"The Deats!" with Audi

Post Grad Update – Artists Block

katy perry hey

Hi guys, coming to you live from my bedroom. I know it has been a while since I’ve posted to my blog, and usually its about health or technology, but today we’re switching things up! Recently, I graduated from University of Detroit Mercy, receiving my BA in Digital Media Studies. Woot woot!

stop the clapping

I know I knowwww… Thank you. You’re all too kind, lol. I have had the great fortune of working on a film set fresh out of college, a true blessing for me and I really enjoyed it. I truly learned a lot and can’t wait to work on more productions and sets. But now that the film has ended its shooting, it’s time to get back to other work. whats the 411

As a graphic designer, I am always looking for new ways to expand my capabilities, stay on top of trends and produce satisfying and groundbreaking art. But, recently I’ve found myself in a bit of a creative rut. All these questions of, What to produce next? What to design next? Where to START? think- spongebob

So I got online and started to research. Projects, challenges, trends, baubauhaus… and I got inspired! Guys, when I tell you, there’s so much out there to learn and grow from. After reading countless posts, articles and researching brands and inspirational quotes, I’ve decided to do a 30 day Graphic Design challenge. I challenge myself to create a new graphic piece everyday for 30 days. Whether it is a poster, retouched image, gif, or logo design, I must embrace my inner creativity and let my mind go to work.

I’m hoping that by the end of this journey, I can really see my growth from day 1 to day 30. I really want to push myself to create something interesting and worthwhile. Not only will it help build my portfolio but also my confidence and skill set as a designer. I will begin to see the “graphic stamp” that comes with my work. What makes a piece by Autumn Russell, “Autumn Russell’s”. Learning doesn’t end at graduation, it just branches off into something greater, more inventive.

I recently invested in a new laptop, (THANK HEAVENS) and a wacom intuos tablet (YAY!). So, I am overly excited to use this to my advantage and create endlessly! Now I have greater tools at my disposal to help me achieve the looks that I need in a faster and more efficient manner. Shoot, part of writing this blog post is part of that very inspiration!

I’m excited to bring you all on this journey with me. I will post my entire collection of designs in a spontaneous blog post at the end of the 30 days, as well as upload them day by day, to keep me disciplined into doing them all, lol. I know at some point, maybe by day 15, I’ll get lazy and not want to do it, but I will DO IT. I believe in the power of me!

do the work

A little inspiration ahead and happy creating to me! And ALSO, all of you that want to join me in my challenge! Just comment below if this inspired you to do the same, I want to be updated with your progress as well! This should be fun! Happy designing, and I hope that wherever you are reading this, you are having a fantastic day! Stay beautiful!

design inspo

Beginning design challenge: 7/11/2018- 8/09/18

autumnrussell.com

Scared you’ll get Alzheimer’s? Lowering your risk is easier than you thought!

Autumn Russell,

Have you ever been in the middle of performing a task and all of a sudden stopped because you forgot what you were going to do?

Frustrating right? Now, imagine having that feeling all day long for the rest of your life, except this time you don’t realize you’re doing it, but everyone else does. This is what it’s like living with Alzheimer’s.

Scared that could be you in the future? Recent studies have found that it doesn’t have to be! Lowering your risk of Alzheimer’s is simpler than you thought, and you don’t have to take any pills!

A recent study has found that a compound called EGCG found in the green tea leaf, is an active ingredient in stopping the risk of Alzheimer’s disease when targeted to the brain. Yes, you heard that right! Drinking Green Tea, can help lower your risk of getting Alzheimer’s as you age. For reasons still unknown, in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), the protein in your brain divides improperly, creating a form called beta amyloid which is toxic to neurons in the brain. What EGCG can do is disrupt the formation of these toxic plaques that contribute to the disease when it reaches the brain. It interferes with the function of beta-amyloid oligomers, small aggregates of amyloid beta protein. Over time these oligomers can populate, and unlike a healthy brain that breaks down and eliminates amyloids, they become sticky and disrupt the communication between nerve cells in the brain. Researchers in this study described EGCG as a “remodeler” for beta-amyloid oligomers, stopping them from becoming toxic amyloid plaques.

With more than five million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease today it is important that we are informed on the ways of prevention. That means by 2050, that number could rise as high as sixteen million.

A question often asked when discussing Alzheimer’s and ways of lowering your risk of getting the Alzheimer’s is, “When should I start”? No specific age has been documented as the “start date” of Alzheimer’s disease prevention, but mid-twenties and as you embark your early thirties to forties, diet change and exercise should be ideal, as your body and metabolism are changing. In a New RX article, they related healthy dieting to higher levels of memory and brain function later in life, specifying that people can effectively lower their risk by following standard health advice, like staying active and keeping cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure under control.

