Brain Health: Put down that puzzle and go for a walk

Today’s issue of Neurology includes a research study on the relationship between physical activity and brain protection during aging. The amount of self-reported physical activity in 638 persons was correlated to brain health as visualized on MRI. The brains of those with a greater amount of physical activity showed less brain aging as measured by less atrophy (shrinkage), less loss of grey and white brain matter, and fewer hits (tiny holes) in white matter. While these hits, called hyperintensities on MRI, are often viewed as a normal part of aging, they most likely have underlying causes such as hypertension or neuroinflammation. This study provides evidence that they are occur less frequently in people who are active.

Also, the commonly held belief that performing crossword puzzles keeps older people sharp was not supported in this study. As the BBC reports:

Exercise did not have to be strenuous - going for a walk several times a week sufficed, the journal Neurology says.

But giving the mind a workout by doing a tricky crossword had little impact.

The study found no real brain-size benefit from mentally challenging activities, such as reading a book, or other pastimes such as socialising with friends and family.

Take home: In the elderly, exercise beats puzzles for brain health.   

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Brain Health: Omega-3 fatty acids slow brain shrinkage

New research is revealing the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids on brain health, in particular, on reducing loss of brain volume associated with ageing. This recent news report (PubMed abstract not yet available), adds to previous work by measuring the level of O3 in the subjects red blood cells over a 3-month period and correlating it to total brain volume as measured on MRI. The study of 1,575 subjects compared the brain MRI scans of the 25% with the lowest level of O3 to the rest of the group. According to the WSJ:

… participants with low levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood had slightly smaller brains and scored lower on memory and cognitive tests than people with higher blood levels of omega-3s. The changes in the brain were equivalent to about two years of normal brain aging…

The study is important because of its large size and because the subject’s O3 levels were measured instead of utilizing food diaries for an estimate of O3 intake. However, a more interesting, and perhaps revealing question would have been comparing the subjects in the lowest quartile to those in the highest quartile. This may have revealed omega-3 fatty acids provide an even greater protection from brain volume loss than the two years in the study.

Bottom line: To prevent or slow brain shrinkage, eat your fish or take an omega-3 supplement.

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Update 3/2/2012
Abstract of study published in Neurology

Brain Health: Fish oil helps maintain brain volume

By Dr. John

The first signs of human consciousness were found in Blombos Cave, South Africa and date to 70 to 80 thousand years ago. It is probably no accident that the site is littered with evidence of seafood consumption. Indeed, significant inclusion of seafood and fish in the human diet may represent the final nutritional factor in development of the human mind. 

The typical American diet is profoundly different from that of our Paleolithic ancestors and is increasingly considered the root of many modern diseases.

In a new study reported by EurekAlert, researchers at Rhode Island Hospital's Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center revealed older adults taking fish oil supplements preserved brain volume and had smaller cerebral ventricles (a healthy sign suggesting less brain atrophy). Lead investigator, Lori Daiello, PharmD, states:

"In the imaging analyses for the entire study population, we found a significant positive association between fish oil supplement use and average brain volumes in two critical areas utilized in memory and thinking (cerebral cortex and hippocampus), as well as smaller brain ventricular volumes compared to non-users at any given time in the study. In other words, fish oil use was associated with less brain shrinkage in patients taking these supplements during the ADNI study compared to those who didn't report using them."

This observational study is just one additional piece of evidence demonstrating our continued movement away from the original human diet comes at a price. In this case, a shrinking brain. 

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