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	<title>Health &#38; FamilyCategory: Alzheimer&#8217;s Disease &#124; Health &#38; Family &#124; TIME.com</title>
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	<description>A healthy balance of the mind, body and spirit</description>
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		<title>Health &#38; FamilyCategory: Alzheimer&#8217;s Disease &#124; Health &#38; Family &#124; TIME.com</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com</link>
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		<title>Skin Cancer Tied To A Lower Risk of Alzheimer&#8217;s</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/16/skin-cancer-tied-to-a-lower-risk-of-alzheimers/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/16/skin-cancer-tied-to-a-lower-risk-of-alzheimers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 16:03:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Skin Cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dementia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[melanoma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[skin cancer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=86872</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s no positive side to developing skin cancer, but the latest research ties certain forms of the disease to a reduced risk of dementia. Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York found that people who have skin cancer may be less likely to develop Alzheimer&#8217;s disease. In the study, published in the journal Neurology, 1,100 people around age 79 without dementia were studied for an average of 3.7 years. At the beginning of the study, 109 of the participants already had skin cancer, and during the study, 32 more people developed the disease, while 126 eventually developed dementia. Among those participants, 100 developed Alzheimer&#8217;s dementia. (MORE: Some Skin Cancer Survivors Still Use Tanning Beds) The participants who had skin cancer were about 80% less likely to have Alzheimer&#8217;s disease compared to the participants without a history of skin cancer. Among those with skin cancer, only two developed Alzheimer&#8217;s. The association, however, was not seen with people who developed melanoma, nor did the correlation hold for other types of dementia such as those related to circulatory issues. &#8220;The apparent protective effect is enormous, and we were surprised by the magnitude,&#8221; says study author Dr. Richard Lipton, a professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The findings don&#8217;t establish that skin cancer patients are always protected from developing Alzheimer&#8217;s however. And it&#8217;s not clear which factors might be behind the association. But Lipton and his colleagues believe environmental factors could be contributing to the result. Studies have found, for example, that exercise is linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer&#8217;s. It&#8217;s possible that people who are more active may spend more time outdoors and in the sun, which could put them at a greater risk for skin cancer, while at the same time reducing their chances of developing Alzheimer&#8217;s. In addition, people who are more exposed to the sun&#8217;s ultraviolet rays may also absorb more vitamin D, which other research suggests could protect against Alzheimer&#8217;s. (MORE: First Genes Linked to Higher Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease Among African Americans) On<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=86872&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Alzheimer&#039;s Disease</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/alzheimers-disease/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/157288843.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<title>Scientists Report First Success in Cloning Human Stem Cells</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/15/first-success-in-using-human-egg-to-reprogram-cells-back-to-embryonic-state/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/15/first-success-in-using-human-egg-to-reprogram-cells-back-to-embryonic-state/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 16:00:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alice Park</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diabetes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heart Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stem Cells]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cloning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dolly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[embryonic stem cells]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human embryonic stem cells]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ips cells]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stem cells]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=86736</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s been 17 years since Dolly the sheep was cloned from a mammary cell. And now scientists applied the same technique to make the first embryonic-stem-cell lines from human skin cells. Ever since Ian Wilmut, an unassuming embryologist working at the Roslin Institute just outside Edinburgh stunned the world by cloning the first mammal, Dolly, scientists have been asking: Could humans be cloned in the same way? Putting aside the ethical challenges the question raised, the query turned out to involve more wishful thinking than scientific success. Despite the fact that dozens of other species have been cloned using the technique, called nuclear transfer, human cells have remained stubbornly resistant to the process. Until now. Shoukhrat Mitalipov, a professor at Oregon Health &#38; Science University, and his colleagues report in the journal Cell that they have successfully reprogrammed human skin cells back to their embryonic state. The purpose of the study, however, was not to generate human clones but to produce lines of embryonic stem cells. These can develop into muscle, nerve or other cells that make up the body’s tissues. The process, he says, took only a few months, a surprisingly short period to reach such an important milestone. (MORE: Stem-Cell Research: The Quest Resumes) Nuclear transfer involves inserting a fully developed cell — in Mitalipov’s study, the cells came from the skin of fetuses — into the nucleus of an egg, and then manipulating the egg to start dividing, a process that normally only occurs after it has been fertilized by sperm. After several days, the ball of cells that results contains a blanket of embryonic stem cells endowed with the genetic material of the donor skin cell, which have the ability to generate every cell type from that donor. In Dolly’s case, those cells were allowed to continue developing into an embryo that was then transferred to a ewe to produce a cloned sheep. But Mitalipov says his process with the human cells isn’t designed to generate a human clone, but rather just to create the embryonic stem<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=86736&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Stem Cells</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/stem-cells-medicine/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/158929799.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Human embryonic stem cells</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">apark7</media:title>
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		<title>Mediterranean Diet Improves Memory, But Not In Diabetics</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/01/med-diet-and-memory/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/01/med-diet-and-memory/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2013 20:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cognitive impairment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dementia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diabetes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mediterranean diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[olive oil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[omegea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://timewellness.wordpress.com/?p=85758</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The largest study to date on the effects of eating omega-3 fatty acids confirm that foods high in the fats can preserve memory and cognitive functions only in people without diabetes. Health experts hold up the Mediterranean diet as likely the best way to eat to stay healthy into old age. High in fruits and vegetables, as well as grains and oils low in saturated fats, the diet is linked to lower risk of heart attacks, stroke, childhood asthma and cancer. (MORE: It’s the Olive Oil: Mediterranean Diet Lowers Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke) A study from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Athens, Greece now shows that people around age 64 who primarily ate a Mediterranean diet, which is high in omega-3 fatty acids, may