SUBJ: dementia for people over 65 fell 30%

SUBtitle: cursive writing by “taking notes” promotes effective learning better than “typing on a keyboard

Just flew to Manhattan for a day to watch the Mark Morris BAM Performance.  Astounding! There is still beauty in this challenging world.

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SHORT NOTES:

Rand Corp study states risk of dementia for people over 65 fell 30% between 2000 and 2016.

The essence of the research was that cursive writing by “taking notes” promotes effective learning better than “typing on a keyboard.

The move toward providing additional care “in the home” rather than “in the institution” got a further boost in January.

#1 Exercise for Lowering Blood Pressure.  Static isometric exercises like wall sits (also known as wall squats) and planks.

Phage therapy combats antibiotic resistance.

Clues may lead to a cure for Parkinson’s.

Associations Between Patterns of Daily Stepping Behavior, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Pain Symptoms Among Older Adults with Chronic Pain.

LONG NOTES:

Rand Corp study states risk of dementia for people over 65 fell 30% between 2000 and 2016. Everything done to lower risk of heart disease and cancer may reduce dementia risk: keep blood sugar and pressure healthy, get exercise, eat fruits and veggies, take care of ears and eyes (AREDsII), pamper mental health (SAMe), get regular sleep. 41% of dementias are attributed to the above modifiable risk factors.

 

From KF –  I found a recent study out of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology to be both interesting and intriguing. The essence of the research was that cursive writing by “taking notes” promotes effective learning better than “typing on a keyboard” like I’m doing as I write this note. The researchers used electroencephalogram (EEG) brain sensors to review the brain activity of students to determine when they were working on a computer keyboard or writing by hand.

 

Hospital-At-Home Comparable to Traditional Hospital Care – The move toward providing additional care “in the home” rather than “in the institution” got a further boost in January with an article in the Annal of Internal Medicine by D.M. Levineet.al. entitled: “Acute Hospital Care at Home in the United States: The Early National Experience.” While we are still at the formative stages of this movement, the article points in the direction that such a move is “safe” on several fronts.

 

AARP – #1 Exercise for Lowering Blood Pressure.  Static isometric exercises like wall sits (also known as wall squats) and planks — which engage muscles without movement — are best for lowering blood pressure.  The new analysis, a systematic review of 270 studies, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM), confirms that many types of exercise — including aerobic activity, weight training and high-intensity interval training – help to lower blood pressure, but it found that isometric exercises offer the biggest benefit.

 

Phage therapy combats antibiotic resistance. The Israeli Phage Therapy Center (IPTC), led by two Hebrew University of Jerusalem professors, has used a bacteriophage PASA16 on compassionate basis to treat tough Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in 16 patients. It has shown promising results with an 86.6% success rate.
https://en.huji.ac.il/news/anti-bacterial-virus-phage-pasa16-treated-antibiotic-resistant-infections-866
https://www.cell.com/med/abstract/S2666-6340(23)00225-8

 

Clues may lead to a cure for Parkinson’s. Researchers at Haifa University have discovered that sufferers of Parkinson’s disease have brain cells that are deficient in mRNA and proteins that build the extracellular matrix (ECM).  It is the ECM that provides brain cells with structural and biochemical support.
https://www.israel21c.org/parkinsons-breakthrough-link-discovered-between-disease-and-brain/

 

Associations Between Patterns of Daily Stepping Behavior, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Pain Symptoms Among Older Adults with Chronic Pain: A Secondary Analysis of Two Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Fanning J, Brooks AK, Irby MB, N’Dah KW, Rejeski WJ
https://www.dovepress.com/article_91246.t202387285