Broken Brain Epidemic and How to Fix it (VIDEO)

 

(The Real Agenda News) An unbalanced broken brain is responsible for many mental diseases.

The result of those diseases in children, teenagers, adults and the elderly are usually untreated or not even discovered by mainstream medicine.

Most doctors aren’t capable of diagnosing most brain-related diseases, much less treat them or cure them.

Perhaps the main reason why mental disease is wrongfully treated or not treated at all is that brain health does not necessarily start from the brain itself, but from outside of it.

The lack of proper diagnosis and treatment causes the number of people with mental disabilities to rise out of control.

Broken brain count surpasses 1 billion

Today, that number stands at 1.1 billion patients. From those millions of people who are mentally ill, 1 in 6 are children who suffer from mental disorders.

Estimates show that 1 in 2 elderly are most likely suffering from mental disease and along with them, the global average is 1 in 4 people.

The current epidemic of brain disorders is what Dr. Mark Hyman calls the Epidemic of Broken Brains.

Hyman is a practicing physician with 10+ best selling books. His documentary shows how humanity, at least western populations arrived at the current state of mental imbalance.

During the documentary series, Hyman shows the assessment of several medical doctors who explain how normal-looking people are actually mentally ill and they got there.

More importantly, they explain how to attack and overcome the current epidemic of broken brains.

No, it is not through conventional medicine.

The documentary series promises to show how Alzheimer’s, Dementia, ADHD, Autism, Depression, Anxiety, and Brain Fog have common origins.

In its preview, Dr, Hyman also promises to show people steps to “optimize” their brain function and “reclaim” their mental health, energy and mental clarity.

If you are interested in learning more about brain function and how to keep it sharp, make sure to watch the preview below and then subscribe to watch the complete documentary series.

Fill out the form and subscribe to watch the documentary series here.

The connection between the brain and the immune system

In a stunning discovery that overturns decades of textbook teaching, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have determined that the brain is directly connected to the immune system by vessels previously thought not to exist.

The fact that such vessels could have escaped detection when the lymphatic system has been so thoroughly mapped throughout the body is surprising on its own, but the true significance of the discovery lies in the effects it could have on the study and treatment of neurological diseases ranging from autism to Alzheimer’s disease to multiple sclerosis.

“Instead of asking, ‘How do we study the immune response of the brain?’ ‘Why do multiple sclerosis patients have the immune attacks?’ now we can approach this mechanistically.

Because the brain is like every other tissue connected to the peripheral immune system through meningeal lymphatic vessels,” said Jonathan Kipnis, PhD, professor in the UVA Department of Neuroscience and director of UVA’s Center for Brain Immunology and Glia (BIG).

“It changes entirely the way we perceive the neuro-immune interaction. We always perceived it before as something esoteric that can’t be studied. But now we can ask mechanistic questions.”

“We believe that for every neurological disease that has an immune component to it, these vessels may play a major role,” Kipnis said.

“Hard to imagine that these vessels would not be involved in a [neurological] disease with an immune component.”

The unexpected presence of the lymphatic vessels raises a tremendous number of questions that now need answers, both about the workings of the brain and the diseases that plague it. For example, take Alzheimer’s disease.

“In Alzheimer’s, there are accumulations of big protein chunks in the brain,” Kipnis said. “We think they may be accumulating in the brain because they’re not being efficiently removed by these vessels.”

He noted that the vessels look different with age, so the role they play in aging is another avenue to explore. And there’s an enormous array of other neurological diseases, from autism to multiple sclerosis, that must be reconsidered in light of the presence of something science insisted did not exist.

The post Broken Brain Epidemic and How to Fix it (VIDEO) appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Air Pollution May be to Blame for 20% of Dementia Cases

A new study in Translational Psychiatry suggests that women who are exposed to air heavily polluted by vehicle exhaust and other sources of fine particulate matter have a significantly higher risk of developing dementia.

For the new study, researchers tracked the cognitive health of 3,647 women ages 65-79 for 10 years. All of the women were dementia-free at the beginning of the study. As part of the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS), researchers assessed the participants’ cognitive function annually.

The researchers used EPA data to estimate the women’s daily particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) where they lived. PM2.5 are fine particles that are up to 2.5 micrometers in diameter. They are made up of solid and liquid droplets which are emitted from power plants and motor vehicles, and other sources of combustion.

