Cell Phones Change Brain Metabolism

Cell phone use increases brain glucose metabolism in the region closest to the antennae as per a JAMA article of February 23rd.

Whether these changes are due to heat generated by the phone or RF-EMF exposure is unclear.

The significance of this finding is also unclear. Researchers are divided about the risk of brain cancer and cell phone use.

Some researchers have also suggested a neuro-protective effect that exposure to electromagnetic waves in mice decreases the accumulation of amyloid in mice (the protein found in excess in the brains of those with Alzheimer's)
J Alzheimer's Dis 2010;19(1):191-210

Set Bedtime Good For Children's Brain

  Girls ...but not boys...that did not have a set regular bedtime at age 7 had significantly lower scores for reading, math, and spatial skills on standardized tests from UC London researchers.
  Non-regular bedtimes at age 3 were independently associated with lower cognitive skills at age 7 in BOTH girls and boys.
  The study suggests that when sleep is restricted or disrupted symptoms symptoms that reflect a reduced capacity for plastic change in the brain.
  The implication is that reduced or disrupted sleep , particularly if it occurs at key times in development, could have important impacts on health throughout life.
Y. Kelly,PhD Jrnl of Epidemiology and Community Health July 2013

Autism : One in Four Mothers of Autistic Children Have Antibodies That Target Fetal Brains

  University of California, Davis researchers have found maternal antibodies to seven fetal brain antigens in nearly one quarter of mothers with autistic children. This finding could lead to a maternal blood test to identify children at risk for autism spectrum disorder long before symptoms manifest. This finding may herald a potential treatment option to prevent autism by blocking exposure to these antibodies in children born to affected mothers.
  One in 88 children in the US have autism (CDC).
Translational Psychiatry
  In a second study, also from UC Davis, IgG from mothers of children with autism was given to pregnant rhesus monkeys the offspring of which displayed inappropriate social interactions.
  

Prevent or Delay ALS

  High dietary intakes of foods high in carotenoids (beta-carotene and lutein) may help prevent or delay the onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Annuals of Neurology Jan. 29 2013

PLIE Helps Patients with Alzheimer's

  PLIE (Preventing Loss of Independence Through Exercise) is a new program that combines elements of Eastern and Western traditional exercises and emphasizes focus on performing basic functional movements,encouraging social engagement and increasing bodily awareness. In the small group studied, patients would arrive at the exercise facility not remembering that they had been there but would start going through the movements of the routine. This fits with what we know about Alzheimer's : memory for events is impaired but procedural memory holds out and resists declination.
65th Annual AAN meeting San Diego March 2013
  In a related study, daily walking has been shown to stabilize Alzheimer's disease across one year.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2013;56(1):96-103

Colicky Infants at Risk for Childhood Migraine

  Children that presented to the ER with migraine were 6x more likely to have a history of colic during infancy.
  It is theorized that colic may represent sensitization of the perivascular nerve terminals in the gut.
   Sadly, the brain-gut relation remains one of the least understood and least researched areas of medicine.
JAMA 2013;309(15):1607-1612

Gene Mutation Increases Risk of Alzheimer's

  ABCA7 genetic mutation in African Americans nearly doubles the risk of Alzheimer's disease. It is not associated with the disease in Europeans.
JAMA April 10, 2013