Research confirms Mediterranean diet is good for the mind

The first systematic review of related research confirms a positive impact on cognitive function, but an inconsistent effect on mild cognitive impairment

2013-09-03

(Press-News.org) The first systematic review of related research confirms a positive impact on cognitive function, but an inconsistent effect on mild cognitive impairment

Over recent years many pieces of research have identified a link between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and a lower risk of age-related disease such as dementia.

Until now there has been no systematic review of such research, where a number of studies regarding a Mediterranean diet and cognitive function are reviewed for consistencies, common trends and inconsistencies.

A team of researchers from the University of Exeter Medical School, supported by the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care in the South West Peninsula (NIHR PenCLAHRC), has carried out the first such systematic review and their findings are published in Epidemiology.

The team analysed 12 eligible pieces of research, 11 observational studies and one randomised control trial. In nine out of the 12 studies, a higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with better cognitive function, lower rates of cognitive decline and a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease.

However, results for mild cognitive impairment were inconsistent.

A Mediterranean diet typically consists of higher levels of olive oil, vegetables, fruit and fish. A higher adherence to the diet means higher daily intakes of fruit and vegetables and fish, and reduced intakes of meat and dairy products.

The study was led by NIHR PenCLAHRC researcher Iliana Lourida. She said: "Mediterranean food is both delicious and nutritious, and our systematic review shows it may help to protect the ageing brain by reducing the risk of dementia. While the link between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and dementia risk is not new, ours is the first study to systematically analyse all existing evidence."

She added: "Our review also highlights inconsistencies in the literature and the need for further research. In particular research is needed to clarify the association with mild cognitive impairment and vascular dementia. It is also important to note that while observational studies provide suggestive evidence we now need randomized controlled trials to confirm whether or not adherence to a Mediterranean diet protects against dementia."

###

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Life without insulin is possible

2013-09-03

Several millions of people around the world suffer from insulin deficiencies. Insulin is a hormone, secreted by the beta cells in the pancreas, which plays a major role in the regulation of energy substrates such as glucose. This insufficiency, primarily caused by diabetes (types 1 and 2), has lethal consequences if it is not treated. As of now, only daily insulin injections allow patients to survive. Several millions of people around the world suffer from insulin deficiencies. Insulin is a hormone, secreted by the beta cells in the pancreas, which plays a major role ...

Synthetic polymer could stop the spread of HIV

2013-09-03

A precisely designed macromolecule that mimics the binding of HIV to immune system cells could be used to stop the virus from physically entering the body, according to a new study led by a materials scientist at Queen Mary University of London. The researchers created the large molecule with several sugar molecules, known as glycopolymers. By using different sugars attached to the macromolecule in solution, the scientists were able to investigate which sugar molecules were the most effective in inhibiting the potential binding of the virus. They then measured how ...

Fish embryos possess a mechanism for protection against chemicals

2013-09-03

This news release is available in German. Leipzig/Dübendorf, Switzerland -- Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Envi-ronmental Research (UFZ), together with colleagues from the Swiss Eawag aquatic research institute, have discovered a protein which transports chemicals out of the embryo of the zebrafish and in this way protects the embryo against toxic substances. However, certain environmental chemicals render this protective mechanism ineffective, so that the fish embryos become more sensitive to toxic substances. The study, published in the scientific journal ...

Scientists edge closer towards first pancreatitis treatment

2013-09-03

Scientists have for the first time provided proof of principle for a drug-based treatment of acute pancreatitis – a disease which is often alcohol-related and for which currently there is no treatment. Each year around 20,000 people in the UK are admitted to hospital with acute pancreatitis. One in five of these cases are severe, resulting in around 1000 deaths annually. Published in the US-based PNAS journal*, findings reveal that tests undertaken by scientists at Cardiff University, using an existing calcium channel-blocking compound developed by GlaxoSmithKline, ...

National Sleep Foundation 2013 Bedroom Poll explores sleep differences among 6 countries

2013-09-03

Washington, DC -- September 3, 2013 -- The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) released its first international poll today, the 2013 International Bedroom Poll, comparing sleep times, attitudes, habits and bedtime routines of those in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan between the ages of 25 and 55 years old. Japan and the United States report the least amount of sleep. Japanese and Americans report sleeping about 30 to 40 minutes less on workdays than those in the other countries surveyed, averaging 6 hours and 22 minutes and 6 hours ...

Death by asexuality: IU biologists uncover new path for mutations to arise

2013-09-03

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Ground-breaking new research from a team of evolutionary biologists at Indiana University shows for the first time how asexual lineages of a species are doomed not necessarily from a long, slow accumulation of new mutations, but rather from fast-paced gene conversion processes that simply unmask pre-existing deleterious recessive mutations. Geneticists have long bet on the success of sexual reproduction over asexual reproduction based in a large part on the process known as Muller's ratchet, the mechanism by which a genome accrues deleterious and ...

Atom-based analogues to electronic devices

2013-09-03

Scientists have pushed back the boundaries of atom-based transport, creating a current by characterizing the many-body effects in the transport of the atoms along a periodic lattice. This work by Anton Ivanov and colleagues from the Institute for Theoretical Physics, at the University of Heidel-berg, Germany, adopted a new analytical approach before comparing it to approximate numerical simulations, and is reported in a paper recently published in EPJ B. Ultra-cold atoms trapped in optical potentials offer solutions for the transport of particles capable of producing ...

Scientists discover new bat species in West Africa

2013-09-03

An international team of scientists, including biologists from, the University of York, has discovered five new species of bats in West Africa. The team, which also included researchers from the Czech University of Life Sciences and the Academy of Sciences, Charles University in the Czech Republic, discovered a wealth of unexpected diversity among Vesper bats in Senegal. During seven expeditions to the Niokolo-Koba National Park in south-eastern Senegal, and subsequent genetic analysis, the scientists discovered that five species of bats looked similar to other populations ...

New evidence to aid search for charge 'stripes' in superconductors

2013-09-03

UPTON, NY - Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified a series of clues that particular arrangements of electrical charges known as "stripes" may play a role in superconductivity-the ability of some materials to carry electric current with no energy loss. But uncovering the detailed relationship between these stripe patterns and the appearance or disappearance of superconductivity is extremely difficult, particularly because the stripes that may accompany superconductivity are very likely moving, or fluctuating. As ...

Researchers propose a new system for quantum simulation

2013-09-03

Researchers from the universities in Mainz, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Ulm have proposed a new platform for quantum simulation. In a theoretical paper recently published in Physical Review Letters, they show that a combined system of ultracold trapped ions and fermionic atoms could be used to emulate solid state physics. This system may outperform possibilities of existing platforms as a number of phenomena found in solid state systems are naturally included, such as the fermionic statistics of the electrons and the electron-sound wave interactions. Quantum simulation was ...

Research confirms Mediterranean diet is good for the mind

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: