Dementia, one of the most debilitating diseases of humankind, is increasing in global prevalence with over 50 million patients.1-3 Dementia is a general term that describes the loss of cognitive ability, social functioning, and memory. There are many disease states that cause dementia representing divergent pathophysiologies, which are complex, multifactorial, ever-changing and not fully characterized. … Read more »
Brain Health
Do you feel like your brain has checked out and gone on vacation while you’re stuck at home quarantining? Does your thinking seem foggy? Are you more forgetful? Having problems making decisions? Many people are complaining of a range of cognitive difficulties arising from the current situation caused by COVID-19. People are experiencing increased stress,… Read more »
While some people may be reluctant or afraid to have a full medical evaluation for possible dementia, the benefits to an early diagnosis far outweigh the fears. In fact, an early accurate diagnosis may be a relief for the individual and family to know – including a possible treatable or reversible condition. Once a family… Read more »
A new report in the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology now ranks Alzheimer’s as the third leading cause of death in our country behind cancer and heart disease.1 It is estimated that 5.5 million Americans are living with the disease and that number is expected to triple by 2050 if no successful… Read more »
Brain adaptation is key to our survival. Our unconscious mind processes millions of data bits per second, and our ability to “think about our thinking” is one of the features that makes humans unique among mammals. Much of the time our brain adaptation is beneficial, but in many cases preserving our physical existence comes at… Read more »
Really? Hypnosis for dementia? That’s the usual response I get when people first learn I’ve been using hypnosis for people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease since 1997. In 2007, a lengthy study conducted in the U.K. by Simon Duff, PhD, and Daniel Nightingale, PhD, found that people living with dementia who received hypnosis therapy showed… Read more »
Wellbeing is defined as the state of being comfortable, healthy or happy. In past Desert Health articles, I have discussed aspects of lifestyle to achieve brain health for quality of life; now I’d like to dive a bit deeper into brain chemistry and discuss the importance of dopamine. Dopamine is one of the brain’s neurotransmitters,… Read more »
We know that what you eat can affect your heart health, and new research indicates that the same is true for your brain. The MIND diet – which stands for the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay – takes foods from the Mediterranean and DASH diets that medical literature and data show to be good for… Read more »
It is expected that 45 million Americans will develop Alzheimer’s in their lifetime. Once viewed only as a slow and suffering death sentence, science has now demonstrated that cognitive decline can be prevented – and reversed – by identifying contributing factors and prescribing lifestyle and supplementation. With Alzheimer’s, western medicine has largely focused on identifying… Read more »
Every year more than 750,000 people suffer a stroke, the most common disability for Americans. A stroke occurs when the blood flow to the brain is interrupted. There are two basic types: an ischemic stroke, most often due to a blood clot blocking a blood vessel, and a hemorrhagic stroke, occurring when a blood vessel… Read more »
This is the final pillar of a six-part series on brain health from Deborah Schrameck, NC, PT, of the Eisenhower Wellness Institute. For previous articles click here. My final pillar on brain health is “stimulation,” more commonly known as “use it or lose it.” In the Jan/Feb 2011 issue of Desert Health, the article Alzheimer’s… Read more »
This is the fifth of a six-part series on brain health from Deborah Schrameck, NC, PT, of the Eisenhower Wellness Institute. Preceding articles may be found here. In the last few years of my grandmother’s life she complained that food “just didn’t taste good” and that she really wasn’t hungry. This is a common complaint… Read more »
Fifty percent of Americans will have dementia by age 85. This is a growing epidemic. Cognitive decline starts much earlier. We now know the causes: too much sugar and other carbs in our diet and an unhealthy lifestyle with too much stress, not enough exercise, not enough sleep and a lack of the right brain… Read more »
This is the fourth of a six-part series on brain health from Deborah Schrameck, NC, PT, of the Eisenhower Wellness Institute. Preceding articles may be found here. Do you try to get a full night of sleep, but still get up in the morning feeling exhausted? Do you find your energy drags in the afternoon… Read more »
This is the third of a six-part series on brain health from Deborah Schrameck, NC, PT, of the Eisenhower Wellness Institute. Additional articles can be found here. Do you have people you gravitate towards or a place you go when you have had a stressful day? Nan was always that person and place for me.… Read more »
This is the second of a six-part series on brain health from Deborah Schrameck, NC, PT, of the Eisenhower Wellness Institute. Additional articles can be found here. Nan, my grandmother, understood what worked to keep her brain young and healthy. She never had a driver’s license and she made sure she walked, gardened and even danced… Read more »
Last month, brain health was top of mind at the annual Institute for Functional Medicine conference. It was discussed that, while it has been a generally accepted scientific fact that the human brain is incapable of growing new brain cells, we now know that brain cells do continue to grow throughout one’s lifetime with the… Read more »
Pillar One: Social Interactions Have you watched, or are you caring for, someone you love suffering from declining brain function, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease? Watching my grandmother, better known to all as “Nan,” decline to the point where she didn’t recognize me was heartbreaking and motivating. Loss of our brain health and function is a… Read more »
Brain metastasis, when cancer cells spread to the brain from primary tumors in other organs in the body, is often regarded with hopelessness. However, new advances in diagnosis and treatment are changing that opinion. Brain metastasis occurs in up to 50% of patients with cancer. As new systemic treatments prolong life, brain metastases become more… Read more »
The New Year is often accompanied by aspirations of self-improvement. For some that means making better nutrition choices and for others that means getting into shape, moving more – fitness. An oft heard expression involves how long these changes might last before we revert back to the same old – what’s familiar and comfortable. Why… Read more »
