Journal Digest
Eating for the ‘MIND’
What is good for the heart may be also good for the brain, according to a study in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
Researchers from Rush University Medical Center found that older adults who were fully committed to a newly developed diet called Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) reduced their chances for AD by 53 percent, and those moderately dedicated to the diet decreased their risk for AD by 35 percent. The diet is a hybrid of the Mediterranean and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diets, both of which have been found to reduce cardiovascular risk and dementia, according to the researchers.
The MIND diet suggests eating three servings of whole grains, two servings of vegetables, and a glass of wine daily in addition to beans and nuts three to four times week, fish at least once a week, and poultry and berries at least twice a week.
The study included 923 senior volunteers from the Chicago area, who were surveyed on food choices between 2004 and 2013. Participants earned points based on frequent consumptions of “brain-healthy” foods that were a part of the MIND diet.
Morris M, Tangney C, Wang Y, et al. MIND diet associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2015;pii:S1552-5260(15)00017-5
National Study Shows Increase in Workplace Suicides
According to researchers from the U.S. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), suicides in the workplace are on the rise, increasing from 1.2 per million in 2007 to 1.8 per million in 2010. People in protective services—such as police and firefighters—were found to be at greatest risk, with a workplace suicide rate of 5.3 per million workers, three times the national average. Suicide rates for people in farming, fishing, and forestry followed with 5.1 per million workers.
“Occupation can largely define a person’s identity, and psychological risk factors for suicide, such as depression and stress, can be affected by the workplace,” stated lead investigator Hope Tiesman, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at NIOSH.
The researchers also found men to be 15 times more likely to carry out suicide at the workplace than women. Workers aged 64 to 74 were four times more likely to complete suicide than those aged 16 to 24.
In comparison, the results showed overall suicide completed outside of the workplace to be 144 per million.
“A more comprehensive view of work life, public health, and work safety could enable a better understanding of suicide risk factors and how to address them,” said Tiesman. She concluded that a workplace should be considered a potential site to train managers in the detection of suicidal behaviors, especially among the high-risk occupations that were identified in the current study.
Tiesman H, Konda S, Hartley D, et al. Suicide in U.S. workplaces, 2003-2010: a comparison with non-workplace suicides. Am J Prev Med. March 7, 2015. [Epub ahead of print]
Diminished Activity of Inflammatory Protein Rids Beta-amyloid Plaque
Reducing brain inflammation may ameliorate Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Using a mouse model with an AD-like disease, researchers from the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic found that removal of the TREM2 receptor—a protein that is involved in brain inflammation and has been linked to AD—leads to decreased plaque formation and reduced brain inflammation, and improved the neuronal survival. The protection was associated with less infiltration into the brain by inflammatory cells. Inflammatory cells lacking TREM2 were more likely to engulf beta-amyloid aggregates than nonmutated cells, suggesting that TREM2-deficient cells might assist in the brain cleanup effort.
The researchers concluded that although additional studies are needed to clarify the exact mechanism of TREM2 in the pathophysiology of AD, the current findings suggest that “toning down” the receptor’s activity may help to retard neurodegeneration in patients with AD.
Jay T, Miller C, Cheng P, et al. TREM2 deficiency eliminates TREM2+ inflammatory macrophages and ameliorates pathology in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models. J Exp Med. 2015; 212(3):287-95.
Extra Benefits Found for Taking Antidepressants
Researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City suggested that taking antidepressants may have an added bonus after they analyzed 5,311 people with moderate to severe depression and found that individuals who took antidepressants alone had a 53 percent lower risk of death, coronary artery disease, and stroke over three years than those who did not take antidepressants or statins. Taking a statin, either alone or with antidepressants, did not significantly reduce the risk, the researchers found. The results were presented last month at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology held in San Diego.
“Improving a person’s mood can contribute to a cascade of behavioral changes that improve cardiovascular health,” said lead author Heidi May, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., a cardiovascular epidemiologist. “For example, people who are having depressive symptoms may not be as inclined to exercise, practice good health habits, or comply with health advice. Using an antidepressant to reduce depressive symptoms might also help people better take care of their heart health.”
From these results, May concluded, future studies could help to further refine the understanding of the relationships between depression, antidepressants, and cardiovascular health. ■
May H, Bair T, Reiss-Brennan B, et al. The association of antidepressant and statin use to future death and incident cardiovascular disease varies by depression severity. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2015;65(10_S):. doi:10.1016/S0735-1097(15)61443-7
