World Brain Day Matters
Enhance your brain health with our monthly Matters of the Mind roundup of news, views, and top tips...
As we celebrate World Brain Day, this month’s newsletter reflects on the importance of considering your brain health in your day-to-day life.
It is often perceived that taking care of brain health is solely reserved for older adults, but we believe it is never too early to begin thinking about your brain health. By incorporating simple practices into your routine, you can ensure you are taking the best possible care of your brain to foster a healthy cognitive lifespan.
Preventive Care for Brain Health
Lifestyle choices significantly increase the risk of conditions like stroke, epilepsy, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease. Over 40% of dementia cases and 70% of stroke cases can be attributed to modifiable risk factors such as smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, and poor diet.
The Lancet explores strategies that promote brain health throughout life, aiming to reduce the risk of preventable neurological conditions and age-related brain disease.
🧠 Brain tips and tricks
Replace margarine and mayo with olive oil when cooking – Replacing just a single teaspoon of margarine or mayonnaise with olive oil has been shown to reduce the risk of fatal dementia. (Study PMID: 36501136)
Incorporate turmeric into your diet – Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, can cross the blood-brain barrier – the protective barrier that ensures only necessary substances from the blood reach the brain. This has been shown to lead to improvements in the changes that occur during Alzheimer’s disease. (Study PMID: 29722330)
Prioritise your sleep - Comparing brain ageing scores in different groups of young people, researchers found that 24 hours of sleep deprivation led to MRI brain scans resembling 1-2 years of ageing. On a positive note, they discovered these changes were reversed after a good night’s sleep. (Study PMID: 36804738)
It’s important to us that we always use validated scientific research to support what we do. We’ve linked the above articles to their peer-reviewed research studies so you can delve more into the research, if you’d like to.
🗞 Brain health in the news
Drug ‘donanemab’ seen as turning point in dementia fight – A new drug, donanemab, is being hailed as a turning point in the fight against Alzheimer's after a global trial confirms it slows cognitive decline. The drug, by Eli Lilly, works by removing amyloid from the brain, it seems to have a meaningful benefit for some patients but significant side effects mean patients will need to be aware of the risk of treatment.
ADHD in children could be eased with electrical currents to the brain – A study investigated the effects of a mild electrical current to the scalp for ADHD symptoms in children. 55% of study group participants’ parents reported a “significant clinical improvement” in symptoms.
Microchip links brain, spine and body, allowing paralysed man to move and feel – The procedure, combined with artificial intelligence algorithms, established a “double neural bypass” – an electronic bridge enabling brain-body communication. This is the first instance of a paralysed human regaining lasting movement and sensation through this technology.
📺 What to watch
MEG brain scanning technology and it’s incredible insights highlighted by Channel 4 News – Channel 4 News showcases the use of Cerca Magnetics OPM-MEG system for children with epilepsy. Cerca brilliantly demonstrate how understanding brain function with this technology will have a massive impact when it comes to the treatment of brain and mental health.
MYndspan does not provide medical advice. The content of this newsletter is not intended to substitute professional medical advice and is not to be used for the diagnosis, cure, management, prevention, or treatment of any disease or condition.
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