I know, I know, you’ve heard it all before, but it actually works. A study was done to find whether this advice was valid. Study participants who had high levels of cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure were found to be six times more likely to get dementia than somebody without those uncontrolled levels of cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure levels, according to researcher Dr. Miia Kivipelto of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

Jae Hee Kang, an instructor at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, did a study on women in their 60’s who habitually ate more cruciferous and green leafy vegetables than other women. The results showed less overall decline on a bundle of tests measuring memory, verbal ability and attention when they were in their 70’s. These were foods like broccoli, cauliflower, romaine lettuce and spinach. Foods easily found at your local grocery store. Kang said that the effects of the vegetables on their cognition most likely stemmed from the antioxidants and B vitamins within them.

Georgia Ede, wrote an article late last year that touches on the “brain sugar processing problem” that is caused by insulin resistance, referred to as, glucose hypo metabolism, an early marker of Alzheimer’s disease risk. This means that the brain cells do not have enough insulin to burn glucose at full capacity, therefore they struggle. The more insulin resistant you become, the more sluggish your brain glucose metabolism becomes. But, what does it mean to be insulin resistant? Ede said that,

“In the body, one of insulin’s responsibilities is to unlock muscle and fat cells so they can absorb glucose from the bloodstream. When you eat something sweet or starchy that causes your blood sugar to spike, the pancreas releases insulin to usher the excess glucose out of the bloodstream and into cells. If blood sugar and insulin spike too high too often, cells will try to protect themselves from overexposure to insulin’s powerful effects by toning down their response to insulin—they become “insulin resistant.” In an effort to overcome this resistance, the pancreas releases even more insulin into the blood to try to keep glucose moving into cells. The more insulin levels rise, the more insulin resistant cells become. Over time, this vicious cycle can lead to persistently elevated blood glucose levels, or type 2 diabetes.”

The short answer is yes. There are many ways to improve brain function. One is with exercise. Just 30 minutes of aerobic exercise five times a week can keep your brain sharp, because physical exercise not only helps your heart but can increase the size of your hippocampus, the part of the brain crucial to making memories. Physical exercise generates a chemical called BDNF, brain derived neurotrophic factor, which acts like fertilizer for the brain. It encourages the growth of neural connections and brain cells. Also think about staying socially active as well, especially as you get older. There is developing research that suggests that those who avoid getting lonely and remain interactive can decrease their risk of cognitive decline. Do brain activities, like solving a puzzle, learning a new language, engaging in debates, or trying something new, like rock climbing, salsa dancing or mowing the lawn.

The thing to understand is that AD is not inevitable as you get older, it’s something that can be conquered before the time comes. It is all about making those necessary lifestyle adjustments and hoping for the best. Manage blood sugar levels properly, exercise, drink green tea, engage in mental activity, consider food intake and try to actively learn more about Alzheimer’s disease and ways of prevention. Remember to challenge your mind! This is a great way to build new neural connections and strengthen your cortex. Maintaining socially and mentally active is also key. This keeps your brain active and alert. With over five million people with this disease today, being added onto the list, should be a main concern of someone reaching midlife. But, you can effectively lower your risk!

Remaining Socially Active

healthy green tea cup with tea leaves

Assignment Prompt-Project 5

Project 5: Final Feature Project (250 points)

An analysis focuses on describing how something works by breaking it down and examining its various components. In this project, we must submit our article to the publication of our choosing that we’ve been recently researching in Project 4 in our “Venue Publication Analysis”. The submission requirements needed to submit to this publication should already be known based off our previous project. Throughout the semester we have been compiling a collective file of information that can be useful for this assignment. From the blog posts, to the translation assignment, public venue analysis and now this piece.

This assignment has two main goals:

Give you practice submitting your articles to a popular publication
And researching and structuring your writing specifically for that publication.

Assignment Prompt

The publication venue used will be New York Times. The paper length fully depends on the submission requirements max word length. 1200-word is usually about 4 pages. Make it a worthful read. This paper should be typed, double-spaced, in an appropriate font (Times New Roman, Cambria, etc.), and formatted in proper APA or MLA style.

Due Date: Upload your paper to Blackboard and your blog before class on December 12, 2017.

Outline:

Catchy, relatable beginning remark on the topic at hand which then goes into the summary of article and why it is important.

