News Briefs: Mediterranean Diet & Brain Atrophy; Car Crash Risk; Parkinson’s Disease
MEDITERRANEAN DIET PREVENTS BRAIN ATROPHY
Recent research provides evidence for yet another brain benefit of the healthy Mediterranean diet—an eating style which involves the consumption of plentiful amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, olive oil, whole grains, and beans, limited amounts of fish, dairy products, and wine, and occasional servings of red meat. Besides its apparent ability to protect against normal cognitive decline, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the diet appears to help prevent brain atrophy, as well. The new study involved nearly 1,000 healthy Scottish adults ages 73 to 76 who had completed food questionnaires when they were 70. Brain scans of participants showed that those whose eating style was most similar to the Mediterranean diet showed fewer signs of brain shrinkage over the three-year study period, according to a report published online Jan. 4, 2017 in the journal Neurology. Researchers found that the brains of participants adhering least closely to the Mediterranean diet were smaller than the brains of those who adhered most closely. The difference in diet explained 0.5 percent of the variation in brain volume, an effect that was half the size of that due to normal aging, even after controlling for other factors. “In our study, eating habits were measured before brain volume was, which suggests that the diet may be able to provide long-term protection to the brain,” the lead researcher said. “Still, larger studies are needed to confirm these results.”
ONE HOUR OF MISSED SLEEP DOUBLES CAR CRASH RISK
Getting behind the wheel after just one hour less than the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep at night doubles your risk for a car wreck compared to that of a well-rested driver, according to a report released on Dec. 6, 2016 by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. After only four to five hours of sleep, the consequences are comparable to driving drunk, quadrupling the normal risk for an accident. Trying to drive with less than four hours of sleep the previous night increases your risk of a car crash to 11.5 times that of a driver with healthy sleep levels. In a survey of 4,600 crashes from 2005 to 2007, the researchers found that the crash risk climbs steadily with sleep deprivation, most likely because sleep loss leads to lapses in attention, slower reaction times, and impaired responses to driving situations.
RX FOR PARKINSON’S DISEASE—EXERCISE!
A review of more than 100 research studies has confirmed the benefits of regular workouts for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The brain disorder, in which a lack of the neurotransmitter dopamine results in movement problems such as stiffness, shaking, slowed gait, and difficulties with balance, affects an estimated 1 million Americans. Analysis of the effects of exercise on PD demonstrated that exercise improves gait, reduces fall risk, and has significant positive effects on measures of strength, mobility, flexibility, and balance in people with PD, regardless of the stage of their disease. In a paper published Nov. 15, 2016 in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, researchers recommended that people with PD begin slowly and gradually increase exercise levels, aiming for moderately vigorous activity that causes them to break a sweat without overextending themselves.
ONE IN SIX AMERICAN ADULTS IS TAKING A PSYCHIATRIC DRUG
A recent survey found that that one in six American adults reported using psychiatric drugs. Researchers’ analysis of the 2013 U.S. Medical Expenditure Panel Survey revealed that 12 percent of psychiatric medication users reported taking an antidepressant, 8 percent reported taking an anti-anxiety medication, sedative, or sleep aid, and slightly less than 2 percent reported taking an antipsychotic drug. About 80 percent of drug respondents reported long-term use of a medication. Use appeared to increase with age, with nearly 25 percent of respondents aged 60 to 85 reporting taking a psychiatric drug compared with just 9 percent of individuals 18 to 39. A co-author of the study, which was published online Dec. 12, 2016 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, expressed concern “… that so many of these drugs have withdrawal effects and that some of the overwhelming long-term use may reflect drug dependence.”
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