March 28, 2024

Your Brain, an Aging Protein, Text vs. In-person and more

Posted on March 1, 2016 by in NewsUCanUse

Exercise and Brain AgingBrainRunningW

Poor physical fitness in middle age may be linked to a smaller brain size 20 years later, according to a study published in the online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

“We found a direct correlation in our study between poor fitness and brain volume decades later, which indicates accelerated brain aging,” said study author Nicole Spartano, PhD, with Boston University School of Medicine in Boston.

The study is observational, meaning it doesn’t prove poor physical fitness causes a loss of brain volume, it just shows the association. It also indicates fitness in middle age may be important for the millions of people who already have evidence of heart disease.

Technology vs In-person CommunicationMar2016QRTexting

Research by groups in the US and Canada suggest text messaging and social media can have emotional and psychological benefits, but often fail to match those of in-person social interactions. As our society increasingly relies on digital forms of social interaction, there may be costs as well as benefits to the quality of our relationships and our emotional health.

“Digitally-mediated social interactions can have a positive impact on sense of belonging, bonding, self-esteem, and mood among adolescents and young adults,” said one researcher. “However, the benefits of text messaging and social media often fail to match those of in-person social interactions.”

The research focused on young adults, adolescents, and children, with more research needed to determine how well these findings generalize to other age groups.

Sleep Less, Eat/Drink More?Mar2016QRBeer

A recent cross-sectional study conducted by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham explored a new pathway between short sleep – less than seven hours – and obesity. The researchers found “short sleep is associated with more time spent in secondary eating and, in particular, secondary drinking.” Although more research is needed, this suggests a link between short sleep and increased caloric intake in the form of beverages and distracted eating, potentially increasing obesity risk.

Aging Proteins RevealedMar2016QRProteinMolecule

At about 80 years of age, approximately half the body’s proteins are damaged by oxidation, which occurs because of random chemical degradations associated with converting food to energy in the presence of oxygen. Certain proteins known to be associated with aging and age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and cancer are also at a high risk for destabilization caused by oxidation. A new study by Stony Brook University researchers has identified some ways aging affects these proteins, offering scientists a better understanding of how oxidation causes damage to proteins in aging cells. The team will continue to search for additional proteins that may be important to aging and age-related diseases, helping to target future treatments.

Cherry Supplements & Workout RecoveryMar2016QRCherries

Sufferers of achy and fatigued muscles may have a new and unique dietary supplement option to help them recover more quickly. In a recently published clinical study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, researchers from Texas A&M University® shed light on the benefits of Montmorency Tart Cherry Powder supplementation for exercise recovery. A short-term dose helped to accelerate recovery from muscle soreness, slow strength decline during recovery, and lessen markers of muscle catabolism in resistance trained individuals.

Life Purpose & Lower MortalityMar2016QRCompass

Researchers at Mt. Sinai St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, New York report people who have a higher sense of purpose in life are at lower risk of death and cardiovascular disease. While the mechanisms behind the association remain unclear, the findings suggest that approaches to strengthening a sense of purpose might lead to improved health outcomes.

The analysis included data on more than 136,000 participants from ten studies – mainly from the United States or Japan. The US studies evaluated a sense of purpose or meaning in life, or “usefulness to others.” The Japanese studies assessed the concept of ikigai, translated as “a life worth living.” The study participants, average age 67 years, were followed up for an average of seven years. The pooled data analysis can be found in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine.

Leave a Reply

Please fill the required box or you can’t comment at all. Please use kind words. Your e-mail address will not be published.

Gravatar is supported.

You can use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>