Keeping brain sharp may ward off Alzheimer's protein

 

People who challenge their brains throughout their lifetimes -- through reading, writing and playing games -- are less likely to develop protein deposits in the brain linked with Alzheimer's, researchers said on Monday. Prior studies have suggested that people who are well educated and stay mentally active build up brain reserves that allow them to stay sharp even if deposits of the destructive protein called beta amyloid form in the brain.

 

 

Swimming lowers older adults' blood pressure

 

Many older adults like to take a dip a pool, and now a small study suggests it can be good for their blood pressure. Researchers found that among 43 older men and women, those who started swimming a few times a week lowered their systolic blood pressure -- the “top” number in a blood pressure reading.

 

Kids seek tans, use less sunscreen as they age: survey

 

As kids go from elementary to junior high school ages, the desire to tan gets stronger while the habit of using sun protection gets tossed out the window, according to a survey that tracked kids' attitudes about the sun over three years. “I think especially at this age, and in general, there are a lot of forces that promote tanning,” said Stephen Dusza, a researcher at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and lead author of the new study.

 

Common scans could hurt thyroid, researchers say

 

The iodide dye used in heart scans and other medical imaging might damage some people's thyroid glands, which could cause important health problems later on, researchers say. In a new study, they found patients who had signs of thyroid disease were between two and three times as likely to have had a scan using iodide as a comparison group of people without thyroid problems.

 

First patients shown to improve with embryonic stem cells

 

Before treatment, the 51-year-old graphic artist was legally blind, unable to read a single letter on a standard eye chart. She has suffered from Stargardt's disease, the most common form of macular degeneration in young patients, since she was a teenager, and it was getting progressively worse. A second patient, aged 78, suffered from dry macular degeneration -- the leading cause of blindness in the elderly -- and could not even see well enough to go shopping.

 

Brain scans spot early signs of dyslexia

 

Instead of waiting for a child to experience reading delays, scientists now say they can identify the reading problem even before children start school, long before they become labeled as poor students and begin to lose confidence in themselves. Although typically diagnosed during the second or third grade of school - around age 7 or 8 - a team from Children's Hospital Boston said they could see signs of the disease on brain scans in children as early as 4 and 5, a time when studies show children are best able to respond to interventions.

 

 

(Reuters)