Analysis of article should focus on implementing and describing three different components of the article’s argument:
- - Ethos- add in your article, as did the author of the article your analyzing, the things that makes themselves appear credible and trustworthy for the article’s target audience. Exp: Through direct quotes from experts, pictures, research studies source information etc.
  - Pathos- add in your article appeals to the emotions and/or beliefs of your article’s target audience by using visual aids, like pictures or videos, rhetorical scenarios, expert quotes, etc. Look at what the author of the original source did to appeal to the pathos of their readers, like yourself.
  - Logos- Add in how the article appeals to the logic of target the audience’s expectations for appropriate supporting evidence using examples from the text to demonstrate your point.

Claim/Conclusion
- Hone and restate the importance of your claim. Example: “Early Alzheimer’s prevention techniques should begin as early as age 30 because early-onset Alzheimer’s begin at age 50.” Or “With over five million people living with this disease today, being added onto the list, should be a main concern of someone reaching midlife. But, you can effectively lower your risk!”

The essay must also have a title that identifies the topic of the paper (e.g., An Analysis of “Article X” and a “hook” that gives readers some sense of the paper’s main idea). Here are some examples:

“Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire: A Rhetorical Analysis of ‘Climate Change Crisis’”
“Best Ways to Keep My Memory: Lowering your Risk of Alzheimer’s as you Age”

Writing Tips and Tricks

Be careful with using too many scientific terms.
Make it readable for lay readers.
Proof-read before submission.
Lightweight tone. Exp: use abrev. “EGCG” instead of “Polyphenol Epigallocatechin Gallate”. (or) “As you may already know, green tea is a type of tea from the country of origin, China. It is often used as an antioxidant and nutrient for your body.”
Use hyperlinks for easy clicks directly to the source of the information.
Give photo credit when using pictures.

PRESS RELEASE

EGCG (Polyphenol Epigallocatechin Gallate) in Green Tea can stop the formation of beta-amyloid plaques.

Giuseppe Melacini and colleagues, of the Departments of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Chemical Biology at McMaster University in Canada posted a new study to the Journal of the American Chemical Society (J.A.C.S.) on August 25^th, 2017, about a new way to lower your risk of Alzheimer’s Disease, and it all deals with the compound, EGCG, found in green tea. This recent study discovered that EGCG can combat the formation of amyloid plaques, a toxic plaque predominant in and used to marker Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is an old-age neurological disease that deteriorates the mind over time and causes the recipient to suffer from extreme memory loss, confusion, and ultimately death. Melacini says that if EGCG is extracted from green tea or its derivatives, this could be a very helpful, preventative way to lower your risk of Alzheimer’s before symptoms set in.

Of course, there have been other studies that tied green tea to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s, but the mechanisms underlying that link had previously been unclear. This study reveals how a compound in green tea, EGCG, can disrupt the formation of toxic plaques that contribute to the disease. When targeted to the brain, EGCG works by interfering with the function of beta-amyloid oligomers, small aggregates of amyloid beta protein. Over time these oligomers can populate, and unlike a healthy brain that breaks down and eliminates amyloids, they become sticky and disrupt the communication between nerve cells in the brain. Researchers in this study described EGCG as a “remodeler” for beta-amyloid oligomers, stopping them from becoming toxic amyloid plaques.

If you would like to contact the authors of this publication and want to know more about the study email Giuseppe Melacini at: melacin@mcmaster.ca, or find the publication in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (J.A.C.S.):

Molecular Mechanism for the (−)-Epigallocatechin Gallate-Induced Toxic to Nontoxic Remodeling of Aβ Oligomers, Rashik Ahmed, Bryan VanSchouwen, Naeimeh Jafari, Xiaodan Ni, Joaquin Ortega, and Giuseppe Melacini, Journal of the American Chemical Society 2017 139 (39), 13720-13734, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b05012

Social Media Post

Green Tea & Alzheimer’s Health for High-Schoolers’

tea cup

As you may already know, green tea is a type of tea from the country of origin, China. It is often used as an antioxidant and nutrient for your body. It is made from Camellia sinensis leaves that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process used to make oolong and black tea. Green tea also contains the ingredient MGCG, which stands for Polyphenol Epigallocatechin Gallate. Recent studies say that the MGCG found in Green tea leaves can stop the formation of a key factor, beta amyloid plaques, used in the determination of Alzheimer’s disease. But, don’t worry you’ll understand just what that means with the help of a little experiment. But first, What is Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s is a neurological/brain disease that alters chromosome 21 in our bodies and causes the recipient to suffer from extreme memory loss, confusion, and ultimately death. Scientists are still unclear as to why people get the disease, but recent studies suggest that there is a connection between Alzheimer’s and poor diet. Amyloids are groups of proteins within us, that become folded into a shape that allows many copies of that protein to stick together forming fibrils (small/slender fibers). Amyloid plaques are sticky buildup which grows outside nerve cells, or neurons. For reasons still unknown, in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), the protein divides improperly, creating a form called beta amyloid which is toxic to neurons in the brain.

