Guest guest Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 " HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch HSI e-Alert - Daydream Believer Thu, 15 Sep 2005 07:00:00 -0400 HSI e-Alert - Daydream Believer Health Sciences Institute e-Alert **************************************************** September 15, 2005 Dear Reader, " Daydreaming May Make You Lose Your Mind " That's the headline of an article HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., sent me this week. And it's accurate in one sense: When I read it, it nearly made me lose my mind for a moment while I daydreamed about throttling the headline writer. Why? Because the person who devised that headline decided to completely avoid accuracy in order to be provocative. I was also feeling a little out of my mind about the Alzheimer's disease (AD) study that the article reports on because it contains some pure speculation that verges on fantasy. Dr. Spreen had this take on it: " Do you believe grown-up humans actually report (and pay for) this stuff? " No. I don't believe it. But believe it or not... ----------- A mighty leap ----------- This Alzheimer's research is actually somewhat groundbreaking because it's based on the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) and other imaging advances which make it possible, for the first time, to diagnose AD with complete accuracy. Previously, such accuracy could only be achieved with an autopsy. When the Washington University (WU) researchers applied five different imaging techniques in the examination of more than 760 subjects, they discovered an interesting coincidence: The part of the brain where AD develops in some patients is the same part of the brain that's involved with daydreaming and the recall of pleasant memories. Now, put on your Wile E. Coyote spring-loaded catapult boots and prepare to join the WU team in jumping to an astounding conclusion. The WU report theorizes that youthful daydreaming may prompt elderly Alzheimer's. That's right, every time you've stopped to reminisce about a happy vacation or imagined yourself accepting an Academy Award, according to the WU team you may have inched yourself just a little closer to dementia. Dr. Spreen neatly put the theory into perspective with this comment: " Uhh, since my garage is where my car is, my garage must be the cause of motor vehicle accidents. " ----------- What a day for a daydream ----------- The WU logic goes like this: When the brain isn't engaged in demanding activities such as figuring out income tax returns or planning bidding strategies for Ebay auctions, it lapses into default mode. That's when the daydreaming begins. Here's how the WU team puts it in the 8/24/05 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience: " One possibility is that lifetime cerebral metabolism associated with regionally specific default activity predisposes cortical regions to AD-related changes, including amyloid deposition, metabolic disruption, and atrophy. " The key phrase here is " one possibility, " because this theory is based completely on a coincidence of location. But could there be other possibilities? Sure. The first that comes to mind is the chance that a LACK of daydreaming prompts AD. But an even more likely possibility is that it's just a coincidence After all, they're working on zero evidence here. It's not as if they compared AD rates among chronic daydreamers to AD rates among daydream-free people - an impossible test because everyone daydreams. Even government bureaucrats. Nevertheless, in Associated Press and Reuters interviews the lead authors danced all around their theory, trying to pump up its validity while also basically admitting that it holds no water at all. In other words, they're not actually suggesting that Alzheimer's may be avoided if people would only make an effort to cut back on their daydreaming. ----------- Keep on imaging ----------- Here's the kicker: You and I paid for this daydream study. It was funded by the National Institute on Aging, which is one of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. In fairness, I don't think that's as bad as it sounds. After all, they started off in the right direction, using the most advanced imaging methods to search for the causes of Alzheimer's disease. That's an effort that will certainly continue and might eventually help lead the way to prevention and cure. But in this case it appears that a little wild daydreaming over at Washington University may have prompted a temporary cognitive decline. **************************************************** ....and another thing Want to up your antioxidant intake? Eat your mushrooms. In yesterday's e-Alert ( " The Tonic King " 9/14/05) I mentioned how important it is to keep the immune system working at optimum levels when treating lyme disease. One way to do this is by increasing your intake of antioxidant-rich foods such as blueberries, apples, kidney beans, strawberries, etc. (For a more complete list of foods with high antioxidant content see the e-Alert " Tonight's Top 20 " (7/20/04) on our web site at hsibaltimore.com.) Now researchers at Penn State University have shown that mushrooms should be nominated for a place high on that list. The Penn nutritionists say they've devised a new and more dependable method for examining plants to detect ergothioneine, a powerful antioxidant that's essential for keeping cells healthy. According to their tests, white button mushrooms have 12 times more ergothioneine than wheatgerm. And if you have a taste for more exotic mushrooms, all the better. A three-ounce serving of shiitake, maitake or oyster mushrooms deliver about 40 times the amount of ergothioneine as wheatgerm. And this holds true even if the mushrooms are cooked. The Penn State team promises that their new testing method will soon reveal other rich sources of this important antioxidant. To Your Good Health, Jenny Thompson **************************************************** Sources: " Molecular, Structural, and Functional Characterization of Alzheimer's Disease: Evidence for a Relationship between Default Activity, Amyloid, and Memory " The Journal of Neuroscience, Vol. 25, No. 34, 8/24/05, jneurosci.org " Study Links Daydreaming, Alzheimer's " Cheryl Wittenauer, Associated Press, 8/25/05, The Times (Frankfort, IN), ftimes.com " Daydreaming Activity Linked to Alzheimer's " Reuters Health, 8/25/05, reutershealth.com " Mushrooms Beat Wheatgerm to Top Antioxidant Slot " NutraIngredients, 9/5/05, nutraingredients.com *********************** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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