For some time we’ve known that social isolation is a risk factor for dementia. Now a new study goes far deeper, with findings offering fascinating insight. Researchers at Rush University in Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania followed 823 people older than 70 for four years, using questionnaires administered by researchers to assess social isolation and conducting tests of cognitive functioning. They discovered that people who scored highest on the loneliness scale — regardless of whether or not they actually spent much time with people — were more than twice as likely to develop AD during the follow-up period as people whose score was the lowest.
WHO GETS ALZHEIMER’S… AND WHO DOESN’T
Robert S. Wilson, PhD, senior neuropsychologist of the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, was the lead author of the study. When I spoke with him he said that loneliness is sometimes considered an early sign of AD, but these findings show it is associated with increased risk and not an early symptom of its pathology.
This information was gleaned from brain autopsies of the 90 people who died during the study, which found that loneliness was not associated with plaques and tangles in the brain, considered the leading cause of dementia in older people. Thus, it seems that non-biological factors may play an important role — and according to this study loneliness is high on the list.
Culturally, we’ve been inclined to regard problems of age to be inevitable with the passing of years, says Dr. Wilson. This study shows it’s time to correct that assumption and more closely investigate ways to prevent the debilitation of old-age diseases including dementia. The kind of loneliness this study talks about is more like a trait than an emotional state — it’s not the type of loneliness you might experience being away from home for an extended period, which is loneliness as a state, but rather the type that you feel all or most of the time, loneliness as a trait, that follows you everywhere. Even so, there are still many ways to address and modify it. Medicine helps treat depression, which is usually part of loneliness, but non-drug therapies including regular exercise, joining like-minded groups for activities and expanding your circle of friends and acquaintances in general can be hugely beneficial — most especially when you’ve got strong networks already in place. If you live alone, you may want to consider moving to a retirement community, where even shy people can make connections, since most residents are looking to do so. Not only will being with others possibly help people avoid Alzheimer’s in years to come, it will make for happier years right now.

Source(s): ??Robert S. Wilson, PhD, senior neuropsychologist of the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago.
 

Lydia Wilen
Joan Wilen

You don’t need to spend a lot of money or time dealing with car-cleaning problems. Cheap and easy tricks that really work…

Caution: Always test any cleaning remedy on an inconspicuous area of your car to be sure that it won’t harm the car’s finish. Never use scouring pads, steel wool or abrasive household cleaners on your car’s finish.
Foggy windshield. A thin coat of gel shaving cream applied to the interior of your windshield and other car windows can keep them from fogging up in the winter. To apply: Spread the gel on the window, let dry, then use a clean cloth to rub it off. The glass should remain fog-free for days, if not longer. (This also works on bathroom mirrors.) Keep a blackboard eraser in your glove compartment to quickly wipe the glass clear without leaving streaks when it does fog up again.
If your windshield seems hazy even when it’s not fogged up, pour white vinegar on a clean cloth and wipe down the glass inside and out. Then wash the windshield with water, and wipe it dry.
Grime-covered headlights. Combine one cup of white vinegar, one quart of water and one tablespoon of cornstarch. Use a sponge to apply the mixture to your headlights, or you can use an old pair of panty hose. Let the cleaning solution sit for about 10 minutes, then rub off with a soft cloth.

