The Washington Post (5/31, Reynolds) reports, “Exercise can sharpen your thinking and keep your brain healthy as you age – even if you don’t start exercising until later in life,” investigators concluded in a study involving functional magnetic resonance imaging that “recruited 33 volunteers in their 70s and 80s, about half of whom were experiencing mild cognitive impairment, a loss of thinking skills that often precedes Alzheimer’s disease.” The study revealed that “previously sedentary 70- and 80-year-olds who started exercising, including some who had already experienced some cognitive decline, showed improvement in their brain function after workouts.” The findings were published online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (5/31) reports, “Individuals who experience a myocardial infarction (heart attack) appear to have a faster cognitive decline over time than those who do not experience a myocardial infarction,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from six U.S. prospective cohort studies conducted from 1971 to 2019” that encompassed some 30,465 adults. The findings were published online May 30 in JAMA Neurology.

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— “Heart Attack Linked to Faster Cognitive Decline Over Time, Study Suggests, Psychiatric News, May 31, 2023

MedPage Today (5/31, George) reports, “An index of gliosis was linked with persistent neurocognitive symptoms after mild or moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection, a small case-control study showed.” Data show that when “compared with healthy controls, PET measures of translocator protein total distribution volume, a marker of gliosis,” were “elevated in people with ongoing cognitive and depressive symptoms after COVID-19.” The findings were published online May 31 in JAMA Psychiatry.

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HCPlive (5/31, Walter) reports, “Patients with both systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) and major depressive disorder (MDD) are more likely to also have an issue with several substances including alcohol, tobacco, opioids, and cannabis,” investigators concluded in a study that “identified 743 patients with SLE and 37,623 patients with MDD.” In this particular “group, there were 317 patients with SLE that had comorbid MDD.” The findings were presented during the 2023 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

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— “Substance Use Disorder Rates Higher in Patients With Comorbid SLE, Major Depressive Disorder “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, May 31, 2023

MedPage Today (5/31, Short) reports, “People who quit smoking for at least 15 weeks may see improvements in their mental health,” investigators concluded in the findings of an 8,411-patient, “secondary analysis of the EAGLES trial.” Research revealed that “in adults with and without a psychiatric history, those who quit smoking for that duration saw reductions in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale…scores at six months compared with active smokers.” The findings were published online May 31 in JAMA Network Open.

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