Long-Term Use Of Benadryl, Many Over-The-Counter Cold Medications Linked To Dementia

[Common]

New research is warning about a possible link between a very common allergy medicine and dementia. CBS2’s Dr. Max Gomez reported that long-term use of an antihistamine known as diphenhydramine, which is commonly sold as Benadryl and included in many over-the-counter medications for cold and allergies, may increase the risk of dementia and even cause irreparable harm.
Diphenhydramine, which also causes drowsiness, is in popular sleep aids such as Tylenol PM, Advil PM, and ZZZQuil.
“I would take these medications myself only very rarely and I will try at all costs to avoid taking them for a long term,” Stanford psychiastrist Barbara Sommer said.
Sommer is an expert on anticholinergic drugs like diphenhydramine. She said recent research found that older adults who took anticholinergics continuously for years performed worse on tests that measured short-term memory, verbal reasoning, planning, as well as problem-solving.
PET scans revealed their brains were less active and MRI scans showed their brains had shrunk.
“Whereas it’s always been thought if you stop anticholinergic drugs, all of the cognitive functions you’ve lost come back, now people aren’t so sure,” Sommer said. “And they’re worried that this may lead to or hasten the onset of dementia.”
These studies do not prove a cause and effect.
“The active ingredients are approved by the FDA and recognized as safe and effective when taken as instructed,” Consumer Healthcare Products Association, the group that represents the makers of these over-the-counter products, said in a statement.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/05/...dryl-dementia/

[Adelaide]

I don't find it surprising. I have been waiting for a while for someone to come up with reasons the OTC sleep aids are bad news, although I find it slightly concerning that diphenhydramine is the cause. A lot of people take a low to medium dose of diphenhydramine every day for allergies.

[Peter1469]

I imagine many OTCs aren't great for you. Also they tend to treat symptoms and do nothing for the cause of the problem.

[waltky]

Sea Quest Hero Helps Scientists Studying Dementia... Online Game Helps Scientists Studying Dementia November 16, 2016 — An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

The game, called Sea Quest Hero and developed by Deutsche Telekom and Alzheimer’s Research UK, was launched in May and has generated enough data to help create a global benchmark for the human brain’s navigational processes and how they vary between men and women, and between the young and old. It has been played more than 2.4 million times worldwide, giving more than 9,400 years’ worth of equivalent lab-based research, the scientists said Wednesday — and is showing the potential to be able to help diagnose dementia earlier. 47.5 million with dementia According to the World Health Organization, the total number of people with dementia in 2015 was estimated at 47.5 million, and that number is rising rapidly as life expectancy increases and societies age. Case numbers are projected to reach 75.6 million by 2030, and to more than triple between now and 2050. The incurable condition is a leading cause of disability and dependency, and it is starting to overtake heart disease as a cause of death in some developed countries.

Kanemasa Ito, 72, holds hands with his 68-year-old wife Kimiko, who was diagnosed with dementia 11 years ago, at their home in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, April 6, 2016.Dementia affects nearly 5 million Japanese citizens and is forecast to affect 7 million by 2025.

Dementia is caused by brain diseases, most commonly Alzheimer’s disease, which result in the loss of brain cells and affect memory, thinking, behavior, navigational and spatial abilities and the ability to perform everyday activities. Hugo Spiers, a neuroscientist at Britain’s University College London who led the research team, said the Sea Hero study was unprecedented in both scale and accuracy. “The findings the game is yielding have enormous potential to support vital developments in dementia research,” he said. Some abilities decline early In preliminary results, published and presented at a neuroscience conference in the United States, scientists found that spatial navigation abilities start to decline from early adulthood continue on this trajectory. Players age 19, for example, were 74 percent likely to accurately hit a target during the game, compared with 46 percent among 75-year-old players. Spiers said this was in stark contrast to findings of previous small studies, which suggest declines start much later. While memory deterioration is a fairly normal part of aging, Spiers explained that becoming completely disoriented is not. It is, however, common in people developing dementia.

Kanemasa Ito, 72, and his 68-year-old wife Kimiko, who was diagnosed with dementia 11 years ago, chat at their home in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan

This means the benchmark established by the initial data from Sea Hero Quest players paves the way to finding the earliest spatial navigational changes, he said. This makes dementia potentially diagnosable long before someone displays symptoms of general memory loss. In turn, this could allow for earlier diagnosis and treatment of patients. Since the game’s data shows changes in spatial navigation abilities — both declines and improvements — it could also be used in future drug trials to assess the effectiveness of possible treatments, the researchers said. http://www.voanews.com/a/online-game...a/3599509.html

[waltky]

Dementia cases on the decline...