also have a lower risk of memory loss. Because there are no pharmaceutical cures or treatments for memory loss or dementia, the researchers say such lifestyle behaviors that can slow or prevent cognitive decline are important strategies for keeping the brain sharp. The 17,478 African-American and Caucasian men and women were part of the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, and they answered questions about their dietary habits, including how well they stuck to the principles of the Mediterranean diet and avoided red meats and dairy products. The volunteers also agreed to take tests to measure their memory and cognitive abilities over an average of four years. Seven percent of the study participants developed cognitive impairments during the study period of about four years. Among the healthy participants, those who most consistently ate a Mediterranean diet were 13% less likely to develop memory and thinking problems. (MORE: Mediterranean Diet Linked to Lower Child-Asthma Risk) The same benefit did not apply, however, to the 17% of people with diabetes; among those with diabetes, people who followed the Mediterranean diet were 30% more likely to show signs of cognitive impairments during the study than those who didn&#8217;t follow the diet. Among non-diabetics, the participants who ate<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=85758&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Diet</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/diet-diet-fitness/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/200424268-001.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">200424268-001</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>Alzheimer&#8217;s Advance: Gene Could Help to Clear Brain Plaques Responsible for the Disease</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/26/alzheimers-advance-gene-could-help-to-clear-brain-plaques-responsible-for-the-disease/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/26/alzheimers-advance-gene-could-help-to-clear-brain-plaques-responsible-for-the-disease/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:00:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alice Park</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=85716</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Mapping out how an Alzheimer’s gene works could lead to new treatments. So far, nearly two dozen genes scattered across four chromosomes have been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. But identifying such genetic risk factors doesn’t mean that researchers fully understand how they contribute to cognitive decline and dementia. And that understanding is often crucial to turning genetic information into effective treatments. Now a group of scientists report in the journal Neuron that they have pieced together the back story of one gene, known as CD33, that could lead to exciting new ways of removing the amyloid plaques that build up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and cause so many problems with memory and cognitive functions. (MORE: New Research on Understanding Alzheimer&#8217;s) Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, director of the genetics and aging research unit at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, and his team first identified CD33 in 2008, and at the time, he says, “We had no idea what this thing did. And in the [scientific research] literature, little was known about it. So we started from scratch.” Beginning with studies of the where the gene was expressed, he found that a subset of brain cells known as microglia seemed to show high levels of CD33, which makes receptors that pop up on the surface of the cells to bind to neuronal debris, including the residue of inflammatory reactions, and dead and dying nerve cells. CD33 functions as a molecular housekeeper, patrolling the nervous system for any material that doesn’t belong and could impair normal brain function. That includes the deposits of amyloid protein that build up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, eventually forming sticky plaques that compromise normal nerve function before destroying them. (MORE: First Genes Linked to Higher Risk of Alzheimer&#8217;s Disease Among African-Americans) But when Tanzi’s team looked at the brains of patients who had died of Alzheimer’s, they found that CD33 also had a darker side. In patients with a higher burden of amyloid plaques, CD33<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=85716&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Alzheimer&#039;s Disease</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/alzheimers-disease/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/124871552.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">124871552</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">apark7</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>First Genes Linked to Higher Risk of Alzheimer&#8217;s Disease Among African Americans</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/10/first-genes-linked-to-higher-risk-of-alzheimers-disease-among-african-foramericans/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/10/first-genes-linked-to-higher-risk-of-alzheimers-disease-among-african-foramericans/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Apr 2013 09:45:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[African-Americans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=84334</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Alzheimer&#8217;s disease is more common among African Americans but the genetic contributors to the disorder haven&#8217;t been identified until now. In the largest study of genetic risk factors for Alzheimer&#8217;s in the African American population, researchers reporting in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that two genes associated with higher risk of the neurodegenerative disorder among whites also contributed to higher rates of the disease among African Americans. Changes in these genes, however, conferred a higher risk of disease among African Americans than among whites. In the study involving nearly 6,000 African American participants aged 60 or older, about 2000 of whom had Alzheimer&#8217;s and 4000 who did not, variants in the genes ABCA7 and ApoE increased risk of developing Alzheimer&#8217;s by 80% and more than two fold, respectively. By comparison, ABCA7 is likely responsible for a 10% to 20% increased risk for the memory-robbing disorder within white populations, and about 40% of whites with certain forms of ApoE are diagnosed with Alzheimer&#8217;s. (MORE: Two Studies Find Promising New Ways to Detect Alzheimer’s Earlier) ABCA7&#8242;s role in the Alzheimer&#8217;s doesn&#8217;t come as a complete surprise; it is involved in producing cholesterol and lipids, and some research suggests that Alzheimer&#8217;s disease may involve aberrations in fat metabolism that are similar to those behind heart disease. The more prominent contribution that ABCA7 seems to play in Alzheimer&#8217;s risk among African Americans, however, does suggest that such lipid-based pathways may be more important in this population than among whites. ABCA7 also regulates transport of proteins, including those responsible for the production of amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer&#8217;s when it builds up in sticky plaques in the brain. (MORE: Study Shows Alzheimer’s Protein May Not Spread Like a Virus) More studies are needed to confirm the role that these genetic variants play in contributing to Alzheimer&#8217;s in the African American population, but if the associations are confirmed, they could lead to more refined ways of diagnosing and treating the disease in this group. Focusing on lowering cholesterol production or regulating lipid movement into the brain might<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=84334&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Alzheimer&#039;s Disease</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/alzheimers-disease/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/108175653.