Human brains grow, change and can heal themselves

Mar. 2--By the time Scott Hayner of Highland Park was 7, he had had one skull fracture and three major concussions from falling off horses.

Nobody connected those accidents to the difficulties he had in school as he acted out, stopped talking for three months and cried daily for two years. As an adult, he seemed to be a thriving, successful stockbroker, until traumatic brain injury from a 1999 soccer accident led to seizures and sidelined his ability to talk to people and stay on task, it seemed, for good.Two realizations have turned his life around at 42. First, he realized that brain injuries were behind the troubles he had had all his life. And second, he read about brain plasticity -- the concept that the brain can heal and learn at all ages.

"It was a relief," says Hayner, who credits his 2008 training at the University of Texas at Dallas' Center for BrainHealth for helping to restore abilities that he thought were long gone. "It helped me regain my self-esteem and self-confidence. It gave me hope."

Neuroplasticity, or the brain's ability to adapt and change through life, is gaining increased traction in medical circles.

Dr. Norman Doidge, author of the best-selling The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science (Penguin, $16), refers to neuroplasticity as "the most important change in our understanding of the brain in four hundred years."

"For the longest time our best and brightest neuroscientists thought of the brain as like a machine, with parts, each performing a single mental function in a single location," he wrote in an e-mail from the University of Toronto (he also teaches at Columbia University). "We thought its circuits were genetically hardwired, and formed, and finalized in childhood."

This meant that doctors assumed they could do little to help those with mental limitations or brain damage, he says -- because machines don't grow new parts. The new thinking changes that: "It means that many disorders that we thought can't be treated have to be revisited."

Dr. Jeremy Denning, a neurosurgeon on the Baylor Plano medical staff, has seen that in his own practice.

"The brain has the amazing ability to reorganize itself by forming new connections between brain cells," Denning says. "I have one patient I operated on a year ago who almost died from a hemispheric brain stroke and actually recovered from coma to hemiplegia [paralysis] to actually walking out of the hospital in four to five weeks. There are numerous studies looking at the changes that occur at the molecular level at the site of neuron connections. It is a very complex phenomenon, and we are still in the infancy of completely understanding it."

Dr. Sandra Chapman believes in lifelong plasticity. As founder of the Center for BrainHealth, she has set several studies in motion to explore how that concept can help those with brain damage and everyone else, including those with aging brains, middle-schoolers who need a brain boost and autistic children who need help rewiring the brain to improve their social cognition.

People such as Hayner have been able to benefit from some of these studies, although BrainHealth is primarily a research institute.

"Our brain is one of the most modifiable parts of our whole body," Chapman says.

That means that just as physical exercise keeps the body healthy, the right kind of learning will make it more likely for our brains to keep up with our ever-expanding life span, she notes.

Even while using the latest high-tech scanning devices to monitor results in her studies, when it comes to brain health Chapman puts her greatest emphasis on a brain fitness exam that she refers to as a "neck-up checkup." It's done one-on-one with an interviewer using puzzles, paper, pen, pencil and just a few computer questions.

A "brain physical" at the center costs $600. Based on the results, experts recommend a simple, individualized strategy usually focusing on three key areas:

--Strategic attention: the skill to block out distractions and focus on what's important. Exercises might include taking stock of your environment, identifying what distracts you and eliminating or limiting those things, and creating daily priority lists.

--Integrated reasoning: the ability to find the message or theme in what you are watching, reading or doing. Exercises might include making a point of reflecting on the meaning of a book after you've read it or a movie after you've seen it and writing down your interpretation.

--Innovation: the vision to identify patterns and come up with new ideas, fresh perspectives and multiple solutions to problems. Exercises might include thinking of multiple solutions to problems as they come up, talking to other people to get a different perspective and taking time to step away from a problem to give yourself an opportunity for creative thoughts.

Hayner says his sessions -- he attended for two months and completed take-home exercises -- proved invaluable.

"I have been on so many drugs and medications, and they got me nowhere," he says. "Adults with TBIs [traumatic brain injuries] tend to become overwhelmed, and when someone becomes overwhelmed, it spirals into fear and chaos, and we have a tendency to shut down.

"Today as long as I stick to what I was taught here about filtering information and innovative thinking and what's important and what's not important and apply that to my real life, things don't confuse and baffle me ... I can make a decision on the important things that have to be done each day."

