parkinson’s patients, Li said.

Tai chi uses a set of slow, self-initiated movements to move people away from their base of support in a controlled fashion, he said. Resistance training is more like aerobics and uses less conscientious movements, Li said.

10 Million Affected

About 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s each year and as many as 10 million people worldwide are living with the disorder, according to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, based in New York. Men are more probable than women to have the disease.

Researchers in the study included 195 patients with mild- to-moderate Parkinson’s disease. The patients were assigned to participate in tai chi, resistance training or stretching for 60 minutes twice a week for 24 weeks.

Those in the tai chi group improved in how far they could shift their center of gravity without falling by 15 percent over the course of the study, while those in the resistance group improved 6 percent. Those who were in the stretching group had a 4 percent decline over the study period, Li said.

The research indicated that participants in the tai chi group performed better on movement control, showing a 12 percent improvement, while those in the resistance training group declined 4 percent and the people in the stretching group dropped 5 percent, Li said.

Better Than Stretching

The tai chi group performed better than the stretching group in walking and strength. They also fell less than those who stretched. There was no difference in falls between the resistance group and the tai chi group, the paper showed.

The findings will receive a lot of attention in the Parkinson’s community, said Blair Ford, medical adviser with the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation and a professor of clinical neurology at Columbia University in New York.

“Tai chi and probably equivalent methods are helpful at improving balance and decreasing falls and that’s very, very important for Parkinson’s disease,” Ford said in a Feb. 7 telephone interview. The study “might just get tai chi on the map as a conjunctive treatment for Parkinson’s. Medications alone don’t prevent falling.”

Andrew Feigin, a neurologist specializing in Parkinson’s disease at the North Shore-LIJ Medical Group in Great Neck, New York, said the findings give scientific backing to doctor recommendations that patients try exercises like tai chi to improve balance.

“Balance and gait are problems that people with Parkinson’s disease have,” said Feigin, who wasn’t an author of today’s paper, in a Feb. 6 telephone interview. “Things like stretching and resistance aren’t really working on balance. Tai chi really focuses on improvements in balance. It’s nice to get some actual data that shows doing those things can be helpful.”

–Editors: Angela Zimm, Bruce Rule

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicole Ostrow in New York at nostrow1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net

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Tai Chi Makes Parkinson’s Patients Steadier on Feet, Study Says

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FAIRHOPE, Alabama — Susie Glickman is an amazing line dancer.

It’s not because she can execute the Cupid Shuffle or the Electric Slide better than most.

Rather, it is because every step takes extra effort now that this 67-year-old Fairhope woman has Parkinson’s disease.

“I have it on my left side,” said Glickman, who was diagnosed with the chronic, progressive movement disorder in 2007. “I went in to see my doctor because my left arm didn’t feel like it was part of my body. When I found out it was Parkinson’s, I was shocked. I wanted to find out as much as I could about the disease.”

At first glance, Glickman’s condition isn’t obvious.

While moving a little slower these days, Glickman is fairly nimble. But this spunky grandmother struggles with tremors, weakness and balance issues.

Turning pages can be tiresome — or downright impossible. Often, she succumbs to exhaustion.

Nevertheless, Glickman considers herself lucky.

“The mid 60s is the prime age to get Parkinson’s,” she said. “It usually progresses slowly when you are diagnosed in your 60s. But the younger you have it, the faster it progresses.”

Glickman manages to move steadily while leading line-dancing classes in Mobile and Baldwin counties. The Los Angeles native also moonlights as a part-time joke writer for longtime employer and close friend Dolly Parton.

“I used to be Dolly’s personal secretary,” she proclaimed, her eyes dancing with delight. “Now I write the jokes she uses at her appearances.”

Today, Glickman has combined her dancing and writing talents to pursue her latest passion: educating others about Parkinson’s.

Glickman recently wrote, produced, choreographed and starred in “Dancing Feet Help Defeat Parkinson’s,” a 4-minute, 9-second video featuring 175 dancers at the James P. Nix Adult Activity Center in Fairhope doing the “Parkinson’s Disease Stomp Line Dance.”

She entered the short film in the American Academy of Neurology Foundation’s third annual Film Festival competition to raise awareness about why more research is needed to cure brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, autism, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

Judges will select the first- and second-place winners and the third-place winner will be chosen by popular vote. Nearly 300 films have been submitted since the festival began in 2010 and Glickman’s video is among 104 in this year’s contest.

