Dr. Bob's Mouthly Report

Here’s a to-do list for preventing dementia, new research suggests: Ditch red meat, take a brisk walk to the grocery store, do the Sunday crossword and stick to one glass of wine at dinner.

A study presented Sunday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles found that combining five lifestyle habits — including eating healthier, exercising regularly and refraining from smoking — can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by 60 percent. A separate study showed that lifestyle choices can lower risk even for those who are genetically prelifestyle disposed to the disease.

Over the past decade, studies have increasingly pointed to controllable lifestyle factors as critical components to reducing the risk of cognitive decline. Researchers say that, as with heart disease, combating dementia will probably require a “cocktail” approach combining drugs and lifestyle changes. And as recent efforts to develop a cure or more effective drug treatments for dementia have proved disappointing, the fact that people can exert some control in preventing the disease through their own choices is encouraging news, they say.

While the new study’s authors expected to see that leading a healthier life decreases the chance of dementia, they were floored by the “magnitude of the effect,” said Klodian Dhana, a Rush University professor and co-author.

Read more at The Washington Post

Eggshells, which contain calcium carbonate, a property that improves bone health, were combined in the lab with hydrogel, a squishy, flexible material made of more than 90% water. Commercially-available bone cells were added to the mix.

Results showed an increase in bone cells’ ability to grow and harden, which could result in faster healing.

“A big deal,” is how lead researcher Gulden Camci-Unal, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, described the outcome, because it could eventually result in clinical applications, like repairing broken bones. Other potential applications include growing cartilage, teeth and tendons, Camci-Unal said.

Possible human application would involve bone cells from a patient added to hydrogel and crushed eggshells. The mixture is cultivated in an incubator, and the resulting new bone is implanted into the patient.

There is less chance of rejection by the immune system, because bone cells come from the patient.

Read more at Metro West Daily News

New research shows the brain has the ability to function well — and even excel — in old age. The secret? Keep learning.

"Learning is the mechanism for development no matter how old you are," said Rachel Wu, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California Riverside and the author of research published Wednesday in the Journals of Gerontology, Series B.

Wu's study took an ambitious approach: have seniors in their 60s, 70s and 80s immerse themselves in a college-like atmosphere, enrolling in three somewhat rigorous courses simultaneously.

They participated in at least 15 hours of class a week, and also did homework assignments, over three months. Classes included Spanish language, music composition, painting/drawing, photography and instruction on using an iPad.

The results were impressive: After just six weeks, participants' scores on standardized tests assessing thinking and memory abilities were similar to a middle-age adult's scores — a significant improvement over their scores before the study began.

That is, their brains functioned more like those of a person 30 years younger.

Read more at NBCNews

Physical activity has long been linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. But most research has looked at exercise habits at a single point in time rather than activity patterns across the years, researchers note in The BMJ.

For the current study, researchers assessed activity levels several times over eight years for 14,599 men and women who were between 40 and 80 years old at the outset. After the first eight years, researchers started tracking mortality for another 12.5 years, on average. During that period, there were 3,148 deaths, including 950 from cardiovascular disease and 1,091 from cancer.

The researchers measured both work and leisure-time physical activity in terms of energy expended per kilogram of body weight. Activity increases over time that were equivalent to going from sedentary to meeting the World Health Organization’s recommendation of at least 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity were associated with a 24% lower risk of death from any cause, a 29% lower risk of cardiovascular death and an 11% lower risk of cancer death compared to those who remained inactive.

“This sends a strong message to all of us, irrespective of what our current life circumstances may be, since it is never too late to build physical activity into your daily routine in order to enjoy a longer healthier life,” said Soren Brage, senior author of the study and a researcher at the University of Cambridge in the UK.

“Everybody benefitted from becoming more active,” Brage said by email. “This was also true for the subgroup of people who already had a serious chronic condition such as heart disease and cancer at baseline.”

Read more at Reuters

Meditation is a mind and body practice that has a long history of use for increasing calmness and physical relaxation, improving psychological balance, coping with illness, and enhancing overall health and well-being. Many studies have been conducted to look at how meditation may be helpful for a variety of conditions, such as high blood pressure, certain psychological disorders, and pain. A number of studies also have helped researchers learn how meditation might work and how it affects the brain.

Read more at NCCIH