Newer Antidepressants Not Always Better

New antidepressants might be no more effective than the best existing drugs, according to two new systematic reviews that compared 12 commonly used medications.

"Patients are usually encouraged to take the newest medication," said lead author Andrea Cipriani, M.D., of the University of Verona, in Italy. "But it's better to have an old treatment that has been proved with many patients and many years in the market."

The reviews suggest that sertraline sold under the brand name Zoloft since 1991 could be the best initial choice of antidepressant in people with acute major depression. The generic formulation produced the best balance of effectiveness, tolerability and purchase price, the authors say.

Patients also did well on one of the newest antidepressants, escitalopram (Lexapro), but it is not yet available in lower-cost generic form. The authors note that comprehensive economic studies are necessary to evaluate overall cost-effectiveness of various treatments.

Cipriani said that the review recommendations are for new episodes of depression. "If a patient is taking another drug and doing well, we are not saying he has to change."

The reviews appear in the most recent issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.

Depression is the fourth-leading cause of disease burden worldwide and antidepressant drugs are now the mainstay of treatment for moderate to severe cases. The aim of the two reviews was to compare the benefits and side effects of sertraline and escitalopram, respectively, with those of other antidepressants during the first six to 12 weeks of treatment.

Cipriani noted that all of the included studies compared one drug against another not to a placebo so the results reveal not the absolute effect, but rather the relative advantages and disadvantages of various medications.

In addition, these reviews rely on summary data from each study, rather than individual patient data. Future studies that go into greater detail can help identify the best medications for various subgroups of patients such as men vs. women, teens vs. adults and so on.

For sertraline, the reviewers included 59 randomized controlled trials totaling about 10,000 participants. Sertraline proved more effective than fluoxetine (Prozac), but less effective than mirtazapine (Remeron). In terms of side effects, bupropion (Wellbutrin) was easier to tolerate than sertraline, while the latter outscored amitriptyline (Elavil), imipramine (Tofranil), paroxetine (Paxil) and mirtazapine (Remeron).

For escitalopram, the reviewers included 22 randomized controlled trials totaling about 4,000 participants. Few statistically significant differences appeared in this review, although escitalopram was more effective than citalopram (Celexa) and fluoxetine (Prozac) and had fewer side effects than duloxetine (Cymbalta). The drug manufacturer sponsored most of the studies in this review, so there may be biases in favor of escitalopram.

Rather than seeking genuine advances in treatment, the review authors say, some pharmaceutical companies seem to be introducing close chemical cousins of generic medications. By gaining patent protection for the "new" drug, a company can market it as a higher-priced brand name product.

Sponsorship bias is a recurring concern in trials of virtually all new medications. In the Cochrane reviews themselves, one of the co-authors has received research funds and speaking fees from the companies Asahi Kasei, Astellas, Dai-Nippon Sumitomo, Eisai, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Kyowa Hakko, Meiji, Nikken Kagaku, Organon, Otsuka, Pfizer and Yoshitomi. The Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have also funded some of his research.

However, the co-authors of these Cochrane reviews also published a recent study in The Lancet that was free of any potential funding bias. The study also used a more complex statistical method to analyze data from 117 randomized controlled trials involving 25,928 participants.

The findings support the Cochrane reviews, Cipriani said, with sertraline and escitalopram ranking as the best treatments.

"Such findings have enormous implications," said Sagar Parikh, M.D., of the University of Toronto, in a commentary published along with The Lancet study. "For the clinician, prudent engagement of the patient in treatment ideally involves giving the patient a choice.… A new gold standard of reliable information has been compiled for patients to review."

In early studies, new medical treatments are typically compared to sham treatments. Once the effectiveness of certain approaches is well established, new options must be judged against the best existing treatments.

Cipriani argued that this time has come for antidepressants, and that sertraline is the drug to beat. "We need new treatments in psychiatry, but they have to be proved better than other treatments," he said. "We should be comparing new drugs to the best available existing drugs."

The Cochrane Collaboration is an international nonprofit, independent organization that produces and disseminates systematic reviews of health care interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions.

Cipriani A, La Ferla, et al. Setraline versus other antidepressive agents for depression. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 2.

Cipriani A, Santilli C, et al. Escitalopram versus other antidepressive agents for depression. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 2.

Source: Health Behavior News Service 

Related Rsources:  

• Sanoviv Medical Center
  
• Big Red Juice - FreeLife's Himalayan Goji Juice
  
• Goji Health Stories - Depression

Posted:  True Health Is True Wealth

Blood Test Predicts Dementia Risk

A new test can help predict whether a patient will develop frontal lobe dementia (Frontotemporal Dementia or FTD). Next to Alzheimer’s, FTD is the form of dementia that strikes people most frequently at a relatively young age—younger than 65.

In FTD, large numbers of brain cells begin to die off in the frontal lobe, the foremost part of the brain which comprises about 30 percent of brain mass. The frontal lobe helps regulate behavior, movement, and mood, and is responsible for functions such as language. The first signs of FTD are changes in behavior and personality. In later stages, the victim suffers from memory loss.

Researcher Christine Van Broeckhoven and her colleagues found that a large percentage of people who have FTD have a genetic defect in chromosome 17. Those people produce only half the normal amount of a progranulin protein, and Van Broeckhoven discovered that a shortage of this protein, which is a growth factor, leads to cells dying in the frontal lobe. Additional results indicate that a lack of progranulin also plays a role in Alzheimer’s disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Krisel Sleegers, one of Van Broeckhoven’s scientists, has developed a test to measure the amount of progranulin in the blood. The test, which is simple and could be used on a large scale, will help doctors determine if someone is at risk of developing FTD long before symptoms appear. 

 

Click Here & Checkout:  GojiHealthStories/onDementia  

&  The Big Red Juice - GoChi & Goji

Eating Salads Can Make You Fat

 

Eating Salad Could Be Making You Fat!

 

America's Worst Salads
It takes a uniquely American brand of innovation to transform a healthy helping of produce into a green monster.

 

No meal on the planet carries a healthier reputation than salad, and because of that, our fast food merchants know they can hide gobs of fat-riddled toppings amidst the foliage. So most of today's salad entrees are swimming in as much fat and sodium as a heaping plate of cheese fries -- and that's before the greens are drowned in dressing.

 

Looking to capitalize on our belief in the almighty leaf, restaurants and fast-food chains have loaded their menus with dubious salads, and diners are grazing away, like sheep before the slaughter. Reports from the National Restaurant Association and the USDA show salad sales up by as much as 50% over the past decade.

So how did the salad leap from a nutritional boon to a full-blown health hazard? Over the past decade the restaurant industry has surreptitiously merged our growing affinity for greens with two other scary restaurant trends -- bigger portions and more fried foods.

 

That's why today's fresh produce increasingly is freighted with more crumbled cheese, greasy bacon, pan-browned beef, and oily dressing. The one-time rabbit food now looks a lot more like pig slop.

 

Chili's Caesar Salad w/ Grilled Chicken and Caesar Dressing

  930 calories
  71 g fat (13 g saturated)
  1,840 mg sodium

 

The top three words you never want to see sharing a space with "salad" on a menu: tuna, taco, and yes, the mighty Caesar. Consider that tangle of romaine a hapless vehicle for the troubling trinity of croutons, parmesan cheese, and viscous Caesar dressing. Chili's version is the worst; the elephantine portion yields a salad with more fat than a dozen Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches from Breyers. (Maybe Brutus was right to take a knife to him, after all.)

 

Chili's Boneless Buffalo Chicken Salad

  1,070 calories

  78 g fat (15 g saturated)
  4,440 mg sodium

 

This twisted new concoction earns the dubious distinction of being America's Saltiest Salad, packing more sodium in a single bowl than you'll find in 77 cups of buttered popcorn. How can they possibly cram so much salt into a pile of greens? Simple, by mixing chunks of fried chicken with some of the food world's most sodium-riddled conspirators: wing sauce, crumbled bacon, bleu cheese, and fried tortilla strips.

 

Quiznos Chicken with Honey Mustard Flatbread Salad

  1,110 calories
  74 g fat (14.5 g saturated)
  2030 mg sodium

 

Surprised to see a Quizno's salad with nearly as many calories as five packages of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups? Don't be. Half the salads on the menu top 1,000 calories, and 330 of those calories come from the flatbread alone. (See if Quizno's and your other favorite eateries make the grade with this handy Restaurant Report Card.  If you don’t see their chart posted, ask for it.