Voting opened last week and people can view and vote for their favorite video through March 8 at http://www.NeuroFilmFestival.com.

The winner of the “Fan Favorite” award will receive a certificate and recognition at the 2012 Neuro Film Festival on April 22 in New Orleans. The festival will be held in conjunction with the foundation’s 64th annual meeting, the world’s largest meeting of neurologists with 10,000 attendees.

“My goal is to get as many people aware of this as possible and then get them to vote,” Glickman said. “We have a really good chance of winning because of the video’s originality.”

In the film, a room packed with men and women wearing bright red T-shirts and white pants follow Glickman in a dance set to the tune “Jingle Bells.”

As the video begins, participants shuffle their feet and wave their arms in unison, following Glickman’s lead. Before the song plays, Glickman’s voice can be heard reciting “The Parkinson’s Plea,” a poem she penned.

Then the music begins: “Parkinson’s, Parkinson’s, it’s a brain disease. Parkinson’s, Parkinson’s brings us to our knees. Parkinson’s, Parkinson’s makes our bodies freeze. Parkinson’s, Parkinson’s, help us cure it please …”

Nearly 1 million people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson’s disease. The cause is unknown, and although there is presently no cure, there are treatment options such as medication and surgery to manage its symptoms. The primary motor signs of Parkinson’s disease include the following.

Tremor of the hands, arms, legs, jaw and face. Bradykinesia, or slowness of movement. Rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and trunk. Postural instability or impaired balance and coordination.

Glickman is hopeful her film will place in the top three. But, she says, “I think the video already is a winner.”

She asked Parkinson’s patients, their families and caregivers as well as friends from church and her line-dancing students in Fairhope and Mobile to appear in the video.

“I solicited everyone in town,” she said.

When the day of filming arrived, Glickman was overwhelmed.

“We had 175 people in the room and I didn’t know they would come until they showed up — and the mood was captured perfectly,” she said. “Most of the people didn’t line dance, but it turned out to be amazing.”

Glickman has been working for Parton since the 1970s, convincing the entertainer to hire her after showing up consistently at several of Parton’s California appearances, offering her lyric writing services.

“I told everyone I would be working for Dolly Parton one day,” Glickman said. “Eventually, Dolly said, ‘Give that squirrelly fan a job.’”

Glickman moved to Fairhope in the 1980s after working with Baldwin County native and author Fannie Flagg on Parton’s television show.

“I got sand in my shoes and that was it,” she said.

Parkinson’s may have slowed Glickman’s gait. But neither age, nor a progressive neurological disease can erode Glickman’s determination.

The same tenacity that landed her a job with Parton years ago is evident in her recent project.

“I truly believe that if you put your mind to something, you can get it done,” said Glickman, flashing a smile. “This film was a dream of mine.”

By LESLEY FARREY PACEY, Correspondent

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CLEVELAND, Feb. 14, 2012  /PRNewswire/ — In an effort to study the interactions between genomics and Parkinson's disease, Cleveland Clinic has joined the ongoing efforts of 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company, to recruit Parkinson's patients to participate in research by contributing their DNA to a research database and completing online surveys about their health.

Currently, little is known about how genes relate to Parkinson's disease, the effectiveness of treatments, or the natural course of the disease. The goal of this collaborative research effort – which also has support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the National Parkinson Foundation and the Parkinson's Institute – is to discover how genes and the environment influence Parkinson's disease.

“We are aware of the limitations of today's treatments, so we are always thinking about what we can do to advance the care of this incurable disease,” said Andre Machado, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Cleveland Clinic's Center for Neurological Restoration. “This collaboration will help us to learn more about the genomics of Parkinson's disease and how it may impact individualized care in the future.”

The project is part of Cleveland Clinic's personalized healthcare initiative, which aims to drive discoveries that allow medical professionals to better predict risk for disease and response to therapies, with the ultimate goal to improve patient care.

“We are offering this opportunity to our patients because as part of our 'Patients First' mission, we feel it is an important collaboration that could lead to improvements in our ability to predict and treat Parkinson's disease,” said Kathryn Teng, M.D., Director of the Center for Personalized Healthcare at Cleveland Clinic. “Donating saliva, blood or tissue for research is a form of 'Patient Philanthropy.' It empowers our patients to participate in medical research and discoveries that can improve healthcare for themselves and others.”

