health

by Ram Yellow Leaves by Melina Meza Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive neuro-degenerative disease that is characterized by severe memory loss, unusual behavior, personality changes and a decline in thinking abilities. Death of neurons in key parts of the brain harms memory, thinking, and behavior. Neuronal death in the hippocampus area of the brain triggers short-term memory failure, and often the person's ability to do familiar tasks begins to decline as well. Alzheimer's disease also attacks areas of the cerebral cortex responsible for functions such as language and reasoning. Thus AD patients gradually lose language skills and judgment. Personality changes, emotional outbursts and disturbing behavior, such as wandering and agitation, appear and can happen more and more often as the disease runs its course. People with AD eventually require comprehensive care, so the disease presents a considerable problem in patient management. It is believed that t...

by Nina Sun Behind Clouds by Melina Meza One of the worst fears I think we all share about getting older is of developing dementia. Just recently I had a long phone conversation with a woman who is trying to deal with a mother in the early stages of Alzheimer�s Disease, and it was just so sad. I had some advice for her, but no solutions, of course. Then I heard a news piece on NPR �Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep�   that gave me  glimmer of hope. For a very long time, scientists have been trying to figure out the purpose of sleep. Now, a recent study � Sleep Drives Metabolite Clearance from the Adult Brain �  by University of Rochester researchers that was published in Science Magazine proposed a fascinating new theory about sleep. The researchers discovered that while you are asleep, your brain clears out harmful toxins! During sleep there is a dramatic increase in  flow of cerebrospinal fluid in your brain, and this washes away the toxic waste ...