Tag Archives: Seniors

November is National Family Caregivers Month

Watching a family member struggle pains us all, especially when there is little we can do personally to alleviate their ailment. Unfortunately one of the most common issues facing the aging population is being diagnosed with dementia, cognitive impairment, or Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. Alzheimer’s causes a person [...]

Seniors Should Maintain an Active Lifestyle

My colleague Dr. Jeffery Cummings gave a very informative interview to the Las Vegas Review-Journal last week (entitled Alzheimer’s studies urge active retirement). In the article, Dr. Cummings highlights the growing body of research that leading an active life, especially after retirement, appears to be one of the most important things one can do in [...]

Vitamin D and Cognitive Health

This week Dr. Katherine Tucker of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging published a report in the Journals of Gerontology which makes the claim that elderly individuals may be able to help sustain their cognitive function by maintaining sufficient levels of vitamin D. The study (Vitamin D Is Associated with Cognitive [...]

Cognitive Ability is More Important than Age

In neuroscience news this week, a newly published study by Scott Huettel, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of the Duke Center for Neuroeconomic Studies) attempts to help disprove the myth that simply aging makes us inferior at financial decision making compared to our younger counterparts. Dr. Huettel’s study was published earlier [...]

Our Best Years Are Yet To Come

You’ve probably heard that your brain starts to shrink as you get older, and that it gets harder to learn new skills and absorb new information. It is true that certain human brain parts stop developing in our mid 20s. However, (as discussed in a previous blog entry) medical scientists are now saying that in [...]

Hypertension and Cognitive Decline

Can Reducing Hypertension Also Reduce the Risk of cognitive decline? The ill effects of hypertension (high blood pressure) have been well documented by the medical community. If you suffer from high blood pressure, there is a good chance you might also suffer from: Pulsating headaches Retinopathy or related eye damage and vision impairments Nausea and [...]

SCAN Health Plan selects HAPPYneuron’s Brain Gym

Cognitive Exercises within SCAN Health Plan’s Mobile Resource Center for Seniors More than 20 Free Brain Training Games for Continued cognitive health Mountain View and Long Beach, CA, March 16, 2010 — HAPPYneuron, Inc., a leading provider of brain fitness solutions, in collaboration with SCAN Health Plan, today debuted its new ‘Vital’ brain gym. The [...]

Alzheimer’s Disease 2010 Facts & Figures

This week the Alzheimer’s Association issued its 2010 Fact and Figures and the numbers show no surprises. That is, we were all expecting the numbers to be on a continual increase year over year and that was pretty evident in the reading. Let’s review the basic numbers: As the 7th leading cause of death in [...]

Are Older Brains Wiser?

Older brains may be wiser brains!

Diabetes and Memory Loss

Diabetes slows down memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease! Researchers conducted a 4-year study on 608 subjects with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, out of which 63 people also had diabetes. Their memory and thinking skills were tested regularly. Those with diabetes turned out to have a slower rate of memory decline than those [...]