Patients who volunteer for the study will be asked to provide a saliva sample for DNA analysis and agree to participate in online surveys about their experience with Parkinson's. 23andMe hopes to enroll 10,000 participants total; Cleveland Clinic expects to enroll about 1,000 patients toward this goal.

“The quality of the research will depend heavily on sample size. Patient enrollment and participation is critical to the success of the project,” said Ryan Walsh, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Program at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas.

Patients who take part in the study will be enrolled in 23andMe's Parkinson's Disease Research Community, which will allow them to engage online with other Parkinson's patients and provides full access to 23andMe's Personal Genome Service.

23andMe first assembled its Parkinson's disease research initiative in June 2009. Within an 18-month period, 23andMe assembled and analyzed genetic data from more than 3,400 Parkinson's patients and successfully replicated the top 20 previously known genetic associations with Parkinson's disease in addition to determining new genetic associations for Parkinson's. Those findings were published in PLOS Genetics in June 2011. That study identified two novel loci, rs6812193 near SCARB2 and rs11868035 near SREBF1/RA11 and replicated those loci in an independent data cohort from the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke (NINDS) database.

“We are very excited to be partnering with Cleveland Clinic and Dr. Machado. Integrating their clinical care with our online research model creates the opportunity for a new paradigm of medical research, that will ultimately benefit individuals with Parkinson's Disease,” said Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andMe.  ”Participants enrolled through the Cleveland Clinic will join the more than 6,500 individuals with Parkinson's disease already in our research community – the largest cohort of Parkinson's patients in the world.”

Participation is free and voluntary. Those who take part in the study will be identified by a unique code, not by their names, in order to protect their privacy. Participants can choose to receive a report summarizing the genes identified in their DNA, though these findings will not be placed in their medical record.

“Patients volunteering for the study are unlikely to benefit directly, but they can have a sizable role in improving care for future patients. That's what this partnership is all about for us,” said Hubert Fernandez, M.D., Section Head, Movement Disorders at Cleveland Clinic's Center for Neurological Restoration.

To facilitate participation in the registry, Cleveland Clinic has detailed information and dedicated computer portals set up at locations where Parkinson's patients are most likely to be visiting, including main campus in Cleveland and the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. Two additional locations, Cleveland Clinic's Lakewood Hospital (Lakewood, Ohio) and Cleveland Clinic Florida (Weston, Fla.), will be enrolling patients as well. Patients can also email Cleveland Clinic at parkinsons@ccf.org or 23andMe at pd-help@23andme.com for more details or to sign up.

For more information about the research study, visit https://www.23andme.com/pd/.

About Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S.News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual “America's Best Hospitals” survey. About 2,800 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 11,000 nurses represent 120 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic Health System includes a main campus near downtown Cleveland, eight community hospitals and 18 Family Health Centers in Northeast Ohio, Cleveland Clinic Florida, the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Cleveland Clinic Canada, and opening in 2013, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. In 2010, there were 4 million visits throughout the Cleveland Clinic health system and 167,000 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 100 countries. Visit us at http://www.clevelandclinic.org/.  Follow us at http://www.twitter.com/ClevelandClinic.

About 23andMe
23andMe, Inc. is a leading personal genetics company dedicated to helping individuals understand their own genetic information through DNA analysis technologies and web-based interactive tools. The company's Personal Genome Service® enables individuals to gain deeper insights into their ancestry and inherited traits. The vision for 23andMe is to personalize healthcare by making and supporting meaningful discoveries through genetic research. 23andMe, Inc., was founded in 2006, and the company is advised by a group of renowned experts in the fields of human genetics, bioinformatics and computer science. More information is available at http://www.23andme.com.

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Public release date: 14-Feb-2012
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Contact: Jennifer Beal
healthnews@wiley.com
44-124-377-0633
Wiley-Blackwell

Cognitive stimulation therapies have beneficial effects on memory and thinking in people with dementia, according to a systematic review by Cochrane researchers. Despite concerns that cognitive improvements may not be matched by improvements in quality of life, the review also found positive effects for well-being.