Dementia rates show signs of falling
Tue, 22 Nov 2016 - There is growing evidence that the dementia crisis may not be as bad as first feared, say researchers.

A study suggests the proportion of elderly people developing dementia is falling in the US - backing up similar findings in the UK and Europe. Data from 21,057 people over the age of 65 in the US showed the proportion with dementia fell from 11.6% in 2000 to 8.8% in 2012. The findings were published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

There is a suggestion that higher levels of education are protecting the brain from the disease. One expert said the results were "incredibly important for the world". Similar studies in Europe, published in the Lancet Neurology last year, suggested dementia rates had fallen in the UK and among Spanish men and had stabilised in other European countries.

Brain protection

Prof Kenneth Langa, who conducted the latest study at the University of Michigan, said: "Our results add to a growing body of evidence that this decline in dementia risk is a real phenomenon, and that the expected future growth in the burden of dementia may not be as extensive as once thought." The slow decline in brain function is irreversible - there are no drugs or treatments - so finding ways of preventing the condition is hugely important. Education has long been suspected to play a role, and the study found that while the dementia rate fell, the average time older adults had spent in school or university increased from 11.8 years in 2000 to 12.7 years in 2012.

It is possible that the mental challenge of education helps protect brain cells from dying later in life, or that once neurons start to die, education helps the rest of the brain rewire and compensate to prevent the symptoms of dementia appearing. Good physical health is also thought to help protect the brain. However, the study showed levels of diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure all increased between 2000 and 2012. It is possible that better medication dampened their negative impact. Prof Carol Brayne, who conducted the European analysis and is from the University of Cambridge, said the US study added "strong further evidence" that rates were declining in some countries.

She said education appeared to be significant and that people with higher levels of education seemed to "defer" dementia until later in life. She told the BBC News website: "These findings are incredibly important for the world and underlie the importance of access to education. "But it is likely to be a combination of risk factors - better health from conception, vaccinations, access to education, medical care, not smoking - that taken together will have an impact." Prof Brayne added that identifying what could help stave off dementia would ensure "we don't go backwards, otherwise the gains we've had won't be had by future generations".

Biggest killer

[waltky]

Yeah, Granny likes to play hoola-hoop with possum...

Strong Heart, Better Education Shown to Lower Dementia Risk
December 28, 2016 - As the elderly population continues to grow globally, the number of people who will suffer from dementia also will increase. The question is, by how much?

The World Health Organization estimates that close to 50 million people have been diagnosed with dementia, with more than half living in low- and middle-income countries. Although dementia mainly affects older people, it is not a normal part of aging. As researchers find out more about the causes of dementia, they are also finding ways they can help reduce its prevalence. For example, numerous studies show that what's good for the heart is also good for the brain. Physical activity and a healthy diet keep the heart pumping and blood flowing to the brain. Good blood flow keeps the brain functioning, and has been shown to reduce the risk of dementia. Brains shrink with age, but studies cited by the Alzheimer's Society of the U.K. showed that aerobic exercise not only increases the heart rate, but also enlarges the hippocampus, the key area of the brain involved in memory. In one study, a year of aerobic exercise by older adults proved to be the equivalent of reversing one to two years of age-related shrinkage.

Researchers also have found a link between higher education and a reduction in dementia. Studies continue to look at the way exercise, diet, social and mental stimulation, and other factors influence the development of dementia, Alzheimer's being the most common form of this disease. Dr. Kenneth Langa at the University of Michigan focuses his research on dementia. He was the co-investigator of a study of 20,000 adults in the United States over a 12-year period, and was the lead investigator of a supplemental study on the risk factors and prevalence of dementia in this group. "We found that the prevalence of dementia declined significantly between 2000 and 2012, from about 11.5 percent down to about 9 percent," Langa said.

Patients with Alzheimer's and dementia are seen during a therapy session inside the Alzheimer Foundation in Mexico City.

Langa attributes the decline in dementia to better treatments for high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity — treatments that keep the cardiovascular system healthy and lower incidents of stroke. He also says increases in education levels play a role. In the U.S., education levels rose over the past two decades, according to data gathered by Langa. A larger percentage of people graduated from high school, and more people received college educations. Langa's study showed that even a slight increase in the level of education seems to have an impact in reducing the risk of dementia. "This suggests that a 75-year-old today has a lower risk of having dementia today than a 75-year-old 10 or 20 years ago," he said.