Although Chapman maintains it's never too late -- or early -- to learn, she does point out that some physiological changes in the brain come with age.

The frontal lobes, which control critical thinking, judgment, reasoning and problem-solving, accelerate from ages 16 to 25 and may begin to decline after age 30, particularly if efforts to keep the brain fit haven't been made.

Memory and processing abilities may slow as people get older, too, she says.

At the same time, the brain, like the body, can stay fit in core areas as the years go by, she maintains. It's possible that the connections that the brain makes may become even more profound with age:

"People in their 80s and 90s can do incredible things," Chapman says. "They may do them a little bit slower, but they can do them at a much deeper level."What to avoid

--Sleep deprivation

--Multitasking

--Stress

--Concussion

--Depression

--Some medications and sleep aids

--General anesthesia

--Failure to seek help if you notice difficulties such as loss of memory, inability to focus and make decisions, and a struggle to understand.

Source: the Center for BrainHealth

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=9392&Section=Aging

US FDA warns Nestle, Gerber, others on food claims

Last Updated: 2010-03-03 15:02:01 -0400 (Reuters Health)

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators have warned units of Nestle and more than a dozen other foodmakers over nutritional claims made for baby food, nuts and other products on food labels and product websites, according to letters made public on Wednesday.

The warnings came as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is set to push for new package labeling geared toward making it easier for consumers to understand the nutritional content of the foods they eat.

The FDA plans to soon issue draft guidelines for nutritional labeling, but also plans to work with the food industry to design a new labeling system, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in an open letter to the food industry.

Hamburg said on Wednesday that the examples cited in the warnings were not indicative of labeling practices in the food industry as a whole.

In one of the warning letters, issued Feb. 22 to baby food maker Gerber, a unit of Nestle, the FDA cited issues with Gerber 2nd Foods Carrot and Graduates Fruit Puffs products saying their "labeling includes unauthorized nutrient content claims."

The foods make claims that they are "Healthy as Fresh," an "Excellent Source ... of Vitamin A" and "No Added Sugar," according to the agency letter. "These regulations do not allow the claim for products specifically intended for children under two years of age," the FDA wrote.

The FDA issued a similar warning to Beech-Nut, a unit of Swiss company Hero Group, the same day.

(For a list of the companies that received warning letters and links to those letters, see:http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/default.htm#recent)

The agency also warned Nestle, Gerber and other companies about similar nutritional claims made on company websites.

Others receiving warning letters include snack food company Diamond Foods Inc - relating to the health claims for the omega-3 fatty acids in the company's walnuts - and Spectrum Organic Products Inc, a unit of Hain Celestial Group, over labeling for its vegetable shortening.

Nestle's Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream unit was warned over labeling of certain products.

A Nestle spokesman said the company was cooperating with the FDA but does not comment on pending regulatory inquiries.

Hain, Beech-Nut and Diamond could not immediately be reached for comment.

The letters call for the companies to immediately correct the products' labeling and respond to the agency within 15 days from the day of the letter.

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2010/03/03/eline/links/20100303elin017.html

Links seen between gut bacteria and disease: paper

Last Updated: 2010-03-03 15:23:31 -0400 (Reuters Health)

SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - Some of the hundreds of bacteria found in the digestive systems of humans may be linked to specific diseases like cancer, diabetes and obesity, an international team of scientists said in a paper on Thursday.

Researchers, led by Chinese scientist Wang Jun, said in the latest issue of Nature they found more than 1,000 different species of bacteria in the human gut.

They said they had sequenced, or analyzed, the genes of each bacteria, creating the first genetic catalog of the organisms found in the human digestive system. Their research was based on analysis of stool samples from 124 people from Denmark and Spain.

Wang and his fellow researchers found several genes that may be linked to obesity and Crohn's disease, but he said more validation work was needed.

"Apart from helping you digest, these bacteria may also play a very important role in ... diseases like Crohn's disease, cancer, obesity," Wang, executive director of the Beijing Genomics Institute, said in an interview with Reuters.

"If you just tackle these bacteria, it is easier than treating the human body itself. If you find that a certain bug is responsible for a certain disease and you kill it, then you kill the disease," Wang said.

Crohn's disease is an inflammatory illness of the intestines which some believe may be caused by a variety of bacteria. Other possible causes include genetics and environmental factors.

Wang said creating the genetic catalog of all the bacteria in the human gut was only a beginning.

