Stroke
Episodes
Dr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
In this clip, Dr. Roger Seheult and Dr. Rhonda Patrick describe long-haul COVID-19 and its ramifications for young people.
-
Dr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
-
In this clip, Dr. Roger Seheult and Dr. Rhonda Patrick describe long-haul COVID-19 and its ramifications for young people.
Topic Pages
News & Publications
-
A daily cup of coffee could reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes by half. academic.oup.com
Drinking your daily cup of coffee or tea might do more than give you a boost—it could lower your risk of developing multiple serious cardiometabolic conditions simultaneously, like diabetes, heart disease, or stroke. A recent study found that moderate coffee or caffeine consumption may cut your risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity by as much as 50%.
Researchers analyzed data from more than 172,000 participants enrolled in the UK Biobank who had no cardiometabolic diseases at the start. Participants reported their coffee, tea, and caffeine consumption; about half provided blood samples for metabolic marker analysis.
They found that people who drank about three cups of coffee daily (or consumed 200 to 300 milligrams of caffeine daily) were 40% to 50% less likely to develop multiple cardiometabolic diseases than those who drank little or no caffeine. They also discovered that specific blood markers, such as certain lipid components, were linked to coffee and caffeine consumption and a lower risk of cardiometabolic conditions.
These findings suggest that moderate coffee or caffeine intake reduces the risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases but also slows their progression if they occur. Other evidence points to the many health benefits associated with coffee and caffeine, but it’s crucial to remember their effects on sleep. Learn more in this Aliquot featuring Drs. Guido Kroemer, Satchin Panda, Elissa Epel, Matthew Walker, and Rhonda Patrick
-
Rising blood pressure in young adulthood damages brain blood vessels, reducing blood flow to the brain. journals.lww.com
Gradual increases in blood pressure from young adulthood to middle age increased the risk of poor brain health in older age, a 2022 study found. Having higher blood pressure over time damaged the brain’s delicate blood vessels, reducing blood flow to the brain.
The study involved 885 adults whose blood pressures were monitored regularly over a 30-year period. Using magnetic resonance imaging studies, researchers assessed the participants' brain health at the beginning and end of the study period.
The researchers found that participants who had either high blood pressure in young adulthood or moderate blood pressure that gradually increased over time showed marked signs of microvascular disease in the white matter of their brains. The two groups also showed reduced blood flow in the gray matter of their brains.
Microvascular disease, also called small vessel disease, is a condition characterized by blood vessel dysfunction. It commonly occurs with aging and contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease, dementia, and stroke. Small vessel disease in the brain contributes to approximately 50 percent of dementia cases worldwide.
-
Drinking coffee may reduce risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage in women. (2011) www.sciencedaily.com
Drinking coffee may reduce the risk of stroke in women.
A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted, killing brain cells. It is the second leading cause of disability and death worldwide, affecting the lives of roughly 102 million people. Evidence suggests that inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of strokes. Findings from a 2011 study suggest that coffee reduces the risk of stroke in women.
Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages worldwide. It is rich in polyphenolic compounds, including quercetin, chlorogenic acid, and others, that exert beneficial health effects in humans. Evidence suggests that coffee reduces inflammation.
The study involved nearly 35,000 women enrolled in the Swedish Mammography Cohort. The women, who had no history of cardiovascular disease or cancer at the time of their enrollment, completed questionnaires about their coffee consumption and other lifestyle habits. Using hospital medical records, the investigators gathered information about whether the women experienced a stroke during a 10-year follow-up period.
They found that drinking coffee was associated with a reduced risk of strokes, even after taking other risk factors into consideration, such as smoking, body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, or alcohol consumption. On average, drinking 1 to 2 cups daily reduced risk by 22 percent; 3 to 4 cups reduced risk by 25 percent; 5 or more cups reduced risk by 23 percent.
These findings suggest that moderate coffee consumption reduces the risk of stroke in women. Other lifestyle behaviors may reduce stroke risk, too, such as sauna use, which may reduce risk by as much as half. Learn more in this presentation by Dr. Rhonda Patrick.
-
Alcohol consumption increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as aortic aneurysms and reduces life expectancy. (2018) www.eurekalert.org
From the article:
The upper safe limit of drinking was about 5 drinks per week (100g of pure alcohol, 12.5 units or just over five pints of 4% ABV2 beer or five 175ml glasses of 13% ABV wine).
However, drinking above this limit was linked with lower life expectancy. For example, having 10 or more drinks per week was linked with 1-2 years shorter life expectancy1. Having 18 drinks or more per week was linked with 4-5 years shorter life expectancy.
