Scientists believe they have found a way to detect early signs of Alzheimer's and even identify people at risk of the disease. This is exciting news as until now it has only been possible to confirm an Alzheimer's diagnosis with an autopsy. Being able to identify the disease early means patients can have significantly improved treatment options and a better quality of life.

Dr Jeffrey Petrella, professor of Radiology at Duke University in the USA, found that functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) can show up changes in the brain's memory circuitry that contribute to Alzheimer's. "As new therapies for Alzheimer's disease enter the pipeline over the next five years, early detection will become critical," he said in a news release announcing his finding. "fMRI may play a key role in early diagnosis when combined with clinical, genetic and imaging other markers."

Currently there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease. However, one of the most effective ways of combating symptoms like memory loss is with brain exercises. HeadStrong Cognitive Fitness provides brain training developed by a clinical neuropsychologist to target the brain pathways associated with memory and concentration. The National Institute of Health in the US recently found that regularly performing scientifically based brain games can reverse brain memory loss by 7 -14 years.

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Brain training games can counteract seven to 14 years of anormal age-related deterioration in brain function, especially memory, according to a National Institute of Health study in the US.

"Everyone agrees that if you don't exercise your brain you're circling the drain," says Jack Kapica of the Canadian Globe and Mail. With the oldest baby boomers now turning 60, he says "[they] are being told their brains no longer operate the way they used to and they're getting worried."
 
In the same way that 20 years ago we woke up to the importance of physical exercise in staying vital and healthy, now a whole new opportunity exists for people concerned about their memory, to keep their mind fit at any age. The exercises at Headstrong Cognitive Fitness have been devised by a clinical neuropsychologist. Sharp Brains, which is regarded as the leading source of science-based information about brain-training programs, recently rated Headstrong as the most effective brain games on the market.

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Alzheimer's Disease may be caused by the same tiny molecule that causes Mad Cow Disease, according to new findings at Harvard University.

The insidious protein, called a prion, was discovered around 20 years ago. In Mad Cow Disease it rearranges the structure of protein cells in the brain in its own image. The new findings show how, in humans, it acts differently. A report in The Economist explains the mechanics: Healthy cells create plenty of junk that keeps the system busy. The hundreds of steps of folding that create a complex protein can take a cell many minutes to complete. And with so many steps, mistakes often occur, and wrongly wrought proteins need to be binned before they cause substantial damage.

Normally these error-filled proteins are flushed away, however the new study observed that when prions are present, they jam the body's natural disposal system and the build-up of waste starts to kill nerve cells, which results in Alzheimer's Disease.

There are ways of protecting the brain and its memory functions from normal age related decline and possibly from illnesses like Alzheimer's.  It has been proven that regularly playing brain games can strengthen the natural memory pathways in the brain and build up a brain reserve to resist decline.  HeadStrong Cognitive Fitness Centre offers scientifically formulated brain exercises to stimulate memory and concentration functions, to keep your mind fit and healthy at all ages.

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How good are you at playing tennis? Catching a ball? Good co-ordination appears to be an important marker of how intelligent we are according to a new study.

Richard Haier, who led the study at the University of California argues that human intelligence is not located in one single area of the brain but is a result of multiple areas of the brain working together.  Furthermore, how nimbly we can get the different areas of the brain to work together determines how smart we are.  Since physical co-ordination requires the brain and body to work together,  physical co-ordination is a good example of our brain's intelligence at work.

Brain scientists also know that skills such as physical co-ordination and even memory can be trained.  Headstrong Cognitiveoffers brain games which are aimed at improving memory, concentration and co-ordination. Regular mental 'work-outs' with scientifically developed brain games can protect the brain against age-related memory loss and stave off illnesses like Alzheimer's.

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Reading - and what we read - actually changes the structure of our brain according to neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf .

"What the brain is doing is learning how to put together the networks that our brain already has, for vision, for language, for thinking, for feeling, for remembering, and making a whole new circuit of all those existing parts," she said, in a recent radio interview to promote her new book about these findings, "Proust and The Squid - The Story And Science of the Reading Brain."

In her book she argues that humans were never designed to read - there is no reading gene passed down from parent to child. And as humans have evolved, their brains have constantly been reconfigured to adapt to different reading styles.  A person in ancient Egypt who read hieroglyphic symbols would have quite a different brain configuration from that of a more modern person reading an alphabet, and still again from someone fluent in using electronic technology.

