MS researchers find brain and cognitive reserve protect long-term against cognitive decline

Study confirms protective effects of brain and cognitive reserve in MS and shows that these beneficial effects persist for years

2014-05-01

(Press-News.org) West Orange, NJ. April 30, 2014. Multiple sclerosis researchers have found that brain reserve and cognitive reserve confer a long-term protective effect against cognitive decline: Sumowski JF, Rocca MA, Leavitt VM, Dackovic J, Mesaros S, Drulovic J, Deluca J, Filippi M. Brain reserve and cognitive reserve protect against cognitive decline over 4.5 years in MS. Neurology. 2014 Apr 18. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000000433 [Epub ahead of print]. James Sumowski, PhD, lead author of the article, and John DeLuca, PhD, are at Kessler Foundation. Co-authors are from the Manhattan Memory Center, New York, NY, the San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy, and the University of Belgrade, Serbia. Neurology is the official journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Dr. Sumowski presented this research at the 2014 AAN conference in Philadelphia.

"Our research aims to answer these questions," explained Dr. DeLuca. "Why do some people with MS experience disabling symptoms of cognitive decline, while others maintain their cognitive abilities despite neuroimaging evidence of significant disease progression? Can the theories of brain reserve and cognitive reserve explain this dichotomy? Can we identify predictors of cognitive decline?"

In this study, memory, cognitive efficiency, vocabulary (a measure of intellectual enrichment/cognitive reserve), brain volume (a measure of brain reserve), and disease progression on MRI, were evaluated in 40 patients with MS at baseline and at 4.5-year followup. After controlling for disease progression, scientists looked at the impact of brain volume and intellectual enrichment on cognitive decline.

Results supported the protective effects of brain reserve and cognitive reserve," noted Dr. Sumowski. "Patients with greater intellectual enrichment experienced lesser degrees of cognitive decline. Those with greater brain reserve showed a protective effect for cognitive efficiency. This study not only confirms these protective effects of brain and cognitive reserve, it shows that these beneficial effects persist for years."

INFORMATION: Dr. Sumowski is a research scientist in Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research, under the directorship of Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD. John DeLuca, PhD, is senior VP of Research & Training at Kessler Foundation. Drs. Sumowski and DeLuca are on the faculty of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School.

Study partially supported by a grant from the Ministry of Science, Republic of Serbia (Project number: 175031). Dr. Sumowski was funded in part by the NIH (R00HD060765).

Recent publications: Sumowski JF, Leavitt VM. Body Temperature Is Elevated and Linked to Fatigue in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis, Even Without Heat Exposure. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2014 Feb 20. Sumowski JF, Coyne J, Cohen A, Deluca J.Retrieval practice improves memory in survivors of severe traumatic brain injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2014 Feb;95(2):397-400 Sumowski JF, Chiaravalloti N, Krch D, Paxton J, Deluca J. Education attenuates the negative impact of traumatic brain injury on cognitive status. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2013 Dec;94(12):2562-4.

About MS Research at Kessler Foundation Kessler Foundation's cognitive rehabilitation research in MS is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, National MS Society, Consortium of MS Centers, the Patterson Trust, Biogen Idec, Hearst Foundation and Kessler Foundation. Under the leadership of John DeLuca, PhD, senior VP for Research & Training, and Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, director of Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research, scientists have made important contributions to the knowledge of cognitive decline in MS. Clinical studies span new learning, memory, executive function, attention and processing speed, emotional processing, employment and cognitive fatigue. Research tools include innovative applications of neuroimaging, iPADs, and virtual reality. Among recent findings are the benefits of cognitive reserve and aerobic exercise; correlation between cognitive performance and outdoor temperatures; efficacy of short-term cognitive rehabilitation using modified story technique; factors related to risk for unemployment, and the correlation between memory improvement and cerebral activation on fMRI. Foundation research scientists have faculty appointments at Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School.

About Kessler Foundation Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility and long-term outcomes, including employment, for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information, visit KesslerFoundation.org.
Facebook.com/KesslerFoundation
http://twitter.com/KesslerFdn Carolann Murphy, PA; 973.324.8382; CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org Lauren Scrivo, 973.324.8384/973.768.6583 (cell); LScrivo@KesslerFoundation.org

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Groundbreaking technique offers DNA 'sat nav' direct to your ancestor's home 1,000 years ago

2014-05-01

Tracing where your DNA was formed over 1,000 years ago is now possible due to a revolutionary technique developed by a team of international scientists led by experts from the University of Sheffield. The ground breaking Geographic Population Structure (GPS) tool, created by Dr Eran Elhaik from the University of Sheffield's Department of Animal and Plant Sciences and Dr Tatiana Tatarinova from the University of Southern California, works similarly to a satellite navigation system as it helps you to find your way home, but not the one you currently live in – but rather ...

