Category Archives: Brain Decline

The National Alzheimer’s Project Act makes progress

Yesterday the US Senate passed the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) (S. 3036), taking an important step toward addressing Alzheimer’s disease, the public health crisis of the 21st century. Pushed through under bi-partisan leadership, the country is one step closer to laying the groundwork for a national strategic plan to address the Alzheimer’s epidemic. NAPA [...]

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 [...]

Don’t Become Another Statistic!

It appears a few major publications read the Brain Fitness for Life blog, because both Business Week and Time ran stories this week about the staggering costs of treating dementia after we ran our op-ed piece More reason to engage in brain exercise! Both the Business Week and Time article reference the current Alzheimer’s Disease [...]

Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Decline

A response to The New York Times article, “Years Later, No Magic Bullet Against Alzheimer’s Disease”, dated Aug 28, 2010 based on the NIH Report “Preventing Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline” from Dr. Peter Magaro. In late spring 2010, the National Institute for Health (NIH) produced a review of research on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and [...]

Get Moving This Labor Day Weekend

One of the long standing mantras here at Brain Fitness for Life is the positive correlation between staying active and maintaining your cognitive ability as you age. This week a U.S. News & World Report article titled Attention, Couch Potatoes! Walking Boosts Brain Connectivity, Function gave details of a recent cognitive study published in the [...]

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 [...]

The Journey Towards Alzheimer’s Prevention

On April 26-28, 2010, the National Institute for Health, hosted a conference entitled “State-of-the-Science Conference, Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Decline“. It was open to both professionals and the public. The goal of the independent panel of health professionals and public officials at the meeting was to assess whether previous research on purported risk or [...]

The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain

Barbara Strauch, the Health and Science Editor for the New York Times, was a guest on NPR’s radio program Fresh Air with Terry Gross last week to discuss the topic of the aging brain and promote her new book The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind. During the [...]

Does Television Rot Your Brain?

I’m sure you have heard the old adage television will rot your brain. There might just be some truth to that. First, there is the obvious. Watching television is a sedentary and passive activity. Watching TV is a choice, and like most choices, there is an opportunity cost. When you watch television you forsake other [...]

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 [...]