But the numbers were still significant because of the large number of older adults. "What we found was that for adults in the United States, ages 65 and older, about 3 to 5 percent of them who were 65 to 74 had dementia, and that went up to almost 30 percent for those who are 85 and older,” Larga said. “So almost one in three had dementia in our study." Even without a breakthrough in treatment, Langa says it appears there are things that can decrease the risk. However, he says, more work needs to be done to keep dementia trends declining. The supplemental study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

http://www.voanews.com/a/study-stron...k/3654616.html

[MisterVeritis]

I don't find it surprising. I have been waiting for a while for someone to come up with reasons the OTC sleep aids are bad news, although I find it slightly concerning that diphenhydramine is the cause. A lot of people take a low to medium dose of diphenhydramine every day for allergies.

I lived most of my life without allergies. In the last four years, March and April have been difficult months. So I start with a low does every day starting in February and ending in May.

This is one variable among many. Given the low brain activity, I suspect the people who went on to dementia seldom read complicated materials, performed creative activities, or argued with others to sharpen their brains.

I wonder what the difference is in the dementia rates for those who listened to talk radio for most of their live versus those who did not.

[waltky]

Granny likes to go on social media...

... an' cuss ever'body out...

Staying Active Mentally Helps Protect Your Brain From Dementia

February 05, 2017 | WASHINGTON — Because we face a looming global epidemic of dementia, scientists the world over are looking for ways to preserve the memories of older adults.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health project that one out of every 85 older adults worldwide will develop Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia. With aging on the rise globally, the big question becomes how can people preserve their thinking skills and memory? Some research shows that staying physically active helps the brain stay healthy, both mentally and physically. Other studies look at challenging the brain's thought processes: by studying languages, doing Sudoku or crossword puzzles and the like.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, found that mentally stimulating activities help reduce the chance of developing mild dementia, known as MCI, or mild cognitive impairment. MCI doesn't interfere with everyday life, but those who have are at greater risk for developing Alzheimer's. Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Dr. Yonas Geda co-authored a study published January 30 in JAMA Neurology. Nearly 2,000 adults without memory issues, aged 70 and older, participated in the study. The research went on for ten years, from 2006 to 2016, but the average participant was followed for four years. “This study is very important because dementia, MCI, these conditions are really common as we get older," Geda said, "We need to find out non-pharmacological approaches to decrease the risk of MCI or dementia.”

The researchers found that playing games, doing crafts, using a computer and staying socially active could reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment even for those with a genetic risk for dementia. The researchers were interested in the research because so far, few studies have investigated whether keeping the mind busy is related to the outcome of MCI, the intermediate zone between normal cognitive aging and dementia. The results found that only 15 percent of the participants developed MCI over an average of four years, although not all activities were equal. Those who used a computer and those who participated in crafting activities saw their risk decrease by 30 and 28 percent respectively. Social activity and playing games reduced the risk by 23 and 22 percent.

The researchers found that reading didn’t seem to provide the same protection for thinking and memory. The mental activity doesn't have to become a chore, Geda said. Just participating in something mentally stimulating two to three times a week helped, and that seemed to be the key. The study showed this group significantly decreased their risk of developing new-onset MCI compared with people who participated in fewer mentally stimulating activities.

http://www.voanews.com/a/staying-act...a/3707593.html

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd says Granny ain't doin' none of `em...

Nine lifestyle changes can reduce dementia risk, study says
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 - They include hearing loss, smoking, and not finishing secondary education, a study says.

One in three cases of dementia could be prevented if more people looked after their brain health throughout life, according to an international study in the Lancet. It lists nine key risk factors including lack of education, hearing loss, smoking and physical inactivity. The study is being presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in London. By 2050, 131 million people could be living with dementia globally. There are estimated to be 47 million people with the condition at the moment.

Eve Laird is taking part in a study on how to prevent dementia

Nine factors that contribute to the risk of dementia

1 Mid-life hearing loss - responsible for 9% of the risk
2 Failing to complete secondary education - 8%
3 Smoking - 5%
4 Failing to seek early treatment for depression - 4%
5 Physical inactivity - 3%
6 Social isolation - 2%
7 High blood pressure - 2%
8 Obesity - 1%
9 Type 2 diabetes - 1%

These risk factors - which are described as potentially modifiable - add up to 35%. The other 65% of dementia risk is thought to be potentially non-modifiable. Source: Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care

Graph on forecast of dementia growth globally

"Although dementia is diagnosed in later life, the brain changes usually begin to develop years before," said lead author Prof Gill Livingston, from University College London. "Acting now will vastly improve life for people with dementia and their families and, in doing so, will transform the future of society." The report, which combines the work of 24 international experts, says lifestyle factors can play a major role in increasing or reducing an individual's dementia risk. It examines the benefits of building a "cognitive reserve", which means strengthening the brain's networks so it can continue to function in later life despite damage.

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