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Wheelchair Sitting in Empty Room By Window</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<title>Genetic Markers May Predict Increased Risk of Alzheimer&#8217;s</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/04/genetic-markers-may-predict-increased-risk-of-alzheimers/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/04/genetic-markers-may-predict-increased-risk-of-alzheimers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:01:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's genes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[amyloid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[amyloid plaques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[amyloid-beta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tau]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=83840</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Several proteins are linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, and scientists now believe they have found the pathways responsible for producing these compounds. For decades, Alzheimer&#8217;s researchers have known that changes in amyloid and tau proteins in the  brain and spinal fluid signal the beginning stages of the neurodegenerative disorder. As amyloid levels build up in the brain, forming sticky plaques that can destroy nerve cells, levels of tau, a protein formed from the debris of dying or dead neurons, also increase, eventually hampering critical cognitive functions such as memory and executive functions. But what triggers these changes? In a study published in the journal Neuron, researchers focusing on tau say they have successfully traced some of these changes to a group of receptors that appear on the surface of cells; one group increased the risk for the disease by boosting tau production while the other seemed to protect against tau formation. MORE: New Alzheimer&#8217;s Guidelines: Will They Help Doctors Spot the Disorder Earlier? In order to hone in on the genetic variants associated with tau, the researchers performed a genome wide association study (GWAS) involving 687 healthy elderly participants and 591 elderly patients diagnosed with clinical Alzheimer&#8217;s disease. All agreed to spinal taps so the scientists could measure the levels of amyloid-beta and tau proteins in their spinal fluid. GWAS analyses identify gene regions that may be associated with disease by comparing patients to unaffected individuals to find areas where they differ; these DNA regions presumably have something to do with contributing to the disease in question. In this case, after matching up the symptoms of the Alzheimer&#8217;s patients with their genetic profiles, the scientists concluded that the genes they found, which coded for the receptors, influenced risk for Alzheimer&#8217;s by speeding up the progression of nerve and tissue damage. With more tau tangles, more nerves are compromised and cognitive functions start to decline. (MORE: Two Studies Find Promising New Ways to Detect Alzheimer’s Earlier) The analysis revealed three genetic regions that are associated with tau formation, and that<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=83840&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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			<media:title type="html">108199354</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<title>How Cold Sores Could Hamper Memory</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/26/how-cold-sores-could-hamper-memory/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/26/how-cold-sores-could-hamper-memory/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bacteria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cognitive decline]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cold sores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dementia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[h. pylori]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[herpes simplex]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[infections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pneumonia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[viral infections]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=82955</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The latest research shows that viral and bacterial infections could have lasting legacies on cognition. In a recent study, researchers found that people with higher levels of common infectious agents in their blood — including Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex type 1 that causes cold sores — are more likely to have memory and cognitive problems than people with lower levels. The researchers are not the first to make the connection. Other studies have linked infections and their effects on the body, such as inflammation, disruption of lipid production, and amyloid plaque build-up, with circulatory disorders such as heart disease and stroke. And these in turn have been linked to memory disorders like Alzheimer&#8217;s and dementia. Some studies even suggested that memory loss may be a result of the brain reacting to invading infections. (MORE: Study Shows Alzheimer’s Protein May Not Spread like a Virus) In the latest study, researchers analyzed the memory in 1,625 people around age 69, living in New York City. They compared the scores on these cognitive tests against blood samples from the participants that detected five common infections: Herpes simplex type 1 (oral) and type 2 (genital), cytomegalovirus, the bacteria responsible for causing pneumonia, and H. pylori, which is found in the digestive tract and has been linked to inflammation in gum disease and heart disease. Participants who had higher levels of infections were at 25% higher risk of scoring low on a cognition test called the Mini-Mental State Examination, which tested for recall. The association was strongest among women, participants with lower education levels, those on Medicaid or without health insurance, and people who did not exercise regularly. &#8220;This observation provides some indirect evidence that the negative effects of chronic infection might be mitigated by beneficial behaviors such as physical activity, and evidence is accumulating that exercise has anti-inflammatory effects,&#8221; the authors write. The researchers continued to test the memory of the participants every year for an average of eight years, but the infections were not linked to changes in memory and thinking skills as time went on. That<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=82955&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Infectious Disease</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/infectious-disease/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/103051623.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">103051623</media:title>
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		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<title>Two Studies Find Promising New Ways to Detect Alzheimer&#8217;s Earlier</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/12/two-studies-find-promising-news-ways-to-detect-alzheimers-earlier/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/12/two-studies-find-promising-news-ways-to-detect-alzheimers-earlier/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:30:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[amyloid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[amyloid plaques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beta-amyloid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biomakers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sleep]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=82052</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sleep patterns and markers in spinal fluid may hint at the first signs of the neurodegenerative disorder. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 5 million Americans have Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, and while there are no effective treatments, experts believe detecting the disease early can help patients to strengthen memory and cognitive functions and potentially slow down the buildup of brain plaques that are the hallmark of the condition. Two studies, both published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, hint at potentially encouraging ways to identify those who might be at risk, at the earliest possible stages of the disease. (MORE: Study Shows Alzheimer’s Protein May Not Spread Like a Virus) In one study from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, researchers found that levels of the protein amyloid, which makes up these plaques, were correlated with poor sleep quality. Previous studies in animals showed that animals that slept less tended to develop more plaques, but it wasn&#8217;t clear whether poor sleep can contribute to the formation of amyloid plaques, or whether the buildup of these deposits causes disturbances in sleep. To study the connection further, the scientists asked 145 cognitively normal individuals aged 45 to 75, who were enrolled at the Alzheimer&#8217;s disease research center, to keep a diary of their sleep patterns for two weeks. The volunteers recorded when they went to bed, when they woke up in the morning, how many naps they took and whether they felt sleepy during the day. The scientists had the advantage of already having samples of the participants&#8217; spinal fluid, so they could also match up the sleep records with the level of amyloid protein in the brain of each patient. All of the participants slept about the same amount, but there were stark differences in the quality of that sleep. Thirty-two participants showed higher levels of amyloid buildup that was classified as preclinical Alzheimer&#8217;s disease and also had worse sleep quality. These volunteers were less likely to spend time their time in bed in restful, deep<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=82052&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/12/two-studies-find-promising-news-ways-to-detect-alzheimers-earlier/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Alzheimer&#039;s Disease</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/alzheimers-disease/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/160487623.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">160487623</media:title>