There is a general belief that activities that stimulate the mind help to slow its decline in people with dementia. Cognitive stimulation provides people with dementia with activities intended to stimulate thinking, memory and social interaction, in order to delay the worsening of dementia symptoms. In 2011, the World Alzheimer's Report recommended that cognitive stimulation should be routinely offered to people with early stage dementia. However, increased interest in its use in dementia in recent years has provoked concern about its effectiveness and potential negative effects on well-being.

The review, published in The Cochrane Library, included 15 randomised controlled trials involving 718 people with mild to moderate dementia, mainly in the form of Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia. Participants were treated in small groups and involved in different activities, from discussions and word games to music and baking. All activities were designed to stimulate thinking and memory. Improvements were weighed against those seen without treatment, with “standard treatments”, which could include medicine, day care or visits from community mental health workers, or in some cases alternative activities such as watching TV and physical therapy.

“The most striking findings in this review are those related to the positive effects of cognitive stimulation on performance in cognitive tests,” said lead author, Bob Woods, of the Dementia Services Development Centre Wales, at Bangor University in Bangor, UK. “These findings are perhaps the most consistent yet for psychological interventions in people with dementia.”

Those who received cognitive stimulation interventions scored significantly higher in cognitive function tests, which measure improvements in memory and thinking. These benefits were still being seen one to three months after treatment. In addition, positive effects on social interaction, communication and quality of life or well-being were observed in a smaller number of the trials, based on self-reported or carer-reported measures.

In one trial, family members were trained to deliver cognitive stimulation on a one-to-one basis, with no additional strain on burden on caregivers reported. “Involving family caregivers in the delivery of cognitive stimulation is an interesting development and deserving of further attention,” said Woods.

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DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6e1829/global_parkinsons) has announced the addition of the “Global Parkinson's Disease Drug Pipeline Capsule – 2012″ report to their offering.

Fore Pharma's latest report Global Parkinson's Disease Drug Pipeline Capsule – 2012 is an outline of all the key research and development (R&D) activities of the global parkinson's disease drug market. It covers information on key pipeline molecules in various stages of R&D including all the phases of clinical trials, preclinical research, and drug discovery. The report is up-to-date with full coverage of the licensing activities and partnerships.

This report helps executives to keep a track of their competitors and understand their pipeline molecules. The information presented in this report can be used for identifying the partners, prioritizing, evaluating opportunities, developing business development strategies, and executing in-licensing and out-licensing deals.

The report provides information on pipeline molecules by company and mechanism of action across the different stages of R&D. It includes registered / preregistered stage, phase 3 clinical trial, phase 2 clinical trial, phase 1 clinical trial, preclinical research, and drug discovery. It also provides information on pipeline molecules developed in leading geographies including the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, U.K., Italy, and Spain by various stages of R&D. Licensing activities and partnerships in the parkinson's disease drug market is thoroughly covered by company and licensee with the deal summary.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Parkinson's Disease: Disease Definition

2. Parkinson's Disease Drug Pipeline Overview

3. Parkinson's Disease Phase 3 Clinical Trial Drug Pipeline Insights

4. Parkinson's Disease Phase 2 Clinical Trial Drug Pipeline Insights

5. Parkinson's Disease Phase 1 Clinical Trial Drug Pipeline Insights

6. Parkinson's Disease Preclinical Research Drug Pipeline Insights

7. Parkinson's Disease Drug Discovery Pipeline Insights

8. Geographic Landscape of Parkinson's Disease R&D Activities

8.1 Parkinson's Disease R&D Activities in North America

8.2 Parkinson's Disease R&D Activities in Europe

9 Licensing Activities / Partnerships in the Global Parkinson's Disease Drug Market

10 Research Methodology

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6e1829/global_parkinsons

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By Jenny Hope

Last updated at 9:55 AM on 16th February 2012

Middle-aged people who walk slowly and have a poor grip could be at greater risk of dementia or stroke in later life, researchers have warned.

Simple tests of physical ability may give clues as to who is most likely to go on to develop disorders such as Alzheimer’s and, to a lesser extent, suffer a stroke, they say.

Their study involved monitoring more than 2,400 participants with an average age of 62 over 11 years.

Tight grip: Research has found that simple tests on things like how fast a person walks may help doctors determine how likely that person might suffer dementia or a stroke

Those with a slower walking speed were found to be one and a half times more likely to develop dementia over the age of 65 compared with those who were more speedy.

