Justice For Clergy Abuse Survivors

In April, Maryland passed a law giving survivors of child sexual abuse the right to file civil lawsuits against the organizations and institutions that helped perpetrators commit, or concealed, their abuse.

The law was passed after the Maryland Attorney General mentia, such as dementia due to strokes.

Beyond such common-sense measures, no available medicines, supplements or treatments reliably improve brain function over the long term, despite ads claiming otherwise. That’s why researchers continue to explore whether certain foods or supplements could prove effective.

In a recent study published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia, more than 2,200 volunteers ages 65 and older were randomly assigned to receive cocoa or a placebo, a multivitamin or a placebo, or both cocoa and a multivitamin for three years. (The multivitamin chosen for this study was Centrum Silver, which contains 27 vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in various amounts.)

When cognition tests were analyzed at the end of the trial, those receiving cocoa did not demonstrate any improvement. But those on a multivitamin had improved scores on tests of:

• overall brain function (especially in people with cardiovascular disease)

• memory

• executive function (tasks such as planning ahead or remembering instructions).

Based on these findings, the researchers estimated that three years of multivitamin use could slow age-related decline in brain function by as much as 60%.

Notably, study participants were mostly white (89%), had an average age of 73, and more than half were female (60%). They were issued a report concluding that the Catholic Church had assisted more than 160 priests and clergy commit and cover up decades of horrific abuse to hundreds of children. Those victims can now seek financial damages without worrying about it being too late.