Findings that were presented during the American Academy of Neurology’s 62nd Annual Meeting indicated that individuals who follow a Mediterranean diet may be at a lower risk for brain damage and thinking problems.

Researchers examined 712 patients and their diets over the course of six years. They gave the participants MRI scans that revealed that 238 of these individuals had some form of brain damage.

The study claims that people who followed a Mediterranean diet were 36 percent less likely to suffer from cognitive problems. Individuals who moderately followed the plan were 21 percent less likely to have brain issues. Scientists noticed a pattern between these findings and high blood pressure.

“The relationship between this type of brain damage and the Mediterranean diet was comparable with that of high blood pressure,” said study author Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas. “In this study, not eating a Mediterranean-like diet had about the same effect on the brain as having high blood pressure.”

A study in mice suggests using cellphones may help prevent some of the brain-wasting effects of Alzheimer’s disease, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

After long-term exposure to electromagnetic waves such as those used in cell phones, mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer’s performed as well on memory and thinking skill tests as healthy mice, the researchers wrote in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

The results were a major surprise and open the possibility of developing a noninvasive, drug-free treatment for Alzheimer’s, said lead author Gary Arendash of the University of South Florida.

He said he had expected cell phone exposure to increase the effects of dementia.

“Quite to the contrary, those mice were protected if the cell phone exposure was stared in early adulthood. Or if the cellphone exposure was started after they were already memory- impaired, it reversed that impairment,” Arendash said in a telephone interview.

Arendash’s team exposed the mice to electromagnetic waves equivalent to those emitted by a cellphone pressed against a human head for two hours daily over seven to nine months.

At the end of that time, they found cellphone exposure erased a build-up of beta amyloid, a protein that serves as a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

The Alzheimer’s mice showed improvement and had reversal of their brain pathology, he said.

“It (the electromagnetic wave) prevents the aggregation of that bad protein of the brain,” Arendash said. “The findings are intriguing to us because they open up a whole new field in neuroscience, we believe, which is the long-term effects of electromagnetic fields on memory.”

Arendash said his team was modifying the experiment to see if they could produce faster results and begin testing humans.

Despite decades of research, there are few effective treatments and no cure for Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia. Many treatments that have shown promise in mice have had little effect on humans.

More than 35 million people globally will suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia in 2010, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

There has been recent controversy about whether electromagnetic waves from cellphones cause brain cancer.

Co-author Chuanhai Cao said the mice study is more evidence that long-term cellphone use is not harmful to the brain.

Groups such as the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, and the National Institutes of Health, have all concluded that scientific evidence to date does not support any adverse health effects associated with the use of cellphones.

Can’t find your keys … again? Whether your momentary memory loss is linked to doing too many things at once or just a bad case of menopausal brain fog, you don’t have to put up with it.

In fact, experts say you can instantly boost your chances of remembering where you put your keys—and everything else you keep forgetting—if you start treating your brain right (no matter your age). Our simple lifestyle changes will help you stay sharp as the years go by.

Floss every day
What do loving licorice and hating the idea of flossing have in common? Both can contribute to plaque on your teeth, which is surprisingly bad for your brain. “The plaque between teeth can cause an immune reaction that attacks arteries, which then can’t deliver vital nutrients to brain cells,” says Michael Roizen, MD, co-author of YOU—The Owner’s Manual: An Insider’s Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger. Solution? Floss every day. Can’t remember? Keep the floss where you store your morning makeup.

Multitask at the gym
Just as working out can keep your body in good shape as you age, stretching your brain can keep it in top form, too. And doing them together is double the fun: Do a crossword puzzle while riding a stationary bike or listen to language lessons on your iPod while running. Scientists say that working the body and mind at the same time revitalizes brain cells. Don’t like multitasking? Hit the crossword right after the gym, when your brain is energized.

Go fish
Look to the sea for healthy ways to feed your brain. DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid found in salmon, trout, and some fortified foods such as yogurt, is a super saver for your memory. “DHA decreases arterial inflammation and improves repair of the protective sheath around nerves,” Dr. Roizen says. “The result is less age-related memory loss, less Alzheimer’s disease, less depression, and a quicker mind.”

Steal your kids’ toys
There’s a new version of that Rubik’s Cube that you loved as kid. It’s the 3-D-like Rubik’s 360, and it’s probably good for brains of any age, because it sharpens flexible problem-solving skills, says neuropsychologist Karen Spangenberg Postal, PhD, president of the Massachusetts Psychological Association. The key: As you play, you’re working on your memory, strategy, and spatial skills—all required for improving brain health—at the same time. What if you always found the Cube endlessly frustrating? No worries: Any game that stretches your thinking is helpful.

Just do it
Elevating your heart rate three times a week for 20 minutes—even just by walking—bathes your brain in oxygen and helps it grow new cells. “Aerobic exercise is two to three times as effective as any known brain-training activity,” says Sam Wang, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience at Princeton University and co-author of Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Everyday Life. If you have no time for the gym during the week, that’s OK: Recent research shows moderate to vigorous exercise even just once a week (say, a weekend jog) makes you 30 percent more likely to maintain your cognitive function as you age.

Start a bridge club
If book clubs bore you and dinner parties leave you exhausted, then maybe a brisk game of bridge is just what the doctor ordered. The combination of strategy and memory in bridge challenges the brain to learn new information and exercises cells so they don’t die, Dr. Postal says. Plus, socializing while playing cards adds a level of unpredictability that gives your brain a charge—something solo games don’t offer. Bridge is definitely on the comeback, so you can learn to play through a community college or continuing education program, or hire a private instructor for lessons.

Use chopsticks
“Studies show that engaging the concentrated areas of nerve cells in your fingertips directly stimulates your brain,” says Maoshing Ni, PhD, author of Second Spring: Dr. Mao’s Hundreds of Natural Secrets for Women to Revitalize and Regenerate at Any Age. Truth is, any fingertip activity—using chopsticks, knitting, or even rolling a pen or pencil between your fingers—also helps your brain by boosting your circulation. And good circulation helps eliminate waste products that can prevent nutrients from reaching your brain.

Play electronic games
No, you’re not too old for a Wii or one of the new handheld brain-exercise games. And it may even be good for you, since simply trying something new gets your brain juiced, says neuropsychologist Reon Baird, PhD, of the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. “When that something new is a video game, you’ll stimulate different parts of the brain that you don’t normally use on a day-to-day basis,” she says. Try Brain Challenge for the Wii or Brain Age for the Nintendo DS. If that’s too techy for you, play along with Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy! on TV, Dr. Baird says. Challenge your know-it-all spouse to make it more fun.

Be careful with meds
If you ache every time you work out and never sleep well due to night sweats, there’s a pill for that. But be careful: Research in Clinical Interventions in Aging reveals that nonprescription sleep aids may cause some “cognitive impairment”—like confusion— in older adults. How much is unknown, but you’re probably familiar with the next-day grogginess. And the medicine known as diphenhydramine (found in many allergy medications and nighttime pain pills) has an “anticholinergic” effect; it blocks communication between nerve cells. Talk with your doctor about other remedies like relaxation or cognitive therapy for sleep problems.

Best brain foods for everyone!
Studies suggest that natural chemicals in these foods, spices, and drinks combat cognitive decline.

• Asparagus
• Blueberries
• Cocoa
• Coffee
• Egg yolks
• Indian curry
• Red wine
• Rosemary
• Salmon
• Tomato sauce
• Walnuts

Deep Vain Thrombosis (DVT) can occur during or as a result of air travel due to little movement or activity. DVT is a condition in which a blood clot forms in a vein that is deep inside the body, most often in the lower leg and thigh.

During flight your body is at greater risk of DVT because blood flow slows down. A blood clot can break off and move through the blood stream and in some instances get lodged in the brain, lungs, heart or other area causing serious health problems.

New research suggests that the answer may be just outside the front door: physical activity. A study published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging found that physical fitness benefits brain function.

The Canadian study, conducted among older women, found that exercise increased blood flow to the brain, which in turn improved cognition.

Researchers observed two groups of women – those who participated in regular aerobic activity and others who were not physically active.

They found that the active group had lower blood pressure, both while exercising and when resting, as well as higher vascular responses in the brain. This group also scored an average of 10 percent higher on cognitive tests.

“This study proves for the first time that people who are fit have better blood flow to the brain,” commented Marc Poulin of the University of Calgary. “Our findings also show that better blood flow translates into improved cognition.”

Older women may also want to consider taking nutritional supplements containing omega-3 fish oil, which has been shown to help protect brain functioning.

The study was funded by Blue Planet Software, the current owner of Tetris, and the c0-investigator, Richard Haier of the Mind Research Network, is a paid consultant for the company. But in an interview, Haier said that study was scientific, it had its own control group, and it was performed by an independent research group at the Montreal Neurological Institute. The results will be published in the medical journal Biomedical Central Research Notes.

“We guessed your brain could become more efficient the more you do things like drive a car,” Haier said in an interview. “The more you do it, the more efficient the brain becomes and the less energy it uses. We can measure the energy use now.”

Haier used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study brain activity in the subjects who played Tetris regularly over three months. He compared the differences in 26 girls to another control group of girls who did not play the game. The girls who practiced Tetris showed greater brain efficiency. That is, the brain used less energy when it worked on familiar processing patterns. The girls who played Tetris also had a thicker cortex, meaning the game play triggered a structural change in the brain beyond the areas that became more efficient.

Caption: Relative to controls, red areas show where practice led to a thicker cortex; blue areas show more efficient brain function after practice; right image is right hemisphere; left image is the left hemisphere]

“We did our Tetris study to see if mental practice increased cortical thickness, a sign of more gray matter,” said Rex Jung, co-investigator on the Tetris study and a clinical neuropsychologist. “If it did, it could be an explanation for why previous studies have shown that mental practice increases brain efficiency. More gray matter in an area could mean that the area would not need to work as hard during Tetris play.”

Haier (right) was the lead author of a 1992 study that found practicing Tetris led to greater brain efficiency. This new study reinforces that finding, but the results surprised him because it showed that the brain changed in other ways as a result of the Tetris play.

Haier said he remains interested in the subject of brain-training games, which some people contend can sharpen mental acuity and improve brain health of senior citizens. Those games have gotten a big boost since Nintendo launched Brain Age for the Nintendo DS a few years ago. But Haier said more research has to be done in that area.