Month: March 2015

Seniors with severe hearing loss who received a cochlear implant to restore hearing also had improved mood and thinking skills, a new study finds. A cochlear implant is a small electronic device that provides sound to a person who is severely hard of hearing or deaf. It requires surgery to place in the inner ear. The study included 94 people ages 65 to 85. Researchers tested them before they got the implant, as well as 6 and 12 months later. After one year, the people could better understand words in both loud and quiet settings. Six month after getting the implants, average scores on test of thinking abilities improved. After one year, more than 80% of people with the lowest scores before the implant had better scores. The implants also seemed to improve depression in people. Before the implant, 59% showed no signs of depression. A year later, 76% were free of depression.

Some people have brain-scan abnormalities called white-matter hyperintensities. They show up as bright areas on an MRI. High levels of these abnormalities are linked with a future decline in brain function. A study of 167 older adults has found that exercise may counteract this decline. Researchers measured daily activity for 11 days. People also underwent multiple tests of motor function, and had brain scans. In people who were the most active, the number of hyperintensities had no effect on motor function test scores. In people with low to average amounts of exercise, high levels of hyperintensities were linked with poor motor-function scores. The study was published in the journal Neurology.