Appreciating how the brain has evolved and how our brain pathways work is an important step in learning how to protect our brain throughout our lives. Things like memory loss are avoidable by stimulating the pathways associated with memory and concentration. At Headstrong Cognitive, neuroscientists have designed brain games which directly target the memory pathways.  Being cognitively fit  has been found to delay normal age-related memory loss and contributes to the development of a brain reserve which protects against degenerative diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's.

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What you do now can play a significant role in whether you develop Alzheimer's Disease in old age, according to  British nutrition expert Professor Patrick Holford.  "Only one in a hundred cases are caused by genes, so it is very likely the majority can be avoided through diet and lifestyle measures." he said.

Professor Holford told London's Sunday Mirror his seven step healthy lifestyle plan to protect your brain.

1. Boost Vitamin B.
Vitamin B helps break down an amino acid called homocysteine. It is now understood that Alzheimer's may be triggered by a toxic build-up of this acid. B vitamins are found in green leafy vegetables and beans.

2. Eat more fish
 Studies have found that people who eat oily fish two more more times a week have a significantly reduced risk of contracting Alzheimer's. Oily fish is a rich source of Omega 3 and reduces the harmful brain inflammation which occurs with Alzheimer's.

3. Say yes to smart fats
Not all fats are created equal. Lecithin granules (sprinkled onto cereal) and eggs (opt for those enriched with Omega-3) contain phospholipids, dubbed the 'smart fats'.

4. Colourful fruit & veggies boost antioxidants
Antioxidants destroy free radicals, which are harmful particles that contribute to ageing and are a factor in Alzheimer's disease. If you can't get enough in your diet then take a daily multi vitamin.

5. Get regular exercise
In addition to keeping you physically fit, exercise is known to boost the brain's alertness and capacity for memory.

6. Get a specialised health check
Ensure your body isn't building up toxic levels of Alzheimer's-creating homocysteine and other nasties now before it is too late.

7. Keep your brain active
Mentally active people stay mentally fit throughout their lives.

At HeadStrong Cognitive Fitness, a full analysis of your physical health and well being is part of your initial assessment before being prescribed a personalised ageing protection plan. Headstrong can ensure your brain stays in peak mental condition with its scientifically formulated brain games. These computer-based puzzles and activities target the areas of the brain associated with memory. concentration and co-ordination. Regularly doing brain games now can help stave off age related memory loss and protect against Alzheimer's.

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Scientists have been stunned to discover that the human brain has less memory capacity than they had believed. Since the average adult has about 100 billion brain cells, it has always been thought that our capacity for memory was virtually limitless. Now, scientists at University College, London, have found our brain power may be sorely limited to accessing just 500 memories at a time.

Their study found that when neurons pass messages to one another, their talk creates a 'noise' in the nerve endings which connect brain cells to form communicating cables. The more neurons are chattering to each other the more noise is created. When this noise reaches a critical volume it restricts the brain's ability to think and remember.

"You can have as many neurons as you want in a network  but as memories are added and the connections get stronger the noise gets so amplified that a network can only store about 500 memories", the study's co-author Peter Latham told Live Science.  The fact is that we can, in fact, remember more than 500 things (the average person's vocabulary alone is made up of more than 50,00 words). So Hall explains this by suggesting that memory is stored in different parts of the brain to cut down noise and that there is some central linking system, like a search engine on the internet.

This finding is just one small piece of the incredible jigsaw that scientists are piecing together about how we think and how we store memory, so that one day we can chemically boost our brain's capacity to store and recall memories. However, there is already a way in which you can increase your brain's memory capacity that is not invasive. Neuroscientists at Headstrong have developed memory games which have been proven to 'work out' and  strengthen the neural pathways in the brain responsible for memories and concentration. Regularly playing these brain games has been shown to improve the brain's memory 'fitness' and could help protect your brain against age-related memory loss, including diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's.

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If you get a buzz out of mastering a problem, there's a surprising new explanation. Scientists at the University of Southern California have discovered that the 'aha!' moment when you comprehend a task  triggers a cascade of natural opiate-like substances, giving you a pleasure-fix.

"While you're trying to understand a difficult theorem it's no fun. But once you get it you just feel fabulous. I think we're exquisitely attuned to this as if we're junkies, second by second," said the study's author, Professor Irving Biederman.

How does it work? Within the brain there are opoid receptors, responsible for feelings of pleasure. Professor Biederman noticed that these are in greatest supply in the areas of the brain associated with comprehension and interpretation of images. When participants were confronted with an image for the first time, many neurons were activated in these pleasure centres. But repeated viewing created a declining level of activity.