Read: Toxic Nanoparticle Air Pollution Found in Human Brain Tissue

The miniscule size of PM2.5 makes them easy to inhale, and inhalation of the particles can increase the risk of heart disease, asthma, reduced lung function, and other health problems.

High Levels of Pollution, High Levels of Risk

The team found that women who live in areas exposed to high PM2.5 levels had an 81% increased risk of global cognitive decline and a 92% increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias compared to women who live in areas with low PM2.5 levels.

Researchers also looked at the brain tissue of lab mice and discovered amyloid beta protein clumps – the hallmark signature of Alzheimer’s disease – and the die-off of cells in the brain’s hippocampus, where memories are formed.

Air pollution was also shown to affect a woman’s cognitive abilities even more dramatically if she carries APOE-e4, a gene variant which puts them at higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Using air pollution standards set by the EPA, researchers found major differences on all those measures between those who breathed clean air and those exposed to pollution levels deemed unsafe.

In the lab mice, breathing air collected over the 10 Freeway in Los Angeles led to denser brain concentrations of amyloid protein which were more likely to form dangerous clumps than breathing air that met EPA standards pre-2012.

Read: Toxic Air Affects 90% of World’s Population

Are we seeing this in real-time in China?

Approximately 54% of the world’s population lived in urban areas as of 2014, according to the United Nations. In China, where air pollution is extreme, more than 55% of the population live in the city.

Interestingly, a 2013 study published in the Lancet showed that the number of people in that country with Alzheimer’s disease soared from 3.7 million in 1990 to 9.2 million in 2010. These are eclipsing figures from the 2012 World Alzheimer’s Report, which predicted an estimated 5.4 million dementia cases in China in 2010.

Potential Legal Ramifications?

The authors of the study, geriatric and environmental health specialists at USC, estimate that prior to the 2012 air pollution standards set by the EPA, about 21% of new cases of dementia and of accelerated cognitive decline could likely have been the result of exposure to air pollution.

Here’s where things get tricky.

When the EPA devises its pollution standards, the agency is required to consider the impact they will have on the health of “vulnerable populations.” The EPA is also tasked with using its regulatory authority to protect those populations. The standards set in 2012 clearly do not adequately protect women (and mice) who are genetically predisposed to developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Though air pollution has been decreasing since 2012, Dr. Jiu-Chiuan Chen, an environmental health specialist at USC’s Keck School of Medicine and the study’s senior author, said it’s not clear that even current standards are safe for aging brains, or for brains that are genetically vulnerable to Alzheimer’s.

It would behoove the Trump administration to look over this latest study, as President Trump has indicated that it will either trash or overhaul Obama administration regulations that tightened emissions from power plants and established tougher fuel efficiency standards for cars in an effort to fight climate change and cut air pollution.

Chen said:

“If people in the current administration are trying to reduce the cost of treating diseases, including dementia, then they should know that relaxing the Clean Air Act regulations will do the opposite.”

Sources:

[1] Medical News Today

[2] Los Angeles Times

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

Do Pomegranates Protect Against Neurodegeneration?

The CDC estimates around 5.3 million Americans are living with some form of Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is expected to double by 2050. ^[1] Dementia, a generalized term used to describe neurodegeneration, is a disabling issue that have definitive roots in lifestyle and nutritional habits. While genetics may play a role in brain health, it’s lifestyle that is the driving force behind the progression of hereditary variables. A recent study is suggesting pomegranate, a red deciduous fruit rich in polyphenols, may be a potent protector against mental degeneration.

The Wonder Power of Pomegranate

One of the main factors in Alzheimer’s disease is the formation of amyloid plaque in the brain. This plaque divides irregularly and leads to beta amyloid, proteins that clump together and prevent proper cell-to-cell signaling. Certain metals–aluminum in particular–have been strongly implicated in the deposits of beta amyloid. ^[2] Research shows that exercise may reduce the extracellular accumulation of this plaque in the frontal cortex, possibly slowing or preventing the progression of Alzheimer’s and dementia. ^[3]

A recent study looking at the effects of freeze-dried pomegranate found the fruit inhibited the formation of these plaques as well as the swelling of irritation in the brain normally accompanying Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. ^[4] Pomegranate is a highly-concentrated source of antioxidants, and it’s this fact that may be one of the contributing factors to the fruit’s neuro-protective properties. Pomegranate extract may provide even more benefit than the whole fruit, since it’s much more concentrated. This is one of the reasons we added pomegranate extract to Cell Fuzion™, choosing only the highest quality extract with a condensed source of polyphenols.

