‘Brain Exercises’ May Delay Memory Decline In Dementia
‘Brain Exercises’ May Delay Memory Decline In Dementia says a study published in the Journal “Neurology”. This is the official medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging followed 488 patients (ages 75-85) for about 5 years.
The researchers found that for every additional activity a person participated in, the onset of rapid memory loss was delayed by 0.18 years, that’s about 2 months. They looked at activity levels in these individuals for brain training activities like reading, writing, doing crossword puzzles, playing board or card games, having group discussions, and playing music. Patients who engaged in these activities tend to have a much slower progression in memory loss: infact “The point of accelerated decline was delayed by 1.29 years for the person who participated in 11 activities per week compared to the person who participated in only four activities per week,” said study author Charles B. Hall, PhD, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY.
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New HIV strain from gorillas discovered in woman from Cameroon in West Africa
A new strain of HIV has been discovered in woman from Cameroon in West Africa. This strain is different from all the other strains already documented by the scientific community. This strain does appear to be similar to other strains found in wild gorillas. This patient currently lives in France after moving from Cameroon. She appears to have been infected back in 2004, but does not have any signs and symptoms of AIDS.
Researchers do not yet know how widespread this strain is, but it may have already infected a lot of people in this region. The full article will be published in the journal Nature Medicine tomorrow.
Popularity: 15% [?]
FDA Approves ONGLYZA™ (saxagliptin), a new drug for diabetes
The US FDA has approved ONGLYZA™ (saxagliptin), a new diabetes drug. Onglyza is produced and marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co together with AstraZenica, two drug giants.
Onglyza is in the same family as Januvia and is expected to be used by diabetes patients as an add-on to drugs like Metformin, glypizide etc, or can be used alone along with diet and execise. The companies expect to make anywhere from $300-1000 million on this drug anually. The FDA website has the full approval press release.
Let’s see if this is going to help a lot of diabetic patients.
Popularity: 7% [?]