People with a stronger grip had a 42 per cent lower risk of stroke or a mini-stroke – known as a transient ischemic attack (TIA) – over the age of 65, although the risk was not cut at younger ages.

Lead researcher Dr Erica Camargo said this level of testing could be routinely carried out by primary care physicians and GPs. ‘These are basic office tests which can provide insight into risk of dementia and stroke and can be easily performed by a neurologist or general practitioner,’ she added.

Participants in the U.S. study were tested for walking speed, hand grip strength and cognitive function, and had brain scans.

During the follow-up period, 34 people developed dementia and 70 people had a stroke.

A scan showing a healthy brain (above) and one (below) revealing the warning signs of Alzheimer's in red. Researchers in Boston are looking at new tests to find out if a person is more likely to suffer from the disease (file picture)

Dr Camargo, of Boston Medical Centre, said: ‘While frailty and lower physical performance in elderly people have been associated with an increased risk of dementia, we weren’t sure how it impacted people of middle age.’

Researchers also found that slower  walking speed was associated with lower total cerebral brain volume – fewer ‘grey’ cells  and poorer performance on memory,  language and decision-making tests. Stronger grip strength was associated with larger  total cerebral brain volume as well as better performance on cognitive tests asking people to identify similarities among objects.

‘Further research is needed to understand why this is happening and whether preclinical disease could cause slow walking and decreased strength,’ added Dr Camargo.

Dr Anne Corbett, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘Before people take stock in the strength of a handshake or the speed you cross the road, more research is needed to understand why and what other factors are involved.

‘The good news is that there are many things to reduce your risk of developing dementia.

‘We recommend you eat a healthy balanced diet, don’t smoke, maintain a healthy  weight, take regular exercise, and get your blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly.’

The research was presented yesterday at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th annual meeting in New Orleans. Some 820,000 people are affected by dementia in the UK.

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Woodhaugh Rest Home, in Dunedin, is seeking permission to develop a 16-bed dementia unit and a hospital facility.

Cressida Healthcare general manager Colleen Stairmand, of Auckland, said the rest-home was seeking permission from the Ministry of Health for the dementia unit and a 16 to 18-bed hospital facility.

A new manager, who started in January, was “making a real difference” at the home, Mrs Stairmand said. There were no major problems at the home.

Southern DHB carried out a site visit in November, after complaints the home was not carrying adequate basic supplies.

The DHB gave the home the all-clear, but has been monitoring more closely since.

Mrs Stairmand said the dementia unit and hospital facility would increase the profitability of the 70-bed rest-home.

“The rest-home has some empty beds, so we were looking at ways that we could make it profitable and offer more services.”

Southern DHB funding and finance general manager Robert Mackway-Jones said capacity outstripped demand in the residential care sector in the South at present. Demand for dementia and hospital care was tipped to grow, he said.

Hospital-level care had risen in the past three years, while residential dementia care had been “reasonably flat” in recent years.

Hospital bed use grew 4.5% in 2009-10, 4.1% in 2010-11, and 2.8% so far in 2011-12.

Rest-home demand was “flat and declining” and this trend would be exacerbated by the board's plans to develop new services to keep people at home for longer.

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The speed at which someone walks may predict the development of dementia later in life, according to researchers in the U.S.

The study was conducted at the Boston Medical Centre. 2,410 people, who were 62 years old, participated in the study.

Their brain scans, walking speed and grip strength were recorded. The results that were presented at the Academy of Neurology's annual meeting said 11 years later, 34 people had developed dementia and 79 had had a stroke.

The researchers said that the slow speed walkers have a higher risk of dementia and stronger grip with a lower risk of stroke.

Dr Erica Camargo, who conducted the latest study at the Boston Medical Centre, told BBC: “While frailty and lower physical performance in elderly people have been associated with an increased risk of dementia, we weren't sure until now how it impacted people of middle age.”

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 ”These are basic office tests which can provide insight into risk of dementia and stroke and can be easily performed by a neurologist or general practitioner,” Camargo said.

He added: “Further research is needed to understand why this is happening and whether preclinical disease could cause slow walking and decreased strength.”

These findings have not yet been published in an academic journal.

