memory

Good Diets Fight Bad Alzheimer Genes

From this article Good Diets Fight Bad Alzheimer Genes:

 The researchers are exhilarated to find that a diet high in Omega 3 oils and low in cholesterol appears to significantly reduce the negative effects of the APOE4 gene in mouse models.

The APOE4 gene is a known risk factor for Alzheimer's and is present in 50% of all Alzheimer's patients.

Another quote:

The main take-away message here is that good diets can alleviate the effects of bad genes. Of course nutritionists have had this general idea for a while, but it's nice to be able to show that this approach can be applied to specifically counteract the negative effects of Alzheimer's disease-related genes,"

Work longer for a sharper memory

A NYT article Taking Early Retirement May Retire Memory, Too reports on a study by two economists that shows that in countries where people work longer people have sharper memories.  See the graph.

While the study is not conclusive it does point to an interesting result. If causation is established rather than just correlation it would be important to know what aspect of work is producing cognitive longevity.  A quote from the article: 

"If work does help maintain cognitive functioning, it will be important to find out what aspect of work is doing that, Dr. Suzman said. “Is it the social engagement and interaction or the cognitive component of work, or is it the aerobic component of work?” he asked. “Or is it the absence of what happens when you retire, which could be increased TV watching?”

New Reason To Hit The Gym: Fighting Memory Loss

From this Science Daily article New Reason To Hit The Gym: Fighting Memory Loss:

“Research has shown that people who exercise do better on memory tests… Exercise, the researchers found, targets a region of the brain within the hippocampus, known as the dentate gyrus, which underlies normal age-related memory decline that begins around age 30 for most adults.”

And this:

Tea, Chocolate Chemical May Boost Memory

An aging hippy asks his friend, “Did you know that smoking marijuana affects your short-term memory?”

His friend responses, “No, I did not know that”.

Long pause in conversation at this point and then the aging hippy asks his friend again, “Did you know that smoking marijuana affects your short-term memory?” - end of joke.

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