Keep Your Brain Young: The Complete Guide to Physical and Emotional Health and Longevity

by Guy McKhann M.D., Marilyn Albert Ph.D.

Overview

The ultimate user's guide to the brain...highly intelligent, straightforward, and important.
—Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D.

As Seen in Time magazine and on the Today Show

"Guy McKhann and Marilyn Albert are to middle-aged people and seniors what Dr. Spock is to babies and their parents. Keep Your Brain Young is must reading for anyone over fifty; it should be on your bedside table."
——Judy Woodruff, CNN, and Al Hunt, The Wall Street Journal

"I highly recommend this readable, informal, and entertaining guide to achieving and maintaining optimum brain functioning as we age. . . . A single, reliable, comprehensive guide to the changes we all can expect as we enter the second half of life."
——Richard Restak, M.D., coauthor of The Longevity Strategy

Your brain controls and powers virtually every aspect of your life —— and like the rest of your body, it changes with age. In Keep Your Brain Young, two of the world's leading brain doctors guide you through the changes you may encounter as you get older and as your brain matures. Based on state-of-the-art research and supplemented with dramatic case histories, this comprehensive resource shows you the latest techniques for maintaining memory, managing stress, and coping with sleep disorders and depression, offering prescriptive exercises you can put into action right away. You'll also learn how to enhance your mental and physical functioning while reducing the risk for serious diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Read Keep Your Brain Young and gain the knowledge and confidence you need to manage the aging process, take care of your brain, and stay active and alert for many years to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780471430285
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	05/01/2003
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	243,775
Product dimensions:	6.18(w) x 9.22(h) x 0.85(d)

About the Author

GUY McKHANN, M.D., is Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and founding Director of the Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute at Johns Hopkins. He is the founding Chairman of the Department of Neurology at Johns Hopkins and has appeared on 60 Minutes and in other national media.
MARILYN ALBERT, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at Harvard Medical School. She is Director of the Gerontology Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital and was recently appointed Director of the Division of Cognitive Neuroscience and the CoDirector of the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. She has appeared on the Today show, PBS-TV, and in other national media. Drs. McKhann and Albert are husband and wife.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments.

PART ONE: THE BRAIN AND EVERYDAY CONCERNS.

Introduction: Healthy But Realistic in the Second Half.

Maintaining Your Memory.

Nutrition for the Brain: Food, Fuel, and Protection.

Sleep and the Brain.

Managing Stress.

Unmasking Depression.

Alcohol and Your Brain.

PART TWO: THE BRAIN AND YOUR BODY.

Pain and Your Brain.

Body Functions and Your Brain.

Protecting Your Senses.

How to Keep Your Balance—Literally.

Fainting, Dizziness, and Your Brain.

PART THREE: THE BRAIN AND PREVENTING AND TREATING SERIOUS PROBLEMS.

Understanding Acute Memory Loss.

Acute Confusion and How to Prevent It.

Dealing with Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias.

Treatable Dementias.

Cancer and the Brain.

New Options for Parkinson's Disease.

Shaking, Weakness, ALS, and Your Brain.

Stroke: The Brain-Heart Connection.

Taking Charge of Your Brain.

Appendix.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

McKhann, a professor of neurology at John Hopkins, has coauthored this manual on the workings of the brain with his wife, Albert, director of gerontology research at Massachusetts General Hospital. Although the writing is dry, there is excellent information here for the aging adult. The authors acknowledge that growing older quite naturally involves some physical changes in the brain. They present the most effective ways, based on scientific research and case histories, to minimize these changes and their impact on everyday life. Strategies are offered to improve memory, such as doing mental exercises and maintaining a regular exercise program. For the disease-free older adult, the authors recommend a well-balanced diet and getting an adequate amount of sleep. They stress the importance of recognizing and seeking medical assistance for depression, hearing or vision loss and urinary and sexual problems. McKhann and Albert also deal extensively with a variety of brain disorders including tumors, Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's, and detail the latest medical treatments and drugs that may ameliorate some of these conditions. (May) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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