Neurosciences - March 2014 Archives

Join us Saturday, March 29, at 9 a.m. CT, when we cover as much about Alzheimer's disease as we can in one hour! Director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Ronald Petersen, M.D., Ph.D., will be with us to discuss a recent study listing Alzheimer's disease as the third-leading cause of death, and he'll comment on a news report that says women in their 60s are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's than breast cancer. Dr. Petersen will also share 7 tips to prevent memory loss.  Join us! Myth or Matter of Fact: There are treatments available to help stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease. At the top of the hour we'll also hear from David Ahlquist, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist and co-inventor of the Cologuard test. This high-tech home stool test kit looks for colorectal cancer's DNA in its early stages, when this cancer is highly treatable.  To hear the program LIVE on Saturday, click here. Follow #MayoClinicRadio and tweet your questions. Mayo Clinic Radio is available on iHeart Radio. Listen to this week’s Medical News Headlines: News March 29, 2014 (right click MP3) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qi41DaFjXM Bottom Line:  A diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in older adults was associated with increased risk for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), especially MCI of skills other than memory, and the greatest risk was among patients who had COPD for more than five years. The study is published in JAMA Neurology. Authors:  Balwinder Singh, M.D., M.S., and Michelle Mielke, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and colleagues. Background: COPD is an irreversible limitation of airflow into the lungs, usually caused by smoking. More than 13.5 million adults 25 years or older in the U.S. have COPD. Previous research has suggested COPD is associated with cognitive impairment. How the Study Was Conducted: The authors examined the association between COPD and MCI, as well as the duration of MCI, in 1,425 individuals (ages 70 to 89 years) with normal cognition in 2004 from Olmsted County, Minn. At baseline, 171 patients had a COPD diagnosis. Results: Of the 1,425 patients, 370 developed MCI: 230 had amnestic MCI (A-MCI, which affects memory), 97 had nonamnestic MCI (NA-MCI), 27 had MCI of an unknown type and 16 had progressed from normal cognition to dementia. A diagnosis of COPD increased the risk for NA-MCI by a relative 83 percent during a median of 5.1 years of follow-up. Patients who had COPD for more than five years had the greatest risk for MCI.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — March 11, 2014 — People who develop diabetes and high blood pressure in middle age are more likely to have brain cell loss and other damage to the brain, as well as problems with memory and thinking skills, than people who never have diabetes or high blood pressure or who develop it in old age, according to a new study published in the March 19, 2014, online issue of Neurology. Middle age was defined as age 40 to 64 and old age as age 65 and older. “Potentially, if we can prevent or control diabetes and high blood pressure in middle age, we can prevent or delay the brain damage that occurs decades later and leads to memory and thinking problems and dementia,” says study author and Mayo Clinic epidemiologist Rosebud Roberts M.B., Ch.B. For the study, the thinking and memory skills of 1,437 people with an average age of 80 were evaluated. The participants had either no thinking or memory problems or mild memory and thinking problems called mild cognitive impairment. They then had brain scans to look for markers of brain damage that can be a precursor to dementia. Participants’ medical records were reviewed to determine whether they had been diagnosed with diabetes or high blood pressure in middle age or later.

MEDIA ADVISORY PHOENIX – Mayo Clinic will host a special sneak preview of the highly anticipated documentary, Head Games: The Global Concussion Crisis. WHEN - Saturday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m. WHERE - the Phoenix campus of Mayo Clinic, 5777 East Mayo Boulevard. BACKGROUND – From the acclaimed director Steve James (Academy Award-nominated Hoop Dreams, Emmy Award-winning The Interrupters), Head Games: The Global Concussion Crisis is a revealing documentary featuring never-before-seen neurological findings related to rugby and soccer players that will serve as a wake-up call for people who think that the devastating chronic effects of repetitive head trauma are only an American football and boxing injury.