Disease/Health/Hot topics

The Impact of Concussion

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Concussion is starting to be such a prevalent topic in our society. It seems as though we should be able to create better helmets and more pads to protect people from head injury. However, the helmets we have are not adequate to protect us and here is why:
Concussion:
When a hit to the head takes place, our brain moves around in the skull bouncing back and forth. This blow to the brain causes ionic flux and an excessive release of glutamate (the excitatory neurotransmitter in our brain). This causes an intense excitation of the brain. As the membranes attempt to restore their potentials, the ATPase pumps in the neuron cell membrane are working overtime. This causes a stress on the mitochondria of the cell as it rapidly attempts to break down glucose to use for energy. This causes hypoglycemia and a surplus of ADP. Also, the brain is unable to adequately send action potentials as the membrane potential is not established. Therefore, this whole process can be termed as “spreading depression” which moves through the brain at a rate of 2-5mm/min. This seems very slow, however, it can have detrimental impacts on the brain. Often, this spreading depression is associated with migraines rather than concussion. It is known to cause the “aura” that people see during a migraine. This is logical that these two things would be related as both carry the symptoms of headache, nausea and vomiting.

Spreading depression in the brain. from: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(09)70090-0/fulltext
Implications of Impact:
Although, this sounds as if it would have very negative effects in the brain, having this happen only one or two times has not been shown to have last impact. However, if another concussion happens within the time of recovery (which can be upto 1-2 weeks or even longer) there can be many negative side effects in the brain and can even cause death, called second impact syndrome. However, even more dangerous can be small impacts to the brain over time that aren’t necessarily labeled as a concussion. These are the repeated hits that seem to cause CTE in football players, hockey players and boxers. Therefore, the lasting impacts of concussion and even just repeated small hits to the head can have detrimental effects on a person’s life. It is important for us to have an understanding of the effects of concussions and understand that even though one might feel better, there could be lasting impacts in the brain.
For more information about the impacts of concussion on the brain read:
https://moodle.cord.edu/pluginfile.php/625289/mod_resource/content/3/2014%20The_New_Neurometabolic_Cascade_of_Concussion.3.pdf
Feature image from:

Traumatic Brain Injury: What You Need to Know

Health

Concussions: An Athlete’s Dilemma

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Injuries are par for the course in sports. Athletes experience their fair share of muscle strains and tears, but perhaps the most severe injury is one that occurs to a vital organ: the brain. Concussions are a common injury in sports today. It’s rare that you will meet an athlete who hasn’t experienced a concussion or at least doesn’t know someone who has. So, what exactly is a concussion and why are they such an alarming injury for an athlete?

Biological Changes from Concussions

During a brain injury like a concussion, the brain is literally shaken up like a bowl of Jell-O and bounces around inside the skull. This causes the neuron membranes to be stretched and pulled around, which allows ions and glutamate to enter and leave the cell. Movement of ions and neurotransmitters during injury cause an imbalance that requires the action of pumps to reestablish an equilibrium. These pumps require more energy, which means glycolysis is increased. All of these processes put the brain into overdrive.

With the increased glycolysis (energy production), glucose metabolism is decreased due to excessive glucose levels in the brain and systems being overworked and impaired. These biological changes during a concussion last for a few days following the injury. The ion imbalance, particularly Ca2+ ion imbalance, remains for 3-4 days post injury. Decreased blood flow and thus decreased nutrient delivery to the brain lasts for 7-10 days following injury. Finally, decreased glucose production and presence also lasts for 7-10 days post injury. These biological changes are responsible for the symptoms associated with concussions.

When is it Safe?

It is extremely important to let the brain fully recover from a brain injury, like a concussion. The mental and physical impairments are a hindrance enough from just one concussion, but if a person experiences a secondary injury before fully recovered from the first the biological effects are exacerbated and recovery will take more time.
Currently, we rely on an athlete’s word as to if they are experiencing physical symptoms associated with concussions. These would include migraines/headaches and mental impairments like a lack of ability to focus. Too often however, an athlete experiences pressures to return to play as soon as possible. This pressure can come from a variety of sources: family, friends, teammates, fans, personal ambitions, the love of playing, wanting to appear tough.
Can we trust an athlete to be truthful about what they are experiencing? Do they know the dangers of returning to play too soon? If only there was some biological test athletes could take to indicate if their brain was healed after a concussion.

Biomarkers: a biological indicator

Researchers are currently investigating biomarkers, molecules present in the blood and fluid in the brain that appear following injury, as a possible biological indicator of concussion. Their hope is to identify biomarkers that are indicative of concussion and use them to tell when a person’s brain has healed following a concussion. Biomarkers could also provide insight into treatment of concussions, telling us what treatments work best.

Until these biomarkers are identified and legitimized, we must rely on athletes’ personal accounts and medical professionals’ observations to guide athletes’ return to play timeline. In order to ensure athletes are waiting to return to play until fully recovered, they need to be educated on the consequences of a secondary injury and effects of sub-concussive hits. Sub-concussive hits are repeated injuries the brain experiences that are not severe enough to be identified as a brain injury but add up over time to cause biological changes like a concussion. Perhaps a prerequisite to playing sports should be a thorough training on concussion effects, recovery and prevention to teach athletes how to play smarter and not harder.
More on the science behind concussion here:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4479139/pdf/nihms657022.pdf
Feature Image: http://upr.org/post/nfl-admits-cte-concussion-prevention-utah-youth-back
Other images:
http://atalantadancefitness.blogspot.com/2013/10/concussion-in-dance-and-aesthetic-sports.html
http://www.concussionclinic.co.uk/2_about.html
http://www.healthyroster.com/school-districts/
https://www.mccare.com/solutions/biomarker.html

Community/Health

The Science and Reality Behind Concussions

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Today, we hear about different famous athletes getting concussions all of the time. Or even friends who have taken a rough fall. To receive a concussion in today’s society is almost normal since most people have received at least one. So what are the implications of getting a concussion? Will one mild traumatic brain injury (mtbi) ruin your chances of getting into law school?

The above photo is an artstract that shows there are two points of impact in head injuries. The first point of impact is called “Coup”, which is where the head is hit initially. The second point of impact is called “Contrecoup” which is generally on the opposite side of the brain from coupe and is where the brain essentially rebounds off of the head from the initial hit.

 
 
The answer to that second question is mostly likely no. Getting one mtbi will not ruin your chances of law school or medical school. However, receiving multiple concussions, especially over a short period of time, might do just that.

What Happens in the Brain?

When you get a concussion, your brain will go into overdrive at first. The brain stretches out which causes mechanoporation. This is when the brain becomes pours and allows various ions to leak out. Because the brain is porous, potassium ions will leave and calcium ions will enter. Levels of the neurotransmitter glutamate will also increase. Since ion levels are out of whack, something called the sodium potassium pump will work harder to try and balance these levels out.
This requires more energy so there is an increase in glycolysis (energy formation). With this increase in glycolysis, glucose metabolism is decreased because of the excessive levels of glucose in the brain. After a short period of time, this excitation goes down and there becomes a problem of supply and demand. The supply of ions goes down and the demand for them increases.

Symptoms of Concussions

Migraines are one of the symptoms of a concussion. These are caused by an increase in ions within the brain. This ion increase is what causes the sensitivity of various of the bodies senses. One can also become disoriented, or even unconscious. Headaches, nausea, fatigue, ringing in the ears, and amnesia surrounding the event are also all immediate symptoms of a concussion. Some that may occur overtime is having a sensitivity to light, problems concentrating, and experiencing sleep disturbances, just to name a few.

Sports and Concussions

It is pretty common to get a concussion while playing contact sports. Currently, there are rules in place to make sure players don’t go back onto the field or court until they are fully healed. This includes a five step program that athletes must follow before they go back into the game. The first step (baseline) is to refrain from all cognitive and physical activity for at least 24 hours. This will go until there are no present symptoms. Then the athletes will go to step one, which is light aerobic activity. If they do not experience symptoms they can go on to step two, moderate activity. If they experience symptoms in step two, they will go back down to step one, if not they go to step three. They will go through this process until they don’t experience symptoms and are fully integrated back into their sport/ activity. This seems like a good program from hind-sight, but athletes can easier lie about experiencing symptoms and go back into the game sooner then they should. So, my question of you is… Do you think, with proper education on the implications of concussions, athletes will actually take the time to fully heal? This is a question that I have pondered for a while now, and I’d like to say yes they will. But at the same time for a lot of athletes its their livelihood and they want to be in the game, so its hard to say a definitive answer.

If you have a concussion or think you have a concussion, go to the doctor and get checked out. If you have any questions check out the link below. This contains a giant list of support groups for concussions all over the United States.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FcmJeilxXnb1PFCPeZKMUiLWqpRDMk_NUrL1JgU8UPs/edit#gid=0

Sources:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/concussion/symptoms-causes/syc-20355594
https://moodle.cord.edu/pluginfile.php/625289/mod_resource/content/3/2014%20The_New_Neurometabolic_Cascade_of_Concussion.3.pdf

Support

Uncategorized

How to Deal With a Concussion: Possible Treatments and Solutions

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If you ask an athlete if they know someone who has gotten a concussion, the answer is likely to be a resounding “yes.” Ask them if they know more than one person who has received a concussion, and the answer is probably “yes” as well. In fact, the athlete you are talking to might have even suffered a concussion themself at some point during their career.
 
 
In 2011, it was estimated that 15% of all sports-related injuries were concussions (1). Another study found that on average, one player in every American football game receives a mild concussion (1). Although some athletes seem to recover from concussions relatively quickly, the damage that occurs to the brain can have a lasting impact on that person’s life, and even permanently affect their memory, cognitive abilities, and their personality (2). Concussions have a variety of physiological effects on the brain, including the damage and stretching of axons, upsets in ion balance and flux, higher rates of oxidative stress, higher energy demand and lower energy supply, and a lower oxygen supply to the brain (2). These physiological abnormalities can lead to permanent brain damage, especially in individuals who have suffered repeated brain injuries.
 

 
Given the prevalence of concussions among athletes, it’s important for anyone involved in sports to be aware of effective treatment options for concussions. This can give athletes a much better chance at achieving the best possible recovery from their injury. Here are some things you can do to minimize the impact of a concussion on your brain:
 
1. Eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids: Certain omega-3 fatty acids can help repair neuronal axons that were damaged by a concussion, and including them in your diet can even help prevent axon damage from occurring if you receive a concussion. Fish, and fish oil, are great sources of omega-3 fatty acids (2).

 
 
2. Rest: It’s extremely important to rest for an adequate period of time after receiving a concussion. This means avoiding sports or other physically strenuous activities that put you at risk for getting another concussion. It’s also a good idea to avoid tasks that require intense concentration, such as schoolwork or reading, as they can wear out your brain and slow the recovery process (3).
3. Wear a helmet while riding your bike: This one may seem obvious, but too many cyclists don’t always wear a helmet while riding their bike. This drastically increases their chances of receiving a concussion.
 
4. Return to activities slowly: Once you’ve recovered enough to start up your daily routine again, don’t immediately return to all of the activities you did before receiving the concussion, but rather start up your activities again slowly, one at a time.
 
5. Take pain-relievers: It’s usually safe to take nonprescription medications like aspiring or tylenol after receiving a concussion, and these drugs can help alleviate some of the painful symptoms of a concussion.
 
 
Concussions are difficult to deal with and can have a permanent impact on your brain, but with the right kinds of recovery strategies, you can often get back to your normal self in a relatively short amount of time!
 
 
 
 
 
Sources:

  1. http://prevacus.com/concussions-101/statistics/

2.https://moodle.cord.edu/pluginfile.php/625289/mod_resource/content/3/2014%20The_New_Neurometabolic_Cascade_of_Concussion.3.pdf

  1. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/concussion/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355600

 
Image Credits:
 

  1. http://www.tvnewscheck.com/marketshare/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CONCUSSION102010.jpg
  2. http://www.moveforwardpt.com/image.axd?id=3246dcf3-c76e-4eea-9324-f295f496e040&t=634757891481600000
  3. http://gettysburgian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/fishoil.jpg

4. https://www.preeclampsia.org/images/M_images/aspirin_2945793b.jpg

Disease/Health

Use Your Head Wisely: Sports and Concussions

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With the news of Aaron Hernandez’s post-mortem brain autopsy being recently released, the sports community and general public are starting to wonder if the hard-hits of football and other sports are causing longer-term damage than we once believed. Researchers at Boston University found evidence of serious chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the worst that they had ever seen in a 27-year-old brain. What is CTE? How is it caused? And most importantly, is there anything we can do to prevent it?
CTE is a progressively degenerative disease that can only be diagnosed post-mortem by the atrophy and deterioration of certain areas of the brain.  It occurs in people who are constantly receiving concussions or other forms of traumatic brain injuries. A biological understanding of how a concussion occurs is important to understanding why such severe CTE damage can happen with repeated blows to the head.