 

Macaroni Grill Seared Sea Scallops Salad

  1,320 calories
  91 g fat (25 g saturated)
  2,860 mg sodium

Macaroni Grill manages to take two normally healthy food -- salad and seafood -- and turn them into the caloric equivalent of 29 Chicken McNuggets. Not to mention more than one day's worth of sodium, fat, and saturated fat. There's an important lesson here: Sea creatures, just like leafy greens, are at grave risk when they fall into the hands of the restaurant industry.

 

T.G.I. Friday's Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad

  1360 calories
  Fat: Unknown (The company refuses to disclose the nutritional content of the food they're serving you.)
  Sodium:  Turns out Friday's monster salads aren't much better than their burgers.

 

Six out of the seven we analyzed topped out with more than 900 calories, which means that lunchtime can be the start of something big -- namely, your belly.

 

Chevy's Fresh Mex Tostada Salad with Chicken
  1,551 calories
  94 g fat (37 g saturated)
  2,840 mg sodium

 

Steer clear of Mexican-themed salads; they invariably suffer from the caloric impact of fried tortillas, shredded cheese, and ice-cream-size scoops of sour cream. This particular Mex mess has nearly two days' worth of saturated fat and more than an entire day's sodium.

 

Salad Hall of Fame
Now that you've been warned of the greenest nutrition follies in the nation, here are seven salads worthy of their healthy reputation.

 

McDonald's Premium Asian Salad with Grilled Chicken

  300 calories
  10 g fat (1 g saturated)  890 mg sodium

Panera Classic Cafe Salad

  400 calories
  11 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
  270 mg sodium

Au Bon Pain Butternut Squash Salad

  280 calories
  6 g fat (4 g saturated)
  570 mg sodium

Jack in the Box Southwest Chicken Salad with Grilled Chicken Strips

  310 calories
  12 g fat (5 g saturated)
  840 mg sodium

Carl's Jr. Charbroiled Chicken Salad

  330 calories

 

By David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding

Sources:  MSNBC.com & MensHealth.com

You should always check the nutrition chart, especially at fast food restaurants before ordering.  Often making the fish or chicken sandwich choice is no healthier than the burger you really wanted.

 

Posted:  Marion's Place - Eating Salads Can Make You Fat 

 

Try GoChi for overall well-being and lose weight naturally with TaiSlim – The Weight Is Over!

 

 Eat This Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide: The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution

The top 10 healthiest diets in America

If losing weight is at the top of your resolution list, you're not alone. An estimated 80 million Americans go on diets every year, spending more than $30 billion annually on programs and products.

Relax -- some diets are more about burning calories than counting calories.

That's a lot of money, a lot of advice, and a lot of emotional investment. So, which diets really work -- and work safely? To find the weight-loss programs with that golden balance of nutrition, calorie-control, motivation, and activity, Health harnessed a panel of experts to put more than 60 well-known diets to the test and narrow them down to the top 10. Here's the list:

• The Structure House Weight Loss Plan (Fireside)

Don't recognize this plan? That's because for more than 30 years its author, Gerard J. Musante, PhD, has been working quietly and very successfully running the actual Structure House, a Durham, North Carolina-based residential treatment center for obese adults. That's a lot of time spent with patients and a lot of attention paid to the broad factors that affect weight loss -- particularly the relationship people have with food.

But can an excellent residential program transfer to an effective at-home plan? The answer, according to our experts (meet them at right), is a resounding "yes," which is how this below-the-radar plan grabbed highest honors from its better-known rivals.

With top-shelf scores on every aspect of healthy weight-loss, Structure House won an "outstanding!" from obesity expert Tim Church, MD, on its exercise component (often a weak spot in diet programs). And several panelists raved about the plan's motivational components. "It focuses on the 'why' behind overeating," says registered dietitian Maureen Callahan, "and helps dieters learn to put their lives in balance."

Health's Senior Food and Nutrition Editor Frances Largeman-Roth agrees: "This book takes a holistic approach to weight loss, asking you to fill your life with things other than food -- outdoor activities and time with friends and family, for instance. Plus, the recipes, such as Balsamic Dijon Chicken and Classic Pesto, won high marks for tastiness, another factor in long-term weight-loss success.Health.com: Lose weight on fast food--- really!

