Some studies have suggested that people who are younger when they enter puberty are more likely to later develop multiple sclerosis (MS). But a new study attributes that link to body mass index (BMI). The study is published in the March 20, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Having a parent with Alzheimer’s disease has been known to raise a person’s risk of developing the disease, but new research suggests that having second- and third-degree relatives who have had Alzheimer’s may also increase risk. The study is published in the March 13, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
There’s good news for women with multiple sclerosis (MS)—researchers now say the disease may not flare up again right after pregnancy as they had long believed, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019. Most people with MS have the relapsing-remitting form of the disease, where symptoms flare up, then go into periods of remission.
Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, moderate in nuts, fish and alcohol and low in meat and full-fat dairy is associated with better cognitive performance in middle age, according to a study published in the March 6, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Cognitive abilities include thinking and memory skills.
People who report an elevated number of depression symptoms may be more likely to have a stroke years later than people with no depression symptoms or a low number of depression symptoms, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019.
For people with multiple sclerosis (MS), drinking around 290 calories per day of soda or other sugar-sweetened beverages, or the equivalent of about two cans of non-diet soda, may be tied to more severe symptoms and a higher level of disability compared to people with MS who seldom consume sugar-sweetened beverages, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019. People who seldom drank sugar-sweetened beverages consumed an average of seven calories in sugar-sweetened beverages per day, or the equivalent of one-and-a-half cans of non-diet soda per month. Soda and other sweet beverages were the only type of food that was related to MS symptoms in the study.
It may seem counterintuitive, but having some extra body fat may be linked to an increased chance of surviving a stroke, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019.
People who are witnessed by a bed partner to have stopped breathing during sleep may have higher accumulations of an Alzheimer’s disease biomarker called tau in an area of the brain that helps with memory, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019.
Medical marijuana may bring relief to older people who have symptoms like pain, sleep disorders or anxiety due to chronic conditions including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, neuropathy, spinal cord damage and multiple sclerosis, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019. The study not only found medical marijuana may be safe and effective, it also found that one-third of participants reduced their use of opioids. However, the study was retrospective and relied on participants reporting whether they experienced symptom relief, so it is possible that the placebo effect may have played a role. Additional randomized, placebo-controlled studies are needed.
Playing professional soccer may be linked to an increased risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019. The study also found that soccer players may develop the disease 21 years earlier than people in the general population do.
While drugs that lower blood pressure and cholesterol have been shown to be beneficial for heart health, a new study has found that two such drugs may not provide a similar benefit to the brain. The study, published in the February 27, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that when older people took candesartan plus hydrochlorothiazide to lower blood pressure or rosuvastatin to lower cholesterol, or a combination of the two, the drugs did not slow decline in thinking and memory.
Keeping physically and mentally active in middle age may be tied to a lower risk of developing dementia decades later, according to a study published in the February 20, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Mental activities included reading, playing instruments, singing in a choir, visiting concerts, gardening, doing needlework or attending religious services.
People who have chronic inflammation in middle-age may develop problems with thinking and memory in the decades leading up to old age, according to a new study published in the February 13, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Previous studies have suggested that having a higher level of education may protect the brain to some extent against dementia, providing a “cognitive reserve” that buffers against the disease. But results have been mixed, and a new study finds that education does not play a role in when the disease starts or how fast it progresses. The study was published in the February 6, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Regular aerobic exercise such as walking, cycling or climbing stairs may improve thinking skills not only in older people but in young people as well, according to a study published in the January 30, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study also found that the positive effect of exercise on thinking skills may increase as people age.
For people in their 20s and 30s, having blood pressure above normal but below the level considered to be high blood pressure, may be linked to loss of brain volume, according to a study published in the January 23, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Older adults who move more, either with daily exercise or even simple routine physical activity like housework, may preserve more of their memory and thinking skills, even if they have brain lesions or biomarkers linked to dementia, according to a study published in the January 16, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Carrying extra body fat, especially around the middle, may be linked to brain shrinkage, according to a study published in the January 9, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. For the study, researchers determined obesity by measuring body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio in study participants and found those with higher ratios of both measures had the lowest brain volume.
Registration is now open for journalists planning to attend the 71st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019. The AAN Annual Meeting is the world’s largest gathering of neurologists who come together to share the latest advances in neurologic research.
Taking antidepressants for depression, having post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety diagnosed by a doctor are risk factors for a disruptive and sometimes violent sleep disorder called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder, according to a study published in the December 26, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study also found men are more likely to have the disorder.
Getting the heart pumping with aerobic exercise, like walking or cycling for 35 minutes three times a week, may improve thinking skills in older adults with cognitive impairments, according to a study published in the December 19, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. After six months of exercise, study participants’ scores on thinking tests improved by the equivalent of reversing nearly nine years of aging.