Within a recent study found, EGCG, a compound found in green tea, can stop the formation of amyloid plaques, which is a huge deal for those trying to lower their risk of AD as they age. This study was done by Giuseppe Melacini and colleagues, of the Departments of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Chemical Biology at McMaster University in Canada. It has been said for many years that the compounds found in the green tea leaves have powerful effects on our bodies health and working positively on our system.

Here, we will do an easy experiment that you can try at home to see the antioxidants content of the green tea using:

Hot water
White rice
Green tea leaves. You can find this at your local health food store, or target, theteaspot.com, Walmart or Full Leaf Tea Company.
And tincture of iodine as a strong oxidant agent. You can find tincture of iodine at Walgreens, or Walmart.

The below video will take you through the steps. Try this at home, and always use caution, and handle ingredients with care. Watch the effects that green tea has on the body vs. water.

What takes place is an oxidation-reduction (redox) reaction Which is a type of chemical reaction that involves a transfer of electrons between two species. An oxidation-reduction reaction is any chemical reaction in which the oxidation number of a molecule, atom, or ion changes by gaining or losing an electron. These reactions take place in the body cells and are important for the production of energy, namely ATP.

Can an ingredient found in Green Tea help lower your risk of Alzheimer’s?

EGCG, found in green tea can combat the formation of amyloid plaques, a toxic plaque predominant in and used to marker Alzheimer’s disease. It does this by…

EGCG (Polyphenol Epigallocatechin Gallate), Could it stop the formation of beta-amyloid plaques?

Honor Whiteman posted an article to Medical News Today last week about Alzheimer’s prevention base lined around a new study done by Giuseppe Melacini and colleagues, of the Departments of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Chemical Biology at McMaster University in Canada, about how a compound, EGCG, found in green tea can combat the formation of amyloid plaques, a toxic plaque predominant in and used to marker Alzheimer’s disease.

BUT, HOW DOES “EGCG” WORK?

When targeted to the brain, EGCG works by interfering with the function of beta-amyloid oligomers, small aggregates of amyloid beta protein that over time can populate and unlike a healthy brain that breaks down and eliminates amyloids, become sticky and disrupt the communication between nerve cells in the brain. Researchers in the study described EGCG as a “remodeler” or beta-amyloid oligomers, stopping them from becoming toxic amyloid plaques.

“At the molecular level,” Melacini says, “we believe EGCG coats toxic oligomers and changes their ability to grow and interact with healthy cells.” In their publication, published to the Journal of the American Chemical Society (J.A.C.S.) it is noted that this compound “effectively reduces the cytotoxicity of the Alzheimer’s disease β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) by remodeling seeding-competent Aβ oligomers into off-pathway seeding-incompetent Aβ assemblies.” Melachini says, if EGCG is extracted from green tea or it’s derivatives, this could be a very helpful, preventative way to lower your risk of Alzheimer’s before symptoms set in.

There was a study done by Professor Yun Bai, from the Department of Medical Genetics at Third Military Medical University in China, that tested the effects of EGCG on the brains of two groups of mice. A group of mice with EGCG and a control group. “We proposed that EGCG can improve cognitive function by impacting the generation of neuron cells, a process known as neurogenesis,” said Bai. “We focused our research on the hippocampus, the part of the brain which processes information from short-term to long-term memory”. Although EGCG is usually just known as a anti-oxidant, the team believed it could also have benefits of fighting against age-related degenerative diseases, and based on their research they were right! EGCG markedly improved spatial cognition in mice. They discovered that the reason for this occurrence was associated with the sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway.

EGCG triggered a “robust upregulation of Shh receptor (Patched) mRNA and protein expression in cultured NPCs as well as an upregulation of the downstream Shh transcriptional target Gli1”.

Dr. Mercola, from mercola.com posted an article about the health benefits of green tea for the brain as well. They mention heart health, lowering blood glucose levels to prevent type 2 diabetes, weight loss, bone health, vision health, protecting your eyes from glaucoma, decreasing your risk of certain cancers like ovarian and breast cancer, acting as a energy boost and others. Touching on,

WHY IS GREEN TEA SO HELPFUL? WHY IS IT SO DIFFERENT THAN OTHER TEAS?

