Diabetes, air pollution and alcohol consumption can be harmful to regions of the brain vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers compared modifiable risk factors for dementia - which is characterized by the impairment of memory, thinking and reasoning - and studied how these factors appear to affect certain brain regions that are already particularly vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia.
“What we’re trying to do is say: What are the common risk factors for dementia that are affecting these regions?” Douaud said. “These are the three most harmful but then, obviously, the others, they have an effect.”-- Researchers investigated the genetic and modifiable risk factors that contribute to the vulnerability of the “most fragile parts of the brain” by studying the brain scans of nearly 40,000 relatively healthy participants from the U.K. Biobank.
Dementia is the loss of cognitive function, and symptoms result from brain neurons losing their connection to other brain cells and eventually dying, according to the . Everyone loses neurons over time, but the loss is more significant in dementia patients. A person’s age, genes, family history, a traumatic brain injury or a stroke also are potential risk factors.Gill Livingston, a professor of psychiatry of older people at University College London and the lead author of the
“There’s quite a lot people can do in their everyday life to maintain cognitive health,” she said. “This just reinforces it.”Try to eat a healthy, varied diet to help lower your blood sugar, take measures to protect against “traffic-related pollution” and drink alcohol in moderation, Douaud said in an email.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Join a Free Research Study to See if Diet Can Help Improve Type 2 DiabetesDo you have type 2 diabetes and live in the Washington, D.C.
Read more »
Startling Discovery: Diabetes Mortality Rises Exponentially With Age, Study FindsScience, Space and Technology News 2024
Read more »
Diabetes Care Falters for Rural Patients: StudyIf you live in a small town and have diabetes, you're more likely to suffer serious setbacks than your cousin in the big city.
Read more »
AI can speed design of health softwareArtificial intelligence helped clinicians to accelerate the design of diabetes prevention software, a new study finds.
Read more »
AlzheimersAlzheimer's disease affects an estimated 1 in 10 people over age 65. Find in-depth Alzheimer's information
Read more »
No, ‘Sugar Defender’ supplements cannot cure diabetesJames Lanier told Clay County deputies he had two or three alcoholic drinks upon his arrest.
Read more »