Image provider Andrew Brett Wallis/Getty Images
Neurodegenerative diseases are often seen as a death sentence, but an encouraging new study finds there are still ways to fight back even after symptoms start to appear.
as CNN An exciting new study conducted by researchers at Rush University reports that adopting healthy lifestyle habits can reduce the symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in patients who are already showing warning signs. ing.
Dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and similar neurodegenerative diseases are devastating conditions that remain largely without a cure. The results of this study were published in Monday's magazine, JAMA Neurologycertainly not visible cure Strong evidence that lifestyle changes can be a powerful stopgap in the case of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, even when telltale markers such as beta-amyloid and tau plaques are already present in patients' brains. providing.
“We found that the association between lifestyle and cognition was independent of the pathological burden of Alzheimer's disease,” said lead author of the study, assistant professor of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging. ) said Clodian Dana. CNNsuggests that a healthy “lifestyle may also provide cognitive benefits for people whose brains are beginning to accumulate dementia-related pathology.”
The study results were based on observations and autopsies of a total of 586 participants. All participants lived in the Chicago area and participated in the Rush Memory and Aging Project between 1997 and 2022. CNNparticipants “lived to an average age of 91 years, underwent regular cognitive and physical examinations, and completed annual lifestyle questionnaires over the 20 years prior to death.”
Researchers used self-report data from the Memory and Aging Project to determine whether participants were living a low-risk, healthy lifestyle or had high-risk habits. We devised a system based on
The study found that people considered low-risk had several important lifestyle choices in common. First, and perhaps quite obviously, these participants did not smoke. They also consumed alcohol in moderation, meaning less than one drink a day for women and less than two drinks for men, and exercised “at least 150 minutes a week.” These people also engaged in mentally stimulating activities on a weekly basis. According to the study, this includes activities such as reading, spending an afternoon at a museum, and playing board games and puzzles. Finally, it was observed that people considered “healthy” adhered fairly closely to the Mediterranean-DASH Diet for Neurodegeneration Delay, or “MIND” diet for short.
The MIND diet is not new. It was devised in 2015 by researchers at Rush and Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. Rooted in elements of the “Mediterranean” diet and the high blood pressure-fighting DASH diet, MIND emphasizes intake with an emphasis on lowering an individual's blood pressure and cholesterol. Fruits and vegetables, healthy fats like olive oil and nuts, and whole grains. Fish is encouraged, but red meat, which spikes cholesterol levels, is limited to occasional treats. Sodium is also kept to a minimum, and sugar, especially processed sugar, is largely taken off the table, sorry dessert lovers.
Rush researchers leveraged decades of data points to compare lifestyle scores to each participant's final autopsy results after death. During the autopsy, the scientists looked for certain signs of neurodegenerative conditions, such as the aforementioned plaque buildup in addition to blood vessel damage in the brain. And when lifestyle scores and brain pathology were considered together, the results were surprising.
This study shows that people who lead a low-risk lifestyle have fewer severe pathological signs of neurodegenerative diseases overall. But in addition, it was discovered that approximately: 90 percent Participants' cognitive health was directly correlated with their life choices. Conversely, only 11.6 percent of older adults' cognition was directly affected by pathological factors such as beta-amyloid or vascular damage.
In other words, living well seems to be far more important to cognitive health than measurable signs of neurodegeneration.
“It's like a video game where you shoot monsters,” said Richard Isaacson, principal investigator at the Florida Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, who was not involved in the study. CNN of discovery. “Guns, lifestyle changes have allowed us to defeat ghosts, ghouls, goblins, vampires, and zombies.”
Although this study is interesting, there are some caveats. Most notable is the reality that the MIND diet is not available to everyone. Eating well is often expensive and difficult, and food deserts are prevalent across the United States. These challenges fall disproportionately on low-income households and minorities. Meanwhile, Black and Latinx people are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and dementia, yet remain woefully underdiagnosed. If a healthy, plant-based, unprocessed diet is truly medicine, many Americans, especially those who are not white or middle class, will continue to be left behind.
This study is based largely on self-reported data, which comes with its own risks. But this study adds to a growing body of research linking diet and lifestyle to neurodegenerative diseases. So next time you're wondering whether to have salmon or a double-layered bacon cheeseburger for dinner, know that making this switch may strengthen your brain's resilience to devastating illnesses. Please remember.