Picture: CTE Damage compared to a normal brain. Significant atrophy can be observed.
A high impact blow to the head causes the cell membranes of your brain cells to stretch and allow ions to pass which are not normally allowed to pass. This causes the cells to try and pump the ions out to regenerate their previous equilibrium. While doing this, cells are using high levels of energy to run the pumps which results in an energy crisis in the brain.

Ions entering into the cell after head trauma is experienced.

If a second concussion is experienced within the time span where the brain is still in an energy crisis, there can be very grim results. In rats, research has found that if a second concussion happens within 3 days of the first concussion, memory impairment is significantly greater than if a second concussion is experienced after 5 days. If more than 5 days separates the two concussions, then they act as 2 separate concussions, rather than one large one. This research supports the current return to play rules that have athletes sit out for 10-12 days after a concussion before returning to their sport.
What can we do to help prevent or lessen the severity of a concussion?

  • For people participating in sports, it is important that they wear protective headgear. Whether the sport is soccer, football, cycling, or other high impact sports, there are many options out there that can lessen the impact on the head and decrease the risk of concussion.
  • After receiving a concussion, it is important to take yourself out of situations were another concussion could occur. As demonstrated in rats, there is a period of recovery in your brain where your brain needs to rest and heal itself. Receiving a concussion during this time will significantly worsen the outcome and healing process.
  • Research has indicated that consuming omega-3 fatty acids either before or after concussion can help in recovery time. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish.

There is no cure for concussions. There is no magic powder that can restore the brain to the way that it was before brain injury. For those participating in high-contact sports, caution needs to be exercised in preventing head injury so that one concussion doesn’t lead to the life-long problems of CTE.
 
For more information about Aaron Hernandez
Image can be found here
Featured image is a photograph taken by the author of her brother heading the ball during a soccer game.

Disease/Health

The Invisible Injury

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Every sport has common injuries. Gymnastics has wrist and back problems , football had ACL  tears, basketballs has sprained ankles. Of course those injuries overlap into other sports, but another injury that they all have in common, along with many other sports, are concussions. Concussions are tricky because unlike a broken arm, you can’t see when a someone is concussed.
 
Since you can’t see what is going on, it’s hard to know what exactly is happening in the brain. Concussions happened when someone is hit or hits their head. The initial place of contact is where the coup (French for “blow”) injury takes place. However, the brain also receives a second injury called the contrecoup, which is the result of the brain smacking the other side of the head.

 
People sometimes refer to concussions as a brain bruise, however the brain responds to this “bruise” quite differently than any other bruise in the body. After the initial hit, the lipid membrane in the brain get stretched allowing ion (positive and negative charged molecules) to be released when they shouldn’t be. The rapid shift in ion placement is correlated with migraines that people may experience after a blow to the head. This efflux of ions leads to an energy crisis because now the brain has to work overtime to pump the ions back into the places they should be. This process can take days, which is why it is important not to sustain another concussion during the healing process.
 
This stretch also damages the axons. Axons are like tunnels that carry signals from one end to the next. When they are damaged it’s like there is a rock in the middle of the tunnel, now no more signals can pass through. In severe cases this can lead to the death of that cell and unlike other cells in the body, neurons rarely under go cell division.
 
The brain also experiences impaired neurotransmission and also protease activation. Impaired neurotransmission is associated with impaired cognition and slowed processing and reaction time. While protease activation is associated with persistent impairments.
 
Although the damage done by a concussion is not visible, it is important to realize what is actually going on in the brain after a traumatic brain injury.

For more reading on what happens in the brain after a concussion, check out: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25232881
Photo: http://www.braininjury.com/injured.shtml
Featured Image: https://breakthruptfitness.com/concussion-now-what/
 

Community/Disease/Health/Hot topics/Uncategorized

I Have Concussion. I Need to Recover.

