
Video Download: New Study Shows The Debilitating Effect Of Smoking On The Brain
Video Stream: New Study Shows The Debilitating Effect Of Smoking On The Brain
If you smoke, the findings of this new study will make you at least think about quitting, and hopefully throw those cancer sticks where they belong: in the trash can, once and for all.
We all know smoking delivers numerous health horrors: cancer, premature aging, gum disease, lung disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, heart disease...the list goes on and on, with too many other well-known afflictions to mention.
But Now There's a New One to Add to this Blood-Curdling List
A new study has linked smoking with the thinning of the cortex, the brain’s outer layer.
Neurologists have long known that the cortex is known to thin as a person ages.
However, that problem seems to be accelerated in smokers. This part of the brain is where functions such as memory, language, and perception take place...and a thinning cortex is associated with cognitive decline.
In the study, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers looked at health data and MRI brain scans of 244 men and 260 women with an average age of 73.
Some of the people in the study were current smokers, some were ex-smokers, and some were nonsmokers.
The brain cortices of the current and ex-smokers were thinner than those who had never smoked before, researchers found.
But the good news: People who did smoke but quit the habit seemed to “partially recover their cortical thickness for each year without tobacco use,” study researcher Sherif Karama, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at McGill University, said in a statement.
However, Karama did add that even though researchers saw signs of recovery, the process seemed to be slow, and the former smokers’ cortices were still thinner than those who never smoked.
Previously, research out of the University of California, Los Angeles, showed that smoking during young adulthood seems to thin a particular part of the brain cortex, called the insula.
The insula plays a vital role in decision-making and monitoring internal states; it’s also the part of the brain with the highest density of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, meaning it has a strong role in tobacco dependence.
But Many People are Still Not Getting the Message
The findings come at the same time as those of another study that examined health data from nearly one million people over approximately 10 years, showing that in the U.S., tobacco is to blame for five new diseases and 60,000 deaths a year, the New York Times reports.
The five conditions found to be newly-linked with tobacco use include kidney disease, infection, intestinal disease from blood flow problems and heart and lung diseases that, before, were not previously linked to smoking.
"A substantial portion of the excess mortality among current smokers between 2000 and 2011 was due to associations with diseases that have not been formally established as caused by smoking," the authors of the study, which appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine, wrote.
“These associations should be investigated further and, when appropriate, taken into account when the mortality burden of smoking is examined.”
So, once again, the message is loud and clear.
Smoking delivers no real benefits that can't be found in far less lethal ways...but it can be a serious risk to your good health and even your life.
If you smoke, at least consider cutting down.
Better yet, quit!
References
How Secondhand Smoke Affects the Brain
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-secondhand-smoke-affects-brain
From E-Cigs to Tobacco: Here’s How Nicotine Affects the Body
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/heres-how-nicotine-affects-the-body
- Everything You Need to Know About Clomiphene - December 20th, 2020
- Women Can Boost Their Testosterone Just by Acting Like a Boss - December 19th, 2020
- Human Growth Hormone and Menopause Management - December 18th, 2020
- Study Examines Link Between Growth Hormones and Osteoporosis - December 17th, 2020
- Menopause Drugs: Study Stokes New Debate Over Cancer Risks - December 16th, 2020
- Hormone Therapy May Benefit Some Women's Hearts - December 15th, 2020
- The Importance of Hormonal Balance for Menopause - December 14th, 2020
- Want to Keep Your Bones Strong and Healthy? Then STAY ACTIVE! - December 12th, 2020
- New Study on Menopause Drugs Stokes Fresh Debate Over Cancer Risk - December 11th, 2020
- Foods and Supplements for Healthy Skin - December 10th, 2020
- Enjoy a Few Drinks Weekly? Beware: This May Be a Link to Poor Sperm Quality - December 9th, 2020
- How To Enjoy An Extended, Youthful Lifespan - December 8th, 2020
- Tylenol Use in Pregnancy May Present a Serious Risk of Lower Testosterone in Boys - December 7th, 2020
- Male Hypogonadism: The Word Men Dread to Hear - December 6th, 2020
- Aerobics May Ease Menopause Symptoms: Study - December 5th, 2020
- L-Arginine: The Key to Both Heart Health and Sexual Health - December 4th, 2020
- Statins May Slow Prostate Cancer Progression - December 3rd, 2020
- Fatherhood and Men's Hormonal Changes - December 2nd, 2020
- Not in the Mood for Sex? Scientists Say “You Just Need More Sleep.” - November 17th, 2020
- Male Blood Panel Work - November 11th, 2020
- Tattoo Safety: What to Know Before You Get a Tattoo - June 2nd, 2020
- High-Intensity Interval Training Boosts Both Body and Mind - May 10th, 2020
- Lipocine Reintroduces Tlando - March 18th, 2020
- Insomnia: The Silent Killer - April 30th, 2019
- How to Understand and Deal with Cirrhosis - April 12th, 2019
- Constantly Tired? Can't Sleep? - March 23rd, 2019
- Osteoporosis: What it is and How You Can Fight and Avoid It - March 10th, 2019
- Are You Constantly Feeling Tired And Fatigued ? - May 1st, 2018
Contact Us Today For A Free Consultation
Dear Patient,
Once you have completing the above contact form, for security purposes and confirmation, please confirm your information by calling us.
Please call now: 1-800-380-5339.
Welcoming You To Our Clinic, Professor Tom Henderson.



Word Count: 588