Category Archives: Research

Medical, Research, Science

Research suggests HRT can boost brain health

HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY

TAKING hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to cope with the menopause may benefit the brain and stave off memory loss, new research suggests.

A seven-year study has found women who take HRT experience fewer age-related changes to the brain.

Detailed scans suggest HRT may help preserve the structure of the prefrontal cortex, that part of the brain linked to memory and thinking.

The US researchers also found women taking the treatment had lower accumulations of amyloid plaques, toxic proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr Kejal Kantarci, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, said: “We found one form of menopausal hormone therapy taken soon after menopause may preserve brain structure in the portion of the brain responsible for memory and thinking skills.

“It may also reduce the development of amyloid plaques that can… lead to memory loss.”

The menopause, which commonly strikes women in their late 40s and early 50s, can cause symptoms including hot flushes, headaches and night sweats. HRT tackles these by providing oestrogen as the body stops producing it.

But the recently released research suggests that the treatment may also benefit the brain.

Experts believe this is because oestrogen can protect the connections in the brain when natural hormone production stops, this protection disappears. Replacing it artificially could restore protection.

The findings are significant because many women go without HRT after studies in the early 2000s raised fears of side effects. The new paper, published in the medical journal Neurology, reports on research involving 75 healthy women with an average age of 53 who had gone through the menopause within the previous three years.

Twenty women were given HRT pills, 22 received HRT patches and 33 received placebo pills or patches that contained no hormones. The women were kept on the treatment for four years, then tracked for a further three years after the therapy ended. They had MRI brain scans every few months.

The researchers found that in those on HRT patches, there was less shrinkage in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex – a part of the brain that assists with memory, thinking, planning and reasoning. There were also lower accumulations of amyloid plaques among these women.

Those on HRT pills did not experience as much benefit while taking the therapy, but when they stopped a difference started to appear.

There was no difference between HRT treatment and placebo in thinking and memory tests, but the scans suggest that HRT influenced the structure of the brain and, that over a longer period, a difference might be seen.

Dr Sara Imarisio, of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “This small study found no link between HRT and memory and thinking, but women who had taken the hormone estradiol via skin patches showed some signs of better brain health.

“More studies are needed to piece together the effect of hormones on the brain and how different forms of hormone therapy might impact brain health in later life.”

. Appendage 

 

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Medical, Research, Science

Study shows heart attack risk up 40% for years after an infection

MEDICAL

PATIENTS who suffer common infections have a much greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the years to come, a major study has found.

The findings suggest hundreds of thousands should be given statins or other heart pills if they suffer a chest infection or bladder problem.

A project tracking 1.2million patients found those admitted to hospital for pneumonia or urinary tract infections were 40 per cent more likely to have a heart attack within eight years. They were also 150 per cent more likely to suffer a stroke.

This suggests infections have an even greater impact on heart health than obesity, which raises the risk of strokes and heart attacks by about 25 per cent.

The research team, from Aston Medical School in Birmingham and the University of Cambridge, believe this is because infections cause long-term inflammation in blood vessels – making them more prone to clotting and clogging.

Patients who suffer an infection should be treated in the same way as someone with high blood pressure, raised cholesterol or diabetes, the researchers said. This could involve prescribing statins or aspirin as a preventative measure to cut the risk to their heart.

Nearly 600,000 people are admitted to hospital with chest infections such as pneumonia in England alone every year. Some 300,000 are admitted with urinary infections.

The study, which has been presented to the American College of Cardiology in Orlando, also found that those who had (had) infections were more likely to die if they did suffer a heart attack or stroke.

They were three times more likely to die from a heart attack than those who had not had infections, and almost twice as likely to die if they had a stroke.

Cardiologist Dr Rahul Potluri of Aston University, said: “Our figures suggest that those who are admitted to hospital with a respiratory or urinary tract infection are 40 per cent more likely to suffer a subsequent heart attack, and 2.5 times more likely to have a stroke, than patients who have had no such infection – and are considerably less likely to survive from these conditions.”

Experts have shown greater interest in the role of inflammation in heart disease after a study last year found that treating patients with anti-inflammatory canakinumab could cut their risk of having a heart attack by 24 per cent. Doctors say this drug – not yet available for heart patients – could represent the biggest breakthrough in cardiovascular medicine since statins were developed 30 years ago.

Dr Potluri said: “Infection appears to confer as much, if not more, of a risk for future heart disease and stroke as very well-established risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

“Although inflammation has been linked to atherosclerosis [when plaque builds up in arteries], this is the largest study to showing that common infection is such a significant risk factor.”

Lead author Dr Paul Carter, an academic clinical fellow at the University of Cambridge, said: “The data illustrates a clear association between infections and life-threatening heart conditions and strokes – and the figures are too huge to ignore.

“Serious infections are amongst the biggest causes of death in the UK directly, but our research shows infections that are severe enough to lead to hospitalisation may present a delayed risk in the form of atherosclerotic diseases.

“The sheer number of people who could be affected presents a challenge that needs investigation.”

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Medical, Research, Science

Inside Track: ‘Head rush’

MIND & BODY

THE CONNECTION between cardiovascular activity and mood is more than a feeling; it’s scientific fact. There is a growing body of evidence to show that exercise doesn’t just make you happier, it makes you smarter, enhancing your ability to solve problems, brainstorm ideas, and by thinking faster.

Exercise improves your cognitive functioning no matter what your age. Cognitive functioning refers to the mental processes – awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgement – by which knowledge is acquired. While earlier research efforts have focused on children and the elderly, study populations have broadened significantly in recent times, the results proving that everybody – as well as every brain – can benefit from regular exercise.

Many studies have been completed on the relationship between physical activity and mental performance and have found that most had a shared conclusion. One such finding is that the short-term effects of a bout of exercise can lead to a greater focus and for individuals to make fewer errors in decision making. Several of the studies also found that during and/or following a bout of vigorous exercise (typically, running or cycling for 20 minutes to an hour), individual performances on tests measuring ‘executive control’ (the processes involved in achieving goals in a changing environment) improved significantly when compared with pre-exercise scores.

The use of exercise to spark creativity is hardly a novel idea. Among today’s creative exercisers, the award-winning writer Joyce Carol Oates says she avoids rest days because her craft depends on running: ‘There isn’t any piece of my writing that didn’t evolve through running,’ says Oates, who runs daily on the country roads near her home.

It’s not just literary types who see the benefit. The chief operating officer of a global junk-removal business based in Vancouver, for instance, knows his miles are anything but junk. The executive says that when out running a mental zone is soon found within that allows many of life’s problems to be solved. The business chief has a whole office of fitness diehards – and, keeps an eye out for similar types who may wish to join the firm in the future. ‘We look to hire athletes,” says the director, who finds fit people more focused and engaged.

Investigators elsewhere would also tend to agree. Previous tests carried out at the University of Ulm, in Germany, for example, asked a group of subjects to run 30 minutes twice a week for six weeks. Another group remained sedentary for the same time period. Following each session (or non-session), participants were examined to measure concentration. The runners scored higher, but it didn’t end there. The lead researcher concluded: ‘Twelve weeks after they stopped running, we could still see some effects.’

Scientists now know that the body’s dopamine and epinephrine levels are responsible for this effect. These neuro-transmitters, which enhance communication between key areas of the brain, climb during physical activity. The effects are fleeting, however, peaking about 20 minutes into exercise and petering out shortly after its conclusion, but other neurochemicals may take over where those leave off, responsible for the longer-term effects reported by researchers.

One of the next areas of intense study and research will be the exact prescription. Many agree that we need dose-response studies to see just how much exercise will produce the best cognitive results.

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