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		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/dd9dc95ff828efb70c16a5a509a75150?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<title>Study Shows Alzheimer&#8217;s Protein May Not Spread like a Virus</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/05/study-shows-alzheimers-protein-may-not-spread-like-a-virus/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/05/study-shows-alzheimers-protein-may-not-spread-like-a-virus/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:30:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[amyotrophic lateral sclerosis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[frontotemporal lobar degeneration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parkinson's]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protein]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=79428</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Scientists believe amyloid protein plays a role in Alzheimer&#8217;s but are still trying to explain how. One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, which is characterized by memory loss and dementia, is a protein called amyloid. In patients who die of the disease, sticky plaques of the protein are found in the brain at autopsy, although not all people with amyloid deposits develop Alzheimer&#8217;s. But why does the protein start to gum up the delicate network of nerves in the brain? Some recent evidence suggested that the protein, which the body makes normally in small amounts, spreads from one cell to another in the brain of affected patients, eventually compromising multiple regions of the brain over time. But a new study published in the journal JAMA Neurology found no evidence to suggest such a contagion-based model for the disease, nor did it find that Alzheimer&#8217;s proteins can be transmitted from one person to another. (MORE: Is Alzheimer&#8217;s Caused by Contagious Proteins?) Some previous work suggested that amyloid might act as a prion, or proteins that have the unique ability to fold in abnormal ways and then pass from cell to cell. In diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow in animals, and in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in people, prions also pass from host to host. Prions can spread from contaminated food, or through blood transfusion of blood or tissue transplants from infected individuals. (MORE: New Research on Understanding Alzheimer’s) To determine whether similar prions were at work in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer&#8217;s or Parkinson&#8217;s, researchers studied people who had received human growth hormone from 1963 to 1985 derived from cadavers. In the mid-1980s, over 200 of these patients developed Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease after being inadvertently infected with prion proteins from affected donor tissue. Since then, this group of patients has been closely monitored with extensive medical records to track for further cases. The researchers looked for signs of an elevated risk of Alzheimer&#8217;s, Parkinson&#8217;s, frontotemporal lobar degeneration and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) among the recipients. They found small amounts of amyloid protein in some growth<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=79428&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Alzheimer&#039;s Disease</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/alzheimers-disease/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/154728712.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">154728712</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<title>Unlikely Partners: Grateful Dead Drummer Teams with Scientist to Study How Rhythm Heals</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/26/unlikely-partnersgrateful-dead-drummer-teams-with-scientist-to-study-how-rhythm-heals/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/26/unlikely-partnersgrateful-dead-drummer-teams-with-scientist-to-study-how-rhythm-heals/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Dec 2012 19:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maia Szalavitz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Body & Mind]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brain Injury]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rehabilitation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AARP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adam Gazzaley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cancer pain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dementia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drumming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drums]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gabrielle's Angel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Grateful Dead]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mickey Hart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music therapy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oliver sacks]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=76698</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart’s grandmother descended into the depths of dementia, she stopped speaking. Hart was caring for her at his home, but was on the verge of entering her in hospice.Then he played for her. Although she had not uttered a word for nearly a year, when he began to pound out a soft, but insistent beat, she smiled. Then, a tear came to her eye and she said clearly, over and over, “Mickey.” “That was one of the key experiences in my life, which showed me what the power of rhythm can do,” Hart says, recalling the incident, which occurred in the early 80s. “Rhythm was reconnecting her to the world that was fading away.” Our lives, it turns out, depend deeply on rhythm. There’s the obvious lub-dub of the heart, where one lapse in essential time-keeping can be fatal; then there is the clear patterning of women’s monthly cycles. But less visible are the daily and nightly peaks and valleys of hormone levels, the critical rhythms that shape language and nonverbal communication and the ebb and flow of constantly thrumming and pulsing nerve activity in the brain. “Brain activity fluctuates— it oscillates in rhythmic patterns and different rhythms are represented throughout the brain in terms of how its activity changes over time,” says Adam Gazzaley, director of the Neuroscience Imaging Center at the University of California San Francisco. Gazzaley and Hart have collaborated to try to understand the neuroscience of rhythm and to plumb these patterns for potentially therapeutic uses. This fall, they spoke together at the annual conference of the AARP, using the latest imaging technology to broadcast images of Hart’s brain rhythms live. “It was very profound,” Hart says of seeing his brain rhythms displayed as he stood on stage, “It was me. That’s what really makes me, me. It’s also what makes us, us. It’s rhythm central, it is life itself.” For Hart, however, the experience with his grandmother left a deeper impression unlike anything he had witnessed before, despite his thousands<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=76698&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Brain</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/mental-health/brain/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/131966364.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">131966364</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">MaiaSzalavitz</media:title>