He's called this "neural Darwinism", arguing that our quest for a brain buzz, right throughout civilization, has driven us to learn andabsorb ever more fresh knowledge.

Of course as we age we're less inclined to confront as many new and challenging tasks as we did in our youth. But that's where Headstrong's brain training games can regularly stimulate these pleasure centres, while at the same time keeping the brain pathways responsible for memory and concentration in peak condition. Recent studies have proven that such regular mental activity protects against degenerative illnesses like dementia. Now there's scientific proof that regular brain games can trigger happiness as well.

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Sophisticated new scanning technology is allowing scientists to map the functions of minute parts of the brain in astonishing detail.

Researchers at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT explain that in a technological breakthrough, similar to upgrading the family's digital camera to a model with more pixels, new high resolution brain scans can accurately pinpoint 'zones' within the brain responsible for various functions. And they have discovered that these are far more specialised than was previously understood.

For example, it was thought that our ability to identify people by their appearance was done by one zone of the brain. Now, by being able to zoom in more closely, they have found that in fact there are two zones sitting side by side, with one responsible solely for facial recognition, the other for bodies. This has exciting consequences for the treatment of people who suffer from an inability to recognise faces even of family and friends. The team is now using their high resolution equipment to drill down even further within these newly identified 'face' and 'body' recognition zones within the structure of the brain.

Headstrong brain games stimulate these zones responsible for facial recognition. These scientifically formulated brain training exercises are designed to stimulate all the pathways associated with intelligence, including face recognition, keeping memory from deteriorating as we age, and aiding in the prevention of age-related brain illnesses like dementia and Alzheimer's.

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People who suffer brain damage due to ageing, illness or injury may one day be able to have their brain stimulated to overcome their disabilities. Research at MIT in the US has discovered the brain has a high degree of 'plasticity', meaning it is able to create new pathways around conventional, damaged ones.

In a study of lab mice, scientists re-routed the mice's visual pathways to their hearing pathways. They were then subjected to flashes of light, which normally induce fear in mice. The study found the mice still showed the fear response, even though it was received in the hearing part of the brain. Importantly, this shows that a brain structure responsible for an emotional response can accept information from unusual sources.This has great potential for scientists to one day be able to control and reinstate functions like emotional responses and learning.

Scientists can already adapt and protect our brain's memory pathways by engaging in regular mental exercises, such as brain games. Headstrong's software brain games were developed by leading neuropsychologists. Playing these brain games regularly can ensure you protect your memory, which naturally decreases with age, and stave off age-related brain diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's.

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It's been one of the human body's greatest mysteries - why do we need sleep? Now comes significant proof that while our body is resting our brain goes into overdrive, sorting out all the memories of the previous day and absorbing their meaning.

"We're not just stabilising memories during sleep, we're extracting the meaning," Professor BobStickgold told London's Daily Mail. He led a study at  Harvard University where participants were shown a range of symbols. After sleep, the participants werefar more quickly able to identify themes and patterns in the symbols than they were beforehand.

"People have been puzzling for years about what the purpose of sleep is. What we now know is that sleep serves the function of a tidying process," added psychology professor John Groeger.

"It's as if the brain plays all the day's experiences in a type of weird fast forward and then sorts them out saying, this goes with that, I'm going to sort this in that place. We store a huge number of experiences in the head every day and sleep seems to be the way we cope with it all," Professor Groeger added.

Sleep is just one of the ways in which we can stabilise memory which naturally starts to deteriorate as we age. Scientists have found that we can train and strengthen the memory pathways in our brain by doing regular memory  exercises which act like aerobics for the brain. Headstrong offers scientifically developed brain-training games that can keep our memory in peak condition as we age.

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Know how lousy your concentration is after a really late night? Well, scientists think they may at last understand why. It seems that without enough sleep the brain fails to produce sufficient memory cells. So if you're the kind of person who is burning the candle at both ends, you may be doing your body more harm than you realised.

A study on rats at Princeton University in the US, reported by the BBC, found that when deprived of sleep for 72 hours, the rats had significantly fewer cells in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsibie for forming memories. Without sleep, the rats also had  significantly increased levels of the stress hormone corticosterone. Suspecting that the stress hormone was what hindering the production of memory cells, the scientists then controlled the level of stress hormones keeping it at normal levels and found that then when they deprived the rats of sleep the number of brain cell's stayed normal.

Of course the link between lab rats and humans is a leap that requires further scientific study. And 72 hours without sleep is not quite the same as a late night. But these findings pave the way for a greater awareness that our lifestyle can have an enormous impact on our brain's ability to function. And we can remedy our brain's memory by making changes to our lifestyle.

Headstrong's team of neurospychologists are experts in ways to enhance our memory. Their unique software brain games have been designed to exercise the brain pathways responsible for memory and combat the deterioration that often comes with age. Together, lifestyle choices like sufficient sleep and regular brain games can keep your mind in peak condition at any age.

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We all know that people who meditate claim it makes them calmer and more focussed. Now scientists understand why - it grows the brain.

Time magazine reports that a study at Massachusets General Hospital of people who meditate for 40 minutes a day found that they had a noticeably thicker cerebral cortex - the part of the brain that controls decision making, attention and memory.

It seems that simple meditation exercises like focussing on an image, sound or breathing strengthens the brain's ability to concentrate. And importantly it can also stave off the natural thinning of the cortex that occurs as we age, helping prevent age-related memory loss.

Scientists are discovering more and more ways in which we can regulate and control our brains and stave off  age-related brain deterioration. Another proven way to do this is through brain-training games such as those devised by HeadStrong. 

Brain Training regularly also defends the brain against ageing diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's disease. If you're over 50, Headstrong's computer software games can stimulate and strengthen your brain's pathways to ensure your mind stays as fit and active as your body.

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A new BBC health programme claims that simple brain games can boost overall intelligence by as much as 40 per cent.

The show set out to explore whether making simple life changes can affect our brain's performance. In trials before the show, volunteers were subjected to a seven-day program of  healthy eating, physical activity and mental games. These brain games included things like playing Sudoku, Scrabble and charades, using the computer mouse with the wrong hand for an hour at a time and walking around the home with eyes closed. Producers anticipated the regimen may boost intelligence by 10 per cent. They were staggered when some participants performance rose as much as 40 per cent. They sharper, more confident and better at making decisions.

While the BBC test was by no means a scientific study, it doeshighlight how much control we have over our brains, something that isborne out in increasing, legitimate medical studies. Philip Morrow, producer of the show called Get Smarter In A Week, told London's Guardian newspaper, "An increasing body of scientific opinion holds that you can take steps in your life to actually improve your brainpower. Scientists say you will see noticeable improvements in a week." 

"A lot of people feel they are underperforming in their life, that they are letting themselves down in terms of their ability to handle events, or thinking that people at work are cleverer than them. This program shows that everyone can get smarter, feel better."

Scientifically developed software brain-training programs like Headstrong directly target the pathways in the brain that control memory, concentration and our reflexes. As the increasing weight of scientific evidence suggests, using such brain games keeps you mentally in peak condition and at the same time helps protect you from age-related memory loss like dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

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A study of over 50 year-olds using brain training games has found that it significantly improves reflexes as well as short term memory.

The two year, double-blind study conducted at Tel Aviv University of 121 patients has been endorsed by one of the world's leading neuroscientists. "You are your brain and it is vital that your brain stays in the best possible working order,"  Baroness Greenfield told London's Telegraph newspaper.

The Baroness, who is director of the Royal Institution in London, said that while it has long been known that physical exercise can keep the body healthy she said "our challenge is now to increase the amount of time spent on evidence-based methods of brain exercise."

Headstrong is a system of brain exercise developed by highly trained neuropsychologists. When you join Headstrong you get a thorough one-on-one consultation with a neuropsychologist who then prescribes a unique et of tasks targeted at your particular needs. The software games devised by Headstrong stimulate the brain pathways associated with language, memory, reflexes and concentration. By regularly practising these games you can keep your brain mentally fit, as well as staving off age-related illnesses like dementia and Alzheimer's.

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A new study of partially lost sight in a stroke victim has increased the growing body of evidence that the brain is not the fixed organ it was once believed, but has astonishing powers to overcome all kinds of degeneration.

In this latest study at Johns Hopkins University, brain scans revealed the stroke had damaged some of the fibres which send information from the eyes to the part of the brain which registered sight.  According to the Journal of Neuroscience the doctors, to their surprise, observed that in this case, the brain was compensating for the damage by creating new message pathways to redirect the flow of information.

