New research suggests that a healthy lifestyle can help prevent dementia, perhaps by building resilient “cognitive reserve” in the aging brain.
The study was based on brain autopsies from 586 people who lived to an average age of about 91 years. Researchers compared each person's lifestyle and end-of-life mental skills to neurological signs of dementia, such as brain protein plaques and changes in the brain. Blood flow.
A team led by Dr. Clodian Dana of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago found that all of these brain factors significantly influence the positive relationship between healthy living and a person's end-of-life mental skills. He said that it does not appear that he is doing so.
This means that proper nutrition, regular exercise, and other factors may “provide cognitive reserve” that buffers against the negative changes occurring in the brain, allowing older people to The researchers said it could enable long-term “preservation of cognitive performance”.
Dr. Liron Singhbani, who was not involved in the study, said that as someone who is in poor health, “you can fool biology a little bit and still not catch symptoms early.” She directs geriatric hospitalist services at Northwell Her Health in Uniondale, New York.
The study was published February 5 in the journal JAMA Neurology.
As Dana's group points out, certain lifestyle choices, such as eating well, exercising, and avoiding smoking and heavy drinking, are associated with lower rates of dementia. It has been known for a long time.
But how does healthy living work its neurological magic?
To find out, they used data from the ongoing Rush Memory and Aging Project. Over his 24 years, the project tracked the life histories and end-of-life mental functioning of 586 participants. All participants died and donated their brains for dissection.
This group was long-lived, with an average lifespan of just under 91 years. 71% were women.
Dana's group performed brain autopsies that focused on the classic neurological signs of dementia. The accumulation and tangles of amyloid protein plaques within the brain tissue, as well as changes in the brain's vasculature (circulatory system) that may indicate a reduction in blood flow caused by the event. such as strokes and mini-strokes.
As expected, we found that people who lived very healthy lives were much more likely to remain resourceful near the end of their lives. Researchers found that each point increase in a person's 'lifestyle score' was associated with an increase in their 'global cognitive score' at the end of life.
However, most of the relationships had little correlation with brain changes seen at autopsy.
In other words, even if a healthy deceased person's brain shows protein plaques, protein tangles, or vascular problems, the person's mental score remains high.
The only (very slight) effect was seen on amyloid plaque buildup in the brain. Dana's group calculated that reducing amyloid plaques could account for 11.6% of the relationship between lifestyle and cognition.
All of this suggests that a healthy lifestyle provides some “reserve power” to the aging brain, allowing it to function well even as the changes that typically signal dementia progress. It supports the idea.
Therefore, “if you take two people and they both have the same amount of this bad protein in their brains, the one who lives a healthier lifestyle will function better cognitively.” explained Simbani, who is also a professor of medicine. at Hofstra/Northwell's Zucker School of Medicine.
“You can function at a higher level, function normally, and function longer without impairment,” she said.
Simbani believes the study also shows that when it comes to exercise, “you're never too old or too frail to start improving your lifestyle.”
Current exercise recommendations call for a total of at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week. Simbani recommends that older adults who have not exercised for a long time consult their doctor or personal trainer before starting a training regimen.
For more information:
The interplay between lifestyle and brain health is explained in detail at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Klodian Dhana et al. Healthy lifestyle and cognition in older adults with common neuropathology of dementia, JAMA Neurology (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.5491
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