Dr. Mercola explains in her article, that Green tea is rich in naturally occurring plant compounds called polyphenols. This is what accounts for up to 30 percent of its dry leaf weight and within that group of polyphenols you have epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a catechin. She compares it to black tea. “Like black tea, green tea also contains L-theanine, an amino acid that crosses the blood-brain barrier and has psychoactive properties”. Theanine increases levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), serotonin, dopamine, and alpha wave activity, and may reduce mental and physical stress and produce feelings of relaxation.

So, I know what you’re doing by now:

But, wait. There’s more!

YOU CAN EVEN BOOST THE EFFECTS OF YOUR GREEN TEA!

Next time you’re choosing which tea to drink, go for green tea, oolong’s and black teas. To boost the benefits of green tea, add a squirt of lemon juice to your cup. Previous research has demonstrated that vitamin C significantly increased the amount of catechins available for your body to absorb. Dr. Mercola shares on her site that, “citrus juice increased available catechin levels by more than five times” in a study performed, causing 80 percent of tea’s catechins to remain bioavailable. On the other hand, it is not recommended to add milk, says Mercola. The proteins in milk may bind to and neutralize the antioxidants in tea, such that its health benefits are significantly reduced.

So, on a final note. Stay healthy. Stay informed. And continue to invest in your body. It’s yours!

Work Cited

Yanyan Wang, Maoquan Li, Xueqing Xu, Min Song, Huansheng Tao, Yun Bai, ‘Green tea epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) promotes neural progenitor cell proliferation and sonic hedgehog pathway activation during adult hippocampal neurogenesis,” Mol. Nutr. Food Res., Wiley, 2012, DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201200035

What you need to know about Alzheimer’s Disease

The same way you try to maintain good heart health, you should do for your brain. More than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease today. That means by 2050…

The Neuroscience behind Alzheimer’s Disease

Stanley B. Prusiner once said, “Neuroscience is by far the most exciting branch of science, because the brain is the most fascinating object in the universe”. If you think about it, it is! You can never stop discovering more about the brain and its complexity. The brain is a wheelhouse for learning new things and improving overall cognitive function. Whether its learning a new language, memorizing new terms, engaging in social interaction or solving a puzzle! It all gears towards a positive outcome. In this Literature review, I delve deeper into the concept of neuroscience, the study of the brain and its impact on behavior and cognitive functions, and discuss its effects on Alzheimer’s and how you can lower your risk.

We all have brains, so learning a little bit more on ways to keep our brains healthy from certain diseases, like dementia, as we age are good ways to ensure healthier living. The brain is as pivotal a part of our existence as the heart. The same way you try to maintain good heart health, you should do for your brain. More than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease today (Alzheimer’s Association 326). That means by 2050, that number could rise as high as sixteen million. But why are the numbers rising? It could be a few things, genes… poor health, but more simply the fact that people are uninformed. The more we study what is normal brain function, the easier it becomes for us to detect what is abnormal within our brains.

Current research indicates that Alzheimer’s is a neurological disease that alters chromosome 21 and causes the recipient to suffer from extreme memory loss and confusion, and ultimately death. Scientists remain unclear on what is the definite cause of the disease, but recent studies suggest that there is a correlation between genes, poor diet and Alzheimer’s. Terms frequently mentioned in these studies are, striatum, a region deep in our brain, antibodies, a blood protein produced in response to and counteracting a specific antigen, mRNA, messenger RNA, and gene locus, the position on a chromosome. The term Neurofibrillary Tangles, or NFT, is also used, which are groups of hyper phosphorylated tau protein that are most commonly known as a primary marker of Alzheimer’s disease. These are insoluble twisted fibers found inside the brain’s cells. These tangles consist primarily of a protein called tau, which forms part of a structure called a microtubule. The microtubule helps transport nutrients and other important substances from one part of the nerve cell to another. In Alzheimer’s disease, however, the tau protein is abnormal and the microtubule structures collapse. Amyloid Plaques is another term used in Alzheimer’s diagnostics. Amyloids are groups of proteins that become folded into a shape that allows many copies of that protein to stick together, forming fibrils (small/slender fibers). Amyloid plaques are sticky buildup which accumulates outside nerve cells, or neurons. For reasons still unknown, in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), the protein divides improperly, creating a form called beta amyloid which is toxic to neurons in the brain. Therefore, neuropathological diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease relies on the presence of both neurofibrillary tangles and senile/amyloid plaques. There are two main types of Alzheimer’s disease; Early-onset and Late-onset Alzheimer’s. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease that gradually worsens over time. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer’s, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. Most people with Alzheimer’s are sixty-five and older, but approximately 200,000 Americans under the age of 65 have younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease. (Alzheimer’s Association 330).

