THE BOOMER'S GUIDE TO PLANET
RETIREMENT
DR. MARILYN BRUNO
WWW.GYNOSAPIENS.COM
VOLUME 7 ISSUE 9
SEPTEMBER 2014
IN THIS ISSUE: Page 1: 10 Tips for Great Sleep
Page 2: FDA warnings
Page 4: Triclosan!
Page 6: You Are What You Eat
Page 9: Quick eyes = Quick Brain
Page 9: New drug for Alzheimer’s
Page 10: Medicare Update
Page 10: Boomer in the News – Ricky Nadel
QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
Your life is a reflection of how you sleep, and how you sleep is a reflection of your life."
-Dr. Rafael Pelayo
10 Tips for Great Sleep
That quote sounds a bit cryptic, but it is true that a good night’s sleep can shape the way your day turns out. About
three of every five people with sleep problems have an underlying health disorder that can be diagnosed by a sleep
therapist, pulmonologist, neurologist, ENT, PAP therapist, etc. -- in addition to conditions we all periodically experience
of chronic pain, excessive caffeine, and stress. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate that 70 million Americans
are affected by sleep disorders, which they call a public health epidemic!
Everyone can get more Zzzzs by having a relaxing bedtime routine. Research shows cutting back on screen time on TVs,
computers and cell phones 60 to 90 minutes before bed can help you get a better night’s sleep. Doctors recommend
that you keep a sleep journal to determine what could be affecting you: write down how your night went, what
supplements you took the night before, what you ate for dinner, how your stress level was, any other factors that might
be affecting you, such as pets or children.
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Here are the top 10 things you can do to get a better night’s sleep:
1. Address any HEALTH ISSUES that you may have, whether it's being overweight, acid reflux or chronic pain.
Acupuncture, nutrition and massage can be very helpful.
2. EXERCISE but not within two hours of going to bed. We all know how important it is to get regular exercise
during the day but right before bed do only gentle stretching or slow yoga.
3. MEDITATE: quieting your mind and slow, deep breathing gives a sense of relaxation and prepares your body for
sleep. Even just a few deep breaths before bed can make a big difference.
4. A HOT SHOWER OR BATH can help to raise your temperature and then bring it down, helping you to drift off into
a good night's slumber.
5. SUPPLEMENTS: Formula 303, Chinese herbal formulas, and magnesium citrate (400 to 800 milligrams), ZQuil,
Melatonin, etc. at night may help. Valerian root tincture is one of the most researched natural sleep aids. Ask
your practitioner about what's right for you.
6. AVOID WINE, ALCOHOL OR SUGAR: 90 minutes before you go to bed make sure that you sip only water and
avoid alcohol or anything with sugar. Diet is a huge factor in sleep quality. A hardboiled egg, whole grain
crackers with peanut butter, or a small handful of nuts before bed can work wonders. On the other hand, a big
plate of pasta or dessert can actually interfere with your blood sugar. You may find yourself waking up at 1 or 2
o'clock in the morning wondering, “Why am I awake?” This is often a drop in blood sugar that makes your body
wake you up.
7. PEACEFUL, CLEAN SPACE: Make sure that you prepare your room for sleep. Cooler temperatures and darkness
improve sleep. Even those little lights from electronics interfere with the pituitary secreting the proper amounts
of melatonin. That goes for the clock as well. Trust your alarm and don’t look at the clock. Avoid screen time.
Physical as well as electronic clutter is overwhelming for the brain so keep it to a minimum to help your room
feel peaceful. Of course, make sure that your mattress and pillow are comfortable.
8. Use LAVENDER essential oil on your pillow to improve your night's sleep.
9. PREPARE FOR THE DAY TOMORROW, PLAN THE WEEK so that you can feel done for the day and just relax once
you’re in bed. Looking ahead puts your mind at ease and helps prepare for the unexpected.
10. BRAIN DUMP: This is one of my favorite things and critical for releasing the massive “to do” list in your head.
Write down everything that's on your mind and just get it out. Some of you, like me, have a very busy mind and
at two a.m. - everything seems very loud, stopping you from getting back to sleep. So keep pen and paper by
your bed and write down anything that's bothering you or you need to do. You know you won't forget it right
there by your bed and then you can relax into a great night’s sleep.
You can read more from many great authors, such as Julia Ross, Dr. Wayne Anderson, Dr. Daniel Amen, and The Institute
for Brain Potential. For more info: http://nawbo-sd.org/top-10-tips-for-greatsleep.html?utm_source=Newsletter+2014+Summer+Edition&utm_campaign=Spring+2014+Newsletter&utm_medium=e
mail
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FDA WARNINGS
The FDA is cracking down on food companies to open the kimono and release info on chemicals in food. The Grocery
Manufacturers Association, which represents America’s biggest food companies, has finally said that they will give the
FDA access to a large database of safety information for chemicals commonly used in processed foods, from Twinkies to
almond milk. Stay tuned.
Remember to let the FDA know if you have any unexpected reactions to food or consumer products. Contact the FDA in
the following ways:
 phone at 240-402-2405
 email at CAERS@cfsan.fda.gov
 mail at: FDA, CAERS, HFS-700, 2A-012/CPK1, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740
 Complete and submit the adverse report online at www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm
 Download the pre-addressed, postage-paid FDA Form 3500 (or calling 1-800-332-1088 to request the form),
completing it and faxing it to 1-800-FDA-0178; or mailing the completed form to MedWatch, 5600 Fishers Lane,
Rockville, MD 20857.
Meanwhile, the FDA has issued the following warnings:
--LUPIN (sometimes called “lupine”) is a legume belonging to the same plant family as peanuts. It is a European food
staple (lupini beans) but is relatively new to the U.S. market, where it is being used more and more in a flour form in
“gluten-free” foods. While many people look for and avoid peanut ingredients in foods, they may have no idea what
lupin is.
The FDA is receiving reports of allergic reactions to lupin: hives, swelling of the lips, vomiting and breathing difficulties.
Stop eating the product and seek immediate medical care. As with most food allergens, people can develop an allergy
to lupin over time. However, for people who have an existing peanut and legume allergy, eating lupin could cause an
allergic reaction on first exposure. Some reactions can be severe, including: anaphylaxis (a severe response to an
allergen that can include shock and death). So, the remedy is to read the label to avoid lupin or lupine. People with
peanut allergies need to be particularly careful.
--TATOO INK -Okay, we may be too old for this sort of problem, but we Boomers may want to go wild and crazy in a
picturesque way, or maybe we know somebody who could get a tattoo or is using “permanent make-up” and find
themselves with an infection from the tainted ink. The FDA is concerned that consumers may be continuing to use
contaminated inks for tattoos. FDA became aware of a problem after testing inks and needles included in tattoo kits
marketed by White and Blue Lion, Inc. and issued a recall on July 11, 2014. The inks in question may be identified by a
dragon logo on the packaging and the lack of the name and address of the manufacturer. The inks were sold in all colors
in multiple forms: as single units, in sets, and in tattoo kits.
--PCBs - New testing shows low levels of a banned toxic chemical are still showing up in a variety of everyday products
including paints, newspapers, magazines and cardboard food packaging. The Washington Department of Ecology tested
68 different products for the chemical polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, which likely cause cancer and were banned in
1979. The tests found the compound at low levels in 49 different products, according to report published on August 7th:
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/publications/1404035.pdf.
The chemical is apparently an inadvertent byproduct of manufacturing many dyes and pigments. The highest PCB levels
were found in packaging of Ritz cheese and cracker snacks, Jello, mac and cheese, Fruit by the Foot, taco shells, paint
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color, inks, yellow spray paint, etc. The report concludes that consumer products are a continuing new source of PCB
contamination and that one source of that contamination, PCB-11, is mostly unregulated.
The Washington agency was tipped off about PCBs when testing after a wastewater contamination problem at a
newspaper recycling plant in Spokane, Wash. Inland Empire Paper Co. was finding levels of PCBs in its wastewater that
exceeded water quality standards. The PCBs were likely coming from ink. PCB contamination levels in Washington are
high enough to require cleanup plans in several areas. Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee has identified PCBs as a key
chemical of concern in a new initiative to tighten water quality standards.
--DEHP: My Auntie Irma received new checks from her bank in the mail. Inside was the following inconspicuous little
piece of paper that read: “Per California Proposition 65: WARNING: This checkbook contains chemicals, including DEHP,
known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm.”
Yikes! So, throw out your check book covers ASAP!!! Or use online banking… Thank goodness for California Proposition
65! FYI - DEHP is a phthalate, found in any soft plastic items, from pacifiers to check book covers! Phthalates are
considered in the EU to be “one of the top 6 chemical threats to humans:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/24/europe-bans-penis-shrinking-chemical-america-doesnot.aspx
TRICLOSAN!
Of the more than 84,000 chemicals sold in the U.S., few are attracting more scrutiny than an antibacterial agent called
triclosan. Used for decades as an ingredient in surgical hand scrubs, triclosan -- also identified as 5-Chloro-2-(2,4dichlorophenoxy)phenol -- has grown to a $100 million a year chemical globally, according to statistics from the Kline
Group. BASF, based in Ludwigshafen, Germany, sells it under the trade names Irgasan and Irgacare. India-based Kumar
Organic Products Ltd. and Vivimed Labs Ltd. also make it.
Triclosan is now part of almost 200 products including rugs and pet-food dispensers. The problem is that triclosan has
been linked to cancer-cell growth and disrupted development in animals. EU regulators banned it a few months ago.
The FDA is still “reviewing” whether it’s safe to put in soap, cutting boards and toys. Minnesota voted in May to ban it in
many products. Some consumer companies are voluntarily phasing it out: Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble
Co. have vowed to remove it from their lineups. In May, Avon Products Inc. announced its plans to go triclosan-free.
Those moves are coming in part as consumers, armed with toxicity ranking systems such as the Environmental Working
Group’s Skin Deep Database, have turned away from “endocrine disrupting chemicals,” including Bisphenol A and
phthalates. Wariness is mounting as factors from environment to diet are blamed for a global rise in endocrine-related
diseases. Breast, ovarian, prostate and testicular cancer rates have increased over the past 40 to 50 years, according to
a 2012 report from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme. A rise in preterm
and low birth weight babies, early breast development in girls and undescended testicles in boys have been scientifically
linked to endocrine-disrupting chemicals like triclosan.
Endocrine specialists estimate that 800 to 1,000 chemicals disrupt the endocrine system. Triclosan is one of about 10 to
which people are regularly exposed.
Toothpaste: We have been putting triclosan in our mouths twice a day. Like many antibacterials, triclosan kills germs
that cause plaque and gingivitis that can progress to periodontal disease, which affects almost half of Americans 30
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years old and over, according to a 2012 CDC study. The Colgate-Palmolive Co.’s Total Toothpaste has contained triclosan
for decades.
Here comes the controversy: Colgate says Total is safe, citing the rigorous FDA process that led to the toothpaste’s 1997
approval as an over-the-counter drug. A closer look at that application process reveals that some of the scientific
findings Colgate put forward to establish triclosan’s safety in toothpaste weren’t black and white -- and weren’t, until
this year, available to the public. Cornell University researchers showed that Colgate’s Total safety application included
35 pages summarizing toxicology studies on triclosan that the FDA withheld from view. The Natural Resources Defense
Council, a public-health advocate, had to sue the FDA for not responding to their earlier request for the missing pages
under the Freedom of Information Act. Later, in January 2014, following inquiries from Bloomberg News, the FDA put
the pages on its website. The pages show how the FDA relies on company-backed science to show products are safe and
effective. Taken alongside new research on triclosan, questions are arising on whether the FDA did appropriate due
diligence in approving Total 17 years ago, and whether its approval should stand in light of new research.
Colgate agrees, and is blaming the FDA for not thoroughly reviewing data on triclosan. Colgate says that the FDA relied
on data came from studies of triclosan done in the labs of Ciba-Geigy, the first triclosan maker and a predecessor to its
current primary maker, BASF.
This is becoming the battle of squishy data, incestuous doings, and finger pointing that lawyers around the world are
sure to love!
But what about us? Colgate says Total’s effectiveness and safety are supported by more than 80 clinical studies
involving 19,000 people, and that it gave the FDA 98 volumes, numbering hundreds of pages each, in support of Total.
Colgate submits annual reports to the FDA reviewing new science and safety findings. In 2013, the Cochrane Oral Health
Group, a network of doctors, researchers and health advocates, conducted an independent study which found no
evidence of harmful effects associated with using Colgate Total.
Bottom line: brush at your own risk! Total is only sold in the U.S.
Meanwhile, you can vote at the checkout counter. Total, the No. 3 selling brand in the U.S., lost 2 percent of its market
share last year, with $189.8 million in sales for the year that ended on Jan. 26, according to market research firm Mintel
Group Ltd. Colgate’s Tom’s of Maine toothpaste line grew 14 percent, to $38.9 million. Procter & Gamble, which
makes Crest 3D White and Crest Pro-Health -- the top two U.S. toothpastes -- has sought to capitalize. A Google search
for “triclosan” and “toothpaste” brings up an advertisement linked to a Procter & Gamble site touting Crest products as
“100% triclosan free.” P&G doesn’t produce or market triclosan-containing oral care products anywhere.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc, which once had triclosan in some Aquafresh and Sensodyne toothpastes, has reformulated all of its
oral care products.
Soap
BASF/Ciba-sponsored safety tests on triclosan became part of Colgate’s FDA application for Total began as early as 1968.
In 1974, the FDA proposed issuing a so-called monograph that would determine whether antibacterial ingredients such
as triclosan were considered safe and effective for hand soaps. Two years later, the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act of
1976, which aimed to comprehensively regulate chemicals, grandfathered in existing substances with no safety testing.
The law gave the EPA -- which oversees triclosan’s use in durable goods including fabrics and sealants -- the power to
restrict or test substances. It excluded food, drugs and cosmetics, which fall under the FDA’s mandate. The FDA, four
decades after its first promise, has yet to issue a ruling on whether triclosan is safe or effective in soaps.
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Now the FDA is being forced to reassess triclosan in soaps. This is in response to the EU ban, which followed a
worldwide alarm call for restricting the use of antibacterials in consumer products to curb the emergence of MRSA,
Superbugs and other resistant bacterial strains.
Colgate voluntarily removed triclosan from its Softsoap liquid hand soaps and Palmolive antibacterial dish liquid in 2011,
citing “changing consumer preferences and superior formulations.”
For the Bloomberg expose: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-11/in-35-pages-buried-at-fda-worries-overcolgate-s-total.html
You Are What You Eat
Well, we are consuming all sorts of chemicals anyway, so why don’t we make an environmental impact statement and
eliminate invasive species by eating them! American lakes, rivers and offshore waters are filling up with destructive fish
and crustaceans originally from other parts of the world, and many of them are potential sources of food.
--Lionfish – These are exotic-looking fish, but their poison-tipped barbs sting all species, particularly those smaller than
they are in the food chain, allowing them to feast and increase in population with few predators. Lionfish are native in
the Indo-Pacific Ocean and were first spotted in the Gulf of Mexico and off the U.S. East Coast little more than 10 years
ago. Now they have taken over the Gulf of Mexico, where divers are offered a reward for every one they kill. They
damage reefs and devour native fish, and they are eaten only by sharks — or larger lionfish.
But now businesses and scientists are trying to market them to restaurants. People soon learned that beneath the
lionfish’s spiky skin lies a buttery, flaky meat that is not “fishy” tasting and preferred for ceviche or as an alternative to
lobster. Since the fish are individually speared, filets are being sold for about $16 a pound. After a few years of intense
fishing and brisk fillet sales, the lionfish population is actually dropping and the few U.S. lionfish suppliers are having a
hard time keeping up with demand, especially since many Mexican restaurants replace lobster with lionfish during the
crustacean’s offseason. In fact, an event at the Texas State Aquarium had to be canceled last month when organizers
couldn’t find enough lionfish for the 100-person dinner. Some entrepreneurial lionfish suppliers are designing a “smart
trap” that will allow fishermen to catch lionfish without netting other species. He hopes the traps will be in use by year’s
end.
Who knows what lionfish will be called on the menu of your next Western Caribbean cruise or what you’ll be charged for
your next ceviche!
--Asian carp – Asian carp were introduced to the United States about 30 years ago. They have infested dozens of
waterways, including the Mississippi River. The Army Corps of Engineers is weighing options to try to keep the voracious
eaters out of the Great Lakes, where they could threaten other marine life and the fishing industry. These fish enjoy a
big market in Asia, where they are considered a delicacy. In China, they are fished in the Yangtze River. But they have
attracted little interest among U.S. consumers, and the few Americans who make a living on carp export most of their
catch. A research fish biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Columbia, Missouri attributed this to their small size in
the Missouri River. In Chicago, a group fed the carp to the homeless, an attempt to deal with hunger and help combat
the invasion problem. A southern Illinois company had hoped to start packaging frozen Asian carp. And Kentucky
organized a commercial fishing tournament to encourage anglers to go after them. But none of those efforts was
enough to stir demand for the creatures. Another obstacle is concern that a successful carp industry could derail the
original goal of getting rid of the fish.
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--Giant tiger prawn – This crustacean with a massive appetite that can grow to be a foot long has been found in the
northern Gulf of Mexico, where scientists fear it could harm the multimillion-dollar crab, shrimp and oyster markets.
Like the lionfish, this prawn has been successfully turned into gourmet food, because it is similar to shrimp.
--The Himalayan blackberry – This fruit bush is known for crowding out other shrubs and reducing the size of pastures.
Although it is delicious, it’s also thorny and requires time-consuming hand-picking that makes large-scale harvesting
difficult.
--Feral hogs -- A Cornell University study concluded that feral hogs cause more than $120 billion in economic harm
annually. They cost Texas alone about $52 million in agricultural damage every year, according to a study by Texas
A&M University. Feral hogs can be tasty, but they reproduce so quickly that hunting doesn’t make a dent in the
population. Throw another rack of ribs on the barbie!
--Insects – Students at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville gave dry-roasted, FDA-approved crickets and "chocolate
chirp cookies" made with cricket flour and chocolate-covered crickets to customers at a local market and to kids at the
campus childcare center. The cookies were a hit. And the nutty, dry-roasted crickets were scooped up by the kids with
little or no hesitation, although some people complained the legs tend to get caught in the teeth. In Madison, edible
insects have caught the fancy of sustainability advocates. Nonprofit Sustain Dane offered a "bug buffet" featuring Sweet
& Sour Silkworms, Hissing Cockroach Nigiri Sushi and Mealworm Latkes during its March fundraiser for the Madison
Children's Museum.
The university students became convinced edible insects are for real after watching an online TED Talk, "Why not eat
insects?" featuring ecological entomologist Marcel Dicke. Ted Talk is a free online site where intellectuals and artists to
share ideas. One of the points Dicke made was that every American already unknowingly eats at least 500 grams of
insects a year in processed foods. The FDA allows up to 60 insect fragments per 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of chocolate; 30
insect fragments per 100 grams of peanut butter; and 225 insect parts per 225 grams of noodles. Tomato soup is made
from insect-damaged tomatoes. With growing concerns about the threat of overpopulation to the food supply,
entomophagy — the consumption of insects become unavoidable. In terms of biomass, insects are more abundant than
humans. The current world population of 6 to 7 billion people is expected to grow to about 9 billion by 2050, which will
require a substantial increase in agricultural production.
A report released last year by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) notes there are more than 1,900 edible
insect species on Earth, and encourages their consumption. They're a protein source comparable to beef, pork and
chicken, and they produce less waste and less environmentally hazardous waste. It takes 10 kilograms of feed to get a
kilogram of beef, for example, but only 1.7 kilograms of feed is needed to produce a kilogram of cricket. Pound for
pound, insect farming emits 1 per cent of the greenhouse gases that raising ruminants like cows and sheep does – and it
requires far less water. And deadly food-borne illnesses and viruses have been linked to cattle, pigs and poultry.
According to National Geographic, which explored entomophagy a decade ago, more than 2 billion people around the
world intentionally eat a variety of flying, crawling and biting insects both raw and cooked. I can vouch for this. In
Thailand, I saw open-air markets selling silkworms, grasshoppers and water bugs by the pound. In South America, I
actually ate “hormigas culonas” – giant roasted ants – the local popcorn in Bucaramanga, Colombia. In Japan, I saw
insect larvae lining the shelves of Japanese supermarkets. And in China, scorpion kebab was sold on almost every street
corner.
A college student started the edible insect supplier, World Ento, with the mantra, "Save the world, one bug at a time."
World Ento of Austin, Texas, sells crickets, meal worms and cricket flour to adventurous eaters, chefs and those with
dietary restrictions or allergies. The owner insists that he follows "Good-Karma-Culling" practices — lulling the insects
into stasis (sleep) in a freezer, and then lowering the freezer temperature to kill them after they're asleep. "They
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experience no fear, pain, or panic." Among its biggest customers is the upscale Seattle Indian eatery Shanik, which
serves paratha, or Indian flatbread, made with roasted and ground crickets. The Thai restaurant, Sticky Rice, in Chicago
also is known for incorporating bugs on its menu. Get your Cricket Lick-It Lollipops at the Waukesha chocolate shop.
They made by Hotlix, a California company that has long sold novelty bug products such as scorpion lollipops. Big Cricket
Farmsis working with insect food start-up Six Foods in Boston. Their cricket flour is about 70 per cent protein by weight
– the idea is to blend it into recipes for chips and cookies alongside the other typical ingredients. The foods come out
looking and tasting like things people are already used to eating, only with a boost in nutritional value. Other start-ups
like Chapul and Exo are already making protein bars with crickets in them.
Nordic Food Lab – a non-profit spun out from Danish restaurant Noma – began a project to make insects delicious to the
Western palate in May last year. Nurdin Topham, now head chef at Nur in Hong Kong, was involved in the work, and
noticed that the flavor of the insects changed depending on what they had been fed. This is spawning a new breeding
method, called gut loading, where crickets are fed certain flavored or nutrient-rich foods just before they are killed – to
rear crickets that taste like honey and apples, or that are high in vitamin C. Big Cricket Farms currently feeds the
crickets with organic chicken feed, but plans to eventually use food waste from around town. Big Cricked expects the
5000 insects in his first breeding facility will produce 1 million crickets every four weeks – enough to produce 113
kilograms of cricket flour. When the warehouse reaches full capacity, he expects that number to reach 700 kilograms.
A professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies the “psychology of disgust” says new and unusual foods tend
to make their way into popular culture from the top down, starting with those who can afford to dine in expensive,
adventurous restaurants. Sushi is one example of this trend. The idea of eating raw fish was largely foreign to people in
the US before the 1960s, but now sushi restaurants can be found almost anywhere. Sushi originally started with
Japanese businessmen in Los Angeles. It was just a local ethnic thing for them, but then they would invite their
American counterparts. It's true of most unusual cuisine – people who are wealthy and adventurous do something, and
then it becomes trendy.
But even if nobody ever eats crickets as anything other than Six Foods's protein flour, they still have the potential to play
an important role in improving public health and the environment. If Pepsico starts using cricket flour as 3 per cent of
Cheetos, then you've got a major impact.
So the ball is in the court of the regulators to decide if this food is safe. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) says it
doesn't know of any relevant legislation that covers the production of insects as human food, which makes farming
them a risky business. There are also some legal quirks. You are not allowed to slaughter your animal on the farm.
Because insects are “animals” they are subject to the same legislation. You need a separate slaughterhouse. That could
be the end to “Good Karma Culling.”
Bon appetite!
For more info: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/can-us-eliminate-invasive-species-by-eating-
them/2014/05/25/e61cbb4c-e449-11e3-8f90-73e071f3d637_story.html
http://www.jsonline.com/news/health/edible-insects-slowly-crawl-into-mainstream-us-dining-b99277506z1-260557811.html
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22229702.900-six-legs-tasty-first-edible-insect-farm-opens-inus.html#.U4ONCyLn-Uk
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QUICK EYES = QUICK BRAINS
Time to buy a copy of Luminosity and start practicing your visual skills! New research shows that age-related declines in
intelligence are strongly related to declines in a very simple task of visual perception speed. The evidence comes from
experiments in which researchers showed 600 healthy older people very brief flashes of one of two shapes on a screen
and measured the time it took each of them to reliably tell one from the other.
Participants were tested at ages 70, 73, and 76. The longitudinal study is among the first to test the hypothesis that the
changes they observed in the measure known as “inspection time” might be related to changes in intelligence in old age.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh confirmed that the brain’s ability to make correct decisions based on brief
visual impressions limits the efficiency of more complex mental functions. As this basic ability declines with age, so does
intelligence. The typical person who has better-preserved complex thinking skills in older age tends to be someone who
can accumulate information quickly from a fleeting glance.
Previous studies had shown that smarter people, as measured by standard IQ tests, tend to be better at discerning the
difference between two briefly presented shapes. But before now, no one had looked to see how those two measures
might change over time as people grow older. The new test results provide evidence that the slowing of simple, visual
decision-making processes might be part of what underlies declines in the complex decision making that we recognize as
general intelligence. The results might also find practical use, given the simplicity of the inspection time measure since
test can be taken very simply on a computer and has been used with children, adults, and even patients with dementia
or other medical disorders.
For more info: http://www.kurzweilai.net/declining-intelligence-in-old-age-linked-to-visual-processingspeed?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=6d8ea9ddf5-UA-9467421&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_147a5a48c1-6d8ea9ddf5-282020441
CONTACT LENSES
According to an optometrist at the FDA, contact lenses may have benefits for the elderly. We know that they can be
better in case of a fall because they don't break or hurt your face as eyeglass frames and lenses can, they provide better
peripheral vision. In some cases, contact lenses improve the quality of vision in comparison to eyeglasses, especially
when used to correct nearsightedness.
A three-year study conducted at the Ohio State University College of Optometry (October, 2007) on children between
the ages of 8 and 11 showed a definite improvement in a child's self-perception when wearing contact lenses as
opposed to glasses. The same may be true for the elderly. However. Take note: serious injury to the eye can result
particularly if the contact lenses are not removed at the first hint of a problem.
This article appears on FDA's Consumer Updates page, which features the latest on FDA-regulated products. - August 6,
2014
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New Drug for Alzheimer’s
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have discovered a new drug compound that reverses the brain deficits of
Alzheimer’s disease in mice. Their findings are published in the Aug. 5 issue of the journal PLoS Biology. The compound,
TC-2153, inhibits the negative effects of a protein called STtriatal-Enriched tyrosine Phosphatase (STEP) on learning and
memory. These cognitive functions are impaired in Alzheimer’s.
High levels of STEP proteins keep synapses in the brain from strengthening. Synaptic strengthening is a process that is
required for people to turn short-term memories into long-term memories. When STEP is elevated in the brain, it
depletes receptors from synaptic sites, and inactivates other proteins that are necessary for proper cognitive function.
This disruption can result in Alzheimer’s disease or a number of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, all
marked by cognitive deficits.
The team is currently testing the TC compound in lab animals and primates with cognitive defects. The study was
funded by the National Institute of Health, the American Health Assistance Foundation, and the Alzheimer’s Drug
Discovery Foundation. For more info: http://www.kurzweilai.net/new-drug-reverses-effects-of-alzheimers-disease-inmice?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=6d8ea9ddf5-UA-9467421&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_147a5a48c1-6d8ea9ddf5-282020441
MEDICARE UPDATE
Premiums Projected to Continue to Remain Low
This is good news for us Boomers and people with disabilities. Continuing a historically low growth rate, CMS has
projected that the average premium for basic prescription drug coverage, Medicare Part D, will increase by only $1 a
month. More than 8.2 million people have saved more than $11.5 billion on prescription drugs since 2010 as a result of
the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”). And the donut hole (gap in drug coverage) will continue to shrink in 2015.
According to the recent Medicare Trustees report, premiums for doctor coverage (Part B) are expected to show no
increase in cost for the second year in a row.
BOOMER IN THE NEWS –Ricky Nadel!
Our good friend, Dr. Laurie Nadel, sent us the great news that her brother was inducted in to the Baseball Hall of Fame!
Eric Nadel was the announcer for the Texas Rangers for 36 years and now has his own Bobblehead and Frick Award
plaque in Cooperstown! For his acceptance speech: http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/6003532/v34843359/eric-nadelreceives-ford-c-frick-award
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Please let me know how topics you would like covered in our next
Newsletters! E-mail:DrBruno@gynosapiens.com.
All previous Newsletters are posted online on the homepage of
www.gynosapiens.com
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