Experts have raised important questions. “Before people take stock in the strength of a handshake or the speed you cross the road, more research is needed to understand why and what other factors are involved,” quoted BBC as Dr Anne Corbett, research manager at the Alzheimer's Society saying.

“The good news is that there are many things you can do to reduce your risk of developing dementia,” Corbett said.

“We recommend you eat a healthy balanced diet, don't smoke, maintain a healthy weight, take regular exercise; and get your blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly,” he added.

The Stroke Association's Dr Sharlin Ahmed also shared his view that says: “Around a third of those who have a stroke are left with some kind of physical disability, including hand weakness and difficulty walking. However, this is the first time we have seen research that looks at the presence of related symptoms before a stroke.”

“This is an interesting study, but a lot more research is needed before we can conclude that strength of grip or walking speed can determine the risk of stroke,” Ahmed added.

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Pace of Walking Linked to Dementia: Study

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When Times staff photographer Rob Gauthier and I first visited the Bryant family last April to begin reporting a story, (“Little-known brain disease rips apart lives of victim, loved ones,”), about a rare type of dementia, known as frontotemporal dementia, we realized that we needed to explore the science behind the malady. FTD, as the disease is known, is similar to Alzheimer's but affects the front portions of the brain and leads to behavioral problems such as the Bryants experienced with Stu.

I knew about Phineas Gage, the railroad foreman who in 1848 lost the front portion of his brain in a terrible construction accident and who survived as a radically changed man. I had read the work of Hanna and Antonio Damasio, neuroscientists who almost 20 years ago pioneered our understanding of the biology of emotions, and I was eager to see how frontotemporal dementia was being studied to further this research. 

In the course of our reporting, Rob and I took a number of trips to UCLA and the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs hospital to interview Mario Mendez, the physician and neuroscientists treating Stu. In our conversations, Mendez helped us understand what Oliver Sacks meant when he wrote, “Without the great development of the frontal lobes in the human brain, civilization could never have arisen.”

By studying the effects of frontotemporal dementia – and its slow diminishment of personality – Mendez is able to see more clearly the so-called social brain, a portion of our frontal and temporal lobes that plays a role in allowing us to successfully interact with each other and build relationships. Take away this portion of the cortex and we are no longer able to moderate our emotions. 

Moderation – the inhibition of emotional impulses – can take the form of empathy and embarrassment and is critical in helping us negotiate complex social environments. Without either, as Rob and I learned during the time we spent with Stu, humans grow untethered to the world, unable to read feelings or behave in an appropriate manner.

By steering the discussion about morality, normally the providence of ethicists and philosophers, away from the symposium and putting it inside the laboratory where thoughts are considered to be not so much conscious choices, but instead reflexes based on a neurological network, Mendez and other neuroscientists are furthering the inquiry into the nature of right and wrong. In this light, religion, family, even Freud's notions of superego, ego and id matter less than biology.

Mendez argues that specific behaviors – not harming another person, respecting hierarchy and authority, accepting communal goals, recognizing equity and fairness – evolved among humans.  Good manners, therefore, have as much to do with what we are born with as they do with how we were raised and what our parents taught us.

“Much of the social behavior that we take for granted and that we often consider to be learned or cultural or developmental is actually behavior that is deeply ingrained in the nervous system and in the frontal lobes,” Mendez says.

Consider that the next time you’re in a crowded restaurant and watching the kaleidoscope of interactions. Never mind the ability to speak and communicate. Never mind the opposable thumbs. The frontal lobes make humans human.

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WEDNESDAY, Feb. 15 (HealthDay News) — How fast you walk or how strong your grip is in middle age might help predict your odds for dementia or stroke later in life, a new study suggests.

Tests assessing walking speed and grip can be easily performed in a doctor's office, noted study author Dr. Erica C. Camargo, of the Boston Medical Center.

She and her colleagues tested the walking speed, hand grip strength and cognitive function of more than 2,400 people, average age 62. The participants also underwent brain scans.

During a follow-up period of up to 11 years, 34 people went on to develop dementia (including Alzheimer's disease) and 70 had a stroke.

People who had a slower walking speed at the start of the study were 1.5 times more likely to develop dementia than those with a faster walking speed, according to the findings, which are slated to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) in New Orleans in April.