David G. Munoz, and Howard Feldman, published a journal in CMAJ a peer-reviewed general medical journal, on the “Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease”, discussing the genetics behind it. They explain that although cerebral atrophy is a typical manifestation of AD, it does not distinguish normal aging from AD accurately enough to be diagnostic. They described the AD brain as a cerebral cortex “peppered with neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques” (Munoz, Feldman 66). The development of tangles is a major and possibly the main mechanism of neuronal death in AD. In relation to this, The Alzheimer’s Association posted an article to ELSEVIER, about “Alzheimer’s and Dementia”, more so detailing the cost of care, the caregivers and what accompanies the disease. The report said that the pace at which symptoms advance from mild to moderate to severe varies from person to person. Yes, in the more advanced stages, people begin to need help with basic activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, eating and using the bathroom, but also become bed-bound and reliant on around-the-clock care (Alzheimer’s Association 328). This is what causes further complications like pneumonia on top of the disease, because they are not moving frequently and become vulnerable to infections, malnutrition and dehydration. This report says that research done suggests that brain changes in people with Alzheimer’s may begin 20 or more years before symptoms even appear (Alzheimer’s Association 329). So, you would not know for sure until the damage really starts to thicken. “When the initial changes occur, the brain compensates for them, enabling individuals to continue to function normally. As neuronal damage increases, the brain can no longer compensate for the changes and individuals show subtle cognitive decline” (Alzheimer’s Association 229). Therefore, methods of prevention for lowering your risk of Alzheimer’s as you age should begin early on.

A question often asked when discussing Alzheimer’s and ways of lowering your risk of getting the Alzheimer’s is, “When should I start”? NewsRX, posted an article to the publication Obesity, Fitness, and Wellness Week, about what different studies are saying regarding our brain in relation to our diet. The journal related healthy dieting to higher levels of memory and brain function later in life, allowing you to enhance your memory as you age. No specific age has been documented as the “start date” of Alzheimer’s disease prevention, but mid-twenties and as you embark your early thirties to forties, diet change and exercise should be ideal, as your body and metabolism are changing. The NewsRX article specifies that people can effectively lower their risk by following standard health advice, like staying active and keeping cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure under control. A study was done around these areas to find whether this advice was valid. Study participants who had high levels of cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure were found to be six times more likely to get dementia than somebody without those uncontrolled levels of cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure levels, according to researcher Dr. Miia Kivipelto of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm (NewsRX 830). Jae Hee Kang, an instructor at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, did a study on women in their 60’s who habitually ate more cruciferous and green leafy vegetables than other women. The results showed less overall decline on a bundle of tests measuring memory, verbal ability and attention when they were in their 70’s. These were foods like broccoli, cauliflower, romaine lettuce and spinach. Foods easily found at your local grocery store. Kang said that the effects of the vegetables on their cognition most likely stemmed from the antioxidants and B vitamins within them.

Georgia Ede, wrote an article late last year titled, “Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease Is Easier Than You Think”, about how insulin resistance ties into AD and three steps you can take in lowering your risk today. The article touches on the “brain sugar processing problem” that is caused by insulin resistance, referred to as, glucose hypo metabolism, an early marker of Alzheimer’s disease risk. This means that the brain cells do not have enough insulin to burn glucose at full capacity, therefore they struggle. The more insulin resistant you become, the more sluggish your brain glucose metabolism becomes. But, what does it mean to be insulin resistant? Ede said that,

Eating too many of the wrong carbohydrates too often causes blood sugar and insulin levels to rise, placing us at a higher risk for insulin resistance. “Our bodies have evolved to handle whole food sources of carbohydrates like apples and sweet potatoes, but they simply aren’t equipped to cope with modern refined carbohydrates like flour and sugar” (Ede). This ties back into the earlier statement about lowering your risk of AD by maintaining good blood pressure and sugar levels. The use of PET scans in brain imaging studies allow scientists to find clues of early to late onset AD. The use of this technology to study people of different ages has allowed researchers to find that Alzheimer’s Disease is preceded by “decades of gradually worsening glucose hypo metabolism” (Sleep Disorders Group). In Bhumsoo and Feldman’s “Insulin Resistance…” article, they discuss insulin signaling and how the disruption of insulin signaling makes neurons more vulnerable to metabolic stress, which then accelerates neuronal dysfunction. That defective insulin signaling is associated with decreased cognitive ability and the development of dementia, including AD (Bhumsoo, Feldman 4). So, the conversation then shifts to, “OK. I know I should monitor my diet and intake but are there other ways that I can strengthen and preserve my brain as I age?”