"There are a lot of unknown bacteria and pathogens that can cause different kinds of diseases," he said.

"So this is the first step and we have to study further to find concrete associations between these bacteria and human diseases, and then you can start learning how to get diagnosis, prognosis and then treatment," Wang said.

Wang and colleagues in China are working on a similar 120-sample study in Chinese hospitals.

"There are four groups: obese diabetics, obese non-diabetics, lean diabetics and lean non-diabetics. And we found some interesting bugs related to each type of diabetes," Wang said.

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2010/03/03/eline/links/20100303elin022.html

In defence of omega-3

Nutraingredients.com  March 4, 2010

The best way to survive a shark attack is to fight back, so say survivors. Events this week suggest the sharks may be beginning to circle the good ship omega-3, and now is the time for industry and academia to start fighting back.

First, the BBC runs an article on it website with the title, “The cult of omega-3”, which left a very fishy taste in this reader’s mouth. On the other side of the pond, legal action was announced in a San Francisco court over allegations of excessive limits for the pollutant polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) in some omega-3 supplements.

And all this in a week that celebrated Omega-3 Awareness Day.

Magic versus science

The BBC’s article set out to examine if the reputation of omega-3 is worthy. If you haven’t read the article, I suggest you have a look. It starts with the statement: “Hardly a week goes by without a new health claim being made of eating oily fish. But is it really as magical as we are told?”

There is nothing wrong with the first sentence. I report on the potential benefits of omega-3 every week. The studies are published in high-quality, peer-review journals and come from good researchers at good universities. Indeed, such is the mass of omega-3 science, and the subsequent amount of reporting on the topic, that some of my colleagues suggest: “Every day is omega-3 day!”

And to answer the BBC’s question, nobody said it was magical. We’re talking about science here, not magic. If omega-3 had a voice of its own it may well echo Gandalf’s proclamation in Lord of the Rings: “Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks!”

There is a mountain of evidence of over 12,000 studies supporting a role for omega-3's in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and boosting overall heart health, improving eye and brain development in our formative years, maintaining cognitive performance as we age, and improving mood and behaviour, even amongst the less well-behaved .

So what’s the issue? Omega-3 is one of the nutrition industry’s major successes, with the ingredients market valued at a whopping $1.6 billion by Frost & Sullivan. Omega-3 perfectly illustrates how an ingredient can be mutually and successfully developed by all of the players working together. It may come as no surprise that there are some that wish to “take it down a peg or two”, as we say in the UK.

There are always detractors in the world, and it is up to the industry and the scientists working in this field to defend omega-3. Now is the time for industry and academia to react to lawyers and journalists.

The cult

The BBC’s article brings together a couple of issues that I have covered over the years – bad journalism and views from authors of reviews who practise selective science .

The only researcher interviewed in the omega-3 article is Dr Lee Hooper from the University of East Anglia, described by the Beeb as the “lead author of one of the most thorough studies on the apparent benefits of omega-3, published in the British Medical Journal in 2006.”

Hang on a minute! Is this the review that received so much criticism that the scientists went into damage control and released a statement saying: "We did not report that 'long chain omega-3 does not offer any protection from heart disease,' that 'omega-3 fats have no effect on total mortality, combined cardiovascular events, or cancer' or that omega-3 fats are of 'no benefit'”?

What they did write in the BMJ was, "Long chain and shorter chain omega 3 fats do not have a clear effect on total mortality, combined cardiovascular events, or cancer."

So, they did say it then.

The journals are overflowing with research from excellent scientists that supports the benefits of the fatty acids. The science supporting omega-3 is impressive, but the science is also ongoing.

Omega-3 benefits may also have huge public health implications. Some may say I’m over-reacting to articles such as the BBC’s and legal action in San Francisco, but industry needs to remain vigilant of potential sharks in their calm waters. I’ve seen Jaws, I know what can happen.

Stephen Daniells is the science editor for NutraIngredients, NutraIngredients-USA, FoodNavigator, and FoodNavigator-USA. He has a PhD in chemistry from the Queen’s University of Belfast and has worked in research in The Netherlands and France. He has been writing about nutrition and food science for over four years, and takes an omega-3 supplement every day.

http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/In-defence-of-omega-3

Red clover may counter depressive symptoms in older women

Nutraingredients.com, 04-Mar-2010

Post-menopausal women taking supplements of a red clover extract may experience fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, says a new randomised trial from Austria.