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		<title>Loneliness, Not Living Alone, Linked to Dementia</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/11/loneliness-not-living-alone-linked-to-dementia/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/11/loneliness-not-living-alone-linked-to-dementia/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:27:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maia Szalavitz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Connection]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dementia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[loneliness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social isolation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social support]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=75880</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yes, there is a difference. Why one is more likely to trigger serious memory problems? In a study published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery &#38; Psychiatry, Tjalling Jan Holwerda of the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam found that participants who reported feeling lonely — regardless of how many friends and family surrounded them — were more likely to experience dementia than those who lived on their own. The scientists focused on nearly 2,200 older adults living in Amsterdam, ages 65 to 86, who did not show signs of dementia and were not living in institutions like nursing homes, and visited them twice over three years. About half of the participants lived alone and 20% reported feelings of loneliness. Almost two-thirds of the elderly in the study were women. Prior research suggested that having a supportive social network is linked with positive health outcomes, from psychological health to physical health, while lacking such support can be harmful. Indeed, a growing body of studies find that loneliness itself can kill, typically by raising blood pressure and increasing risk for heart disease and stroke. High blood pressure is also a risk factor for dementia. (MORE: The Reason You&#8217;re in Love With Material Possessions? Loneliness) The Dutch study found that after adjusting for other relevant factors like age, feeling lonely raised the risk of dementia by 64%. The research didn&#8217;t distinguish between Alzheimer&#8217;s, which accounts for 90% of dementia, and other types of the mind and memory-robbing illness. But the authors caution that the results cannot prove loneliness causes dementia: in fact, the opposite could be true since dementia and its resulting changes in mood and brain function may contribute to some of the social withdrawal of loneliness. “[L]oneliness may be a behavioral reaction to diminished cognition,” the authors write in discussing their findings, because people who are losing their memories may withdraw from others, either due to embarrassment or confusion about how to handle social situations resulting from their brain impairment. (MORE: Feeling Alone Together: How Loneliness Spreads) There is also the<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=75880&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Social Connection</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/mental-health/social-connection/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/136104625lonelinesscrop.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Elderly man alone on park bench</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/0a5ac57e99124922fa628492ad3db6b2?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">MaiaSzalavitz</media:title>
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		<title>Study Details How Brain Injury from Concussions Progresses</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/04/study-details-how-brain-injury-from-concussions-progresses/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/04/study-details-how-brain-injury-from-concussions-progresses/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Dec 2012 19:32:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alice Park</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sport]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=75338</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The lasting impact that concussions can have on the brain is on the minds of anyone involved in football, from parents of the youngest Pop Warner players to those in the professional ranks. More and more players in the NFL are succumbing to symptoms of memory loss, inability to concentrate and changes in personality that they attribute to repeated blows to the head during play. But as their numbers grow, researchers are struggling to keep up with understanding the brain injuries that concussions can cause. Now, for the first time, scientists are classifying the brain injury from head trauma into four distinct stages. (MORE: NFL Players May Be More Vulnerable to Alzheimer&#8217;s Disease) Most agree that repeated mild trauma to the brain in the form of concussions can result in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), or a gradual buildup of a brain protein called tau. Just as with Alzheimer’s patients, where accumulation of plaques and tau tangles can space out healthy brain tissue and let nerve connections wither away, damage caused by concussions can trigger the accumulation of tau in CTE cases, eventually forming deposits large enough to interfere with key functions such as learning, planning and organization. In the latest study, published in the journal Brain, scientists led by Dr. Ann McKee studied the brains of 68 deceased patients with CTE in order to find patterns in the way the disease develops. McKee, a professor of neurology and pathology at VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine, spent more than two decades researching Alzheimer’s disease. She decided to apply the same order in staging brains that she had become accustomed to in her Alzheimer’s work. The number of CTE brains she and her team studied is the largest to date, and allowed them to see patterns in the way the disease progressed. The patients included football players, hockey players, boxers and veterans (many of whom were athletes) and one who engaged in self-inflicted head-banging behavior. (MORE: Why Leather Football Helmets Could Provide a Better Defense Against Concussion) In order<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=75338&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Brain</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/mental-health/brain/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/200010941-001ctecrop.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/200010941-001ctecrop.jpg?w=240" />
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			<media:title type="html">Football players in tackle</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">apark7</media:title>
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		<title>Even Brief Exercise Can Improve Memory In Older Adults</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/27/even-brief-exercise-can-improve-memory-in-older-adults/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/27/even-brief-exercise-can-improve-memory-in-older-adults/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Nov 2012 15:59:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Exercise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memory]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=74770</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A daily dose of exercise is good for both mind and body, but how much is enough? To find out, researchers from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) examined more than 50 adults between the ages 50 to 85, half of whom had memory deficits and half of whom were mentally healthy. They divided the participants into two groups—one that exercised on a stationary bike for six minutes and another that did not. All provided a saliva sample, and to test their memory, were shown 20 images of animals and nature scenes. An hour after the exercise group worked out at 70% of their maximum ability, the volunteers were given a  surprise memory test to recall as many images as they could from the previously viewed set. (MORE: Exercise Trumps Brain Games in Keeping Our Minds Intact) Compared to the participants who did not exercise, all of the exercising participants, regardless of whether they had cognitive impairments or not, showed improved memory after their short spin on the bicycle. &#8220;We saw significantly better recall in the exercise group than in the non-exercise group,&#8221; says lead study author Sabrina Segal, in the UCI postdoctoral program. &#8220;This was particularly significant in cognitively impaired participants who almost doubled their recall improvement.&#8221; The researchers, who published their results in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, believe the benefit may be tied to an exercised-induced brain chemical called norepinephrine, which has a strong influence on memory. By examining the saliva samples, which the exercise group provided both before and after their exercise sessions, the researchers found that immediately following their workout, the exercise group had high levels of the enzyme salivary alpha amylase, a biomarker for norepinephrine. The link was even higher in participants who started out with cognitive deficits. Previous research with drugs that influence norepinephrine levels showed that increasing norepinephrine can improve memory, while blocking it impairs recall. &#8220;What&#8217;s exciting to us about this is that not only did exercise increase the biomarker for this brain chemical, but we saw more of this chemical released and with that, better recall. This<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=74770&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Memory</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/mental-health/memory/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/108328275.