Does ginkgo biloba affect memory?

People who reliably took the ginkgo biloba supplement had a 68 percent lower risk of developing mild memory problems. – Taking the supplement ginkgo biloba had no clear-cut benefit on the risk of developing memory problems, according to a study published in the February 27, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Memory loss, less common in older Americans

Good news on gray matter: Memory loss and other cognitive impairment becoming less common in older Americans, U-M study finds; Better education, finances & cardiovascular care may be boosting brain health. – It appears that memory loss and thinking problems are becoming less common among older Americans. A new study shows a downward trend in the rate of “cognitive impairment” – the umbrella term for everything from significant memory loss to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease – among people aged 70 and older.

Sedentary lifestyles linked to early aging

A sedentary lifestyle (in addition to smoking, high body mass index, and low socioeconomic status) has an effect on LTL and may accelerate the aging process. This provides a powerful message that could be used by clinicians to promote the potentially antiaging effect of regular exercise. – Physical inactivity is an important risk factor for many aging-related diseases. Individuals who are physically active during their leisure time appear to be biologically younger than those with sedentary lifestyles, according to a report in the January 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Aging brain failures to communicate

Cognitive decline in aging may be linked to disruption of communication between different regions of the brain.
– A team of Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers has shown that normal aging disrupts communication between different regions of the brain. The new research, which used advanced medical imaging techniques to look at the brain function of 93 healthy individuals from 18 to 93 years old, shows that this decline happens even in the absence of serious pathologies like Alzheimer’s disease.

Antiaging skin care – reversing skin aging by gene blockade

The blockage of a single gene, called NF-?B, can reverse aging in the mammalian skin. This finding sets the stage for the development of future genetic age-intervention therapies.
– In the December 15th cover story of G&D, a research team led by Dr. Howard Chang (Stanford University School of Medicine) reports that the blockage of a single gene, called NF-?B, can reverse aging in the mammalian skin. This finding sets the stage for the development of future genetic age-intervention therapies.

Aging improves parent, child relationships

Most parents and children are fortunate to share several decades of the life course when both parties are healthy adults. When parents reach the transition to old age, however, they typically experience health declines, and both parties must adjust to changes in the relationship.
– The majority of relationships between parents and their adult children improve as parents transition to old age, a Purdue University researcher has found. Karen Fingerman, an associate professor of developmental and family studies in the College of Consumer and Family Sciences, examined relationships adults 70 and older have with at least one of their adult offspring.

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