New combination therapy developed for multiple myeloma

2014-05-01

Each year, more than 25,000 Americans are diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer that often develops resistance to therapies. However, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center are reporting promising results from laboratory experiments testing a new combination therapy that could potentially overcome the resistance hurdle. While several drugs are effective against multiple myeloma, including the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib, multiple myeloma cells are often able to survive by increasing the production of a protein known ...

Scientists figure out staying power of HIV-fighting enzyme

2014-05-01

Johns Hopkins biochemists have figured out what is needed to activate and sustain the virus-fighting activity of an enzyme found in CD4+ T cells, the human immune cells infected by HIV. The discovery could launch a more effective strategy for preventing the spread of HIV in the body with drugs targeting this enzyme, they say. A summary of their work was published online on April 21 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Current antiretroviral drugs target HIV's proteins," says James Stivers, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences ...

Implementation science can create a workforce equipped for new health care environment

2014-05-01

INDIANAPOLIS -- The new Center for Health Innovation & Implementation Science at the Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute is studying how best to prepare the future health care workforce as the country's population ages. It calls upon the tools of implementation science to enable these workers and the health systems that will employ them to provide optimal care in a rapidly changing health care environment. Implementation science, a new discipline, provides tools to clinicians and administrators to deliver better ...

Hyperfractionated RT improves local-regional control for patients with head and neck cancer

2014-05-01

Fairfax, Va., May 1, 2014—Patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck treated with hyperfractionated radiation therapy (HFX) experienced improved local-regional control and, with patients censored at five years, improved overall survival with no increase in late toxicity, according to a study published in the May 1, 2014 edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology ● Biology ● Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). This study, "Final Results ...

Clinical opinion published in American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology

2014-05-01

When a woman requires gynecologic surgery, she and her surgeon have several minimally invasive surgical options, including robotic surgery. In recent years, the use of robotic surgery has become more and more common. But questions have arisen about the potential overuse of robotic surgery and its advantages over traditional laparotomy for hysterectomy. A clinical opinion by Charles Rardin, MD, a urogynecologist in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Surgery and director of the Robotic Surgery Program for Women at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, ...

Standard assessments miss early signs of cardiovascular disease in firefighters

2014-05-01

Traditional first-line checks of such heart disease risk factors as cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking habits aren't nearly good enough to identify cardiovascular disease in otherwise healthy, young firefighters, according to results of a small Johns Hopkins study. Previous studies have found that cardiovascular disease accounts for 45 percent of deaths of on-duty firefighters nationwide, in contrast to 15 percent of deaths among those with conventional occupations, with heart attack being the number one cause of death. The Johns Hopkins researchers designed their ...

Amphibians in a vice: Climate change robs frogs, salamanders of refuge

2014-05-01

By hightailing it to nearby ponds and shallow waterways, frogs and salamanders have – until now – had a way to evade exotic trout introduced to the West's high-mountain lakes for recreational fishing. A warming climate, however, will dry up some of the places where amphibians and their young have found refuge. Researchers in the May 1 issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment write about this challenge and a novel combination of tools that could help land managers, biologists, fishing enthusiasts and other citizens weigh where amphibians are in the most need of ...

New discovery: Molecule links asthma and cancer and could aid in developing new treatments

2014-05-01

A newly discovered molecule provides a new drug target for controlling both asthma-induced muscle thickening and cancerous tumor growth. This molecule, called "microRNA-10a," normally helps genes produce proteins or make copies of themselves, also play an important role in the growth or overgrowth of human airway smooth muscle cells and some forms of cancer. This newly discovered role, which was published in the May 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal, suggests that manipulating microRNA-10a could lead to new asthma and cancer drugs. "We hope this study will serve as the ...

Killing Kindlin-3 to cure breast cancer: 'Blood' protein implicated

2014-05-01

A protein believed to be limited to the hematopoietic system, called Kindlin-3, has been identified as a major player in both the formation and spread of breast cancer to other organs. This discovery, published in the May 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal, could open the door to an entirely new class of breast cancer drugs that targets this protein's newly found activity. "Kill Kindlin-3 to cure cancer," said Elzbieta Pluskota, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Molecular Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute in Cleveland, ...

MS researchers find brain and cognitive reserve protect long-term against cognitive decline

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: