Hot topics in the news
1) Playing card games helps with stroke recovery according to a Canadian study in the Lancet Neurology journal
Playing traditional card games such as snap has been shown to be equally as beneficial as playing on games consoles (such as the Wii) for patients who have suffered a stroke and have impaired movement in either their hands or arms.
The benefit to playing these games is that they help to improve motor skills in patients. The emphasis is not so much on the type of task performed, but more on ensuring that it is intensive and repetitive in nature and it gets the hands and arms working.
Patients in the study also received regular stroke care at the same time but studies have shown that adding in more therapy is beneficial to recovery.
Credit/Sources:
Frontline magazine http://www.csp.org.uk/documents/frontline-6-july-2016
Lancet Neurology http://bit.ly/29ImReH
2) Exercise releases a protein called cathepsin B which scientists believe helps to improve memory
For years gone by scientists have been aware of a correlation between aerobic exercise (which gets the heart beating faster) and improved learning and memory but did not understand why.
Researchers at the National institute of Ageing in the United States have now put this down to a protein called cathepsin B which has been shown to boost brain cell growth. This protein is released from the muscles when exercising and then travels to the brain and causes neuron growth which helps to improve learning and memory.
Maintaining a long-term exercise regime has proven to be most effective.
Credit/Sources:
Frontline magazine http://www.csp.org.uk/documents/frontline-6-july-2016
National Institue on Aging https://www.nia.nih.gov/
Daily Telegraph http://bit.ly/295Dqjf
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