Health Expert Dorian Martin shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/42/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/42/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/42/index http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/153172/benefit-cognition Mon, 21 May 2012 15:17:00 -0400 Dorian Martin Thinking about how to protect your brain as you age? New research that’s just been published in the Annals of Neurology is suggesting that eating the monosaturated fats that are part of a heart-healthy diet may also protect your brain. The new study out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital focused on a group of 6,000 women over the age 65 years old who have taken part in the Women’s Health Study. Time.com reporter Alexandra... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/153172/benefit-cognition http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/153095/explosives-memory Fri, 18 May 2012 15:49:30 -0400 Dorian Martin Our armed service men and women and their families understand that they risk a lot in order to protect our nation. However, I bet that one thing they didn’t take into account is that, if they are exposed to a traumatic brain injury thanks to an improvised explosive, they could be faced with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and potential dementia. This is the same degenerative brain disease that some retired football players who have... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/153095/explosives-memory http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152849/protect-alzheimer Thu, 10 May 2012 12:52:55 -0400 Dorian Martin Do you dine on salmon regularly? Do you grab walnuts when you need a snack? Does your bread include flax seeds? If you answered yes to any – or all – of these questions, you may be protecting your brain from Alzheimer’s disease. A new study out of Columbia University’s Taub Institute for Research in Alzheimer’s disease and the Aging Brain has found that omega-3 fatty acids may guard against this terrible disease.... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152849/protect-alzheimer http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152668/brain-information Fri, 04 May 2012 12:58:42 -0400 Dorian Martin   First of all, let me express my condolences to the family and friends of former NFL player Junior Seau. I cannot begin to imagine how difficult it must be to learn that someone who had become such an integral part of the San Diego community took his own life by a self-inflicted gunshot to his chest on Wednesday.  The rare piece of good news in this tragic situation is that Seau’s family has agreed to donate his brain so that... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152668/brain-information http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152560/study-improvement Tue, 01 May 2012 10:39:21 -0400 Dorian Martin Color me surprised! I have always heard that exercise itself is really good for your brain. And I’ve also heard that aerobic activity is especially important in maintaining your brain’s function. But a new study out of the University of British Columbia has findings that put strength training at the top of the list if you want to keep your grey matter going strong. The study, which was just published in the Archives of Internal... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152560/study-improvement http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152337/nursing-emergency Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:48:15 -0400 Dorian Martin The time to prepare for an emergency – whether it is a tornado, hurricane, blizzard or other natural or man-made disease – is well before it actually strikes. Unfortunately, a new report by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General found some glaring holes in the emergency plans of 24 nursing homes that were selected to be used as case studies in the study. Here are five key take-aways from the... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152337/nursing-emergency http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152223/leaves-ambassador Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:01:33 -0400 Dorian Martin During this year’s NCAA women’s basketball tournament, I found myself torn when Tennessee played Baylor in the Elite Eight match-up. I had watched Baylor’s season with fascination mixed with awe (including getting to see them play once in person). But I found myself drawn to rooting for the Lady Volunteers because of Coach Pat Summitt’s fortitude in the face of a diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s.  Baylor... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152223/leaves-ambassador http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152168/lady-accurately Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:26:24 -0400 Dorian Martin One of the best ways to get a better understanding about Alzheimer’s disease is to go to the movies (or in the case of those – like me – who live in a small town, add specific movies to your Netflix queue. The latest that I’d recommend is “The Iron Lady,” starring Meryl Streep. The movie just recently came out on video.   Streep won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Margaret... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152168/lady-accurately http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152029/findings-response Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:58:27 -0400 Dorian Martin Based on my own observations, I've been saying for quite a while that Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are a tsunami that potentially will engulf the world’s resources. I never crunched the numbers, but just seeing the demographic trends and watching what happened in my own family when my grandmother was diagnosed with dementia in the late 1970s and then my mother was diagnosed in 2005. My gut instinct has just received some... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/152029/findings-response http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/151976/exercising-brain Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:59:38 -0400 Dorian Martin Have you ever joked around when you’re working on an extremely difficult problem that it makes your head hurt? I’ve often said that my brain was cramping when I was taking statistics classes in graduate school. And even this morning, I found myself humbled at times when I did the online USA Today and Los Angeles Times crossword puzzles, which is my morning ritual. And then there are those Words with Friends games when I have to... http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/42/151976/exercising-brain