In the current analysis, Elizabeth Devore, an instructor in medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and her colleagues addressed the gap in the research by reviewing the eating habits of a single cohort of 16,000 women participating in the Nurses Health Study. During their 50s and 60s, every four years the women answered questions by phone about what they ate. And in their 70s, they came into the lab for six different cognitive function tests. Devore and her team also had information on the women’s education, income and other socioeconomic factors that can affect cognitive function.
She and her colleagues focused their attention on berries because rodent studies showed that the key compound in berries, a flavonoid called anthocyanidin, could seep through the blood and into brain tissues — specifically concentrating in the hippocampus, which is responsible for learning and memory. As an antioxidant, flavonoids also fight inflammation and oxidation, both processes that affect aging brain cells.
Lifestyle Underwriting
DM Risk – White Rice Bad
Eating more white rice may up the risk of type 2 diabetes, especially for Asian populations, researchers said.Patients who ate the greatest amounts of the grain had a 27% greater risk of developing the disease than those who ate the least, and the relative risk was higher among Asian patients, Qi Sun, PhD, of Harvard, and colleagues, reported in BMJ.
This is very bad news for Chinese take out businesses.
Spider Angioma — NEJM Images in Clinical Medicine
Compression of the central arteriole caused the entire lesion to blanch, and it quickly refilled once the compression was released This pattern of blanching and refilling characterizes spider angiomas, which are suggestive of liver disease.
For the underwriter who always wondered what one of these things looks like. For the geekiest underwriters, click on and take a look at the video. And for the underwriter who thinks she should have a Medical Doctor, the following is from the NEJM Resident E-Bulletin of 02.23.12.
Clinical Pearls
- What is the differential diagnosis of a subacute confusional state in a patient with liver disease?
The differential diagnosis includes five major syndromes: hepatic encephalopathy, Wernicke’s encephalopathy, alcohol withdrawal, occult seizures, and infection. Hepatic encephalopathy refers to an alternation in cognitive function that is secondary to a metabolic process caused by liver failure. Wernicke’s encephalopathy refers to the triad of gait ataxia, ophthalmoplegia and confusion caused by thiamine deficiency, commonly seen in chronic alcoholics. Alcohol withdrawal, occult seizures, and underlying infection may also cause a subacute confusional state in a patient with chronic liver disease.
Glass of Wine Eases Stroke Risk in Women
A study of more than 80,000 women found that low to moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a 17% to 21% reduction in risk of stroke.
Do Positive Emotions Increase Life Satisfaction?
The answer is yes and they do it by building resilience. University of North Carolina professor Barbara Fredrickson has spent the past two decades looking into why we have positive emotions and what we do with them. She even has her own term for her work: positivity.
via Do positive emotions increase life satisfaction?.
As a general rule try to avoid overly negative people.
BBC News – Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan’s ‘wake-up call’
He began drinking heavily because he thought it would help to prevent his panic attacks – which he had suffered from since he was a teenager. At his worst, he says he was drinking “a gallon of vodka a day”, and then 10 bottles of wine a day “when I was trying to taper down”.
via BBC News – Hardtalk – Guns N’ Roses’ bassist Duff McKagan’s ‘wake-up call’.
For the next time someone asks you why entertainers are underwritten cautiously and carefully.
Scary Chart of the Day – 9/15/11
EconomPic: The Evolution of Food Consumption
While not a surprise, this is rather concerning. I recently outlined that bottom earners have been earning less for the better part of the past 15+ years and it looks like it may be actually impacting the dietary habits of Americans (i.e. eating less [unlikely] or eating cheap / unhealthy food [likely]).
The crossover point in 1999-2000 is what fascinates me.
I was relaxing, catching up with the news when I realized I hadn’t posted a Scary Chart in quite some time. Then, I saw this chart. The quote above is from the author of the chart, not me. Interesting, eh?Failure to Launch
Bryce Covert: Recession Has Lit the Fuse on Explosive Student Debt « naked capitalism
Boomerang kids: 85% of college graduates must move back home – Oct. 14, 2010
If you thought they were gone, think again.
Thought For Today – 7/9/11
A must read post from Tony Schwartz at the HBR Blog Network.
More EVO = Lower Stroke Risk
Medical News: Olive Oil Protects Against Stroke – in Neurology, Strokes from MedPage Today
Observational study on French people.
I wonder if the researchers controlled for red wine consumption.
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