Eating Disorders Blog

Researchers have discovered evidence that excess weight shrinks the brains of elderly people, making them potentially more vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease, dementia and cognitive decline.

The study, conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles, focused on 94 participant ages 70 and older who were overweight or obese. Overweight participants had a body mass index (BMI) ranging from 25 to 29.9, while obese participants had a BMI of 30 or higher. A BMI measurement between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered "normal."

Participants were given brain scans at the beginning of the study and then again five years later. Researchers used the two scans to assess the impact of obesity and weight gain on brain volume.
According to study results, overweight patients lost 4 percent of the tissue in the frontal lobes of their brains when compared with peers of normal weight. Obese patients experienced twice the brain loss - 8 percent less tissue - in the frontal lobes. The frontal lobe is essential in such activities as maintaining attention and planning.

Researchers also concluded that obese people's brains looked 16 years older than those of lean people, while the brains of overweight people looked eight years older.

Cyrus Raji, lead author of the study, "Brain Structure and Obesity," commented: "The key thing is, good vascular health equals good brain health. What's bad for the heart also is bad for the brain.

"Two things are special about this study," she said. "We have very high-resolution brain scans of people, so you can see the structures well. We also have advanced computer techniques to map every part of the brain with a three-dimensional mapping technique that couldn't be done before."

(Source: seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Labels: obesity, elderly, science

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Abnormalities in the brain circuitry of anorexics may help to explain the baffling symptoms of the eating disorder, according to a review paper published online this week in Nature Reviews Neuroscience. In the paper, Walter Kaye, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the Eating Disorders Program at the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues discuss dysfunction in certain neural circuits of the brain which may help explain the origins of anorexia, and behaviors such as relentless dieting.

Study co-author Martin Paulus, UC San Diego Professor of Psychiatry and head of UC San Diego's Laboratory of Biological Dynamics and Theoretical Medicine, discusses the technology behind the findings: "Brain-imaging studies also show that individuals with anorexia have alterations in those parts of the brain involved with bodily sensations, such as sensing the rewarding aspects of pleasurable foods ... Anorexics may literally not recognize when they are hungry."

Dr. Kaye commented on the importance of the findings: "Currently, we don't have very effective means of treating people with anorexia. ... Consequently, many patients with the disorder remain ill for years or eventually die from the disease, which has the highest death rate of any psychiatric disorder. ... Anorexia is very complicated, and there needs to be a paradigm shift in understanding its underlying cause. ... We're just beginning to understand how the brain is working in people with this disorder."

(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: anorexia, science

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments