From our exciting beginning with part 1 detailing food recalls, it’s time to move into further adventures. First up: The OHSU Brain Institute is at it again, bringing us further light and illumination about what’s possibly the most complex organ on the planet—the human brain.
Monday, Feb. 20, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. the OHSU’s Brain Institute brings Dr. Gary Small to the Newmark Theatre to further their Brain Awareness Series: Big Issues and the Brain – The Brain and Society. Five million Americans are affected by Alzheimer’s disease and that number may be low. Dr. Small, director of the UCLA Longevity Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior and professor of psychiatry at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, will be discussing the-disease-of-no-cure: Alzheimer’s. Gratefully, Dr. Small actually will be discussing preventing Alzheimer’s.
Gary Small and co-author (and wife) Gigi Vorgan recently (12/17/11; Workman) published “The Alzheimer’s Prevention Program: Keep Your Brain Healthy for the Rest of Your Life.” In view of the fact that an “American is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s every 70 seconds,” according to Workman Publishing’s book description, there’s no time to lose. Get your tickets for the Feb. 20 event while available.
P.S. More opportunities to tune in. Dr. Gary Small is also scheduled to discuss Alzheimer’s prevention here:
--The Georgene Rice Show/ KPDQ-FM RADIO (Valentine’s Day, 2/14/2012)
--AM Northwest/ KATU-TV (Live on 2/20; Hit Time between 9-9:30 AM)
--Speaking Freely/ KINK-RADIO (Taped on 2/20)
--Healthwatch/ KBOO-RADIO (Live on 2/20 @ 11:00-11:30 AM)
Back to longevity other information and finding excitement business:
Adventure wherever your interest leads. Note that there are lots of free offers and further resources included.
Some upcoming longevity topics appear in bold CAPITALS; maybe-longevity topics appear (parenthetically in italics).
Aging. In a piece from Nicholas Wade appearing in The New York Times (11/03/11), readers were introduced to senescent cells. Studies with mice suggest their presence promotes aging. Oh my! (No doubt your intrepid columnist will dig into this topic further, sometime.)
Alzheimer's disease. See above, the intro.
BOOK REVIEWS: Potential for recent books by Howard S. Friedman, Ph.D. and Leslie R. Martin, Ph.D. (longevity), Emma Marris (nature/plants), Karl Pillemer, Ph.D. (wisdom), Lodro Rinzler (Buddhism), Dr. Gary Small and Gigi Vorgen (Alzheimer’s); also possibly a book by Portlander Patty Cassidy (senior gardening).
Brain. See above, way above.
Burial. See Sustainable burial, coming in part 3.
CRITICAL THINKING. We need to know more about how to do this, especially this year.
Dietary supplements. The FDA Office of Women’s Health offers over 50 free and accessible publications on various health topics. For example, if you’ve ever questioned whether supplements can replace food, wondered if a person needs to check with a doctor before using or fretted about whether it’s safe to take supplements with other medications, the FDA info sheet on Dietary Supplements gives straight answers.
Fish oil. Concerned that the recommendations for the billions of humans on the planet to take fish oil supplements to promote health, lessen depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure might be threatening fish populations? The World Resources Institute is watching. Consider that fish can only produce omega-3 fatty acids through digestion of microalgae or by eating (other, presumably smaller) fish that have already eaten and accumulated such microalgae. So microalgae populations may be in for it too. No algae, no Omega 3 oils. Readers interested in fish oil also may want to check out the resources under Mercury, below.(You can hear the excitement; no doubt your longevity columnist wants to investigate further.)
Floating. From a brochure picked up at the Transformational Voice Institute called the “Beginner’s Guide to Floating” and detailing the experience of using a float tank. Float On tank is self-described as the “largest float tank center on the West Coast.” In answer to the question why float? the Float On people suggest floating in the tank can relieve stress, aid recovery, lessen pain, enhance one’s spiritual path and pump up one’s ability to learn. Credible user reports describe it as “Wonderful! Amazing!”