How to Protect Your Brain

Other than consuming pomegranate and small, antioxidant-rich berries, there are certain lifestyle habits you should adopt to protect the long-term health of your brain. As previously mentioned, exercise is essential for preventing amyloid plaque buildup. Getting enough sleep and managing blood sugar levels also appears to have beneficial effects on brain health. In fact, research shows Alzheimer’s disease is another type of diabetes, where the brain has a difficult time utilizing glucose for energy. ^[5] Reducing your grain and refined sugar carbohydrates could be helpful in this regard. Also, keeping your heart health in check may be helpful, as studies indicate atherosclerosis significantly raises dementia risk. ^[6]

What are you concerns with dementia? What steps have you taken to protect brain health?

References:

1. Hebert LE, Scherr PA, Bienias JL, Bennett DA, Evans DA. Alzheimer disease in the US population: prevalence estimates using the 2000 census. Arch Neurol. 2003 Aug;60(8):1119-22.


2. Exley C, House E, Polwart A, Esiri MM. Brain burdens of aluminum, iron, and copper and their relationships with amyloid-β pathology in 60 human brains. J Alzheimers Dis. 2012;31(4):725-730.


3. Paul A. Adlard, Victoria M. Perreau, Viorela Pop, and Carl W. Cotman. Voluntary Exercise Decreases Amyloid Load in a Transgenic Model of Alzheimer’s Disease. The Journal of Neuroscience, 27 April 2005, 25(17): 4217-4221; doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0496-05.2005.


4. Velagapudi R, Baco G, Khela S, Okorji U, Olajida O. Pomegranate inhibits neuroinflammation and amyloidogenesis in IL-1β-stimulated SK-N-SH cells. Eur J Nutr. 2015 Jul 10.


5. Kaushik Shah, Shanal DeSilva, and Thomas Abbruscato. The Role of Glucose Transporters in Brain Disease: Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease. Int J Mol Sci. 2012; 13(10: 12629-12655. doi: 10.3390/ijms131012629.


6. Silvestrini M, Viticchi G, Falsetti L, et al. The role of carotid atherosclerosis in Alzheimer’s disease progression. J Alzheimers Dis. 2011;25(4):719-26. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2011-101968.

Could Umbilical Cord Blood Rejuvenate Brains’ Memory Functions?

When a baby comes into the world, the umbilical cord usually gets thrown away. But now scientists have discovered that they can reverse memory and learning problems in mice by using infusions of a protein found in human umbilical cord blood.

Parents already have the option of donating their child’s cord blood to blood banks. The stem cells are frozen for future use in treating various types of cancer and genetic disorders; but the liquid portion of the blood, the plasma, gets discarded. Neuroscientist Tony Wyss-Coray, however, thought that there had to be some redeeming value in the plasma. [1]

How Umbilical Cord Blood Could One Day Heal the Brain

As it turns out, a component of young blood might be the fountain of youth for aging brains that are losing their ability to create and retain memories. Wyss-Coray, along with his team of neurosurgeons at Stanford University Medical Center, say that cord blood rejuvenates the hippocampus in the brains of old mice. The hippocampus is a brain area that is vital for learning and memory.

However, Wyss-Coray says using actual cord blood plasma “is not something you’d ever want to develop as a treatment” because it’s “very cumbersome and difficult to collect.” But by identifying specific beneficial molecules in the plasma, Wyss-Coray hopes to be able to develop treatments for Alzheimer’s and other memory-loss diseases. The team has already identified one potentially useful protein called TIMP2. [1]

When older mice were given the umbilical cord blood treatments, they acted like younger mice in a series of behavioral tests – they escaped a maze faster than before the treatments, had better memories, and started building nests again – something the rodents typically stop doing as they grow old. [2]

Read: Cord-Blood Transplants Provide Fresh Hope for Leukemia Patients

The discovery was made when Wyss-Coray and his colleagues noticed that there were unusually high levels of TIMP2 in cord blood compared with blood from older people. When they injected TIMP2 into the older mice, they saw amazing results.

