Fitness and the Brain: Can a Walk a Day Keep Alzheimer's Away? Scientific American - Nov 25, 2008 Exercise training has been shown to reduce risk factors for dementia such as blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and depression. Studies in animal models ...
Plasma tocopherols and the risk of cognitive impairment Am J Clin Nutr (subscription), CA - Nov 7, 2008 As is shown in Table 1 in the article by Ravaglia et al (page 1309), the concentration of serum cholesterol in subjects with dementia (5.7 ? 1.3 mmol/L) is ...
Former NFL players praise heart-screening program Trading Markets (press release), CA - Nov 27, 2008 But, linemen had about a 50-percent greater risk of death from heart disease, so while the average life expectancy for US men is 77.6 years, studies suggest ...
Burch Adult Day Care holding free memory screenings Battle Creek Enquirer, MI - Nov 7, 2008 Warning signs of dementia include forgetting people's names and events, asking repetitive questions, concentrating, forgetting where you are, ...
Lake Co. health & fitness calendar Chicago Daily Herald, IL - Nov 12, 2008 For anyone concerned about memory loss or experiencing warning signs of dementia, or who believe they are at risk due to a family history of Alzheimer's ...
Gordon Strachan: Celtic need just one moment of magic to make ... Glasgow Daily Record, UK - Nov 25, 2008 And it's driving Strachan demented. He added: "Look back to our game at Villarreal. If Sammy had taken his chance to score then it would have changed the ...
In Depth Interview: Stroke Stopper WCTV, FL - Nov 17, 2008 There are a lot of strokes that are silent that probably lead to dementia; that are minor strokes in themselves but lead to major problems. ...
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Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: dementia + risk + score Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/7/2008)
Low childhood iq tied to dementia in old age The Punch, Nigeria - Jul 12, 2008 Having a higher test score at age 11 was associated with a significantly lower risk for vascular dementia, they noted. No such trends emerged for ...
Researchers suggest change to help detect dementia earlier CBC.ca, Canada - Jul 14, 2008 With the existing cutoff score of 24 on the MMSE, 89 per cent of the participants were accurately classified with dementia, the researchers found. ...
Leisure Activities and the Risk of Dementia in the Elderly - J Verghese, RB Lipton, MJ Katz, CB Hall, CA Derby, … - New England Journal of Medicine, 2003 - content.nejm.org ... A one-point increment in the cognitive-activity score was significantly associated
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Risk of dementia in Parkinson's disease A community-based, prospective study - D Aarsland, K Andersen, JP Larsen, A Lolk, H … - Neurology, 2001 - AAN Enterprises ... population. Risk factors for dementia in patients with PD were old age, severe
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Midlife cardiovascular risk factors and risk of dementia in late life - RA Whitmer, S Sidney, J Selby, SC Johnston, K … - Neurology, 2005 - AAN Enterprises ... The cardiovascular composite score was associated with risk of late-life dementia
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Physical Activity and Risk of Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in Elderly Persons - D Laurin, R Verreault, J Lindsay, K MacPherson, K … - Archives of Neurology, 2001 - Am Med Assoc ... dressing, walking, and bathing); a summation score for the 7 ... Modification of risk
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Researchers create dementia 'risk score'
Researchers have for the first time developed a "risk score" in an attempt to predict future cases of dementia. In a study published Thursday in the publication Lancet Neurology, researchers identified several key factors that are believed to determine dementia in later life.
"This has been done for other diseases like diabetes and cardio-vascular diseases, but we've never before had a tool like this for estimating the risk of dementia," said Dr. Miia Kivipelto, an associate professor at the Aging Research Centre in Stockholm, Sweden, and the study's lead author.
The study looked at 1,409 middle-aged people in Finland from 1972 to 1987, who were then re-examined 20 years later for signs of dementia.
While cautioning that the results still need to be validated in further studies in different populations, Kivipelto says that their risk score predicted dementia occurrence with an approximately 70 percent accuracy rate.
The main risk factors identified by Kivipelto and colleagues virtually mirror those already known for cardio-vascular disease: obesity, hypertension and high cholesterol levels. Having any one of these risk factors doubles a person's chance of developing dementia--and having all three increases their chances by six times, said Kivipelto.
"We have known for years that trying to control obesity, blood pressure and cholesterol can prevent heart disease," said Kivipelto, "but now it's not only the heart you can save, but also the brain."
Unfortunately, there is no effective treatment for dementia, and mental health experts admit that the disease may not be entirely preventable. "Even if you remove all of the risk factors, and control your blood pressure and cholesterol, and are not obese, there is no guarantee that you will not develop dementia," said Dr Jose Bertolote, Coordinator of Mental and Brain Disorders at the World Health Organization.
Factors such as genetics and age, known to play a role in determining mental illness, simply cannot be modified. In addition, other risk factors such as alcohol intake, diet, and smoking, were not considered in the study.
