Anesthesia may triggers asymptomatic brain changes

Patients who were given general anesthesia before surgery performed slightly worse on memory tests, this was due to cognitive changes in the brain related to immediate memory, or the ability to remember information over a brief period. 'The cognitive changes after surgery are small-probably asymptomatic and beneath a person's awareness,' said senior author Dr Kirk Hogan, a professor of anesthesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

For the study, Dr Hogan and his colleagues measured memory and executive function in 964 participants, with the average age of 54, who had no signs of Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or cognitive impairment before surgery. Of the participants, 312 of them had at least one surgical procedure performed and 652 of them did not. Researchers found there was a decline in immediate memory over the course of four years in participants who had surgery.

Memory became abnormal in 18 percent of those who had at least one surgical procedure compared with 10 percent of those who had not. Regarding the working memory test, surgery and anesthesia were associated with a decline in immediate memory by one point out of a possible maximum test score of 30 points. They found no differences in other measures of memory and executive function between those who had surgery and their counterparts.

 Patients having surgery and anesthesia are likely to experience impaired performance on neuropsychological tests of memory and executive function, an association that might be causal. Researchers found the activity of memory loss receptors remains high long after the drugs have been eliminated from the patient's body. Other risk factors like the sort of disease or illness a person have could impact brain function. Diseases like hypertension and diabetes may also be responsible for cognitive decline in patients who have had surgery.
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Memory loss before Alzheimer's disease

A UCL-led team has developed a cognitive test to detect subtle memory deficits years before Alzheimer's disease symptoms develop. The study involved 21 people who carry the mutation for early onset Alzheimer's disease who have not shown any symptoms based on standard cognitive tests, alongside 14 controls. On average the study participants were seven years away from predicted onset of symptomatic disease.

The participants underwent a memory test with 30-minute recall, and were then checked seven days later to see if they still remembered. The authors found that people who were closest to the expected onset of symptoms could remember things after 30 minutes but then had forgotten things after seven days. The researchers say their findings demonstrate that memory formation wasn't the issue, so typical tests wouldn't identify any problems.

The researchers found a correlation between long-term forgetting and subjective memory complaints. This could be the earliest test to detect changes in someone's cognition that lead to Alzheimer's disease. The study's first author, Dr. Philip Weston (UCL Dementia Research Centre), said: "The study would appear to significantly advance the knowledge of the earliest cognitive changes in Alzheimer's, and offers a new useful approach to testing people both in drug trials and in the clinic."
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Effects of estrogen treatment on menopausal women

Hormone replacement therapy may protect menopausal women from stress-related memory loss. The sex hormone estrogen buffers working memory from the impact of stress, which is known to impair short-term working memory. Women going through menopause take hormone replacement therapy HRT which contains estrogen to offset hot flushes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, mood swings, and reduced sex drive. The treatment also blocks fluctuating hormones from affecting memory.

Estrogen can modify women's hormonal response to stress, researchers discovered that the treatment after menopause protects working memory needed for short-term cognitive tasks from the effects of stress. Stress prompts the hormonal system and the hypothalamus to release cortisol. Cortisol interferes with the activity of the hippocampus from making new neurons and neural connections, a process that is key to working memory.

HRT may reduce the response and cortisol, when there are environmental or immune system stressors. Stress can interference with prefrontal cognitive processes such as working memory.
HRT can reduce the HPA response to stress, the hormone may also mitigate the effects of stress on working memory by limiting the cortisol response to the stressor. Researchers examined different study participants, some received estrogen therapy for menopausal symptoms and others received a placebo for five years. The women provided saliva samples so their levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress, was measured.

During two separate sessions, each woman completed a memory task where they were instructed to remember the final word of each sentence. Prior to one of the sessions, the women submerged their non-dominant hand in ice water for as long as possible, for a maximum of three minutes. During the other session, the women submerged the same hand in warm water before completing the memory test.

Although the women who were receiving estrogen therapy reported feeling more stressed by the cold water exposure than the women who received the placebo, they had lower levels of cortisol than their counterparts following the stress test. Women receiving HRT performed about the same on the memory task, regardless of whether they were exposed. sed to the cold water stressor in advance or not. Women who were taking the placebo performed worse on the memory task because of exposure to the cold water than they did when they were not exposed to a physical stressor.
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Low blood flow in the brain may be a sign of dementia

High blood pressure and decreased blood flow in the brain may cause the build-up of dangerous amyloid plaque in the brain. Having problems with the blood vessels in the brain may affect thinking, cognition and memory.

Brain's blood vessels work like a plumbing system that distributes oxygen to every parts of brain cells and remove waste materials from the cells.

The brain relaxes its vessels to maintain constant blood flow as it adjusts for changes in blood pressure, but the brain vessels in Alzheimer's patients prevent blood flow and allow amyloid to get to the brain cells.

Alzheimer's patients have lower blood flow in their brains than the people without the disease. They experience cognitive decline and memory loss that leads to dementia.

Taking blood pressure lowering drugs can reduce the effects on memories of affected people because the drugs can cross the blood-brain barrier and prevents the toxins from getting to the brain.
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Neurocognitive decline and HIV virus

Neurocognitive changes like memory loss, loss of verbal fluency, poor concentration and inability to absorb new information or make complex decisions are associated with aging.

 HIV patients are at the risk of neurocognitive decline, even when they are taking effective antiretroviral therapy and have an undetectable viral load.

 Researchers examined 191 HIV-positive adults, all with a controlled viral load.
They were monitored for three years, at six month intervals for neurocognitive function test.

The result shows different stages of neurocognitive functions
Normal- Normal mental function.
Subclinical- Minimal symptoms of cognitive dysfunction.
Mild- Evidence of functional intellectual.
Moderate- Cannot work or maintain the more demanding aspects of daily life.
Severe- Major intellectual incapacity.
End Stage- Nearly vegetative.

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Latest facts about dementia

Dementia is decline of the brain and its abilities, causing memory loss and slower thinking.

It’s currently incurable, but early diagnosis usually means less impact on sufferers’ lives and better support provided to them.

People who explained drops in their
blood pressure, causing dizziness when they stand, may have an increased risk of developing dementia.

Speaking another language could prevent dementia. Being bilingual delay
dementia by making the brain more resilient.

A component of turmeric - curcumin - was discovered to potentially prevent age-related cognitive decline.

Consuming more omega 3 a natural fatty acid found in rich levels on oily fish, eggs and seeds have anti-inflammatory effects on the brain.

Surviving a stroke places you at an increased risk of developing dementia.



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How to enjoy deep sleep without sleeping pills

Deep sleep is slow wave sleep, it is crucial for memory, physical renewal and hormonal regulation. It decreases with age and this can leads to memory loss.

New research says pink noise stimulation during sleep like water fall can boost memory and ability to remember past events.

Pink noise is like white noise, it is audible to humans, and it’s a type of sound in which every octave carries the same frequency.

Deep sleep is an innovative, simple and safe non-medication approach that may help improve brain health.

The degree to which slow-wave sleep improved correlated with the degree of improvement to memory, showing that deep sleep remains important even in older age.

Researchers matched gentle sound stimulation with an adult
brain waves, and timed it to enhance synchronisation of neutron activity.

The researchers believe pink-noise stimulation could be easily recreated at home. According to the National
Institutes of Health, older adults need seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

Researchers examined adults over 65 years and discovered 13 per cent of men adults, 36 per cent of women take more than 30 minutes to fall asleep. Good sleep can improve quality of life, sticking to a sleep schedule can help.