Prevention is the number 1 antodote to illness, especially true for degeneratives diseases of the brain.
Our brains are bound to shrink as we age, it’s unavoidable. It reduces in volume at the average rate of 5% every decade from the age of 40. Symtoms of dementia may start to appear between 55 and 65yrs, this may accelerate after 70yrs.
A large cohort study carried out in 2012 in the USA demonstrated that by the time the participants were 85, one third had moderate or severe dementia.
In this article I will examine the risk factors for dementia and how to slow or reverse the degenerative process.
Protective factors that reduce cardiovascular risk, namely regular exercise, a healthy diet, and low to moderate alcohol intake, seem to aid the ageing brain.
It has been established that increased cognitive effort in the form of higher education or occupational attainment slows the shrinking process.
A healthy life both physically and mentally may be the best defence against the changes of an ageing brain.
But there are certain lifestyle factors that hasten the process. This is according to a new study by researchers at University of California, Davis.
They found that the five factors that were associated with faster declines in brain volume were:
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Cigarette smoking
• Being overweight or Obese
. High blood cortisol levels as a result of chronic stress
The study included 1,352 adults who had an average age of 54 and did not have dementia at the start of the study.
All were participants of the Framingham Offspring Cohort Study (the children of the participants of the original Framingham Heart Study).
To start, researchers administered a battery of tests, including measures for obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.
Starting seven years later, they measured the participants’ brain size using MRI scans and also gave participants cognitive tests to gauge executive function, planning and organizational skills.
The researchers found that all four risk factors were associated with faster declines in brain size: people with high blood pressure in midlife more quickly developed a condition called white matter change, in which areas of blood vessels in the brain are damaged, compared with those who had normal blood pressure.
People with diabetes had faster shrinkage in a brain region called the hippocampus, which is involved with memory. Smokers had more rapid overall brain shrinkage than nonsmokers, and also showed faster white matter changes.
On cognitive tests, these participants showed declines in executive function, or the ability to make decisions, plan, organize, and pay attention to and remember details.
People who were overweight or obese in middle age, for example, were more likely to be among the top quartile of those with the fastest rates of decrease in brain volume and the most rapid declines in executive function.
It is now well established that learning new intellectual or physical skills delays brain shrinkage.
“We can’t cure disease or cure aging, but the idea of a healthy body, healthy mind is very real,” said Dr. Charles DeCarli, director of U.C. Davis’ Alzheimer’s Disease Center and a lead author of the study, in a statement.
“People should stop smoking and control their blood pressure. They should also avoid diabetes, lower stress and loose weight.”
Learning a new mental or physical skill, a new hobby or embarking on nature exploration after retirement will slow down the decline in cognitive function.
The cognitive decline is largely compensated by experience and habits. New skills help stimulate new neural connections in the frontal lobe.
The takeaway from this article is simply, "If you dont use it, you will loose it".
Thanks for being here and goodluck on your journey to optimal health and wellness. I hope you enjoyed reading this piece.
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