• The Step Diet (Workman Publishing)

We all know that walking 10,000 steps a day can really make a huge difference healthwise. But now we also know that the diet inspired by this fundamental, healthy approach to movement and activity is a big winner. And it even comes with a pedometer, a device that studies have shown can be a huge motivator for staying active and losing weight.

Our panelists agree that establishing a lifestyle regimen that combines intentional walking with spur-of-the-moment step-building (parking farther away, taking the stairs) is a healthy, all-ages, all-levels-of-fitness diet prescription. "This is more about calories burned than calories cut," Health's Frances Largeman-Roth says.Health.com: 5 tips to keep office snacking from derailing your diet

The nutritional approach of the Step Diet, devised by weight-control experts from the University of Colorado, is profoundly simple: Cut food intake to 75 percent of what you currently eat. "This plan is for people who like things simple," nutrition expert Christine Palumbo says. "Simply cut back on what you normally eat." With suggestions (not hard-core regimens) for making healthy meals and a food diary for building mindfulness, this plan can work well for dieters who like to have daily control and choices.

Our panelists also noted that the cut in calories combined with the steady increase in activity can lead to a safe, healthy rate of weight loss and a naturally active lifestyle. "This is a doable, concrete approach to adding daily physical activity and losing pounds," dietitian and fitness expert Samantha Heller says.

• Weight Watchers

It's a classic for a reason. It works.

And over the years, this gold-standard weight-loss program that harnesses the power of group support to help motivate dieters has kept up with science, not to mention changing lifestyles. For this aspect, Weight Watchers earned the highest motivational marks (including several perfect scores) from our panel of experts, who also lauded the plan's overall healthy weight-loss pace and exercise component.

Most noteworthy: Weight Watchers, while maintaining its meetings-based system, has added an online version for those dieters who, in the words of panelist Largeman-Roth, "aren't into group hugs."Health.com: Diet tricks the stars use to stay thin

What's more, dieters following the program can choose from two distinct weight-loss approaches. The first, Weight Watcher's famous points-based Flex Plan, which is packed with major education on making wise and healthy food choices, gets kudos for providing both motivation and a simple framework for success. The second, the Core Plan, focuses dieters on eating nutritious, satisfying foods--without counting calories.

The Weight Watchers program offers strategies that will work for every dieter. And the support specifically for men was a real bonus, as was the ability to get tasty, already-prepared (and points counted) meals at your local grocery store.

• The EatingWell Diet (The Countryman Press)

This new entry into the field in 2007 has built beautifully on the latest understanding of the broad approach necessary for effective weight loss. Author Jean Harvey-Berino, PhD, RD, developed the fundamentals of the EatingWell Diet at the University of Vermont, where she chairs the department of nutrition and food science. The focus on behavioral changes--including finding and facing eating triggers, eating and shopping mindfully, and cultivating regular, joyful exercise habits--combined with a 28-day mix-and-match menus gained the highest overall rankings on calorie-intake and weight-loss-rate criteria from our panelists. Health.com: Reviews of more than 40 popular diets

"Hallelujah," says registered dietitian Maureen Callahan. "Here's a diet plan that tells the truth about weight loss. Dieters lose about 21 pounds in six months, or about a pound a week. This kind of steady weight loss is the real thing, the kind that stays off." Another nifty extra: a Diet Food Diary that includes a calorie-count chart.

• The Volumetrics Eating Plan (Harper Collins)

Nutritionist Barbara Rolls, PhD, has tapped into a fundamental human quality: We like to feel full. This may sound obvious, but it's based, in fact, on extensive work Rolls has done as director of the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior at Pennsylvania State University. Rolls says you'll eat better and lose weight if you focus on the energy density of foods. And her Volumetrics plan explains how low-density foods like fruits and vegetables, as well as soups and stews, fill you up without overloading you with calories.

This diet scored highest for its safe weight-loss-rate and nutritional components because it's "based on sound nutrition principles and overall healthy food choices," judge Samantha Heller says. And our panelists found the plan's 150-plus recipes appealing. Another plus, judge Christine Palumbo says, is Volumetric's creative approach of showing photos of low- and high-density foods side by side -- a simple way to help dieters visualize good choices.