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<title>High Blood Pressure a Danger for People as Young as 40</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/02/high-blood-pressure-a-danger-for-people-as-young-as-40/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/02/high-blood-pressure-a-danger-for-people-as-young-as-40/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Nov 2012 12:00:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Laura Blue</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brain Injury]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heart Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stroke]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blood pressure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain damage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cognitive decline]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dementia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[high blood pressure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hypertension]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[neurology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prehypertension]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=73035</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[High blood pressure may lead to brain injury and to premature brain aging, even among people with only slightly elevated readings. Brain scientists from the Alzheimer&#8217;s Disease Center at the University of California, Davis, are studying the links between systolic blood pressure (that&#8217;s the first number in a reading, and measures the pressure of the blood on the vessels as the heart beats) and various indicators of brain injury among middle-aged adults. In their latest work, published in Lancet Neurology, the scientists report &#8220;a subtle, negative effect&#8221; of high systolic blood pressure on the structural integrity of the brain&#8217;s white matter, and a similar negative effect of elevated blood pressure on the volume of grey matter in the brain. (MORE: A Salty Diet is a Recipe for High Blood Pressure in Kids Too) That means that by age 40, the brain of a person with hypertension or clinically high blood pressure of 140/90 mm Hg, looks 7.2 years older than the brain of a person with normal blood pressure, according to indicators of brain function and anatomy that the researchers measured. And it&#8217;s not just those with clinical hypertension who have to worry; the team saw changes in brain structure among people with normal blood-pressure readings or with systolic readings just slightly higher than normal. The higher the systolic blood pressure, it seems, the greater the signs of brain damage. These findings are consistent with previous research that links hypertension to brain damage. But this is the first study to show an association beginning so early in life. This study finds the same kind of structural injuries that have been linked to cognitive decline and increased risk of dementia among elderly people, but instead among those in just their 30s and 40s. (MORE: Blood Pressure Only Slightly High? You May Still Be at Risk of Stroke) &#8220;The message here is really clear: People can influence their late-life brain health by knowing and treating their blood pressure at a young age, when you wouldn&#8217;t necessarily be thinking about it,&#8221; said Dr.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=73035&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Brain</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/mental-health/brain/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/102628185highbpbaincrop.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Blood pressure monitor</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Laura Blue</media:title>
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		<title>How Cannabinoids May Slow Brain Aging</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/29/how-cannabinoids-may-slow-brain-aging/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/29/how-cannabinoids-may-slow-brain-aging/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Oct 2012 18:36:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maia Szalavitz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Drugs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain aging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cannabinoids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cannabis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cognitive decline]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[memory impairment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parkinson's disease]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=72741</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Stoners aren&#8217;t known for their memory prowess but a new review suggests that drugs similar to marijuana&#8217;s active ingredients may hold promise for preventing— or even reversing— brain aging and possibly Alzheimer&#8216;s and other degenerative brain diseases. Since the mid 2000&#8242;s researchers have been building an appreciation for the power of marijuana-like substances that make up the brain&#8217;s cannabinoid systems. In animal experiments, for example, synthetic compounds similar to THC—marijuana&#8217;s main psychoactive component—have shown promise in preserving brain functions. A 2008 study even demonstrated that a THC-like substance reduced brain inflammation and improved memory in older rats. MORE: Ballot Initiative of the Day; Will Recreational Marijuana Get the Green Light in Three States? The latest review, published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, suggests that activating the brain&#8217;s cannabinoid system may trigger a sort of anti-oxidant cleanse, removing damaged cells and improving the efficiency of the mitochrondria, the energy source that powers cells, ultimately leading to a more robustly functioning brain. Previous studies have linked cannabinoids to increased amounts of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a substance that protects brain cells and promotes the growth of new ones. Since new cell growth slows or stops during aging, increasing BDNF could potentially slow the decline in cognitive functions. MORE: Study: Legal Medical Marijuana Doesn&#8217;t Encourage Kids to Smoke More Pot Activation of cannabinoid receptors can also reduce brain inflammation in several different ways, which may in turn suppress some of the disease processes responsible for degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer&#8217;s. Andras Bilkei-Gorzo of the Institute of Molecular Psychiatry at the University of Bonn in Germany and an author of the study, is encouraged by the expanding knowledge of the brain&#8217;s cannabinoid system and its potential for leading to new understanding of aging in the brain. “[C]annabinoid system activity is neuroprotective,” he wrote, and increasing it “could be a promising strategy for slowing down the progression of brain aging and for alleviating the symptoms of neurodegenerative disorders.” Still, Gary Wenk, professor of neuroscience, immunology and medical genetics at Ohio State<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=72741&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Drugs</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/mental-health/drugs/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/97541776.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">MaiaSzalavitz</media:title>
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		<title>Why Cheaper Genetic Testing Could Cost Us a Fortune</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/26/why-cheaper-genetic-testing-could-cost-us-a-fortune/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/26/why-cheaper-genetic-testing-could-cost-us-a-fortune/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:40:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bonnie Rochman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Arthritis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Autism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breast Cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kids and DNA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pediatric Genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Policy & Industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DNA testing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dna tests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genetic discrimination]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genetic testing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genome sequencing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genomics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health insurance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=72569</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dana Nieder was at a loss. Doctors had been trying to figure out what was wrong with her daughter Maya since she was 7 months old. Now 4 1/2, Maya didn’t learn to walk until long after her second birthday and still can say only a few words. After exhausting other possibilities, Nieder decided to have part of Maya’s genome sequenced in a test so new that health insurers have balked at paying for it. &#8220;It seemed to be our only chance to find a genetic answer,&#8221; says Nieder, a former middle school science teacher from New York City. Unlocking the secrets of human DNA is one of the most promising avenues of medical research. (Read TIME&#8217;s complete series on genetic testing and families.) But along with a host of scientific and ethical issues, genome sequencing raises some tough economic questions at a time when U.S. health care costs are already spiraling. How much is this going to cost, and who’s going to pay? Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is already relatively inexpensive — labs can analyze a person’s entire genetic code for under $10,000 — and the cost is dropping fast. But for some patients, this initial DNA report is the beginning, not the end, of their medical odyssey. And whether those journeys will increase the nation’s health costs isn’t clear. In an ideal scenario, genetic analysis could save money by catching diseases early, offering targeted treatments and underscoring the most effective preventive measures. In the worst case, it could deluge an already swamped health care system, as patients with ambiguous results begin to seek frequent screenings — and potentially unnecessary procedures — for diseases they might never develop. Princeton health care economist Uwe Reinhardt sees a future that skews toward the latter: “If someone held a gun to my head, I would have to say it will cost a lot more and it will create an enormous amount of anxiety. A certain amount of ignorance is really bliss.” More than half of the 1,254 doctors surveyed this year by UnitedHealthcare<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=72569&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Kids and DNA</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/kids-and-dna/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/20121020_dananieder_0138-edit.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">image: Dana Nieder turned to friends and strangers to help pay for her daughter Maya&#039;s exome sequencing</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">brochman</media:title>
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		<title>Exercise Trumps Brain Games in Keeping Our Minds Intact</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/23/exercise-trumps-brain-games-in-keeping-our-minds-intact/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/23/exercise-trumps-brain-games-in-keeping-our-minds-intact/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:00:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Sifferlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Aging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memory]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=72112</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s inevitable that as we age, our brains get smaller. Nerves die off, losing their connections, and that leads to a thinned out network feeding our thinking functions. But brain shrinkage isn&#8217;t inevitable, according to the latest study of elderly adults. In recent years, as more research reveals the benefits of staying both physically and mentally active into the golden years, health officials have been urging older people to exercise more and stay mentally engaged by maintaining a rich network of friends and family connections and by learning new skills to keep their brains sharp. Crossword puzzles, learning a new language, playing board games — anything that requires some thought can do the trick. VIDEO: A Faster Stride Predicts a Longer Life But researchers wanted to know whether physical activity or mental activity was better at keeping cognitive functions intact, or whether there was something about the combination that helped elderly stay sharp. So in the new study, researchers examined the medical records of 638 people from Scotland born in 1936. At age 70, the participants filled out questionnaires detailing their exercise habits as well as how often they engaged in stimulating mental and social activities. When they turned 73, the scientists took MRIs of their brains and matched their size, as well as any changes in the volume of white matter, which makes up the web of nerves that connect various brain regions, to the volunteers&#8217; questionnaire answers. (MORE: Mind Your Reps: Exercise, Especially Weight Lifting, Helps Keep the Brain Sharp) The participants reported a range of physical activity, from household chores to heavy exercise or playing competitive sports several times a week. Over the three years, those who exercised the most had the largest brains, and showed the least shrinkage in white matter compared to those who were the least active, suggesting regular exercise in old age could protect the brain from age-related decline. Those who reported engaging in more intellectual pursuits didn&#8217;t show the same benefit. &#8220;People in their seventies who participated in more physical exercise, including walking several<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=72112&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Aging</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/medicine/aging/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/121111609.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">asifferlin</media:title>
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		<title>Test Your DNA for Diseases — No Doctor Required</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/23/drugstore-genomes-whos-pushing-the-sequencing-industry/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/23/drugstore-genomes-whos-pushing-the-sequencing-industry/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Oct 2012 10:50:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bonnie Rochman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Breast Cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kids and DNA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pediatric Genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[23andMe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Amar Kamath]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anne Wojcicki]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[APOE-4]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GeneDx]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genome sequencing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Illumina]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Knome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Martin Tolar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sequencing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sergey Brin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=72171</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When Anne Wojcicki’s son was a baby, she ran a swab across the inside of his cheek, collecting DNA to send to a lab. Last year, when she was pregnant with her daughter, she tested her amniotic cells. The goal in each case: to get a glimpse of her children’s genes and determine whether they contain certain kinks that increase the risk of developing anything from gallstones to multiple sclerosis. “As a parent,” says Wojcicki, “the most responsible thing I can do is get as much information about my children as possible so I can then think through how I can make them as healthy as possible.” Wojcicki isn’t just any random parent, though. She’s a Yale-educated biologist and the co-founder and CEO of 23andMe, a company in Mountain View, Calif., that sells DNA analysis directly to consumers — no doctor required (See TIME&#8217;s inside look into 23andMe&#8217;s genetic testing lab here). “Your information is your information,” says Wojcicki, who is married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin. “If you want it, you should be able to have it.” Genetic tests have been around for years, but in 2003 scientists took the field a step further, announcing the first complete mapping of a human genome — an entire genetic code. Sequencing, or &#8220;reading,&#8221; a person’s genome is one of the newest, most controversial tools in the medical arsenal because of the mother lode of information it contains about future disease risk. Genetic markers for heart disease or cancer may spur consumers toward healthier behavior. But when it comes to conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson&#8217;s that can&#8217;t be prevented, many experts are divided on whether knowing is helpful or harmful. Yet even as physicians and bioethicists wrestle with the implications of revealing dark DNA secrets, entrepreneurs like Wojcicki are planning to make whole-genome sequencing (WGS) available directly to the public. Other companies, like San Diego–based Illumina, are already offering the test to what its CEO, Jay Flatley, calls a “healthy and proactive” demographic. So far, these tests have been