Category: Dementia

People eating this berry showed a remarkable improvement in their neural functioning, memory for everyday events and increased blood flow in the brain.

As well as lowering levels of “bad” cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein), cranberries could prevent dementia by improving memory and enhancing brain function.

According to a study, one cup of cranberries a day will reduce the risk of neurodegenerative disorders in people aged 50 and older.

The berry is rich in polyphenols including proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins, hydroxycinnamic acids, and flavonols.

Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants known for their anti-inflammatory and blood pressure lowering effects.

A previous study on rats suggests that polyphenols have the ability to improve nervous system function and brain responses to stress.

The recent study examined the effects of cranberries on human cognitive function.

It involved adults aged 50 and older who were tracked for 12 weeks.

Dr David Vauzour, the study’s senior author, said:

“Dementia is expected to affect around 152 million people by 2050.

There is no known cure, so it is crucial that we seek modifiable lifestyle interventions, such as diet, that could help lessen disease risk and burden.

Past studies have shown that higher dietary flavonoid intake is associated with slower rates of cognitive decline and dementia.

And foods rich in anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins, which give berries their red, blue, or purple colour, have been found to improve cognition.

Cranberries are rich in these micronutrients and have been recognized for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

We wanted to find out more about how cranberries could help reduce age-related neurodegeneration.”

Th study divided people into two groups; one received two sachets (each 4.5 g) of freeze-dried cranberry powder a day, an equivalent to 100 g or one cup of fresh cranberries, and the other group took a placebo.

Participants who were on cranberry supplementation showed a remarkable improvement in their neural functioning, visual episodic memory (memory for everyday events), and increased blood flow in the brain as well as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol reduction.

Dr Vauzour said:

“We found that the participants who consumed the cranberry powder showed significantly improved episodic memory performance in combination with improved circulation of essential nutrients such as oxygen and glucose to important parts of the brain that support cognition — specifically memory consolidation and retrieval.

The cranberry group also exhibited a significant decrease in LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol levels, known to contribute to atherosclerosis — the thickening or hardening of the arteries caused by a build-up of plaque in the inner lining of an artery.

This supports the idea that cranberries can improve vascular health and may in part contribute to the improvement in brain perfusion and cognition.

Demonstrating in humans that cranberry supplementation can improve cognitive performance and identifying some of the mechanisms responsible is an important step for this research field.

The findings of this study are very encouraging, especially considering that a relatively short 12-week cranberry intervention was able to produce significant improvements in memory and neural function.”

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition (Flanagan et al., 2022).

People with a high risk of dementia might be able to lower the odds with these three antioxidants.

Higher blood levels of specific antioxidants could reduce the chances of developing dementia.

According to research, individuals with the highest blood concentrations of beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin antioxidants are at lower risk of getting dementia in later life.

Pistachios, egg yolk, bell peppers, corn, kiwi fruit, grapes, courgette (zucchini), squash, and green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, peas, and kale contain high amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin (Sommerburg et al., 1998).

Beta-cryptoxanthin is the other natural carotenoid that can slow down dementia due to aging.

Persimmons, oranges, carrots, peaches, tangerines, papaya, and orange maize are good sources of beta-cryptoxanthin.

Dr May Beydoun, the study’s first author, said:

“Extending people’s cognitive functioning is an important public health challenge.

Antioxidants may help protect the brain from oxidative stress, which can cause cell damage.

Further studies are needed to test whether adding these antioxidants can help protect the brain from dementia.”

For this study more than 7,000 participants age 45 or older were enrolled and followed for 16 years.

At the start they went through an interview, physical examination, and blood test to check their antioxidant levels.

The results showed that the risk of developing dementia was reduced for participants with the highest levels of lutein and zeaxanthin.

Increased amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin (15.4 μmol/l) resulted in a 7 percent lower risk of dementia.

Increased levels of beta-cryptoxanthin by 8.6 μmol/l led to a 14 percent reduced risk of dementia.

Dr Beydoun added:

“It’s important to note that the effect of these antioxidants on the risk of dementia was reduced somewhat when we took into account other factors such as education, income and physical activity, so it’s possible that those factors may help explain the relationship between antioxidant levels and dementia.”

The study was published in the journal Neurology (Beydoun et al., 2022).

This Alzheimer’s early warning sign could provide a way of warding off the neurodegenerative disease.

Poor sleep could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s in people who are otherwise healthy, research finds.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia.

Scientists have found links between certain biological markers of Alzheimer’s and sleep disturbances.

Dr Barbara B. Bendlin, who led the study, said:

“Previous evidence has shown that sleep may influence the development or progression of Alzheimer’s disease in various ways.

For example, disrupted sleep or lack of sleep may lead to amyloid plaque build-up because the brain’s clearance system kicks into action during sleep.

Our study looked not only for amyloid but for other biological markers in the spinal fluid as well.”

The study was carried out on 101 people with an average age of 63.

All were at risk of Alzheimer’s, although none had any symptoms.

The results showed that those with the worst sleep quality also had biological markers of Alzheimer’s in their spinal fluid.

Dr Bendlin said:

“It’s important to identify modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer’s given that estimates suggest that delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in people by a mere five years could reduce the number of cases we see in the next 30 years by 5.7 million and save $367 billion in health care spending.”

Not everyone with sleep problems had the biological markers, though, said Dr Bendlin:

“It’s still unclear if sleep may affect the development of the disease or if the disease affects the quality of sleep.

More research is needed to further define the relationship between sleep and these biomarkers.

Improving sleep could be one way of helping to ward off Alzheimer’s, said Dr Bendlin:

“There are already many effective ways to improve sleep.

It may be possible that early intervention for people at risk of Alzheimer’s disease may prevent or delay the onset of the disease.”

The study was published in the journal Neurology (Sprecher et al., 2017).