This common disorder may increase the risk of Alzheimers Disease

This common disorder may increase the risk of Alzheimers DiseaseThis common disorder may increase the risk of Alzheimers DiseaseThough the how remains uncertain, a study conducted by a team of Yale University scientists suggests flaute might expedite the cognitive decline that comes with old age.Irina Esterlis, one of the neurologist and researchers on the team that presented the theory, believes their recent consideration to be a potential game-changer for medications going forward.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraThe breakthroughThe messages that brain cells send to each other are called synapses. The stronger the synapse, the better the cognitive function.Using a relatively new method of scanning brains (one that allows for the scanning of synapses in living tissue) Esterlis and her team analyzed the minds of both seniors and young adults. They saw that people with depression have a lower density of synapses than people who dont have depression. Among other things, the lower the density of synapses the worst the patients ability to retain attention. Esterlis said,We think depression might be accelerating the normal aging process.By the teams own admission, the pool utilized used for the study is much too small to purport anything resembling conclusive. But the data acquired thus far certainly earned more research.Because there isnt currently medication that addresses synapse damage, further examination willbe a little tricky, but Esterlis intends to move ahead with more investigation. However,these findings warrant some celebration for the ever-growing community of sufferers of mental illness.Linking depression and anxiety to Alzheimers and dementia isnt a novel consideration in the science community. But examining the shared cognitive damage they induce in an attempt to treat both has sparked some interest.Several experts, for instance, laud it simply f or creating just one more incentive to take diseases of psychosis more seriously.If your mood isnt enough to make you go and get treated, then hopefully your cognition is, said Dr. Mary Sano, director atthe Mount Sinai Alzheimers Disease Research Center in New York.The long view seems to be one of the most productive avenues. As Ladders previously reported, the external factors that determine rapid cognitive decline is a world obscured enough, throw in preexisting mental afflictions and it only makes it even more shrouded. Failure on the subject is good, bad science can only be mitigated by less bad science, to paraphrase neurologist Sam Harris.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong peopl e