Symptoms of depression and anxiety were reduced by about 80 per cent following 90 days of supplements containing 80 milligrams of red clover isoflavones, according to findings of a prospective randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial published in Maturitas.

“Although clinical data regarding phytoestrogens and mood disorders is still scarce, the present series determined that red clover derived isoflavones were effective in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms among postmenopausal women,” wrote the authors, led by Markus Lipovac from General Teaching Hospital Korneuburg in Austria.

“More clinical and experimental research in this regard is warranted,” they added.

If such additional research does indeed improve mood, then this could present an option for many people. According to background information in the article, the lifetime prevalence of depression in women is about 21 per cent. The figure falls to 13 per cent for men, added the researchers.

The study used a preparation from Melbrosin International containing isoflavones in their aglycone form, and specifically the compounds biochanin A, formononetin, genistein and daidzein.

Study details

Lipovac and his co-workers recruited 109 post-menopausal women over the age of 40 and randomly assigned them to receive either the red clover supplement or placebo for 90 days.

Measures of depressive and anxiety symptoms, obtained using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Zung's Self Rating Depression Scale (SDS), showed that anxiety was reduced by 76 per cent, and depression by 78 per cent, according to HADS. The SDS data supported the HADS result, with symptoms of depression reduced by 80 per cent.

People in the placebo group experienced a decrease in anxiety and depression of about 21 per cent on both HADS and SDS, added Lipovac and hic co-workers.

Commenting on the potential mechanism, the researchers proposed a role for isoflavones in the protection against neuron damage by inhibiting inflammatory pathways,

“Equally red clover isoflavones protected human cortical neurons against glutamate toxicity and oxidative stress, which could have been the result of their antioxidant and estrogenic actions,”they added.

EFSA’s opinion

In early 2009, data was sent to a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) working group investigating isoflavones following a symposium in Italy. Twenty isoflavone experts met in Italy to examine studies collected over the last 20 years, and as well as newer trials, and concluded that emerging human studies in isoflavones demonstrate the “modest but valuable benefit for menopause relief”.

The scientists concluded the soy and red clover-derived isoflavones do not increase the risk of breast cancer and can offer very real relief to post-menopausal women.

Source: Maturitas March 2010, Volume 65, Issue 3, Pages 258-261 “Improvement of postmenopausal depressive and anxiety symptoms after treatment with isoflavones derived from red clover extracts”  M. Lipovac, P. Chedraui, C. Gruenhut, A. Gocan, M. Stammler, M. Imhof

http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Red-clover-may-counter-depressive-symptoms-in-older-women

90 Percent of High School Kids Lack Sufficient Intake of Fruits, Veggies

David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com March 4, 2010 

(NaturalNews) Less than 10 percent of high school students in the United States meet the federally recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables, according to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"A diet high in fruits and vegetables is important for optimal child growth, maintaining a healthy weight, and prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers, " said William H. Dietz, director of the Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Division of the CDC. "This report will help states determine what is taking place in their communities and schools and come up with ways to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables."

In 2007, the CDC surveyed both adults and high school students on their daily consumption of fruits or vegetables. Even though they are considered less healthy than whole fruits, fruit juices were counted toward daily fruit intake goals.

Even so, only 32 percent of the 100,000 students surveyed said they ate at least two servings of fruit per day, while only 13 percent consumed at least three daily servings of vegetables. Less than 10 percent ate enough of both.

The numbers among adults were similar for fruit consumption, and only slightly better for vegetables. Thirty-three percent of adults consumed at least two servings of fruits per day, while 27 percent consumed at least three servings of vegetables.

Details of the results varied by state, with Arkansas and North Carolina scoring significantly below the average and Vermont and other New England states scoring significantly above it. The researchers found that states with more farmers markets per capita than the national average tended to have higher rates of fruit and vegetable consumption. Schools in states scoring above average were also more likely to make fresh fruit available on campus.

The study calls attention to how far the government is from achieving its goal of getting 75 percent of people to consume two daily fruit servings and 50 percent to consume three daily vegetable servings by 2010.

"This is a call for states, communities, schools, and families to support increased fruit and vegetable consumption,'' researcher Heidi Blanck said.

http://www.naturalnews.com/028293_high_school_nutrition.html

Prostate cancer therapy can increase risk of heart disease and death

Ethan Huff, NaturalNews.com March 4, 2010

(NaturalNews) A new report published in the American Cancer Society journal, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and in the American Heart Association journal, Circulation, reveals that androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT), a type of prostate cancer treatment, can increase heart risk factors and possibly lead to heart attack or cardiac death.

