From Neuro Covid to harm reduction, Neuromed-Mohre experts in comparison

From Neuro Covid to lifestyles useful for protecting the brain increasingly ‘under attack’, to the well-established harm reduction policies in the addiction sector, but which are making their way in many other fields including the environmental one and smoking. . These are the main themes of the joint conference ‘Mohre X Neuromed’, which compares the experts in neurology and neuroscience of the Irccs Neuromed of Pozzilli (Isernia) and the scientific board of Mohre, the Mediterranean Observatory for risk reduction in medicine . “In the face of environmental threats, genetic predispositions and physiological decay caused by increased longevity, it is necessary to protect the brain from the threats that open the door to neurodegenerative diseases and chronicity which accounts for 81% of the costs of the National Health Service. Longevity only makes sense if the years gained are lived in health. We are grateful to Neuromed for having taken up our proposal to discuss the future of the brain in a transversal way “, says Johann Rossi Mason, editorial director of Mohre. “Degenerative brain diseases are not an ineluctable destiny – says Giovanni de Gaetano, president of Neuromed – We can do a lot to age with a clear mind, starting with correct lifestyles, started when young, but continued as adults and even in older ages. advanced. The ideal is to have a biological brain life that is healthier and longer than chronological life. A demanding challenge, to which we are dedicating new research programs here at Neuromed “. The first topic at the center of the work is Long Covid, the post syndrome – Sars-CoV-2 infection which affects 75% of patients who have been hospitalized for Covid-19. Symptoms also found neurological and cognitive ones, along with anxiety and depression, which can last up to a year even in young people. A recent study, which included 90,000 over 65s recovered from Covid – a note from the conference reads – found debilitating long-term symptoms in 32% of cases, so much so as to suggest that Long Covid is considered a ‘geriatric syndrome’. The theory is supported by a study by Fenstein Institutes for Medical Research, which found 13% of new diagnoses of dementia within one year of hospitalization for Sars-CoV-2. Furthermore, in a work published in ‘Frontiers Aging Neuroscience’, of the 181 participants, 78% said they had difficulty concentrating, 69% reported ‘brain fog’, 68% forgetfulness and 60% complained of problems finding the right word while speaking.Under the lens of experts also environmental factors capable of impacting the genetic heritage, lifestyles and individual behaviors. “We can do a lot to defend ourselves – assures Giuseppe Novelli, professor of genetics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata – For example, focusing on education and interests to build a good cognitive reserve, a treasure trove of neurons and connections that has shown to protect in part also from the manifestation of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s symptoms. It is never too late to start cultivating an interest or to start studying. An ‘educated’ brain is in fact protected longer from decline: as explained by the ‘Journal of Neuroscience’, the prefrontal regions stimulated by prolonged education turn on some genes involved in both signal transmission and immune defense. This is a magnificent example of how epigenetics works, that is the ‘dress’ that genes wear, which can then be changed or changed. modified by the environment “.” In the case of tobacco – underlines Fabio Beatrice, director of the scientific board of Mohre – the strategies for reducing harm is a potentially life-saving public health intervention for 1.1 billion smokers worldwide, supported by international human rights principles. It is obvious that there is no healthy smoking and that the ideal would be not to start smoking or drinking alcohol, especially at a young age, but for adults in whom addiction is consolidated it is necessary to provide a viable solution. Nicotine is therefore both the problem and the solution, but there is a right to health that must not be hindered by prejudices or preconceived positions “. Two very recent studies – it is noted in the note – have indicated that the complete replacement of combustion cigarettes with Electronics would lead to millions of lives saved. In particular, switching to alternative smoking by 2040 could save 2.52 million lives and 26 million years of life lost, just by taking into account the impact of smoking on the main four diseases smoking-related: lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease and stroke A recent paper recommends that tobacco harm reduction be promoted as a health rights issue by advocacy organizations representing nicotine users . According to the latest publication launched by Knowledge, Action, Change (KA C), which promotes the reduction of harm c As a key human rights-based public health strategy, tobacco harm reduction is not only a potentially life-saving public health intervention for 1.1 billion smokers worldwide, it is also supported by international human rights law. The paper recommends that tobacco harm reduction be promoted as a health rights issue even for those who use nicotine.