People aged 65 and older who had a stronger hand grip strength at the start of the study had a 42 percent lower risk of stroke or mini-stroke (transient ischemic attack) than those with weaker hand grip strength. This difference was not seen in people younger than 65.

“While frailty and lower physical performance in elderly people have been associated with an increased risk of dementia, we weren't sure until now how it impacted people of middle age,” Camargo said in an AAN news release.

The researchers also found that slower walking speed was associated lower total cerebral brain volume and poorer performance on memory, language and decision-making tests. Stronger hand grip was associated with larger total cerebral brain volume and better results on tests of thinking and memory in which people had to identify similarities among objects.

“Further research is needed to understand why this is happening and whether preclinical disease could cause slow walking and decreased strength,” Camargo said.

Experts said the findings might be valuable in assessing patient risk.

“It is unclear why there is such a correlation between walking speed and hand grip on these disease processes, yet they are two simple tests that can give us a pre-clinical clue as to what we might expect, and enable us to implement prevention,” said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, a preventive cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Dr. Marshall Keilson, director of neurology at Maimonides Medical Center, also in New York City, agreed. “At the very least,” he noted, “this research suggests novel approaches to early identification of dementia and stroke risk. It would be interesting to test an even younger patient population with the same protocol.”

Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-revised journal.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about dementia.

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15 February 2012 Last updated at 21:52 ET

The speed someone walks may predict the likelihood of developing dementia later in life, according to researchers in the US.

They also told a conference that grip strength in middle-age was linked to the chance of a stroke.

The scientists said more studies were needed to understand what was happening.

Experts said the findings raised important questions, but more research was needed.

Suggestions of a link between slow walking speed and poor health have been made before.

A study, published in the British Medical Journal in 2009, said there was a “strong association” between slow walking speed and death from heart attacks and other heart problems. A Journal of the American Medical Association study suggested a link between walking faster over the age of 65 and a longer life.

Dr Erica Camargo, who conducted the latest study at the Boston Medical Centre, said: “While frailty and lower physical performance in elderly people have been associated with an increased risk of dementia, we weren't sure until now how it impacted people of middle age.”

Brain scans, walking speed and grip strength were recorded for 2,410 people who were, on average, 62 years old.

Results presented at the Academy of Neurology's annual meeting said that 11 years later, 34 people had developed dementia and 79 had had a stroke.

The researchers said slower walking speeds were linked to a higher risk of dementia and stronger grip with a lower risk of stroke.

Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

“Before people take stock in the strength of a handshake or the speed you cross the road, more research is needed to understand why and what other factors are involved”

End Quote Dr Anne Corbett Alzheimer's Society

Dr Camargo said: “These are basic office tests which can provide insight into risk of dementia and stroke and can be easily performed by a neurologist or general practitioner.

“Further research is needed to understand why this is happening and whether preclinical disease could cause slow walking and decreased strength.”

The findings have not yet, however, been published in a peer-reviewed academic journal.

Dr Marie Janson, director of development at Alzheimer's Research UK, said: “Although this study has yet to be published in full, it does raise some important questions about whether physical problems, such as difficulty walking, could precede other symptoms associated with dementia.

“Further study could shed new insight into how walking speed and dementia may be linked.”

Dr Anne Corbett, research manager at the Alzheimer's Society, said: “Before people take stock in the strength of a handshake or the speed you cross the road, more research is needed to understand why and what other factors are involved.

“The good news is that there are many things you can do to reduce your risk of developing dementia.

“We recommend you eat a healthy balanced diet, don't smoke, maintain a healthy weight, take regular exercise; and get your blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly.”

The Stroke Association's Dr Sharlin Ahmed, said: “Around a third of those who have a stroke are left with some kind of physical disability, including hand weakness and difficulty walking. However, this is the first time we have seen research that looks at the presence of related symptoms before a stroke.

“This is an interesting study, but a lot more research is needed before we can conclude that strength of grip or walking speed can determine the risk of stroke.”

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Slow walking 'predicts dementia'

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Latest Exercise & Fitness News

MONDAY, Feb. 13 (HealthDay News) — Here's another reason to get into shape: Physical activity may reduce the risk of dementia-related death, according to a new study.

Researchers assessed the health of more than 45,000 men and nearly 15,000 women, ages 20 to 88 years, in the United States and grouped them into one of three fitness categories — low, middle or high.