A writing group of experts from the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Urological Association, and the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology published their findings that indicate that ADT leads to increased fat mass, increased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the "bad" form of cholesterol, and blood sugar abnormalities.

The goal of ADT is to reduce male hormonal levels in order to decrease the rate at which cancer cells grow and spread in the prostate. By limiting the two primary male androgens - testosterone and dihydrotestosterone - Western medicine theory purports that prostate cancer can be better combated. The American Cancer Society, however, admits that ADT and other forms of hormone therapy do not actually cure prostate cancer.

The advisory panel that oversaw the study noted that, while ADT does seem to increase one's risk of having future cardiovascular problems, the patient should evaluate whether the alleged benefits of ADT are worth it in comparison. The group also stressed its belief that prostate cancer patients should consult only the physician who is actually treating the cancer for help in making the decision, without referral to any other outside specialists.

Interestingly, studies pertaining to the effects of low testosterone levels in men have determined that the condition, known as hypogonadism, leads to cardiovascular disease and death. Low serum testosterone levels are also known to increase a man's risk of developing diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and dyslipidemia. Men who undergo ADT experience the same increased risk factors due to their testosterone levels being artificially reduced.

Many men who have undergone ADT also experience long-term difficulty achieving proper testosterone levels following the treatment. Many have reported that they are unable to sustain proper male hormonal levels at all following ADT, summoning them to a life of illness and premature death.

If ADT does not cure prostate cancer and permanently blocks male hormones from properly circulating in the body, why would anyone endorse such a treatment? There does not seem to be any logical answer to this question other than that it is recommended by mainstream cancer experts to assist in treatment; therefore, many simply jump on the bandwagon.

http://www.naturalnews.com/028296_prostate_cancer_heart_disease.html

Insulin Used to Treat Diabetes May Be Linked to Increased Cancer Risk, Review Suggests

ScienceDaily (Mar. 4, 2010) — The benefits of using insulin to treat diabetes far outweigh the risks, but a review just published online by IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice, suggests that commonly used diabetes therapies may differ from each other when it comes to their influence on cancer risk.

Cancer expert Professor Michael Pollak from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, teamed up with diabetes expert Professor David Russell-Jones from The Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, UK, to review more than three decades of laboratory and population studies.

They believe that their findings will be of special interest to clinicians advising diabetic patients who have also been diagnosed with cancer or have a strong family history of cancer.

"The inter-relationships between cancer and diabetes deserve more attention as both of these diseases are becoming more prevalent globally and it is increasingly more common to see patients with both conditions" says Professor Pollak.

The paper also reflects the views expressed by experts at scientific meetings held in 2009 to assess the relative risk of malignancy associated with diabetes itself and with the use of different insulin products and other diabetes treatments. These meetings followed the publication of a series of epidemiological studies in 2009 that raised questions concerning the relative risk of cancer incidence associated with the basal insulin analogue, insulin glargine.

"Recent publications have resurrected awareness and focused attention on an issue that first emerged more than a decade ago, when it was shown that artificial modification of the molecular structure of insulin could result in increased cell division" says Professor Pollak.

"Our review showed that people with diabetes, particularly those with type 2 diabetes, may face an increased risk of cancer and that their cancer may be modified by treatment choices.

"Research suggests that metformin, which is used to treat some patients with diabetes, may provide a protective effect, while insulin and/or certain insulin analogues may promote tumour growth."

The review found that diabetes appears to be associated with an intrinsic increase in cancer incidence. A number of meta-analyses have been carried out, showing that:

• Diabetic patients were 30 per cent more likely to develop colorectal cancer (15 studies covering 2.5 million patients).
• Women with diabetes had a 20 per cent greater risk of developing breast cancer, according to 20 studies.
• People with diabetes had an 82 per cent higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer (36 studies covering more than 9,000 patients).

"The excess risk of pancreatic cancer was highest among those who had only had diabetes a short time, suggesting that the cancer could cause the diabetes" says Professor Pollak. "However, the incidence of this cancer in people with a longer history of diabetes does suggest there may also be an intrinsic cancer risk from diabetes.

"It is also important to remember that diabetes is often associated with other illnesses and risk factors, such as obesity and physical inactivity, that may in themselves increase the cancer risk."

The authors are keen to point out that the current evidence is far from clear-cut and further research is needed to examine the risks and mechanisms that appear to link insulin with tumour growth.

"In the meantime, we agree with statements issued by the major diabetes organisations that there is no need to panic" says Professor Pollak. "Insulin has an excellent risk benefit ratio and any absolute risks between the different treatments are likely to be small.

"However, careful consideration of the choices available might be wise for patients who face a high biological risk of cancer, for example those with a family or personal history of cancer. Clinicians need to be prepared to provide up-to-date advice to these people, as ongoing research continues.

"It is important to recognise that the initially surprising observation that diabetics receiving metformin treatment are substantially less likely to have cancer than expected have now been reproduced in several studies. The possibility that this off-patent drug may have uses in cancer prevention or treatment, as well as in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, is receiving serious attention from research teams of endocrinologists and oncologists."

The authors believe that future work may uncover links between insulin use and cancer risk. "Laboratory experiments have shown that some cancers respond to insulin and there are precedents where hormone therapy increases cancer risk, such as post-menopausal oestrogen replacement" says Professor Pollak.

"However, the absolute risks involved need to be characterised and placed in the context of the high absolute risks for the other more familiar morbid endpoints of diabetes. We must not lose sight of the fact that the most pressing issues facing the majority of people with diabetes, and their physicians, are those relating to glucose control and the reduction of the well-known and serious consequences of poorly controlled diabetes."

Pollak et al. Insulin analogues and cancer risk: cause for concern or cause celebre?International Journal of Clinical Practice, 2010; DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-1241.2010.02354.x

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302093334.htm

Research: How You Think About Your Age May Affect How You Age

ScienceDaily (Mar. 4, 2010) — The saying "You're only as old as you feel" really seems to resonate with older adults, according to research from Purdue University.

"How old you are matters, but beyond that it's your interpretation that has far-reaching implications for the process of aging," said Markus H. Schafer, a doctoral student in sociology and gerontology who led the study. "So, if you feel old beyond your own chronological years you are probably going to experience a lot of the downsides that we associate with aging.

"But if you are older and maintain a sense of being younger, then that gives you an edge in maintaining a lot of the abilities you prize."

Schafer and co-author Tetyana P. Shippee, a Purdue graduate who is a research associate at Purdue's Center on Aging and the Life Course, compared people's chronological age and their subjective age to determine which one has a greater influence on cognitive abilities during older adulthood. Nearly 500 people ages 55-74 were surveyed about aging in 1995 and 2005 as part of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States.

In 1995, when people were asked what age do you feel most of the time, the majority identified with being 12 years younger than they actually were.

"We found that these people who felt young for their age were more likely to have greater confidence about their cognitive abilities a decade later," Schafer said. "Yes, chronological age was important, but the subjective age had a stronger effect.

"What we are not sure about is what comes first. Does a person's wellness and happiness affect their cognitive abilities or does a person's cognitive ability contribute to their sense of wellness. We are planning to address this in a future study."

Schafer also said that the current study's findings have both positive and negative implications.

"There is a tremendous emphasis on being youthful in our society and that can have a negative effect for people," Schafer said. "People want to feel younger, and so when they do inevitably age they can lose a lot of confidence in their cognitive abilities.

"But on the other hand, because there is such a desire in America to stay young, there may be benefits of trying to maintain a sense of youthfulness by keeping up with new trends and activities that feel invigorating. Learning new technologies is one way people can continue to improve their cognitive abilities. It will be interesting to see how, or if, these cultural norms shift as the Baby Boomer generation ages."

Other studies have shown that women are prone to aging stereotypes, so Schafer expected to see that women who felt older about themselves would have less confidence in their cognitive abilities.

"There is a slight difference between men and women, but it's not as pronounced as we expected," Schafer said. "This was surprising because of the emphasis on physical attractiveness and youth that is often disproportionately placed on women."

Schafer also is studying how stressful events, such as family members' health issues, affect aging, as well as how happiness and aging relate.

These finding were published in January's Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, and the study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Markus H. Schafer and Tetyana P. Shippee. Age Identity, Gender, and Perceptions of Decline: Does Feeling Older Lead to Pessimistic Dispositions About Cognitive Aging? The Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 2010; 65b (1): 91

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302123144.htm