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Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Team that Inspired 'Use it or lose it' Confirms
Mental Activity Protects Against Alzheimer's
Frequent brain stimulation by senior citizens reduces
risk of Alzheimer's disease
June 27, 2007 – It is unclear when the old adage
"use it or lose it" first became associated with the idea that by
keeping your mind active you could ward off dementia and Alzheimer's,
but it probably began with research by Robert S. Wilson, who has just
released new scientific evidence that it is true. The latest research in
Neurology Journal says it does not have to be activity as complicated as
computer games. Simply reading the daily paper can help keep the mind
stimulated and lower the risk of Alzheimer's, and even mild cognitive
impairment.
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This study found a cognitively active person in old
age was 2.6 times less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s
disease than a cognitively inactive person in old age.
These results remained the same even after
consideration of past cognitive activity, lifetime socioeconomic status,
and current social and physical activity.
“Alzheimer’s disease is among the most feared
consequences of old age,” said study author Wilson, PhD, with the Rush
Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
“The enormous public health problems posed by the
disease are expected to increase during the coming decades as the
proportion of old people in the United States increases. This
underscores the urgent need for strategies to prevent the disease or
delay its onset.”
Wilson says the study also found frequent cognitive
activity during old age, such as visiting a library or attending a play,
was associated with reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment, a
transitional stage between normal aging and dementia, and less rapid
decline in cognitive function.
For the study, more than 700 people in Chicago, IL,
with an average age of 80 underwent yearly cognitive testing for up to
five years. Participants were part of the Rush Memory and Aging Project,
a longitudinal study of more than 1,200 older people. Of the
participants, 90 developed Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers also
performed a brain autopsy on the 102 participants who died.
Researchers say the findings may be used to help
prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Some of the earliest associations of the "use it or
lose it" analogy began appearing in 2002, after the publication in the
Journal of the American Medical Association of an earlier study by
Wilson and others at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center. They reported
on a study indicating that older people who participate most frequently
in cerebrally challenging activities have a lower risk of developing
Alzheimer's.
In that study there were more than 700 participants
of the Religious Orders Study, a group of Catholic nuns, priests and
brothers who have agreed to annual memory testing and brain donation at
the time of death.
The scientists followed the subjects—all age 65 or
older and dementia free at the start of the study—for an average of 4.5
years and administered annual follow-up cognitive tests.
At the study's outset, the subjects underwent
cognitive testing and filled out a questionnaire probing the amount of
time they spent engaged in common pastimes involving information
processing: watching TV, listening to the radio, reading, playing games
or solving puzzles and going to museums.
This conclusion drew more support in 2003, with a
study by Dr. Joe Verghese and others at the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine in collaboration with Syracuse University, published in the New
England Journal of Medicine.
The authors of the study concluded that
participation in leisure activities is associated with a reduced risk of
dementia. They also found that among leisure activities, reading,
playing board games, playing musical instruments, and dancing were
associated with a reduced risk of dementia. Dancing drew the most
attention from the media.
Neuroscientist Dr. Gary Small, author of the book,
"Memory Bible," added more to this association.
The latest study by Wilson was published June 27,
2007, in the online edition of Neurology, the medical journal of the
American Academy of Neurology.
Editor's Notes:
The study was supported by grants from the National
Institute on Aging and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association
of more than 20,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is
dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A
neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing,
treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as
stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple
sclerosis.
For more information about the American Academy of
Neurology, visit
www.aan.com.
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