@article {6592, title = {Regular fish consumption and age-related brain gray matter loss.}, journal = {Am J Prev Med}, volume = {47}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Oct}, pages = {444-51}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Brain health may be affected by modifiable lifestyle factors; consuming fish and antioxidative omega-3 fatty acids may reduce brain structural abnormality risk.

PURPOSE: To determine whether dietary fish consumption is related to brain structural integrity among cognitively normal elders.

METHODS: Data were analyzed from 260 cognitively normal individuals from the Cardiovascular Health Study with information on fish consumption from the National Cancer Institute Food Frequency Questionnaire and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The relationship between fish consumption data collected in 1989-1990 and brain structural MRI obtained in 1998-1999 was assessed using voxel-based morphometry in multiple regression analyses in 2012. Covariates were age, gender, race, education, white matter lesions, MRI-identified infarcts, waist-hip ratio, and physical activity as assessed by the number of city blocks walked in 1 week. Volumetric changes were further modeled with omega-3 fatty acid estimates to better understand the mechanistic link between fish consumption, brain health, and Alzheimer disease.

RESULTS: Weekly consumption of baked or broiled fish was positively associated with gray matter volumes in the hippocampus, precuneus, posterior cingulate, and orbital frontal cortex even after adjusting for covariates. These results did not change when including omega-3 fatty acid estimates in the analysis.

CONCLUSIONS: Dietary consumption of baked or broiled fish is related to larger gray matter volumes independent of omega-3 fatty acid content. These findings suggest that a confluence of lifestyle factors influence brain health, adding to the growing body of evidence that prevention strategies for late-life brain health need to begin decades earlier.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Animals, Brain, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diet, Fatty Acids, Omega-3, Female, Fishes, Gray Matter, Humans, Life Style, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Regression Analysis, Surveys and Questionnaires}, issn = {1873-2607}, doi = {10.1016/j.amepre.2014.05.037}, author = {Raji, Cyrus A and Erickson, Kirk I and Lopez, Oscar L and Kuller, Lewis H and Gach, H Michael and Thompson, Paul M and Riverol, Mario and Becker, James T} } @article {6540, title = {Physical activity, body mass index, and brain atrophy in Alzheimer{\textquoteright}s disease.}, journal = {Neurobiol Aging}, volume = {36 Suppl 1}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Jan}, pages = {S194-S202}, abstract = {

The purpose of this study was to use a novel imaging biomarker to assess associations between physical activity (PA), body mass index (BMI), and brain structure in normal aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer{\textquoteright}s dementia. We studied 963 participants (mean age: 74.1 {\textpm} 4.4 years) from the multisite Cardiovascular Health Study including healthy controls (n~= 724), Alzheimer{\textquoteright}s dementia patients (n~=~104), and people with mild cognitive impairment (n~= 135). Volumetric brain images were processed using tensor-based morphometry to analyze regional brain volumes. We regressed the local brain tissue volume on reported PA and computed BMI, and performed conjunction analyses using both variables. Covariates included age, sex, and study site. PA was independently associated with greater whole brain and regional brain volumes and reduced ventricular dilation. People with higher BMI had lower whole brain and regional brain volumes. A PA-BMI conjunction analysis showed brain preservation with PA and volume loss with increased BMI in overlapping brain regions. In one of the largest voxel-based cross-sectional studies to date, PA and lower BMI may be beneficial to the brain across the spectrum of aging and neurodegeneration.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Alzheimer Disease, Atrophy, Biomarkers, Body Mass Index, Brain, Cognitive Dysfunction, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Motor Activity, Neuroimaging}, issn = {1558-1497}, doi = {10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.05.036}, author = {Boyle, Christina P and Raji, Cyrus A and Erickson, Kirk I and Lopez, Oscar L and Becker, James T and Gach, H Michael and Longstreth, W T and Teverovskiy, Leonid and Kuller, Lewis H and Carmichael, Owen T and Thompson, Paul M} }