Stalling the Aging Process and Dementia Onset

"We say what's good for the heart is good for the brain, so a nice balanced ... nutritious diet with ... those leafy greens, low in saturated fats, all of those things."

"I think that's really the next stage of the research is, how do we make this scalable in communities so that people can implement these things into their daily lives?"

"If [you're] frustrated by it, [you're] just going to give  up. But do something that you enjoy. Better yet, do it with somebody else or others around you because socialization is key, and lastly, something that you can adhere to, if you can schedule it. It's something that you can stay committed to." 

"[They/doctors] should be treating lifestyle intervention as they would a drug. That would mean prescribing improved exercise and eating regimens and getting insurers to cover those prescriptions."

Jessica Langbaum, senior director of research strategy, Banner Alzheimer' Institute, Phoenix, Arizona 

Illustration of dementia as memory loss due to brain degeneration and decline. Photo by wildpixel /Getty Images

 

 According to the Alzheimer's Society of Canada, by 2050, over 1.7 million Canadians are potentially likely, analyzing statistics, to be living with dementia, representing an increase of 187 percent, in comparison to 2020 when 597,000 people were documented to be living with the disease that slowly strips the brain of its mental resources, in the presence of the brain disease that commonly is the cause of dementia.

 

According to researchers, certain lifestyle changes can help to delay and even stop that mental decline. Alzheimer's researchers -- in referring to a new US. study that  focuses on what researchers into Alzheimer's now call the strongest evidence yet respecting what is involved in slowing the aging process and improving cognition -- linked that delay leading to dementia, to lifestyle changes. 

 

Three key factors have been illuminated; a diet heavy on leafy greens, berries and grains; regular moderate exercise; and ongoing social interaction. Another factor is regularly timely cardiovascular monitoring. Not directly involved in the study, Jessica Langbaum nonetheless presented the findings at an annual conference of experts who convened on Wednesday in Toronto.

 

As the largest international meeting dedicated to advancing dementia science and clinical practice,the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) attracted 8,000 scientists and clinicians from all over the world, with the collective goal of improving diagnosis, risk reduction and treatment. Diet, exercise and socialization were pulled together in one substantial, structured study of 2,300 people in their '60s and '70s at risk of developing dementia. 

 

The study showed that bad habits "can really slow down memory and thinking" in adults at risk for cognitive impairment and dementia. The participants in the study changed their habits, from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one, improving their diet over a two-year period which resulted in cognitive function scores on par with people one or two years younger.

 

According to Ms. Langbaum, the results are significant evidence that change can occur without medication. "And so, it's showing that we can change the trajectory of aging", she said. Of the two groups involved in the study, in one, lifestyle changes were structurally presented. In the other, changes were self-directed. The results for the prescribed group were better, but both groups were shown to result in improvement. The largest challenge was sustaining a new exercise regimen for the study participants. 

 

Close to US$50 million was spent on the study by the American Alzheimer's Association. Even more was spent by the National Institutes of Health, to ensure that many of the participants underwent brain scans, blood tests and sleep studies aimed at providing additional information down the road.                                                                                              To begin implementing the lessons of the study, the American Alzheimer's Association plans to spend another US$40 million.