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Nowadays, concussion occurs so often in many sports, such as football, cycling, baseball, basketball, and water sports, etc. It would be great if its negative impact to the brain is reduced by increasing its occurrence. Unfortunately, we can’t “adapt” to concussion and recover faster by increasing its occurrence.
 
It’s actually the opposite!
 
Therefore, the coaches need to understand about the concussion and its impact to the brain in order to help the players realize the importance of concussion and to provide the safe and healthy environment.
 
Concussion is not just something that will go away in one week, or “I will be fine”. The level of brain damage depends on the severity of one concussion and the frequency of having concussion.
 
One study involving the concussion center at NYU discovered the brain atrophy (shrink) after one concussion, meaning that many neurons are damaged and died. Abnormally ion flux is present, leading to inappropriate releasing of excitatory neurotransmitter and initiating the depolarization. This can affect negatively to our emotion. Problems such as anxiety and depression are at risk of developing.
 
In addition, the concussion can cause hyperglycosis and lactate accumulation as well as impaired oxidative metabolism. This condition is very bad for our cells, because the cells become acidic from lactase, leading to brain damage, and cell apoptosis (death).
 

 
Repeating experience concussion can also develop high risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disease. Some cases can lead to death when the individual have second impact syndrome. This syndrome generally is a second concussion that occurs when the first concussion hasn’t resolved (recovered) yet. Although this syndrome is rare, football players are eight-time higher of having it.
 
Then, the recovering is absolutely important after the concussion. It can reduce or prevent the risk of developing the neurodegenerative diseases, or even death. During the recovering process, the individual need to rest and recover their brain without rushing through the process. Their brain is required some time to heal. Therefore, avoid studying, learning, thinking hard, and anything that can trigger the concussion’s symptoms (such as bright light). In addition, they should take more short naps when the brain is tired. Finally, omega 3 fatty acid is suggested as the treatment for concussion. It aids the recovering process and limits the damage done to axons as well as preventing the apoptosis of neurons.
 

Uncategorized

Alzheimer’s Disease: I Don’t Want to Get Aging

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Alzheimer is a common disease, related to aging. A progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. It’s scary to think of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as the 6th leading cause of death in the United States.
 
How can we prevent developing AD, when we get older?
 
Cause of Alzheimer’s disease
Many studies showed that the inappropriately turning on/off of PI3K/ Akt/ mTOR signaling pathway is a causative node in Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
 
Products from constant activation of PI3K/ Akt/ mTOR signaling pathway
Generally, after the pathway is activated, it phosphorylates Akt in downstream, leading to variety of phosphorylation in different substrates. For example, both FOXO and GSK3β are inactivated, result in reducing stress resistance, DNA repair and induction of glycogen synthesis and lipid synthesis, respectively. Akt also activates mTOR, increasing inactive IRS-1 and decreasing IRS -1/2. Later on, the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) is dysfunction, developing insulin and IGF-1 resistance.
 
In addition, PI3K/ Akt/ mTOR signaling pathway also produces tau and Aβ. The hyperphosphorylated tau protein leads to neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), known as a primary marker of Alzheimer’s disease. It is linked to cognitive decline and synaptic loss, particularly in glutamatergic neurotransmission. In addition, the overload Aβ oligomers leads to inappropriately increased activation of PI3K/ Akt / mTOR signaling pathway through increasing levels of IRS-1 phosphorylation and thereby contribute to insulin resistance.

 
Risk factors
There are many risk factors distributing to Alzheimer’s disease, besides aging and diabetes:

  1. Genetic factor: those, who have family history with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), they will have a higher chance to develop it at young age. The risk genes are apolipoprotein E-e4 or APOE-e4/ -e2/ -e3. There is a genetic test available for APOE-e4 and the other rare genes. In addition, deterministic genes directly cause the autosomal dominant AD or familial AD, such as amyloid precursor protein (APP), presenilin-1 (PS-1) and presenilin-2 (PS-2).
  2. Head injury: especially the trauma occurs repeatedly, or involves loss of consciousness; for example, head injury during collision in sport
  3. The risks for cardiac disease is strongly linked with the developing of AD later on. Many condition can deteriorate the heart health, such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
  4. Regularly consuming tobacco and alcohol: these substances impact on the brain health.
  5. Mutation in non steroidal antiinflammatories (NSAIDs): impairing to encounter inflammatory pathway, producing by the intracellular oxidative stress.
  6. Diet: poor diet can provide enough antioxidants to our bodies, result in high inflammatory level in brain and later brain cell damaged.

