Study
Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease may be delayed by meditation: DST & IIITH Study Supported by Department of Science and Technology (DST) International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH) in collaboration with the Neurology Department of Apollo Multispeciality Hospital, Kolkata conducts the study
Tracy S
A new study, supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), and conducted by the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH) in collaboration with the Neurology Department of Apollo Multispeciality Hospital, Kolkata, reveals that simple meditation performed at home can alter the brain structure and increase grey matter in patients suffering mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild Alzheimer’s disease.
Science
The drugs presently available to treat Alzheimer’s do not possess any disease-modifying effects, but only give temporary relief of symptoms. The severity of impairment often worsens within five years in more than half of MCI patients, leading to an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. This has prompted researchers to seek alternative options for managing the disease.
the Mediation group were advised to
Dr Amitabha Ghosh, Head of Neurology at Apollo Multispeciality Hospital, Kolkata and Dr Bapi Raju, Cognitive
area of the brain, which coincided with
Research
Centre
at
IIITH,
together with researcher Neha Dubey and
Dr
Raju’s
students,
Madhukar
Dwivedi and Aditya Jain Pansari to understand the effects of meditation on MCI and early Alzheimer’s patients.
Methods and findings The team assigned patients having MCI or early Alzheimer’s into Meditation and Control groups. Before beginning the
study,
MRI
brain
scans
were
taken from both groups. Patients in meditate at home for 30 minutes each day in a quiet, sitting posture with help of audio instructions from a CD. After six months, both groups again were given MRI brain scans, and the findings revealed that patients in the Meditation group showed a marked increase in cortical thickness and volume of grey matter, particularly in the prefrontal a reduction in thickness in the posterior area of the brain.
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