The results of a recent study revealed that DHA, a component in fish oils, can limit the severity of brain damage in stroke patients when administered up to 5 hours after the onset of stroke.

A group of researchers from the Health Sciences Center of Louisiana State University has conducted a research showing the benefits of Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) against brain damage when it is given up to 5 hours after a stroke.  Dr. Nicolas Bazan led the team of researchers in this study.  He is a Villere Chair, a Boyd professor, and the Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at the Health Science Center of LSU.  The results of their study revealed that an important component of fish oil, DHA, acts as a strong therapeutic agent that can provide protection to brain tissues and help encourage recovery in an experimental representation of acute ischemic stroke, even if the treatment is deferred by up to 5 hours.  The findings of the study are very significant because, not only does it provide a new treatment approach for stroke, but it also provide necessary information when it comes to how long the therapeutic window really is.  The said research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the results of which are published in the Translational Stroke Research journal.

The Brain:  What causes stroke?

For any organ to function properly, it needs a continuous and sufficient supply of blood since blood carries glucose and oxygen, which are necessary requirements in order for cells to live.  The brain is one important organ that cannot tolerate a lack, or the absence, of blood supply.  When blood supply to the brain is interrupted, brain cells die.  This is a condition called cerebrovascular accident (CVA), or more commonly referred to as stroke.

There are different reasons why the blood supply to the brain is disrupted.  First, when the arteries are either narrowed or hardened, blood supply becomes seriously impaired.  The narrowing of the arteries is called atherosclerosis, and it happens when a person has been overly consuming the wrong kind of cholesterol – the bad one.  Fatty plaques deposit into the walls or linings of the arteries.  Over time, the arteries, which are the blood’s passageway, becomes overly narrowed by the fatty deposits, and blood flow becomes difficult and sluggish.  Not only does this cause lesser blood flowing to the brain, but it places the person in great danger of embolism.  The pressure exerted by blood flowing through narrow arteries may cause debris to lodge off, travel through the bloodstream, and then obstruct one of the major arteries that provide the brain its blood supply.

Another reason for the disruption of the blood supply to the brain is the occurrence of an aneurysm in an artery inside the brain.  Aneurysms are small pouches that are filled with blood, and the presence of which is considered to be abnormal.  When an aneurysm ruptures, blood will spill out from the artery, which will compress structures inside the brain.

When blood supply is cut off, an irreversible damage occurs to the core tissue located at the spot of the blockage.  The penumbra, or the core’s surrounding tissues, may also be damaged but the difference lies in the fact that it has the potential of being salvaged.  But there is a certain life span to the penumbra because, after a few hours where blood flow is not re-established and no measures are done to protect the neurons, it may also undergo irreversible damage.  This is the part where the research findings become very significant.

The Study Details

In order for the researchers to know how effective DHA is in the treatment and recovery of stroke patients, the research team from LSUHSC administered either saline or DHA intravenously at the third, fourth, fifth and sixth hours after the start of stroke.  The subjects then underwent an MRI test which revealed that neurological deficits were decreased because of DHA administration.  Treatment with DHA assisted in neurobehavioral recovery and reduced the swelling in the brain.  Destroyed tissue size was reduced by approximately 40 percent when DHA was given at 3 hours, 66 percent at 4 hours, and 59 percent at 5 hours. DHA treatment also triggered the production of Neuroprotectin D 1 (NPD 1) which exerts a protective effect on neurons.

Risk Factors for Stroke

The World Health Organization says that 15 million people all over the world experiences stroke per year, and the number of deaths is at 6 million. For people aged 60 and above, stroke is the second most common cause of death and is the foremost cause of long-lasting disability regardless of country of origin, ethnicity, gender and age.  In the United States alone, it is estimated that the indirect and direct costs of stroke amounts to almost $74 billion.

The most common risk factors for stroke are as follows:

• Smoking
• Increasing age
• Diabetes
• Heart valve disease
• Patent foramen ovale
• Atrial fibrillation
• Hypercholesterolemia, or high cholesterol levels in the blood
• Hypertension, or high blood pressure

The Reasons Why DHA is good for You

DHA is one of the two types of Omega-3 fatty acids and the best sources of Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are fish oil.  Good fish oil, obviously, comes from good fish – the examples of which are mackerel, hoki, salmon and herring. Here are some quick facts about the benefits of DHA consumption:

• Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is essential for the growth and functional development of the brain in infants.
• DHA is essential for pregnant women as it helps in the functional development and growth of the infant’s brain.
• DHA is important for adults since it helps maintain normal brain function.
• Consuming plentiful amounts of DHA in the diet enhances one’s ability to learn.
• A decrease in the levels of DHA present in the brain is linked to the development of cognitive problems and causes its decline especially during aging.
• DHA helps prevent cardiovascular diseases since it reduces triglyceride levels in the blood.
• DHA decreases thrombosis and at the same time, it prevents the onset of abnormal heart rhythms (cardiac arrhythmias)
• Diseases such as some forms of cancer, thrombosis, myocardial infarction, adult-onset diabetes mellitus, depression, atherosclerosis, arthritis, and hypertension can greatly benefit from the positive effects of DHA.