Though exercise plays a secondary role in the Volumetrics plan, it is required. And a guide for logging 30 to 60 minutes of daily activity provides motivation. But Health's Frances Largeman-Roth wondered if some dieters would need more exercise challenges and support.

• The Best Life Diet (Simon & Schuster)

Bob Greene is forever linked with superstar (and dieter) Oprah Winfrey. And his high-profile guide, which offers a sane, healthy approach to overall lifestyle changes, earned consistently high marks from our experts. Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, who looked at the motivational elements of each diet, was impressed by the realistic goals embraced by the Best Life plan, as well as the weekly menus and recipes offered on its Web site (which also features message-board support groups, a good source of dieting motivation).

Best Life has three phases that each dieter is encouraged to embark upon at his or her own pace, a strategy that leads to slimming, nutritional eating and increased physical activity. Dietitian Christine Palumbo gave this staged approach a perfect 10: "For people who like to ease into lifestyle changes in order to get used to them oh-so-gradually," she says, "this is a good bet."

Greene doesn't advocate keeping strict track of calories, which may make the Best Life more challenging for rule-loving dieters, yet panelists applauded his holistic approach to healthy eating. "He's emphasizing healthy foods in reasonable portions," nutrition expert Maureen Callahan says.

"Dieters shouldn't feel deprived on this plan," Health's Frances Largeman-Roth says. "However, the fact that this diet doesn't have 'magic' foods or promise rapid results may make it less attractive to dieters looking for a silver bullet." And that may be its best recommendation of all.

• The Solution (Collins)

"This program excels at helping people figure out why they're overeating," Callahan says, "and that's what's going to keep the weight off." Squarely facing the emotional and behavioral underpinnings of overeating, dietitian Laurel Mellin's method is based on The Shapedown Program, a successful weight-management plan she created for overweight children and adolescents in the late 1970s. Mellin views obesity not so much in terms of diet and exercise but as another expression of the interaction of mind, body, and lifestyle. And The Solution, designed for dieters of all ages, targets five root causes of weight problems: unbalanced eating, low energy, body shame, setting ineffective limits, and weak self-nurturing skills.

The food aspects of this program center on four "light" lists--grains, proteins, milk foods, and fruit and vegetables. And Mellin's guidelines and food suggestions got high marks on healthy balance from our panelists. Largeman-Roth liked the variety of the plan, as well as its overall moderation. And Palumbo awarded it a hat-trick of perfect 10s in all nutritional aspects.

• You: On a Diet (Free Press)

"No wonder Dr. Oz is Oprah's favorite doctor!" Palumbo raves, hailing the friendly diet book that is the centerpiece of the "You" docs Mehmet C. Oz and Michael F. Roizen's mini-empire of healthy lifestyle guides and products (including a very interactive Web site). This diet, Palumbo adds, "teaches and motivates about weight (and waist) loss with a sense of good humor and fun."

Indeed, the book offers a lot of education amidst the menu plans, which include recipes for Stuffed Whole Wheat Pizza, Grilled Peanut Shrimp with Sesame Snow Peas, and Sweet Beet and Gorgonzola Salad. Panelist Samantha Heller praised its easy-to-understand nutrition information, while Dr. Rajapaksa gave points for its good explanations of how the body works. The weight-loss trajectory centers on cutting about 500 calories per day, and panelists liked the easy calculations that help readers figure out their own calorie needs.

Palumbo also credited the plan with adding to the healthy (but not terribly exciting) 30 minutes of daily walking some equally valuable recommendations of stretching, metabolism boosting, muscle building, and strength training. Added benefit: Illustrations show how to do the exercises sans a trip to the gym.

• The Sonoma Diet (Meredith Books)

There's an undercurrent of celebration in this best-selling diet that continues to inspire with delicious recipes using staples of Mediterranean eating: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, fish, and nuts.

Dietitian and PhD Connie Guttersen's plan opens with a strident 10-day jump-start phase called "Wave One," designed to purge habits of eating sugar and highly processed foods, which judges Maureen Callahan and Samantha Heller caution may be a little too calorie-restrictive for some beginning dieters. But subsequent phases--active weight loss and maintenance--garnered high marks from our panel. Exercise is encouraged but not actively prescribed, a missed opportunity in the minds of several judges.

