New Study Suggests Dementia-Oral Health Link

A new British study from the University of Lancashire School of Medicine and Dentistry suggests a link between poor oral health and dementia,including Alzheimer's disease.The study detected a specific bacterium,Porphyromonas gingivalis,in the brains of four out of ten dementia patients.Sim Singhrao,PhD,senior research fellow at the School,said that when the brain is repeatedly exposed to bacteria and/or material from our gums,subsequent immune responses may lead to nerve cell death and possibly memory loss.Seeing your dentist could be vital for brain health.The future of the research aims to discover if P.gingivalis can be a marker,via a simple blood test,to predict the development of Alzheimer's disease in at-risk patients,she noted.Further research is needed to confirm the theory,several other British scientists emphasised.A number of other studies have suggested a link between dementia and inflammation from bacterial infection.

Light Exercise Can Protect Ageing Brains

Seniors don't have to be a vigorous athlete in order to reap significant cognitive benefits,a new University of Colorado Boulder study suggests.The study,lead by Research Associate Ruth Barrientos,shows that rats in late middle age which ran just over a half kilometer a week-just over a third of a mile-were profoundly less susceptible to memory loss associated with immunological challenges such as bacterial infection.The rats had been infected with E.coli bacteria.
Previous research with humans has shown the protective power of exercise against cognitive decline such as dementia.It has also uncovered a correlation between immune system challenges and dementia.
Microglia,the brain's immune cells,tend to overreact with age,releasing too many inflammatory molecules called cytokines,which may result in cognitive impairment when the body faces infection or even surgery.
Cytokines are small protein molecules that transmit messages between cells.In the process,they can regulate inflammatory responses.
A little exercise,however,may be effective therapy for an ageing brain with unruly cytokines,according to the CU Boulder study.The study has been published in the current issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

USC Fotonovela Highlights Dementia

Latino families are among those who tend to deal with dementia on their own,rather than seek professional assistance.A number of USC staff members have collaborated on a fotonovela,a sort of photographic comic book popular in the Latino community,that helps families understand dementia and presents the possibility of getting help for aged relatives stricken with the brain disorder.
Based on multidisciplinary research,Forgotten Memories tells the story of an elderly mariachi musician,Memo,who is showing signs of memory loss.His pharmacist urges Memo to undergo memory screening at a clinic.A physician at the clinic recommends medication for Memo and a support group for Memo's wife to help her with managing his illness.A lot of time went into ensuring the cultural sensitivity of the fotonovela.
Leading the project is Mel Baron,an associate professor at the USC School of Pharmacy.Academics from USC College and the Keck School of Medicine,as well as the pharmacy school,provided research for the fotonovela.It will be distributed at clinics,pharmacies and community events such as mariachi festivals.
Forgotten Memories was underwritten by Pfizer,Forest Laboratories,Good Neighbor Pharmacies,the National Association of Chain Drugstores and several USC organizations.
More than 30 million people are suffering from the diseases that cause dementia worldwide-a number that grows rapidly by the day.