Fluorescent light. With the move to abandon incandescent light in favor of low-energy compact fluorescent (CFL), it seems relevant to note that a broken bulb may present a totally different hazard today. With a broken incandescent bulb the biggest worry was getting cut from the broken glass. (Unless the bulb was stuck in a flaming socket or some other weird happening was involved.)
Since fluorescent lighting relies on using a bit of mercury, if a CFL bulb breaks that means mercury vapor is released in the atmosphere. Hazard! Hazard! Don’t scream. Hold your breath, grab any loose domestic pets and then run screaming from the area. Not really. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has your back. See this easy-to-follow fact sheet for tips on before, during and after cleanup procedures.
Health, general. The Institute of Medicine of The National Academies offers a master plan for “Healthy People 2020.” This plan aims to make all Americans healthier in the next decade. Their report covers 42 topics and nearly 600 objectives. What a plan!
Hearing loss, disturbance. Sometimes hearing loss, ringing in the ears or a disturbed sense of balance may be the result of ototoxicity involving certain types of medication. According to a brochure (PFEM #1086) developed by the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, Portland VA Medical Center, ototoxicity could be suspected if there’s a change in hearing or balance, dizziness, trouble focusing (visually), difficulty understanding speech in a noisy setting or tinnitus while medicated for cancer (cisplatin), a heart condition (furosemide) or infection (gentamicin and streptomycin).
The NCRAR say the condition can be temporary or not and both ears are usually affected. There’s some evidence suggesting a genetic predisposition. If other family members experience ototoxicity, one’s chance of also developing the condition is raised. The brochure notes that if a problem with balance is due to a hearing disorder, attention from an audiologist may be helpful.
Mental illness. Future treatment for mental disorders may be radically different from today’s familiar and historical pharmacopeia. Amazing stuff is being investigated with optogenetics, using focused light on specific neural pathways in the brain. An article by Carl E. Schoonover and Abby Rabinowitz, appearing in The New York Times (May 16, 2011), sets out some general theories and results. For example, Schoonover and Rabinowitz spoke with Dr. Deisseroth, psychiatrist and researcher at Stanford, on the possibilities of using optogenetics for treatment of mental illness.
Deisseroth suggests one bright light already evident: that further development with optogenetics may act to mitigate the stigma surrounding mental illness. Deisseroth points out, “Just understanding for us, as a society, that someone who has anxiety has a known or knowable circuitry difference is incredibly valuable.”
Mercury, the element not the planet (though the element is named after the planet). It seems reasonable to learn more about mercury since we’re ingesting it, it persists in our air/water/land cycle, it’s pretty (silver as a liquid yielding red as a mineral) and any ingested amount—whether by air, skin contact or eating—will stay in the body forever. According to the Jefferson Lab it was known to ancient Chinese and Hindus and has been found in 3,500 year-old Egyptian tombs. The lab also notes that Spain and Italy produce about half the world’s supply, most obtained from the mineral cinnabar. Mercury is used in scientific instruments, lighting, signage, dental fillings, batteries, as an antiseptic and the more decorative use in the red paint known as vermilion.
Re: mercury-tainted fish. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, unless you’re carrying a developing fetus, eating mercury-laced fish does not significantly increase one’s normal, adult health risk. A landmark toenail study involving 3,500 participants and an abundance of toenail clippings, supported the idea that prudent fish eating allows more benefit than detriment. However, if you are carrying a developing fetus, high mercury exposure could affect a baby’s brain and nervous system development. Maybe see also Fluorescent light, above.
Muscles. Did you know muscles affect the availability of blood oxygen and nutrients? Or that strong muscles help moderate excess blood sugar levels? Harvard Medical School’s HEALTHbeat offers some free beginning strength training tips and a brochure for those further inspired.
Longevity finds excitement, 3 continues with: pain, pickles, research, serotonin, sodium, sodium and potassium, sustainable burial, stress and epigenetic change, sugar, trans-fatty acids, vitamins, volunteering, water (drugged) and maybe more.
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