Overall, our panelists loved the creative recipes and menus. And they applauded the plate-and-bowl approach to portion control, a hallmark of long-term, sustainable eating habits. "This diet teaches you to eat slowly and savor your meals," judge Palumbo says.

• The Spectrum (Ballantine)

Famous in the 1990s for advocating a program to combat heart disease, Dr. Dean Ornish, MD, has been criticized for prescribing nutritional edicts that are just too hard to sustain. The Spectrum, Ornish's newest diet, both broadens and softens his program by moving along four separate paths to health--nutrition, exercise, stress management, and personal relationships.

Our panelists liked the plan's holistic approach, particularly rewarding its counsel on reducing stress and giving it high marks for including a meditation DVD with the book. And our nutrition judges were glad to see that Ornish has tempered his tough stance on fats to a more sustainable level, but one panelist feels he's still too strict. "There's no reason not to eat nuts, seeds, and avocados; use maple syrup and honey; or have a glass of wine, periodically," panelist Heller says. She notes, though, that Ornish's whole-body approach, which includes a vegetarian lifestyle, stress management, and exercise, is on target in terms of health, disease prevention, and reaching a healthy weight.

Judge Palumbo awarded Ornish's plan some of her highest scores. "This 'diet' plan addresses the lifestyle diseases of the 21st century," she says, "such as diabetes, certain cancers, and cardiovascular disease. This book is ideal for people who are looking for an intelligent, thoughtful, science-based weight-loss program."

By Tracey Minkin/CNN Heth

And a great addition to any diet program is the Big Red Juice - FreeLife's Himilayan Goji Juice or GoChi

Mufas - The Trick To A Flat Stomach and to Losing Weight

The trick to a flat stomach and losing weight is having MUFAs at every meal and snack. What is a MUFA? It stands for monounsaturated fatty acid, which is found in nuts, seeds, avocadoes, olives and flax and olive oils, and dark chocolate. So walnuts in my cereal? Flaxseed oil in my smoothie? Tapenade in my turkey wrap? Guacamole with my dinner? Totally doable!

"Jumpstart" your diet for about 4-days by having Mufas at every meal and snack which is designed to not only lower the calories a bit more (an acceptable 1,200), but also reduce belly bloat and gas so you have the visual proof that your gut is deflating.

Add 2 liters of Sassy Water -- a mixture of water with a lemon, a cucumber, grated ginger and spearmint leaves each day, for the first 4-days ,strained of course, and you are on your way!

Add some GoChi and you are on your way to weight loss and good health, which truly is the greatest wealth!!

Source:  Prevention  Magazine!

Worry, Stress, Fear and Brain Health

"If you ask what is the  single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn't ask me, I'd still have to say it."  …George F. Burns, American comedian They say that worry,  stress, and fear can end your life. If you give in to them, you've already  stopped living your life. But the reality is, people  are living longer than ever before. In fact,  centenarians — people who live to 100 or older — are one of the world’s  fastest growing segments of the population. Vitamin B12 Keeps Your Brain Young

 

Older individuals with low levels of vitamin B12 are at increased risk of having brain atrophy or shrinkage. Brain atrophy is associated with Alzheimer's disease and impaired cognitive function. Vitamin B12 deficiency is a public health problem, especially among older people. In a study involving more than 100 volunteers aged 61 to 87, all participants underwent annual clinical exams, MRI scans and cognitive tests, and had blood samples taken. Individuals with lower vitamin B12 levels at the start of the study had a greater decrease in brain volume. Those with the lowest B12 levels had a sixfold greater rate of brain volume loss compared with those who had the highest levels. However, none of the participants were actually deficient in vitamin B12 -- they just had low levels within a normal range. Other risk factors for brain atrophy include high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. Sources: ·                  U.S. News & World Report September 8, 2008 ·                  Neurology 2008; 71: 826-832 ·                  Dr. Mercola:  09.22.08 Related Articles and Information: Blood Test Predicts Dementia Risk Super Spice Secrets Drinking Coffee Slashes Risks of Alzheimer's Pet Therapy Tuna and Egg Keep Your Brain Big Goji Health Stories - Dementia and Alzheimer's Big Red Juice - Goji and Go-Chi     Goji Health Stories/Stress