 
Prevention?
It is suggested that keeping the brain healthy is the way to slow down the process of AD or not having AD by eating health diets, staying socially active, avoiding tobacco and excess alcohol, and exercising both the body and mind.
 
 
 

Disease/Health

Death Before Death: Alzheimer’s Disease

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The ability to think is quite remarkable, and one that we often take for granted. It enables us to make decisions, to express our concerns, to giggle at our favorite jokes, to share memories, to express our love for one another…
 
And yet, here we are: every 66 seconds, this is taken away from someone in the United States. They develop Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), one of the most common forms of dementia that largely affects those of advanced age through memory loss and eventually mental functioning. With no cure, medications can only be administered to slow the progression of the disease.

As the brain itself wither’s away, so do the memories. When the memories are gone, so are the people attached to them. When your loved ones are gone, you are alone… isolated in your own mind.
 
“Death before death,” coined by Joey Comeau, was the feeling shared by caregivers of AD individuals, in which they mourn the loss of their loved one twice; once when their memory dissipates and again when they have physically passed.
 

Amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are the primary roots of the mind trap that is AD. Because of the plaques and tangles, neurons are unable to properly communicate with each other, which can lead to neuron death and brain atrophy.
 
A recent study linked the development of AD (through measuring plaques and tangles) to overnutrition. Overnutrition has many connections to other co-morbid complications such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. AD shares a couple traits with these disease states, including its processing of insulin and its response to stress on the body.
 
In AD, overnutrition leads to insulin resistance. The insulin degrading enzyme is not able to function properly, which leads to the buildup of Amyloid beta-plaques. Overnutrition also induces neuronal stress, particularly within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). This stress activates the RTK pathway, leading to an increase in tau levels, thus more neurofibrillary tangles. ER stress also induces pro-inflammatory cytokines, perpetuating malfunctioning pathways and the cycle of stress on the brain.
 
While efforts continue in search of a cure, proper diet and exercise are a great way to reduce your risk for developing Alzheimer’s Disease.
 
[featured image is original art by author]
 

Disease/Health/Hot topics

Overnutrition and Alzheimer’s Disease?

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Here we go again, another blogger harping on the importance of proper nutrition and the consequences that accompany bad food choices. Nowadays, it seems like every health issue boils down to what we eat and how much we eat. Everyone has an opinion on what you should and shouldn’t eat, often contradicting one another. The amount of information out there is quite overwhelming, and can steer people away from implementing better habits. The problems that are often brought up, with regards to poor nutrition, are obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and so on. The list is somewhat endless, and so, what on Earth could I add to such a list?
 
 
I did know that eating healthy can improve cognitive functioning, but I never thought about the reverse effect. It has been shown that overnutrition (too many calories) can put someone at a higher risk for developing Alzheimer’s Disease. As someone who is already at a higher risk, due to a family history of Alzheimer’s, the idea that something as basic as nutrition could increase my risk is rather important.
 

How is Overnutrition Associated with Alzheimer’s?

When we eat, we activate one of the many pathways in our brains, one of which involves insulin. Overeating can lead to an overactivation of the pathway, which seems to be the case in Alzheimer’s. Insulin levels increase throughout the body when we eat and can activate the PI3K pathway located in our brains. Insulin does this by binding to a receptor on the neuron, which turns on the enzyme known as PI3k. PI3k can ultimately lead to the turning on of many other enzymes such as AKT and mTOR. Our body naturally produces other enzymes that can turn off this particular pathway (i.e. PTEN, FOXO, GSK).
 
 
As mentioned previously, Alzheimer’s contains an overactivation of this pathway, as well as, shuts down the “off switches”, which leads to the production of neuro-fiber tangles (NFTs) within the neuron and A-beta plaques outside of the neuron. Together, the tangles and plaques create a bad environment for our neurons, thus killing the neurons. The killing of the neurons contribute to the memory loss that is attributed to Alzheimer’s.
 
 
Featured Image Created by the Author

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