The short answer is yes. There are many ways to improve brain function. One is Exercise. Just 30 minutes of aerobic exercise five times a week can keep your brain sharp, because physical exercise not only helps your heart but can increase the size of your hippocampus, the part of the brain crucial to making memories (Trinity College Dublin). Physical exercise generates a chemical called BDNF, brain derived neurotrophic factor, which acts like fertilizer for the brain. It encourages the growth of neural connections and brain cells. Also think about staying socially active as well, especially as you get older. There is developing research that suggests that those who avoid getting lonely and remain interactive can decrease their risk of cognitive decline. Do brain activities, like solving a puzzle, learning a new language, engaging in debates, or trying something new, like rock climbing, salsa dancing or mowing the lawn. Although Alzheimer’s is a large concern in the lives of many men and women over fifty, there is still this “disconnection” between people and Alzheimer’s and how to get over that hurdle, before it catches up to you. So much of it is because people are uniformed on what AD actually is and what causes it. The thing to understand is that AD is not inevitable as you get older, it’s something that can be conquered before the time comes. An interesting point was made by Dr. John Bergman in his video, he said that “Alzheimer’s is a man-made disease”. This disease was not as prevalent in the years past. Changing food intake and chemicals that have emerged over the past thirty years are to show forth. The same way this disease was created, it can be avoided. It is all about making those necessary lifestyle adjustments and hoping for the best. Manage blood sugar levels properly, exercise, engage in mental activity, consider food intake and try to actively learn more about Alzheimer’s disease and ways of prevention.

In conclusion, it is very important to work on bettering your health and brain function as you age. Alzheimer’s is a real disease that is sweeping across the nation. No, it is not inevitable but chances are high when the proper precautions are not put into place. Talking with friends and family to see if Alzheimer’s has affected someone they knew is also helpful in furthering your knowledge on the topic. Remember to challenge your mind! This is a great way to build new neural connections and strengthen your cortex. Maintaining socially and mentally active is also key. (Alzheimer’s Association 332). This keeps your brain active and alert. With over five million people with this disease today, being added onto the list, should be a main concern of someone reaching midlife. But, you can effectively lower your risk!

Work Cited

“What is Alzheimer’s?” M.ALZ.org, Alzheimer’s Association, p. 2, <alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp.>

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The Brain and ADHD

What is ADHD?

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, also called ADHD, is a chronic condition including attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. It is one of the most common mental disorders affecting children. But, ADHD also affects many adults. Symptoms of ADHD include inattention (not being able to keep focus), hyperactivity (excess movement that is not fitting to the setting) and impulsivity (hasty acts that occur in the moment without thought).

An estimated 5 percent of children and 2.5 percent of adults have ADHD. It is more common among boys than girls. It is often first identified in school-aged children when it leads to disruption in the classroom or problems with schoolwork. But, just because you may have a disruptive child in class, does not mean that they have ADHD.

ADHD can be confusing, inconsistent, and frustrating to diagnose within yourself and to live with. It is overwhelming to people who live with it every day. The diagnostic criteria that has been previously used has left many people wondering whether they have the condition or not. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , used by most diagnosticians, has a list of 18 criteria, and other symptom lists cite as many as 100 traits. But, it turns out that ADHD can be detected through brain imaging. Certain areas in the nervous system of someone with ADHD light up more often than it does in a neurotypical person. It’s not that those with the condition have a shortage of attention, but that they pay too much attention to everything. Most people with unmedicated ADHD have four or five things going on in their minds at once. It’s been noted that it feels like there’s a non-stop array of thoughts flowing through their mind.

Think about how you feel when you’re trying to go to sleep at night, and every thought known to man seems to be popping into your head. All of a sudden your mind is on hyper mode. Now, imagine that feeling lasting all day long.

Science Daily and Healthline.com posted an article about brain differences in ADHD people versus a neurotypical mind earlier this year, connecting to a recently published journal off “The Lancet”, titled “Subcortical brain volume differences in participants with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adults: a cross-sectional mega-analysis”. Huffington post named it the largest imaging study done by scientist on ADHD. This journal is causing scientists to say that maybe we should start looking at ADHD as less of a solely behavioral disorder but a neurological one as well. Although there are still ways to go in research involving ADHD, this study has been answering a lot of previous questions.

A team of Dutch neuroscientists studied the MRI scans of the brains of more than 3,200 people between the ages of four and 63 years old. They measured the total brain volume as well as the volume of seven brain regions thought to be linked to ADHD. The brain scans revealed that five brain regions were smaller in people with ADHD. These included the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure involved in processing emotions like fear and pleasure, the hippocampus, which plays a role in learning, memory and emotion, and three brain areas within the striatum: the caudate nucleus, the putamen and the nucleus accumbent. Roughly half of the participants had a diagnosis of ADHD.

