Does aspirin lower colorectal cancer risk in older adults?

Does aspirin lower colorectal cancer risk in older adults - آسپرین و سرطان روده یزرگ

Current guidelines support routine use of aspirin for prevention of cardiovascular events and colorectal cancer in many adults aged 50 to 59. There is controversy over whether aspirin is beneficial for older adults, especially those over age 70. This study looked at the impact of regular aspirin use in adults aged 70 and older.

Regular aspirin use has clear benefits in reducing colorectal cancer incidence among middle-aged adults, but also comes with some risk, such as gastrointestinal bleeding. And when should adults start taking regular aspirin and for how long?

There is substantial evidence that a daily aspirin can reduce risk of colorectal cancer in adults up to age 70. But until now there was little evidence about whether older adults should start taking aspirin.

A team of scientists set out to study this question. They were led by Andrew T. Chan MD, MPH, a gastroenterologist and chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Their report appears in JAMA Oncology.

Release date: 21 January 2021
Source: Massachusetts General Hospital

Afternoon napping linked to better mental agility

Afternoon napping linked to better mental agility -خواب کوتاه بعدازظهر می تواند باعث بهبودی قوای ذهنی می شود

Associated with better locational awareness, verbal fluency, and working memory

Taking a regular afternoon nap may be linked to better mental agility, suggests research published in the online journal General Psychiatry.

It seems to be associated with better locational awareness, verbal fluency, and working memory, the findings indicate.

Longer life expectancy and the associated neurodegenerative changes that accompany it, raise the prospect of dementia, with around 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 affected in the developed world.

As people age, their sleep patterns change, with afternoon naps becoming more frequent. But research published to date hasn’t reached any consensus on whether afternoon naps might help to stave off cognitive decline and dementia in older people or whether they might be a symptom of dementia.

Release date: 25 January 2021
Source: BMJ

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Stronger bones thanks to heat and microbiota

Stronger bones thanks to heat and microbiota - تاثیر آب و هوا بر پوکی استخوان
Osteoporosis, a bone disease linked to ageing, is characterised by a loss of bone density, micro-architectural deterioration of the bones and an increased risk of fractures. With one third of postmenopausal women affected, it is a major public health problem. Through epidemiological analyses, laboratory experiments and state-of-the-art metagenomic and metabolomics tools, a research team has observed that exposure to warmer ambient temperatures (34 °C) increases bone strength, while preventing the loss of bone density typical of osteoporosis. Moreover, this phenomenon, linked to a change in the composition of gut microbiota triggered by heat, could be replicated by transplanting the microbiota of mice living in a warm environment to mice suffering from osteoporosis. Indeed, after the transplant, their bones were stronger and denser. These results, to be discovered in Cell Metabolism, make it possible to imagine effective and innovative interventions for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
Release date: 10 September 2020

Source: Université de Genève

Levodopa may improve vision in patients with macular degeneration

Levodopa may improve vision in patients with macular degeneration - داروی پارکینسون ممکن است برای بینایی سالمند مفید باشد

The widely used and well-tolerated drug commonly used to treat Parkinson’s disease may help significantly reduce the need for more costly, more invasive treatments, report investigators in The American Journal of Medicine.

Investigators have determined that treating patients with an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with levodopa, a safe and readily available drug commonly used to treat Parkinson’s disease, stabilized and improved their vision. It reduced the number of treatments necessary to maintain vision, and as such, will potentially reduce the burden of treating the disease, financially and otherwise.

Release date: 10 September 2020

Source: Elsevier

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New Approach to Treating Osteoarthritis Advances

New Approach to Treating Osteoarthritis Advances - پیشرفت های جدید در درمان آرتروز

Injections of a natural “energy” molecule prompted regrowth of almost half of the cartilage lost with aging in knees, a new study in rodents shows.

The study results revolve around the long-established idea that machines within animal and human cells turn the sugars, fats, and proteins we eat into energy used by the body’s millions of cells. The molecule most used to store that energy is called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. Along with this central role in metabolism, adenosine also helps signal other cells and serves as a building block of genetic material, and so is central to the growth of human tissue.

Previous research had shown that maintaining supplies of adenosine, known to nourish the chondrocyte cells that make cartilage, also prevented osteoarthritis in similar animal models of the disease.

Published online in the journal Scientific Reports on August 10, the study rodents received 8 weekly injections of adenosine, which prompted regrowth rates of cartilage tissue between 50 percent and 35 percent as measured by standard laboratory scores.

Release date: 10 August 2020

Source: NYU Langone Health / NYU School of Medicine

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Physical stress on the job with brain and memory decline in older age

Physical stress on the job with brain and memory decline in older age - مشاغل پرفشار می توانند باعث صدمه مغزی و کاهش حافظه در دوران سالمندی گردند

A new study out of Colorado State University has found that physical stress in one’s job may be associated with faster brain aging and poorer memory.

Aga Burzynska, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, and her research team connected occupational survey responses with brain-imaging data from 99 cognitively normal older adults, age 60 to 79. They found that those who reported high levels of physical stress in their most recent job had smaller volumes in the hippocampus and performed poorer on memory tasks. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is critical for memory and is affected in both normal aging and in dementia.

Their findings were published this summer in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience under the research topic “Work and Brain Health Across the Lifespan.”

“We know that stress can accelerate physical aging and is the risk factor for many chronic illnesses,” Burzynska said. “But this is the first evidence that occupational stress can accelerate brain and cognitive aging.”

Release date: 16 July 2020

Source: Colorado State University

Flu, Pneumonia Vaccinations Tied to Lower Risk of Alzheimer’s Dementia

Flu Vaccinations Tied to Lower Risk of Alzheimer Dementia - واکسن آنفولانزا خطر ابتلا به بیماری آلزایمر را کاهش می دهد

Three research studies reported at AAIC 2020 suggest:

  • At least one flu vaccination was associated with a 17% reduction in Alzheimer’s incidence. More frequent flu vaccination was associated with another 13% reduction in Alzheimer’s incidence.
  • Vaccination against pneumonia between ages 65 and 75 reduced Alzheimer’s risk by up to 40% depending on individual genes.
  • Individuals with dementia have a higher risk of dying (6-fold) after infections than those without dementia (3-fold).

“With the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines are at the forefront of public health discussions. It is important to explore their benefit in not only protecting against viral or bacterial infection but also improving long-term health outcomes,” said Maria C. Carrillo, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer.

“It may turn out to be as simple as if you’re taking care of your health in this way — getting vaccinated — you’re also taking care of yourself in other ways, and these things add up to lower risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” Carrillo said. “This research, while early, calls for further studies in large, diverse clinical trials to inform whether vaccinations as a public health strategy decrease our risk for developing dementia as we age.”

Release date: 27 July 2020

Source: Alzheimer’s Association

Hearing persists at end of life

hearing persists at end of life - شنوایی آخرین حسی است که می میرد

Hearing is widely thought to be the last sense to go in the dying process. Now UBC researchers have evidence that some people may still be able to hear while in an unresponsive state at the end of their life.

This research, published recently in Scientific Reports, is the first to investigate hearing in humans when they are close to death.

Release date: 8 July 2020

Source: University of British Columbia

Music therapy for Parkinson’s disease

Music therapy for Parkinsons disease - موزیک درمانی برای بیماری پارکینسون

An interesting study by Iowa State University demonstrates the potential to reduce stress, improve motor function for people with Parkinson’s disease with singing.

Back Pain & Death!

Back Pain and Death - کمردرد مزمن و مرگ و میر

Researchers at Boston Medical Center identified that older women with frequent, persistent back pain face an increased risk of earlier death.