Already this year a number of exciting medical breakthroughs have proven that the brain has previously unknown and untapped abilities to renew and survive. It underscores why brain training exercises are so effective at staving off age-related memory loss, including dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The scientifically developed brain training exercises prescribed by Headstrong stimulate the brain's memory pathways to stay active and healthy.

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Reading has been found to increase the brain's capacity for memory. A recent study reported in the New York Times  found that when workers at a lead smelter factory were examined for lead poisoning they found a curious thing. While all of them showed equal damage to the nervous system, some were remarkably better able to think, remember and concentrate than the others. And the thing these workers had in common was that they were all enthusiastic readers.

Scientists have known for some time that good readers enjoy better heath than others. But they had always put this down to good readers being better educated, more affluent and with a better diet. But this latest study upended that view.

Dr Margit Bleeker who conducted the study  believes that over years of reading, these workers had developed more of what doctors call cognitive reserve (the brain's capacity for thinking). So that under attack from lead exposure, their brains could summon up this reserve power, preserving their ability to remember, concentrate and make decisions.

As science learns more about how the brain works, it is becoming increasingly evident that the more we work our brain the more we protect it from all kinds of damage. Brain training exercises, such as the computer software games developed by Headstrong are scientifically targeted to stimulate the brain for maximum brain health and shield it against many types of brain damage, particularly that associated with ageing.

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Live a healthier, happier, longer and more productive life by following these basic tips, developed by Professor Larry M. Lynch, a South American author and education specialist.

1. Keep physically active. Walk, jog, take up a sport whether golf, tennis, swimming, or joining a gym - anything that involves doing something for your muscles. This aerobic exercise doesn't only keep your body fit but is now scientifically proven to boost the production of memory cells in the brain and reduce the risk of developing short term memory loss and Alzheimer's disease.

2. Reduce stress. Take time to enjoy life more. Stress is proven to be harmful to health and can even be a killer. Being physically active can ease stress as can modifying your diet to cut down on stimulants like caffeine-rich soft drinks, tea and coffee.

3. Improve your general health. Ensure you get a regular medical check-up and minimise unhealthy habits - quit smoking, avoid recreational drugs and drink alcohol in moderation (no more than 3 units a day).

4. Eat brain-boosting foods. Brain fog can be caused by the foods we eat. Healthy fats like Omega-3,  found in oily fish, olive oil and walnuts slow down the onset of memory loss and keeps the brain alert. Reduce refined sugars, found in bread, cakes and sweets,  which create energy spikes and slumps.

5. Stay mentally active. Doing brain teasers and a variety of different games and puzzles is proven to keep your brain healthy and prevent dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

6. Grow mentally and learn a new skill. Whether it's a new hobby or learning a language, mastering a new skill   can stimulate the health and well-being of your brain and improve your memory .

Do all these things with the help of the highly qualified team of medical advisors at Headstrong. Arrange a consultation now and their team of experts will provide you with a personalised life plan to maximise your health and well-being, as well as tailor a unique, Headstrong, brain-training program for you. Headstrong's scientifically-developed brain game software is proven to improve your memory and protect against brain-aging diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's.  With your membership you will also recieve a ten week brain health program covering the above topics and much much more.

For the full account of Professor Lynch's recommendations click on this link:
6 Keys to Boosting Your Brain and Memory For A Better Quality Of Life

 

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The rising incidence of brain aging diseases like Alzheimer's is "a train wreck to come on societies all over the world," warns the New York Times. It reports that in the US alone, one in 10 people over 65 and nearly half of people over 85 currently suffer from full-blown Alzheimer's. Taking care of them costs the US government $100 million a year while a staggering $1 billion is being spent on prescription drugs aimed at treating Alzheimer's - even though there is no known pharmaceutical cure.

Worse is to come as the global population ages. The New York Times estimates that in the US there will be as many as 16 million sufferers by 2050. Not surprisingly, pharmaceutical companies are in a worldwide race to come up with that a chemical cure. Drug giant Wyeth has 23 separate projects aimed at developing new treatments, while hundreds of other research projects are underway.

And yet, while drug companies spend billions searching for a cure in a bottle, a proven preventative treatment already exists.  Brain exercises and brain health programs, like the scientifically-developed exercises and programs offered by HeadStrong Cognitive Fitness, have been proven to stave off dementia and Alzheimer's disease. By starting now to regularly practise brain-training exercises, anyone aged from their forties onwards, can help to ensure that they don't become a health statistic and that they stay mentally alert and healthy throughout old age.

For the full New York Times story click here:
Zen and the Art of Coping With Alzheimer's

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