Tag: Alzheimer’s

Link Between Lack of Sleep and Alzheimer’s

June 8th, 2015 by Paula Gallagher

sleepResearchers at UC Berkley have found a possible link between sleep deprivation and the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists found that poor sleep allows a memory robbing protein, beta-amyloid protein, to build up in the brain and that protein then disrupts sleep further, creating a vicious non-sleep cycle. The study, published in Nature Neoscience, looked at 26 older adults between the ages of 65 and 81 who showed no existing evidence of dementia or other neurodegenerative, sleep or psychiatric disorders.

To study the link between sleep and Alzheimer’s, each participant received PET scans to measure levels of beta-amyloid in the brain. Then they were asked to memorize 120 word pairs and tested on how well they remembered a portion of them.

The study participants then slept for 8 hours, during which an EEG measured their brain waves. The following morning, their brains were scanned using fMRI as they recalled the remaining word pairs. Overall, the results showed that the study participants with the highest levels of beta-amyloid in the medial frontal cortex had the poorest quality of sleep. Continue reading “Link Between Lack of Sleep and Alzheimer’s”

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Nutrient Power: Rebalancing Biochemistry to Address Health Issues

June 27th, 2012 by Paula Gallagher

In his fascinating new book, Nutrient Power, Dr. William Walsh focuses on brain health and the importance of nutrients to rebalance brain chemistry. The main foundation of the book is focusing on an individual’s unique needs and then formulating a personalized compound, or recommending specific nutrients based on those needs.

Dr. Walsh summarizes his book:

“I’m pleased to announce that my new book Nutrient Power (Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.) has been completed. The book won’t be released to Amazon and bookstores until September, but early copies are now available at Village Green Apothecary (call 1-800-869-9159 to order) and through Walsh Research Institute. The book presents a science-based nutrient therapy system that can help millions of patients throughout the world. The text is aimed at doctors, researchers, and families challenged by depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, ADHD, autism, and other brain disorders. This approach recognizes that nutrient imbalances can alter brain levels of key neurotransmitters, disrupt gene expression of proteins and enzymes, and cripple the body’s protection against environmental toxins. The book demonstrates that depression, schizophrenia, and ADHD are umbrella terms that encompass disorders with widely-differing brain chemistries and symptoms. Nutrient therapies tailored for five depression biotypes, three schizophrenia biotypes, and various ADHD conditions are presented along with several case histories. Continue reading “Nutrient Power: Rebalancing Biochemistry to Address Health Issues”

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The Mind-Body Connection and the Art of Letting Go

April 25th, 2012 by Carmen Ugas

It is very easy to live on auto-pilot, disregarding or not paying much attention to the most important aspects of our lives – those that nourish us from the inside out.

Have you ever had a job that didn’t mean anything to you? In other words, you were used to this job, you went every day, you performed your duties, but what you did didn’t really mean much to you? Perhaps it was a comfortable situation, comfortable because it was a familiar job and you did it well, it paid well, and the benefits were good; but this job didn’t really fulfill you; it didn’t really allow you to grow as a person or be of service to others.

Or perhaps you’ve been in a relationship for the sake of keeping up with the status quo. A relationship where you didn’t really feel loved, or one where you were the one not really in love. Perhaps you felt like you had to stay in it for the sake of your children, so that they would grow up with a sense of family structure. Continue reading “The Mind-Body Connection and the Art of Letting Go”

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Reducing Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease with Diet and Fish Oils

January 23rd, 2012 by Paula Gallagher

Alzheimer’s is an awful, degenerative disease. If no one in your life has ever been affected by it, consider yourself lucky. It has hit pretty close to home for me in the last couple of years; watching someone, once vibrant and loving, turn into a different person is heart-wrenching.

However, there may be some hope in preventing Alzheimer’s disease. A new study in the journal Neurology is reporting that a diet rich in marine derived omega-3 fats and vitamins B, C, D and E dramatically lowered the risk of reduced brain volume, memory loss and risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Certain lifetsyle factors such as education and blood pressure, combined with a healthy diet, lowered the risk of brain shrinkage by almost 40%. Shrinking brain volume is associated with the development of many forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Gene Bowman, from the Departments of Neurology and Public Health and Preventive Medicine at the Oregon Health and Science University, and his team of researchers studied 104 elderly people with the average age of 87. They found that the vitamins and nutrients you get from eating a wide range of fruits, vegetables and fish can be measured in blood biomarkers and have a direct impact on brain shrinkage, memory and cognition.  Continue reading “Reducing Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease with Diet and Fish Oils”

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Boosting Brain Power

January 21st, 2010 by Paula Gallagher

I read an article recently in a well known newspaper about the potential “astronomical” increase in Alzheimer’s in the upcoming years due to baby boomers, and the toll it will take on society. The reaction the article received ranged from outrage, to disbelief and most disturbingly, resignation.

However, there are things to be done to lessen the burden of dementia on society and families. “Brain Fitness” is a combination of methods and lifestyle factors that can revitalize the brain and add many years of active functioning in later life. Continue reading “Boosting Brain Power”

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Caroline Blazovsky
Heather Gunn
Jared Rice
Ellen Kittredge
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