Alzheimer's research

Research

Roundup: Alzheimer’s May Have Two Distinct Phases, Finds Landmark Research; and More News

NIH: Alzheimer’s Damages Brain in 2 Phases -- A Finding Which May Guide New Treatments

Using sophisticated brain-mapping tools, new research has found that Alzheimer’s disease may damage the brain in two distinct phases --  with the second, later phase causing  “more widely destructive” damage and the first appearance of symptoms, states the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which funded the new study.

“The results fundamentally alter scientists’ understanding of how Alzheimer’s harms the brain and will guide the development of new treatments for this devastating disorder,” said Richard J. Hodes, M.D., director, NIH’s National Institute on Aging, in a news release.

The first, early phase of Alzheimer’s occurs slowly and silently — before people experience memory problems — harming just a few vulnerable cell types, the NIH states.

“One of the challenges to diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s is that much of the damage to the brain happens well before symptoms occur,” added Dr. Hodes in a statement. “The ability to detect these early changes means that, for the first time, we can see what is happening to a person’s brain during the earliest periods of the disease.”

Scientists analyzed the brains of 84 people. The results indicate that damage to one type of cell, called an inhibitory neuron, during the early phase may trigger the neural circuit problems that underlie the disease. The study also confirmed previous findings about how Alzheimer’s damages the brain and identified many new changes that may happen during the disease.

The scientists “used advanced genetic analysis tools to study the cells of the middle temporal gyrus, a part of the brain that controls language, memory and vision,” the NIH states. The gyrus has been shown to be vulnerable to many of the changes traditionally seen during Alzheimer’s.

Previously, studies have suggested that the damage caused by Alzheimer’s occurs in several stages marked by increasing levels of cell death, inflammation and the accumulation of proteins in the form of plaques and tangles.

The NIH states: “In contrast, this study suggests that the disease changes the brain in two “epochs” — or phases — with many of the traditionally studied changes happening rapidly during the second phase.”

Survey: Average Daily Sugar Consumption is Twice the Recommended Amount

The average U.S. adult consumes 99 grams of added sugar per day – or more than 36,000 grams  (80 pounds) of sugar per year, according to a survey of 2,000 people.

U.S. dietary guidelines recommend limiting calories from added sugars to less than 10 percent of total calories per day. For example, if you consume 2,000 calories per day, that would be 50 grams of added sugars. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 36 grams (9 teaspoons) of added sugar per day for men, and no more than 25 grams (6 teaspoons) per day for women.

Consuming too many added sugars can contribute to health problems such as weight gain and obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, states the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Added sugars include foods packaged as sweeteners, sugars from syrups and honey, and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices and sodas. Added sugars do not include naturally occurring sugars in milk, fruits, and vegetables.

The new survey, conducted by Talker research on behalf of Hint Water, also found that the majority of respondents (85 percent) are actively working to reduce their sugar intake.

Twenty-eight percent said their liquid intake is mostly made up of soda. However, more than half of respondents (51 percent) believe that when they’re craving sugar, their bodies are actually craving hydration. Over half (51 percent) said they are working to drink enough water, specifically to prevent sugar cravings.

“The study revealed that, on a regular day, the average respondent consumes more than twice the amount of sugar recommended by the American Heart Association and significantly less water than is recommended by the U.S. National Academy of Medicine,” said Amy Calhoun Robb, chief marketing officer at Hint Water, in a news release. “And while it’s important to showcase how much room we have for improvement, it’s also important to understand why this is the case.”

The survey found that the emotions most likely to prompt sugar cravings include stress (39 percent), boredom (36 percent), fatigue (24 percent) and loneliness (17 percent). The top scenarios likely to make respondents crave something sweet are watching a movie (31 percent), finishing a meal (31 percent), needing a midday burst of energy (30 percent) and having a bad day at work (19 percent).

CDC: Tobacco  Product Use Among Youth at a 25-Year Low, But Disparities Persist

The use of tobacco products among U.S. middle and high school students has dropped to the lowest recorded level in 25 years, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This decline was mostly attributable to the significant drop in the number of students who reported use of e-cigarettes, or vaping devices --- 2.13 million youth in 2023 compared to 1.63 million youth in 2024, the CDC states. In 2024, 2.25 million middle and high school students reported current use (use on one or more days during the past 30 days) of any tobacco product, compared to 2.80 million in 2023.

While the decline is encouraging, the CDC said more efforts are needed to encourage youth to stay away from tobacco products.  Youth vaping has declined to the lowest level in a decade, but e-cigs remained the most common product (5.9 percent) among young people who reported current tobacco product use.

In 2024, nicotine pouches became the second most commonly used tobacco product among youth (1.8 percent), followed by cigarettes (1.4 percent), cigars (1.2 percent), smokeless tobacco (1.2 percent), other oral nicotine products (1.2 percent), heated tobacco products (0.8 percent), hookahs (0.7 percent) and pipe tobacco (0.5 percent).

"Reaching a 25-year low for youth tobacco product use is an extraordinary milestone for public health,” said Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, in a news release. “However, with more than 2 million youth using tobacco products and certain groups not experiencing declines in use, our mission is far from complete," "We must remain committed to public health efforts to ensure all youth can live healthy, tobacco-free lives."

The CDC report also found varying progress across population groups. For example, during 2023-2024, current use of any tobacco product significantly declined among female students and declined among Hispanic students. In contrast, current use of any tobacco product increased among American Indian or Alaska Native students. Current use of nicotine pouches increased among White students.

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