The other researchers say the results of the study, published in Nature, should be interpreted with caution. Rob Howard, professor of old age psychiatry at University College London, says that Alzheimer’s research shows that everything works in mice, but so far scientists haven’t had any luck replicating results in humans. He explains:

“Having taken that on [sic] board, this is a really interesting way to understand how we might help people who are aged or in the early stages of the disease.” [2]

But even if the protein therapy using umbilical cord blood doesn’t reverse aging or stop Alzheimer’s, scientists are hopeful that it may boost what’s left of the remaining healthy brain and perhaps offset age-associated decline.

Sources:

[1] The Atlantic

[2] The Guardian

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

Avoid These Drinks to Help Prevent Brain Shrinkage, Dementia, and Strokes

One of the keys to keeping your brain nice and plump and in proper working order is avoiding soda – and not just the sugar-sweetened kind, either. Drinking sodas, whether regular or diet, is bad for brain health, 2 recent studies show. [1]

One study showed that people who drank diet soda every day were three times more likely to have a stroke or develop dementia over 10 years compared with those who didn’t consume any diet soda.

The second study showed that people who drank at least one diet soda daily had smaller brain volumes than people who didn’t drink any diet soda. The same study found that people who consumed more than two sugary beverages a day, such as soda or fruit juice, had smaller brain volumes and worse memory function compared with non-sugary beverage drinkers.

Study #1

For the first study, researchers interviewed about 43,000 people, age 45 and older, three times over seven years, and asked them whether they drank any diet or sugar-sweetened beverages. Toward the end of the study, the researchers started tracking the participants’ health for cases of stroke and dementia. This monitoring continued for 10 years.

During the monitoring period, 97 people had a stroke, and 81 developed dementia. Sixty-three of the 81 had dementia consistent with Alzheimer’s disease.

Read: How Diet Sodas Mess with Your Brain (video)

The scientists concluded that diet beverage consumption – but not sugary drink consumption – was associated with a higher risk of stroke and dementia over a 10-year period.

It’s not clear why; however, diet drinks have been linked in past studies to obesity and diabetes, which might also be linked with poor blood circulation. Circulation problems may increase a person’s risk of stroke or dementia because a constant flow of blood is necessary for proper brain functioning.

Source: The Washington Post

Study #2

In the second study, researchers looked at brain scans and results of cognitive tests conducted on about 4,000 people. Participants self-reported whether they drank any diet or sugary beverages, and if so, how much.

Researchers uncovered a link between the consumption of both sugary and diet drinks and smaller brain volumes. An additional link between the consumption of sugary beverages and poorer memory was found. All are considered risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, according to the researchers.

Read: Diet Soda Increases Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke

The team controlled for cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, blood pressure, and various other health and behavioral factors. [2]

As in the first study, the mechanisms behind the decline in brain volume and memory may be tied to poor circulation, as previous research has linked high sugar intake with diabetes and high blood pressure. Both conditions are linked to compromised blood circulation that may negatively affect brain health. [1]

Lead author Matthew P. Pase, a senior research fellow at Boston University, says of the results of the second study:

“Although we can’t prove cause and effect, these data suggest that we should be cautious about drinking sugary beverages. They’re empty calories that contribute to weight gain and metabolic disease.” [2]

Sources:

[1] Live Science

[2] The New York Times

The Washington Post

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

Daily Dose of This Plant Could Reverse Age-Related Decline in the Brain

The findings of a Yahoo News/Marist poll show that people over the age of 69 generally don’t have positive views of marijuana. While the majority of younger Americans increasingly view marijuana as a legitimate medication and relatively acceptable recreational substance, the older crowd has been slower to adopt these views. In a twist of irony, a recent study shows that a daily dose of cannabis could reverse age-related brain decline in older people.

In the study, using mice, researcher Andreas Zimmer of the University of Bonn in Germany gave low doses of THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, to young, mature, and aged mice. The young mice performed slightly worse on memory and learning tests – no one was shocked by that result. The rodents took longer to find a safe platform hidden in a water maze, and had a more difficult time recognizing another mouse they’d previously “met.” [1]

Before receiving THC, the mature and aged mice performed worse on the tests than the younger mice did. Once they received the compound, however, the elderly mice’s performance improved so much that their test scores matched those of their younger counterparts.

Zimmer says:

“The effects were very robust, very profound.”