The areas within the striatum mentioned are areas involved in the brain’s reward system and processing of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control motivation and pleasure. Scientists then concluded that delayed brain development was more dramatic in children than it was in adults. But found that as the child matures, those areas in the brain that lacked prior begin to play “catch up” with the brains on non-ADHD people, and medication had no effect on the volume of the brains tested. Whether or not the test subjects had taken medication in the past to combat ADHD symptoms did not effect the volume of the brain. These are medications like Adderall, and other psychostimulants used to treat ADHD.

How is it possible that this is scanning my mind?

How does brain sensing technology work?

Am i endangering myself by partaking? Is it zapping electricity into my head?

As you know, if you’ve been keeping up with my previous blog posts, I’ve been delving deeper into the topic of neuroscience and what advances have been made towards them. This week, I’ll be giving updates on how your brain is being tied into technology. And no I do not mean with smartphones and tablets. I’m talking about connecting your brain to a computer interface. Check out my previous article to find out what’s in “the works” right now. It’ll blow your mind! But, here, we’ll be discussing how all this brain-to-interface technology works. What’s the science behind it?

It’s no secret that there has been new technology going around that connects tons of sensors to your head and back into the computer. As seen below:

Man with Electrode Wires on Head — Image by © Adrianna Williams/Corbis

This scientific advancement has helped many paralyzed patients become better communicators, through neural stimulation. This journal written back in 2002 further explains this. It discussed how interest in creating a BMI, a Brain-Machine-Interface, was gaining popularity at the time. Look at us now. It’s 2017 and that device is here. Today, BMI’s are being implemented in so many different ways, like through brain implants, head band technology, electrode wires etc., and by so many different companies that I took it upon myself to seek out how all this new technology works. I wanted to know how it was possible for a computer interface to read brain signals from only a wire connected outside your head. Iot for All, a technology media site, was there for my answer.

Iot for all wrote an article this past week about how brain sensing technology works. They began with how the brain even receives action signals and worked up from there. A lot of scientific jargon was used during the explanation and was a little drag to keep up with, so here’s my breakdown. Hopefully it helps, and I don’t lose you here:

This entire process is called signal transduction: This is a signal that tells a cell to do something. Think of transduction as the BOSS. The cells are its workers.
When a ligand, a small molecule that acts as a signal, binds to a receptor, whats receiving the signal, a series of pathways occur within the cell that help activate a target protein or molecule. So, the ligand is the Boss’s messenger in this equation. Once the messenger delivers it’s message it opens up a series of pathways.
Signals are then continuously passed along, turning on other target molecules and proteins until the designated signal is produced. Once it is, that signal shoots up the spine to your brain, and straight to the neurons. The neurons in this equation lives in the “headquarters”, these are the CEO’s.
[Sidenote] Your brain is home to approximately 100 billion neurons, nerve cells that allow you to react to signals, which is why actions occur so quickly without second thought. How can you miss? Unless you get distracted from a task. “Is that pizza I smell?”
[Continuing] The signal (messenger) that is being sent to a neuron (CEO) is in the form of an electrical impulse known as an ‘action potential’ (he might make it).
The action potential causes the nerve cell to release neurotransmitters (signaling molecules) which then bind to the receptor on the next neuron (another CEO).
Once these two CEO’S meet (two neurons) the space between them is called the synapse. If the electrical charge on these neurotransmitters being released into the synapse is above the threshold (the amount needed for a certain result to occur), then an action potential (top messenger that get’s the job done) will be fired. BUT, if it falls under the threshold (tensions aren’t rising between these CEO’s), then nothing will happen and that will be the end of the signal transduction.
An example would be: If you were trying to catch an incoming ball while playing catch but a cute man or woman walked by, you looked, and the ball came back and smacked you in the face because you were distracted. That would be an instance of falling under the threshold and signal transduction. “On to the next one”.
[Continuing] When a group of neurons experience this change in electrical impulse, they generate an electrical field which resembles a small vibration which can then be detected on the scalp by an EEG sensors.

BOOM! There you have it folks! That is how brain sensors pick up your brain activity, measure your state of being and figure out what feeling you’re trying to ignite.

Perhaps these devices are able to send a signal back. As shown in the above picture.

Go check out the Muse Brain Sensing Headband, now that you have some background info on how this stuff may work and how it’s picking up brain signals. Go on their page and read about this new piece of technology.

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