Female military veterans who have traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder or depression long after their service may be more likely to later develop dementia than female veterans without those conditions, according to a study published in the December 12, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Quick tests used in primary care settings to identify whether people are likely to have dementia may often be wrong, according to a study published in the November 28, 2018, online issue of Neurology® Clinical Practice, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Eating leafy greens, dark orange and red vegetables and berry fruits, and drinking orange juice may be associated with a lower risk of memory loss over time in men, according to a study published in the November 21, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
People who experience migraine with visual aura may have an increased risk of an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, according to a study published in the November 14, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers have been searching for possible treatments for the polio-like illness causing paralysis in children, called acute flaccid myelitis. But a new study shows no signal of efficacy for one potential treatment, the antidepressant fluoxetine. The study is published in the November 9, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
In the past, researchers believed that Parkinson’s disease did not affect life expectancy. But recent studies showed a somewhat shorter life span. Now a new study suggests that when the disease does not affect thinking skills early on, life span is not affected. The study is published in the October 31, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Middle-aged people with high levels of a hormone called cortisol in their blood have impaired memory when compared to those with average levels of the hormone, even before symptoms of memory loss started to show, according to a study published in the October 24, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. People with high levels of the hormone also had lower brain volume than those with regular cortisol levels.
A simple test taken within a week of a stroke may help predict how well people will have recovered up to three years later, according to a study published in the October 17, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
People with a particular kind of irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation may experience a faster decline in thinking and memory skills and have a greater risk of dementia than those without atrial fibrillation, according to a study published in the October 10, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
How many hours people sleep at night may affect their risk of stroke differently based on race, according to a study published in the October 3, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Children who grow up in poverty or who are otherwise socially and economically disadvantaged may be more likely in old age to score lower than others on tests of cognitive skills, according to a study published in the September 26, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
People who participate in light to moderate physical activity, such as walking at least four hours a week or swimming two to three hours a week, may have less severe strokes than people who are physically inactive, according to a study published in the September 19, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
It’s known as the disease that attacks the body but leaves the mind unaffected. But a new study shows that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, does affect the mind, especially later in the disease. The study is published in the September 12, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
When medical marijuana is taken for chronic nerve pain, it may provide pain relief by reducing connections between the areas of the brain that process emotions and sensory signals, according to a study published in the September 5, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A drug shown to be effective in the treatment of babies with the rare muscle-wasting disease spinal muscular atrophy may be effective for muscle control even when treatment is started in children seven months and older, according to a study published in the August 29, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Previous studies focused on children younger than seven months old.
Electrical stimulation of the brain and spinal cord may help treat the symptoms of rare movement disorders called neurodegenerative ataxias, according to a study published in the August 22, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The eyes may be a window to the brain for people with early Parkinson’s disease. People with the disease gradually lose brain cells that produce dopamine, a substance that helps control movement. Now a new study has found that the thinning of the retina, the lining of nerve cells in the back of the eye, is linked to the loss of such brain cells. The study is published in the August 15, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Women who take epilepsy drugs while they are pregnant may have a lower risk of having a child with delays in language skills if they take folic acid supplements before and early in pregnancy, according to a study published in the August 1, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
People who feel faint, dizzy or lightheaded when standing up may be experiencing a sudden drop in blood pressure called orthostatic hypotension. Now a new study says middle-aged people who experience such a drop may have a greater risk of developing dementia or stroke decades later. The study is published in the July 25, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A woman’s history of pregnancy may affect her risk of Alzheimer’s disease decades later, according to a study published in the July 18, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Athletes who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be at greater risk for experiencing persistent anxiety and depression after a concussion than people who do not have ADHD, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s Sports Concussion Conference in Indianapolis, July 20 to 22, 2018. ADHD is a brain disorder that affects attention and behavior.
Soccer players who head the ball more often may be more likely to have balance problems than players who do not head the ball as often, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s Sports Concussion Conference in Indianapolis July 20 to 22, 2018.
Older people who have higher blood pressure may have more signs of brain disease, specifically brain lesions, according to a study published in the July 11, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers also found a link between higher blood pressure and more markers of Alzheimer’s disease, tangles in the brain.
People who have been exposed to paint, varnish and other solvents and who also carry genes that make them more susceptible to developing multiple sclerosis (MS) may be at much greater risk of developing the disease than people who have only the exposure to solvents or the MS genes, according to a study published in the July 3, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
While it has been known that estrogen plays a role in migraine for women, new research shows that the female sex hormone may also play a role in migraine for men, according to a small study published in the June 27, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Over time, half of the people taking certain drugs for Parkinson’s disease may develop impulse control disorders such as compulsive gambling, shopping or eating, according to a study published in the June 20, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
People with type 2 diabetes may have an increased risk of having a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease later in life, according to a large study published in the June 13, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. In addition, the risk may be higher for younger people and those with complications from the disease.
Black and Hispanic people may be more likely to have another intracerebral hemorrhage, or a stroke caused by bleeding in the brain, than white people, according to a study published in the June 6, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.