The changes were also visible in the mice’s brains. The researchers noticed that the critters’ hippocampus – the area of the brain that is critical for learning and memory – had grown more synaptic spines, the points of contact for communication between neurons. Furthermore, radical changes were seen in the gene expression pattern in the hippocampi of the aged mice treated with THC, rendering their brains completely different from those of the young, untreated mice.

Zimmer explains:

“That is something we absolutely did not expect: the old animals [that received] THC looked most similar to the young, untreated control mice.”

The researchers have a theory as to why marijuana rejuvenates aging mice brains. Marijuana stimulates the endocannabinoid system, a biochemical pathway that slows with age in mice, humans, and other animals. But there is no guarantee that these results can be replicated in humans. [2]

Source: Collective Evolution

David Nutt, the former government drugs adviser and professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, says:

“The key question now is does the same apply to humans? Clearly this needs to be tested, but it will not be possible in the UK due to the ridiculous restrictions on cannabis research occasioned by its being a schedule 1 drug.”

Related: 4 Studies Proving That Marijuana Can Treat Brain Cancer

Michael Bloomfield, a clinical lecturer in psychiatry at University College London, notes:

“What is particularly exciting about this research is that it opens up a whole new chemical system, the endocannabinoid system, as a potential target for new avenues of research, which could include illnesses like dementia. However, we are still in very early days and further research is needed.”

Source: Herb.co

Cannabis hasn’t been intensely studied for medical purposes for very long, and it’s going to be tricky teasing out details, like how much of a dose is considered ideal. According to Bloomfield, THC sometimes has the opposite of the desired effect on people, depending on the dose, the patient’s age, and how often it is administered.

“This means that the possibility of doctors potentially prescribing cannabis, THC or similar compounds for memory problems in older people is still a long way off.”

So, it will likely be years before doctors are able to accurately prescribe marijuana for aging brains, but it’s an exciting possibility that could make the Golden Years much happier for senior citizens.

Andreas Bilkei-Gorzo, a researcher at the University of Bonn, is hopeful that marijuana can help people squeeze more years out of their life. [3]

“If we can rejuvenate the brain so that everybody gets five to 10 more years without needing extra care then that is more than we could have imagined.”

The study is published in the journal Nature.

Sources:

[1] Scientific American

[2] The Guardian

[3] Daily Caller

Collective Evolution

Herb.co

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

Scientists Find Link Between Excess Sugar and Alzheimer’s Disease

We know (or think we know) that high blood glucose, or hyperglycemia, is linked to diabetes and obesity. But now scientists have also recently discovered a link between excess blood sugar and Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers have established a “tipping point” link between excess blood glucose and the disease, meaning that people who eat a lot of sugar could be more likely to go on to develop Alzheimer’s. [1]

Omar Kassaar, a biologist at the University of Bath in the U.K., said in a press release:

“Excess sugar is well-known to be bad for us when it comes to diabetes and obesity. But this potential link with Alzheimer’s disease is yet another reason that we should be controlling our sugar intake in our diets.” [1]

In the study, published on February 23, 2017 in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers looked at brain samples from people with and without Alzheimer’s disease, which is caused by an abnormal buildup of protein tangles between the brain’s nerve cells. This buildup progressively damages the brain and causes severe cognitive decline.

The team used a sensitive technique to detect the process of glycation. The researchers noted that in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, glycation damages an enzyme called macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF). MIF plays a role in insulin regulation and immune response. When MIF is inhibited or reduced, it appears to make it harder for the brain cell to respond to the accumulation of abnormal proteins. [2]

The researchers discovered that as Alzheimer’s progresses, glycation of the MIF enzyme increases. This, the team believes, is the “tipping point” in disease progression.

Read: 5 Simple Lifestyle Changes that Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

Jean van den Elsen, a co-author and professor in the University of Bath’s biology and biochemistry department, said in a press release:

“Normally MIF would be part of the immune response to the build-up of abnormal proteins in the brain. We think that because sugar damage reduces some MIF functions and completely inhibits others that this could be a tipping point that allows Alzheimer’s to develop.” [1]

The next step for researchers is to determine whether they can detect similar changes in the blood.

Sources:

[1] Mashable

[2] Fox News

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About Mike Barrett:
	Mike is the co-founder, editor, and researcher behind Natural Society. Studying the work of top natural health activists, and writing special reports for top 10 alternative health websites, Mike has written hundreds of articles and pages on how to obtain optimum wellness through natural health.