After an average follow-up of 17 years, about 4,050 participants died. Of those deaths, 164 were attributed to dementia (72 vascular dementia and 92 Alzheimer's disease). Of those 164 deaths, 123 of the people were in the low-fitness group, 23 were in the middle-fitness group, and 18 were in the high-fitness group.

People in the high- and medium-fitness groups had less than half the risk of dying as those in the low-fitness group, the researchers concluded.

The study appears in the February issue of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

“These findings support physical-activity promotion campaigns by organizations such as the Alzheimer's Association and should encourage individuals to be physically active,” study author Riu Liu said in a journal news release.

“Following the current physical-activity recommendations from the American College of Sports Medicine will keep most individuals out of the low-fit category and may reduce their risk of dying with dementia,” Liu added.

Liu conducted the study as part of her dissertation at the University of South Carolina. She is now a postdoctoral fellow at the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

While deaths in the United States associated with heart disease, breast cancer and stroke have declined in recent years, deaths related to dementia and Alzheimer's rose 46 percent between 2002 and 2006, according to the release.

The study doesn't prove that exercise will prevent dementia, however. Other factors may also come into play.

— Robert Preidt

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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Exercise a Defense Against Dementia: Study

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A series of group activities designed to stimulate thought, conversation and memory appears to improve the mental functioning of people with mild or moderate dementia, according to a new review of the evidence.

“This is good news for the industry,” said Robert Winningham, a professor at the University of Western Oregon, who was not involved in this study. “This is showing the people who work in memory care communities and nursing homes and assisted living facilities that they can improve cognitive function, and they need to be providing these kinds of interventions.”

Cognitive stimulation, as the therapy is called, involves structured activities in a group setting, usually one or more times a week for at least a month.

The sessions might include a discussion of current events, a sort of show-and-tell with objects, baking, drawing or other activities that get the participants to engage their minds.

Bob Woods, a professor at Bangor University in the UK who led the study, said that researchers in this field had considered cognitive stimulation to be helpful for people with dementia, based on earlier work.

To get a better sense of just how much the therapy can do, he and his colleagues at University College London pulled together the findings from 15 studies comparing cognitive stimulation to no extra intervention for people with mild or moderate dementia.

In total, 718 people participated in the studies.

The stimulation sessions lasted from 30 to 90 minutes, and people met as frequently as five times a week. The studies continued for at least a month and up to two years.

“One of the difficulties in dementia is people do become a bit apathetic and withdrawn,” Woods told Reuters Health. “So having this structured form of stimulation guarantees they are engaged and active for a period of time.”

At the end of the studies people took a test to measure their mental functioning.

Those who were in the cognitive stimulation groups performed about one or two points better than those who didn't participate, on tests that had ranges of zero to 30 and zero to 70.

Woods said the effect is fairly small, but encouraging. He explained that people with dementia typically decline by a few points on these tests in six months or a year.

So a one or two point increase over people who didn't receive any treatment means their dementia, at least in terms of their mental skills, was essentially stabilized and didn't progress.

SOME RESULTS DISAPPOINTING

Other skills for daily living, however, did not show any improvements compared to the people who didn't receive cognitive stimulation.

“To be honest, that's disappointing,” Winningham told Reuters Health. “Activities of daily living are your ability to take care of yourself, to do a check book, go grocery shopping. We need to find ways to improve these because that's what will allow people to stay independent and reduce health care costs.”

Winningham said the mental gains are important, though, and training staff at assisted living or nursing care facilities to provide cognitive stimulation is a worthwhile investment.

“It's a very inexpensive way to improve cognitive function, relative to much more expensive drug therapies that have been, really, the only thing that we were sure worked before these studies came out,” he said.

Woods said most of the studies have focused on interventions given in group sessions, and he'd like to see whether individual sessions, perhaps given by a family member, could deliver similar results.

“I'm quite hopeful some grandchildren would want to do this with their grandfather or grandmother who has dementia,” he said.

In the report, published by the Cochrane Collaboration, the authors disclose that some of them have earned money by providing training and manuals for cognitive stimulation.

Cochrane is a large, international network of researchers that consolidates and reviews studies on a given medical treatment.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/Af8nyY Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, February 2012.

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Group mental activities help people with dementia, review shows

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