Sources
medicinenet.com
healthyomega3.com
omega-3-fish-oil-guide.com
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
eurekalert.org

A compound in dark chocolate has been shown to protect cells after a stroke.

A study at Johns Hopkins has shown that dark chocolate contains a special compound, which can protect the brain after a stroke.  As it turns out, the dark chocolate increases cells that are designed to protect nerve cells from damage. The Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism recently published this study.

Researchers induced a stroke in mice 90 minutes after giving mice a compound in dark chocolate called epicatechin.  Epicatechin is a member of the compounds named plant flavonoids. Flavonoids also work to prevent blood clots and damage caused by clogged arteries.

To induce the stroke, researchers cut blood to the mice’s brains.  They found that the animals that had received the dark chocolate compounds were less likely to receive brain damage.  Also researchers learned that they could give the epicatechin to the animals 3.5 hours after the stroke.  Usually treatments for humans who have had strokes need to be given 2-3 hours later to be effective.  Therefore, this means that doctors can wait longer before administrating epicatechin treatments to patients.

The lead research on this study is Sylvain Dore, PhD.  He said that his study showed that epicatechin stimulated pathways that can shield the brain from damage.  Dore hopes that his studies on dark chocolate and epicatechins can help begin to limit the kinds of damage caused by stress.

If you are turning to chocolate for health benefits, always remember to reach for the dark chocolate.  But don’t forget that the higher the cacao content, the better.

Sources:
physorg.com
webmd.com

A form of music therapy may improve stroke victims' ability to speak

I can’t say I’m the next Pavarotti, but I enjoy belting out a good tune now and again.  Whether I’m in the car, around the house, in the shower, or listening to tunes on my iPod, singing has a very therapeutic effect on my psyche.

But according to a recent study performed by researchers from Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, singing has a physically therapeutic effect as well.

Professors from Beth Israel and Harvard Medical School’s medical center revealed music’s profound effects by using a form of music therapy that’s worked wonders for people who’ve suffered brain damage.  It’s called Music Intonation Therapy, and researchers say that the therapy has enabled stroke victims to talk again after years of being rendered voiceless.

Researchers presented the effects of MIT at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  There, researchers showed a video presentation of a stroke victim going through speech therapy with both word therapy and singing therapy.

Right away, the assemblage of viewers were able to see the distinct difference in results when the researchers taught the stroke victim to sing the words to the song “Happy Birthday” rather than to say the words.

Researchers don’t know how or why MIT works so effectively, but they believe it has something to do with music’s ability to tap into regions of the brain that aren’t engaged when someone speaks or utters words.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the country behind heart disease and cancer.  It occurs when there’s an interruption of blood flow from the heart to the brain, typically due to a clot that’s formed inside a blood vessel.  How adversely someone is affected largely depends on the nature of the stroke, which portion of the brain it effects, and how early it is treated (classic examples include stroke victim and baseball writer Peter Gammons, who’s been able to continue his broadcasting and writing career unscathed, and stroke-victim and Rock and Roll legend Dick Clark, whose speech has been profoundly effected).

In addition to speech problems, a stroke that affects the left side of the brain may also cause memory loss, and paralysis on the right side of the body.

This study piggybacks on something I reported about in the fall of 2008 regarding exercise’s ability to improve stroke victims’ mobility.

Now, it bears mentioning that MIT does not lead to immediate results.  Researchers say it can take years before measurable improvements are made manifest.  Typically, Music Intonation Therapy is done five days a week for one and a half hours at a time.

For more information on the various forms of treatment for stroke victims and how to reduce further cardiovascular risk, please read about the power of isoflavones.  Please look at my section on keeping your blood pressure down as well, as hypertension is a significant risk factor for stroke.  Even better, pick up my book.

Sources:
newsmaxhealth.com
strokeassociation.org

The only caveat? Make sure it isn’t fried. I’ll get into why later.

First off, the study was conducted by researchers from Finland at the University of Kuopio in Eastern Finland (for those of you who may not be familiar with where, exactly, the university is situated in the northern European country). It looked at approximately 3600 men and women, all of whom were over 65 years of age. At the study’s outset, researchers asked the participants to fill out questionnaires that asked them what their average diet was like and how much seafood they tended to eat in a given week. They then scanned the brains of the participants to see what effect their diets had in their brain formation and anything else they might be able to glean from the brain scans. The participants had another brain scan done five years after the first.

Based on the participants’ responses to the questionnaires and the results from the brain scans, researchers found that those who ate salmon and the like on a regular basis revealed brain scans to be far healthier than those who ate fatty fish in limited quantities or not at all.  And the fattier the fish, the better (how often can you say that?).

For example, the participants that ate fatty fish once a week had a 13 percent reduced risk of developing brain lesions.  But that reduced risk doubled if fatty fish was eaten three or more times per week – to 26 percent. 

