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Caffeine energy drinks can affect heart
Vitamin D imbalance causes brain damage
Mild depression tied to diabetes complications Even mild bouts of depression may worsen the health complications that often go along with type 2 diabetes, says a new study. Canadian researchers followed more than 1,000 patients for five years and found those who experienced multiple episodes of low-level depression were nearly three times more likely than those without depression to have greater disability, such as reduced mobility, poor self care and quality of life. Sunshine vitamin reduces depression
Aerobic exercise boosts memory in teens
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Energy drinks packed
with caffeine can change the way the heart beats, say scientists,
advising children and people with some health conditions to avoid the
drinks. The team, from the University of Bonn, imaged the hearts of 17
people an hour after they had an energy drink. The study showed
contractions were more forceful after the drink, reported BBC. The
researchers told at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of
North America that children and people with some health conditions
should avoid the drinks. Researcher Jonas Dorner said, "The
amount of caffeine is up to three times higher than in other
caffeinated beverages like coffee or cola. The side-effects associated
with a high intake of caffeine, including rapid heart rate,
palpitations, rise in blood pressure and, in the most severe cases,
seizures or sudden death." During the study, the researchers gave
the participants a drink containing 32mg per 100ml of caffeine and
400mg per 100ml of another chemical, taurine. — IANS
A diet low in vitamin D
causes damage to the brain, warns a new study. Researchers from
University of Kentucky found that vitamin D is essential for
maintaining bone health and serves important roles in other organs and
tissue, including the brain. Middle-aged rats that were fed a diet low
in vitamin D for several months developed free radical damage to the
brain, and many different brain proteins were damaged. These rats also
showed a significant decrease in cognitive performance on tests of
learning and memory. "As vitamin D deficiency is more among the
elderly, we investigated how during ageing from middle-age to old-age
how low vitamin D affected the oxidative status of the brain,"
said author Allan Butterfield. "Adequate vitamin D serum levels
are necessary to prevent free radical damage in brain and subsequent
deleterious consequences," he added. Low levels of vitamin D have
been associated with Alzheimer's disease, and development of certain
cancers and heart disease. People with low levels should eat foods
rich in vitamin D, take vitamin D supplements, and/or get 10-15
minutes of sun exposure each day to ensure that levels are normalised.
The study was published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine.
A new study has revealed
that vitamin D decreases pain in women with type 2 diabetes and
depression. Type 2 diabetes is associated with depression and pain,
but few studies have looked at how pain may affect the treatment of
depression in patients with type 2 diabetes and no studies have
evaluated the role of vitamin D supplementation on this association.
Researchers in this study tested the efficacy of weekly vitamin D2
supplementation for six months on depression in women with type 2
diabetes. Depression significantly improved following supplementation.
In addition, 61 per cent of patients reported shooting or burning pain
in their legs and feet (neuropathic pain) and 74 per cent reported
numbness and tingling in their hands, fingers, and legs (sensory pain)
at the beginning of the study. Researchers from Department of
Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, Loyola University Chicago
Stritch School of Medicine found a decrease in neuropathic and sensory
pain at three and six months after vitamin D2 supplementation.
Aerobic exercise may
improve memory and is beneficial for brain health and cognition in
young adults, claims a new study. The findings by researchers at
Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) suggest that certain
hormones, which are increased during exercise, may help improve
memory. Hormones, called growth factors, are thought to mediate the
relationship between exercise and brain health. The hippocampus, a
region of the brain crucial for learning and memory, is thought to be
uniquely affected by these hormones. The growth factors —
brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), vascular endothelial growth
factor (VEGF), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), have been
implicated in the link between exercise and hippocampal function. The
researchers recruited healthy young adults, in whom they measured
blood hormone levels together with performance on a recognition memory
task and aerobic fitness. They were able to correlate the blood
hormone levels with aerobic fitness, and subsequently whether there
was any effect on memory function. Researchers said low fitness BDNF
levels negatively predicted expected memory accuracy. Conversely, at
high fitness resting BDNF levels positively predicted recognition
memory. The study was published in the journal Behavioural Brain
Research. — Agencies