Still, identifying at least some of the potential warning signs of dementia will be an important tool in attempting to prevent mental illness. "This is the first time that the synergistic effect of all of these risk factors has been demonstrated," said Bertolote, who called the study a "landmark paper."
Controlling these risk factors will hopefully translate into decreasing numbers of dementia cases, thus decreasing the burden on health care systems worldwide. "If we can just delay the onset of dementia, that will have a major impact on public health," said Kivipelto.
Experts envision the risk predictor being used for physicians to warn their patients about the possibility of dementia. "With relatively simple measurements, we hope to provide a quantitative estimate that tells people what their risk of developing dementia is," said Dr Jakko Tuomilehto, a public health professor at the University of Helsinki, and one of the study's contributing authors.
The study also raises the possibility of identifying risk factors for dementia decades before its actual onset. "There is some evidence that if certain things are identified and treated in middle age, then the prospect of avoiding dementia increases," said Dr. Alistair Burns, professor of Old Age psychiatry at the University of Manchester.
"Dementia affects predominantly older people, and if we are to have strategies to prevent dementia, there's no point starting with people in their 70s and 80s," said Burns.
At the very least, the study suggests that when it comes to mental health, prevention is possible. "Opinions about dementia in the past have tended to be quite fatalistic," said Kivipelto, "this study shows that there is something you can do: the key risk factors are all modifiable lifestyle changes."
British drug-test program stirs debate
August 2, 2006 04:30:30 PM PST
A British school has launched a pilot program where students as young as 11 are subjected to random drug tests — a project that has generated interest in Washington and fed a civil liberties debate on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Abbey School in this southeastern market town is testing students by mouth swab for traces of heroin, cocaine and marijuana. Parents must give permission for the testing, and even then students can refuse.
Former headmaster Peter Walker, who started the program, gave up his school job to become Britain's official ambassador for drug testing. He recently went to Washington to give a presentation to John Walters, director of the White House drug policy office.
Since the program began in January 2005, only one out of nearly 600 students has tested positive for marijuana — a record Walker attributes to students steering clear of drugs because of the tests.
"I've got nothing to hide," says Daniel Kelly, 14, who was plucked out of class to have his mouth swabbed and saliva tested for drugs. He doesn't mind the testing, saying that since it applies to most students: "It's not as if I'm the only one."
Critics say the tests violate students' privacy and could open the door to lawsuits. As the program expands, some say children will find their rights to object to the tests eroded.
Rights activists say drug testing in schools is another infringement on privacy in Britain, where closed-circuit television cameras are ubiquitous and lawmakers are debating identity cards that would store biometric data such as fingerprints or iris scans.
Liberty, one of Britain's largest civil rights groups, says testing could wrongly turn students into suspects if they refuse. The American Civil Liberties Union says the tests are imprecise and violate students' basic rights.
"Students have to reveal medical information that would explain why certain test results might come up — the school is then in possession of private medical information," said Graham Boyd, an ACLU lawyer. "You could have teachers leaving it in a folder, open on a desk — and it could include information about mental health or birth control prescriptions. That's nobody's business, and especially for someone who is an adolescent."
After planning for years, Walker persuaded a newspaper to fund the pilot project. Jenny James, the current Abbey headmaster, promises to continue the program.
This month, head teachers at just under 100 schools in the county of Kent will consider whether to implement drug testing. After that, the data will be evaluated by the national Department for Education and Skills and Kent's municipal government. Supporters say they will push to expand the program nationally if results show it has been a success.
Walker said 86 percent of the 960 children's parents have agreed to allow their children to be tested. Between 1 percent and 2 percent of parents refused; the others failed to turn in the forms.
Walker said four students initially refused to be tested; in three of those cases, the youths said they were unwilling because they had been at parties where marijuana had been smoked, but that they themselves hadn't smoked it.
"I told them it would be wise to be tested ... When they got their results, they were quite happy to see that they did not test positive," he said.
Students who refuse testing or test positive must take a counseling session; there is no disciplinary action. Students face punishment if they are caught dealing drugs, are found with drugs or are under the influence of drugs at school.
The White House drug czar says similar tests aren't far off in the United States. "This (drug testing) is a public health measure," Walters told The Associated Press.
Drug testing and the legal issues it raises have been hotly debated in the United States. Pennsylvania's Supreme Court, for example, has said the state constitution provided some limits on drug screening that targets student athletes, among others.
Others, like a high school outside of Abilene, Texas, are taking a tougher stance, implementing programs to test students who drive to school and park on school property. Students who take part in extracurricular activities are also subject to testing.
In Kent, where the Abbey School is located, schools will be able to decide over the next term whether they want similar programs. Prime Minister Tony Blair has said he supports drug testing and has endorsed Walker's efforts to expand it.