aimed mainly at early<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=72171&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<title>Will My Son Develop Cancer? The Promise (and Pitfalls) of Sequencing Children&#8217;s Genomes</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/22/will-my-son-develop-cancer-the-promise-and-pitfalls-of-sequencing-childrens-genomes/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/22/will-my-son-develop-cancer-the-promise-and-pitfalls-of-sequencing-childrens-genomes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:00:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bonnie Rochman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family & Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kids and DNA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pediatric Genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CHOP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Colleen McBride]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emma Warin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genome sequencing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genomics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ian Krantz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[incidental findings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Inova]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Niederhuber]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Juliet Belcher]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nancy Spinner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National Human Genome Research Institute]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NHGRI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sequencing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=71991</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Can you imagine wanting to know whether your newborn baby will fall victim to Alzheimer’s disease decades down the road? What about cancer or diabetes? Emma Warin can. In August she gave birth to a healthy 8-lb., 3-oz. boy. She agreed to participate in an unprecedented study in which researchers will map out every speck of DNA in her son’s genome, potentially revealing mutations that could cause health problems now and far into the future. Warin, a medical-device sales representative in Falls Church, Va., says the information will help her plan ahead for any issues. Still, she adds, “It’s a little scary.” (TIME Explains: The Science of Genome Sequencing) When it comes to your health, the debate about how much information is too much is about to get a lot more complicated. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS), a scientific breakthrough less than 10 years old, is on its way to becoming a mainstream medical test. When researchers first mapped a human genome in 2003, the effort cost $2.7 billion. Now the price for analyzing a person&#8217;s genetic code is down to $7,500 and falling. As the test gets cheaper, it’s expanding beyond cancer patients seeking tailored therapies and people suffering from mystery illnesses; the government is already starting to consider the possibility of scanning the genome of every newborn baby. Eventually the test could even become available through drugstores, for anyone with curiosity and a credit card. Experts say this will open an uncharted — and possibly chilling — frontier in medicine. WGS can provide early warnings about some of the deadliest and most debilitating diseases. Those warnings, in turn, can enable timely treatment or at least allow people to make plans about long-term care. But the drawbacks can be significant. Murky findings, for instance, can send patients on odysseys of costly, risky and potentially unnecessary additional tests. WGS raises tough questions for all patients, but it’s quickly becoming clear that some of the most complicated issues center on one group: kids. After all, the youngest patients have the most to gain<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=71991&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/22/will-my-son-develop-cancer-the-promise-and-pitfalls-of-sequencing-childrens-genomes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Kids and DNA</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/kids-and-dna/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/emma-warin-genome-sequencing1.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/emma-warin-genome-sequencing1.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Image: Emma Warin and her baby are healthy, but they are participating in a study in northern Virginia that is analyzing her entire genetic code and that of her husband and 2-month-old son.</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ccc18529897902c0767bf2d7d088828e?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">brochman</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">kidsanddna</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>Omega-3 Supplements Don&#8217;t Lower Heart Disease Risk After All</title>
		<link>http://healthland.time.com/2012/09/12/omega-3-supplements-dont-lower-heart-disease-risk-after-all/</link>
		<comments>http://healthland.time.com/2012/09/12/omega-3-supplements-dont-lower-heart-disease-risk-after-all/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 12 Sep 2012 13:24:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alice Park</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Alzheimer's Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet & Fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heart Disease]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supplements]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fish]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fish oil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heart attack]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[omega 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Omega-3 fatty acids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[supplements]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://healthland.time.com/?p=68692</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you want to protect your heart, stick to exercise and a healthy diet, and pass on the fish oil pills, says a new study. For years, doctors and health experts have recommended taking fish oil supplements, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, to lower the risk of heart disease. But the latest study on the issue — an analysis of previous clinical trials on the effects of omega-3s — shows that the supplements don&#8217;t lower users&#8217; risks of heart attack, stroke, sudden death or death from heart disease or any cause. Although the rates of these events were lower among those taking omega-3 supplements compared with those not taking them, the differences were not statistically meaningful, the authors said. It’s not the first time that the cardiovascular benefits of fish oil have been questioned: another recent analysis of previous research found that the supplements didn&#8217;t prevent heart attack or stroke in people with heart disease. (Separately, other research has suggested that that pills have little effect on boosting memory in Alzheimer&#8217;s patients, reducing symptoms of the disease or improving thinking and verbal skills compared with placebo.) (MORE: Fish Oil for Heart Attack Prevention: Is It a Myth?) In the current analysis, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and led by Dr. Moses Elisaf of the Lipid Disorders Clinic at the University Hospital of Ioannina in Greece, the scientists reviewed 20 studies dating back to 1989 that involved 68,680 participants. Volunteers in the studies, most of whom were heart patients, were randomly assigned to take either 1.5 g of omega-3 supplementation or a placebo every day for about two years. They were followed for heart events, including death, heart attack and stroke. While the omega-3 users showed a 9% lower rate of heart-related death compared with the controls, and an 11% lower rate of heart attack, these differences were too small to attribute to the omega-3 pills. The findings may lead to some confusion among people — both heart patients and those who are healthy but trying to<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=healthland.time.com&#038;blog=8684427&#038;post=68692&#038;subd=timewellness&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Supplements</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://healthland.time.com/category/diet-fitness/supplements/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/123549010fishoilcrop.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/123549010fishoilcrop.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/123549010fishoilcrop.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Fish oil capsules</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/69fc92d1c4598c5b98d03fde16cdfa74?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">apark7</media:title>
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