These brain lesions often lead to silent brain infarction, or what is more commonly referred to as “silent” stroke.  Adding “silent” to silent stroke is appropriate because when someone suffers a silent stroke, the effects are not seen.  Those that suffer from a stroke typically display symptoms like slurred speech, paralysis, vision problems, weakness or an inability to move freely on one side of the body.  Such symptoms aren’t apparent in silent stroke sufferers, but the damage done to the brain is the same.  This is why silent stroke sufferers often don’t realize it unless they’ve undergone a brain scan.

However old you are, my hope is that you already like the taste of fish like salmon, mackerel and trout; this study only gives more reason to keep eating it and on a regular basis.  But for those of you who don’t like its taste and cover it up by eating it fried, I’m afraid you don’t get the same benefits of it as those who eat it baked or broiled.  According to the researchers, the effects of preventing the aforementioned brain lesions – lesions that not only lead to silent brain strokes but an early onset of dementia-related diseases like Alzheimer’s – were restricted to those that ate baked or broiled fish regularly, not regular fried fish eaters.

Exactly why this is the case is grounds further research, but you can probably guess for yourself why this is the case.  Other than the fact that fried foods are astronomically higher in calories and saturated fat, they’re also cooked at an extremely high temperature, sapping them of their nutrient value. 

You might also be aware of the study that reveals how even the exposure to fried cooking oil increases your chances of developing cancer.  According to the 2006 study done by the Royal Society of Chemistry, people regularly exposed to the chemicals and particles released into the air when using vegetable oils to fry food have a 1 in 100 chance of developing cancer! 

Fried food certainly tastes good, but you could fry woodchips and they would taste good.  In other words, frying grants no nutritional value, it only makes something – anything – taste better.  That may be fine in the micro, as your meal will taste good, but in the macro, it’s doing more harm than good.

In the meantime, do your brain a favor and eat more fish – so long as it’s baked or broiled.

This study found that the patients with higher blood level of vitamin C were 42% less likely to have a stroke than the patients with lower levels of vitamin C in their blood. During their study they monitored these patients for 9.5 years and witnessed 448 strokes. This study states that whether you are taking a vitamin C supplement or eating the proper foods to get your vitamin C intake up, the results are near the same.

Frank Mangano’s commentary:

There are so many different benefits when it comes to daily intake of vitamin C and the proper dosages which can achieve the benefits you are looking for. The current RDA of Vitamin C is 90mg and that’s just ridiculous! This is not nearly enough vitamin C to experience any health benefits. I personally consume daily doses totaling at least 3,000mg of vitamin C to simply maintain good health. I spread it throughout the day evenly, which consists of partly supplements and partly dietary choices.

Vitamin C has many different benefits that we may not even realize anymore. Benefits such as a healing aid for viruses, aids in the formation of liver bile and basically does everything it can to keep you healthy as well as your immune system. These are simple healing aids but ones everyone needs to remain healthy on a day to day basis. To further use vitamin C as a healing aid for preventing stroke a higher daily intake is needed and this can be done very easily.

Bioflavonoid is the natural pigment in fruits and vegetables and a very important supplement which must be taken in collaboration with your vitamin C. It is important to note there are many reports that suggest that vitamin C needs bioflavonoid in order to deliver the results it has on a person’s health and their immune system. You will find that you are getting the natural amount of both when eating fruits and vegetables but if you choose a supplement rely on a naturopathic doctor to help you find the best of both for you and your health.

PPA, which was recalled by the FDA in 2005, is a drug that was formerly used as a nasal decongestant for over-the-counter cough and cold medicines as well as an appetite suppressant. According to the Korean researchers, even small doses of PPA can increase the risk of stroke.

Initially, the FDA asked pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily remove the PPA from medicines nearly 5 years ago. In late 2005 it re-classified the drug as “unsafe” and removed it from over-the-counter medicine.

Many companies have removed PPA from their new formulas of medicine, but older medicines may contain the drug.

The Seoul National University Hospital, who is responsible for the research, said the primary focus of the study was to determine whether a stroke could be triggered by PPA in smaller doses. An earlier study performed by Yale University researchers in May 2000 already concluded that the use of PPA in appetite suppressants and diet pills can increase the risk of stroke.

The Seoul study consisted of 940 people who had a hemorrhagic stroke. Each was paired up with two controls. The researchers concluded that 1.7 percent of the women who had a stroke also had ingested a cold or cough medicine containing PPA, versus just 0.7 percent of the controls. They also determined that longer exposure to PPA increased risk of stroke.

The study also concluded that while men are at risk, the percentage of men affected by PPA was a very small amount. Both the Seoul study and the Yale study found that women who have taken PPA are at a higher risk.

The study results can be found in the January 9th issue of Neurology.

And to think, some new medicines still contain this poison.

The risk of the ingredients found in over the counter cough medicines have been apparent for years. Some studies have even shown such ingredients to be deadly to infants. Other studies have shown cough syrups to be just as effective as water in treating coughs. The only difference is the refined carbs found in the syrups.

Yet many people rush to the pharmacy the minute they feel a tickle in their throat. Instead, head over to your natural supplement store and pick up some marshmallow, licorice, eucalyptus oil and peppermint oil and thyme. At least you won’t have to worry about getting a stroke.