Dirty windshield wipers. Wipe the blades with a cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol. Besides cleaning the blades, the alcohol also will reduce the amount of ice that builds up on them during storms. Also: Lightly run a folded piece of extra-fine sandpaper along the wiper-blade edges to remove stubborn gunk. This light sanding can help older wiper blades remain effective longer.
Bumper stickers. Soak a cloth in white vinegar, then position the cloth so that it completely covers the sticker for 30 to 60 minutes. If the sticker is on a vertical metal surface, use refrigerator magnets to hold the cloth in place. The vinegar should dissolve much of the sticker’s glue, allowing you to peel it off or very carefully scrape it off using an old credit card. (Favor peeling over scraping if the sticker is on paint.) If some of the sticker’s adhesive remains after the sticker has been removed, pour some vegetable oil on it and the adhesive should become much easier to rub away.
If this doesn’t do the trick, use a hair dryer to loosen the adhesive. Set the dryer on high, and check every few minutes to see if the sticker will peel free.
Nicks and scratches. If your car dealer doesn’t have touch-up paint for your car, crayons are the cheapest way to hide ugly nicks and scratches. Find the crayon color that most closely matches that of your car, and carefully work it into the nick or scratch. Use a clean, soft cloth to wipe away any excess. This won’t be a perfect fix, but it should make the flaw much less obvious. If you can’t find an appropriate-colored crayon, at least apply clear nail polish to the damaged area to prevent it from rusting.
Dead bugs. Bugs and bird droppings (see below) contain acids that can damage a car’s painted or chromed surface if they’re not cleaned away quickly. To make bug removal easy, spray a light coat of vegetable cooking oil on your car’s bumper, grille and hood before long drives. The slick oil should make it much easier to wipe away the bugs after the trip.
When dead bugs do get stuck firmly to your car, dip a scrunched-up mesh onion bag, nylon net shower sponge or old pair of panty hose in warm soapy water and gently scrub off the bugs.
Bird droppings. Pour seltzer on the droppings as soon as possible. Once the seltzer stops bubbling, wipe the area with a microfiber or cotton cloth.
Helpful: Griot’s Garage’s Speed Wipes Travel Pack is a car-care product worth having. Keep these wipes in your glove compartment so you can clean off bird droppings when you don’t have seltzer handy. Cost: $9.99 for a pack of 20 wipes (800-345-5789, http://www.griotsgarage.com).
Tree sap. The easiest way to remove sap is to wipe it off before it has a chance to dry. If the sap already has dried, coat it with mayonnaise, wait a few minutes for the mayo to reduce the sap’s stickiness, then gently rub with a cloth. If this fails, pour rubbing alcohol on a soft cloth, hold it against the sap for a minute, then use the cloth to gently rub away the sap. If the sap still won’t budge, spray WD-40 on it. Wait a few minutes, then rub it off with a cloth. Wash the affected area after the sap has been removed. To make sure these remedies won’t harm your car’s finish, test an inconspicuous area.
Road tar. Put mayonnaise on the tar, wait two minutes, then wipe the area clean with a soft cloth. (Test on an inconspicuous area first.)
Grease. Grease is not as sticky as sap and tar, but it can be difficult to wash away. A simple solution is to use baby wipes. Baby wipes also can be used to clean grime off a car’s vinyl or cloth upholstery. Cloth upholstery should be allowed to air-dry after a baby wipe is used, but vinyl can be wiped dry with a paper towel. Baby wipes should not be used to clean leather car interiors — use saddlesoap instead.
Bad smells. A pet has an accident in the car… a child gets sick. You clean up the mess, but the smell’s still there. Put shallow bowls of white vinegar on the car’s floor, in front and back. Then close the windows and leave the car overnight. In the morning, remove the bowls of vinegar and open the doors and windows for a few minutes so that any lingering vinegar smell disappears.

The women here are being forced to wear bombs to defend the rights the men here cry to Allah about in prayer. I for one hope the Jews keep their feet on their necks. Why should the not feel the oppression that they visit upon us every day of our lives.

Most of the stupid men that strap on bombs are illiterate. They get to be somebody by killing themselves and innocent people. Allah has no part in this. It is the men who force others to die for them that drive this madness.

The fear is that peace will come to this area of the middle east and they will have to get real jobs. Now they are forcing us to do the same terrible thing to people. We are women, but to these beasts we are expendable. They pretend to be concerned about what happens to us to get sympathy from the rest of the world. But when the cameras are off they abuse us then force us to die for their cause.

Most of the women who are forced to do this see no other reason to live. We will gain NOTHING if the men gain independence. We will still be slaves. I hope Allah makes them suffer until they see the injustice in what they are doing to us.

The women who have been fortunate enough to be able to read and who have access to the net hate these men. We are but prisoners in a world of cruelty that you could not imagine.

Al Zhahra