Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are devastating diseases without effective treatments; as the population ages these conditions are becoming epidemic. Meanwhile, a second epidemic, obesity—driven by overabundance of calorie-rich but nutrient-poor food and sedentary lifestyles—is already evident in western and westernizing cultures. Researchers have begun to explore the possibility that overweight and obesity may affect the brain and play a role in age-related diseases. On December 4, 2012, epidemiologists, clinicians, and researchers met at the New York Academy of Sciences for The Paradox of Overnutrition in Aging and Cognition, a conference presented by the Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science to elucidate the intersection between aging, cognition, obesity, and nutrition.

For a full set of meeting resources – including the meeting report, slides and audio, participants and more – visit The New York Academy of Sciences.

Recently, I spoke at length to a physician who seems to have suffered a form of post-traumatic stress after her mother’s final illness.

There is little research on this topic, which suggests that it is overlooked or discounted. But several experts acknowledge that psychological trauma of this sort does exist.

“When something happens that the individual perceives and reacts to as a tremendous stressor, that can intensify and bring back to the forefront of consciousness memories that were traumatic,” said Stanford professor of psychiatry and Center on Longevity faculty affiliate Dolores Gallagher-Thompson, “It’s more an exacerbation of an already existing vulnerability.”

 

Read the full article at The New York Times.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published and periodically updated by the American Psychiatric Association, is one of those documents few laypeople ever read, but many of us are affected by.

Dr. Allen Frances, chairman of the task force that developed the previous Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, predicts inclusion of mild neurocognitive disorder in the new version will lead to “wild overdiagnosis.”

Read the full article at The New York Times.

There’s another reason to be concerned about hearing loss — one of the most common health conditions in older adults and one of the most widely undertreated. A new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests that elderly people with compromised hearing are at risk of developing cognitive deficits — problems with memory and thinking — sooner than those whose hearing is intact.

Read the full article at The New York Times.