[…]
The researchers also looked at the association between alcohol consumption and different types of cardiovascular disease. Alcohol consumption was associated with a higher risk of stroke, heart failure, fatal aortic aneurysms, fatal hypertensive disease and heart failure and there were no clear thresholds where drinking less did not have a benefit.
-
Hypertensive smoking women have up to 20-fold higher risk of brain aneurysm ruptures. (2013) www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
- If smoking women with high systolic blood pressure values have 20 times higher rate of these brain bleeds than never-smoking men with low blood pressure values, it may very well be that these women diagnosed with unruptured intracranial aneurysms should be treated. On the other hand, never-smoking men with low blood pressure values and intracranial aneurysms may not need to be treated at all.
In this largest SAH risk factor study ever, the study group also identified three new risk factors for SAH: previous myocardial infarction, history of stroke in mother, and elevated cholesterol levels in men. The results revise the understanding of the epidemiology of SAH and indicate that the risk factors for SAH appear to be similar to those for other cardiovascular diseases.
- We have previously shown that lifestyle risk factors affect significantly the life expectancy of SAH survivors, and now we have shown that the same risk factors also affect dramatically the risk of SAH itself.
-
Hypertension in mid-life reduces brain volume and increases risk of dementia. neurosciencenews.com
Many people develop hypertension (high blood pressure) with age, putting them at risk of cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, retinal damage, and stroke. Hypertension is also a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, due to damage caused by years of vessel injury, microbleeds, and lesions. Authors of a recent study report that hypertension diagnosed in early or midlife, but not late life, is a predictor of dementia.
Because hypertension damages the delicate small blood vessels of the heart, kidneys, eyes, brain, and other organs, it is a risk factor for a wide range of chronic diseases. Previous research has shown that hypertension, by restricting blood flow, reduces brain volume in key areas associated with dementia, such as the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. As the number of young adults with hypertension increases to an estimated 1.6 billion globally by 2025, research on the risks of hypertension in earlier life are needed.
The authors collected data from more than 135,000 participants with hypertension and 135,000 matched control participants without hypertension from the United Kingdom Biobank, a long-term study of United Kingdom citizens. The researchers categorized participants into four categories: younger than 35 years; 35 to 44 years; 45 to 54 years; and 55 to 64 years. They used magnetic resonance imaging data to measure brain volume, and hospital records, death records, and self-reports to assess dementia status. Participants in the study provided data at a baseline appointment between 2006 and 2010 and at a follow-up appointment between 2014 and 2021.
Participants diagnosed with hypertension at any age had smaller brain volume than their matched control participant without hypertension. Participants diagnosed earlier in life had the greatest reductions, with participants diagnosed between ages 35 and 44 exhibiting a 0.8 percent loss in volume and participants before age 35 exhibiting a 1.2 percent loss. Specifically, hypertension was associated with loss of peripheral cortical gray matter, brain tissue necessary for higher brain functions such as learning, memory, and attention. Participants diagnosed with hypertension between ages 35 and 44 were at a 61 percent higher risk of dementia than the matched control participants without hypertension.
The authors concluded that hypertension diagnosed in early mid life, but not late life, is associated with decreased brain volume and increased risk of dementia. Lifestyle strategies that reduce blood pressure, such as exercise, sauna use, dietary modification, and stress management, may reduce dementia risk.
-
BDNF mimetic 7,8-dihydroxyflavone protects neurons against cell death. www.sciencedaily.com
BDNF’s neuroprotective capacity suggests that it could be useful in preventing or treating neurodegenerative diseases. Circumventing problems with BDNF’s delivery, half-life, and other limitations has proven challenging. A 2010 study found that 7,8-dihydroxyflavone, a BDNF mimetic, exerted neuroprotective qualities similar to those of BDNF.
7,8-dihydroxyflavone is a type of flavonoid compound present in a variety of plants. Flavonoids exert antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, among others. Some evidence indicates that 7,8-dihydroxyflavone might be useful in reversing the damage associated with lead poisoning in children.
The authors of the study screened 2,000 bioactive compounds to gauge their ability to protect rodent and human neurons from apoptosis and identified five compounds, including 7,8-dihydroxyflavone, that showed potential in protecting the cells. Then they treated the cells with BDNF and the various compounds and deprived the cells of oxygen and glucose.
They found that none of the compounds was as effective as 7,8-dihydroxyflavone in protecting the cells from apoptosis. In fact, 7,8-dihydroxyflavone was even more protective than BDNF. They also found that 7,8-dihydroxyflavone exerted its protective qualities by activating a receptor called TrkB, to which BDNF binds. They replicated their findings in an in vivo study of mice, indicating that 7,8-dihydroxyflavone enhances neuronal survival.
These findings demonstrate that flavonoid compounds that mimic the effects of BDNF show potential as therapeutics against neurodegenerative diseases.