Debbie Mandel's Weekly Wellness Newsletter

A drug that boosts activity in the brain’s “garbage disposal” system can decrease levels of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders and improve cognition in mice, a new study by neuroscientists at Columbia University Medical Center has found. To remain healthy, brain cells must continually clear out old, worn, or damaged proteins, a task performed by a small molecular cylinder called the proteasome. The proteasome acts as a kind of garbage disposal, grinding up the old proteins so they can be recycled into new ones. In neurodegenerative diseases, proteins tagged for destruction accumulate in the brain’s neurons, suggesting that the cell’s proteasomes are impaired.

Movement and strength come from the muscle fibers that make up a muscle group contracting and generating tension. Muscle weakening happens when the fibers contract slower and with less force. A team of Canadian researchers hypothesized that the constant physical training of older elite runners preserved their muscle fibers such that the fibers behaved like those of young adults. Muscle fiber samples were taken from the quadriceps of older elite runners and non-athlete adults in the same age range. “One of the most unique and novel aspects of this study are the exceptional participants,” says lead author Geoff Power of University of Guelph in Canada. “These are individuals in their 80s and 90s who actively compete in the world masters track and field championships. In the study, we had seven world champions, and everyone placed in the top four of their respective events.”

Look at the fat tax: Small price differences are highly effective in shifting demand to healthy low calorie alternatives, new study in INFORMS journal finds.

A brain region controlling whether we feel happy or sad, as well as addiction, is remodeled by chronic pain, reports a new study. And in a significant breakthrough, scientists have developed a new treatment that restores this region and dramatically lessens pain symptoms in an animal model. The new treatment combines two FDA-approved drugs: a Parkinson’s drug, L-dopa, and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. These drugs target affected brain circuits and completely eliminate chronic pain behavior.

Researchers at the University of Georgia found that pathogens, like salmonella, can survive for at least six months in cookies and crackers. The recent study was prompted by an increased number of outbreaks of foodborne diseases linked to low-water-activity, or dry, foods.

Studies have shown that obese children tend to have more muscle, but recent University of Georgia research on the muscle and bone relationship shows that excess body fat may compromise other functions in their bodies, such as bone growth.

The caffeine in a morning cup of coffee could help improve athletic endurance, according to a new University of Georgia review study.

Eating a moderate amount of almonds each day may enrich the diets of adults and their young children. In the study, when parents and children were eating almonds, their Healthy Eating Index increased for total protein foods, seafood and plant proteins and fatty acids, while they ate fewer empty calories.