Preventative Measures For Alzheimer’s

Other Vascular Health Tips

Watch your cholesterol levels. Studies also suggests there may be a connection between high cholesterol and Alzheimers and dementia, especially having high cholesterol levels in mid-life. Improving your levels can be good for both your brain and your heart.

Stop smoking. Smoking is one of the most preventable risk factors for Alzheimers disease and dementia. One study found that smokers over the age of 65 have a nearly 80% higher risk of Alzheimers than those who have never smoked. When you stop smoking, the brain benefits from improved circulation almost immediately.

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If youre experiencing memory loss, you should go to a doctor. Your doctor will perform a physical exam and ask about your symptoms. He or she will also ask you about your medication and any stress youre experiencing. After the exam, he or she will likely ask you to make an appointment with a neuropsychologist. If youre unable to recall the details of your doctor, you may want to consult another healthcare provider.

Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease: What Do We Know

As they get older, many people worry about developing Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. If they have a family member with Alzheimer’s, they may wonder about their family history and genetic risk. As many as 5.5 million Americans age 65 and older live with Alzheimer’s. Many more are expected to develop the disease as the population agesunless ways to prevent or delay it are found.

Although scientists have conducted many studies, and more are ongoing, so far nothing has been proven to prevent or delay dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease. But researchers have identified promising strategies and are learning more about what mightand might notwork.

We know that changes in the brain can occur many years before the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s appear. These early brain changes point to a possible window of opportunity to prevent or delay debilitating memory loss and other symptoms of dementia. While research may identify specific interventions that will prevent or delay the disease in some people, it’s likely that many individuals may need a combination of treatments based on their own risk factors.

Researchers are studying many approaches to prevent or delay Alzheimer’s. Some focus on drugs, some on lifestyle or other changes. Let’s look at the most promising interventions to date and what we know about them.

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What You Should Do For Alzheimers Prevention

Even though we don’t have enough evidence that all healthy lifestyle choices prevent Alzheimer’s, we do know they can prevent other chronic problems. For example, limiting alcohol intake can help reduce the risk for certain cancers, such as breast cancer. Best advice: make as many healthy lifestyle choices as you can. “They’re all beneficial, and if they help you avoid Alzheimer’s, all the better,” says Dr. Marshall.

Researchers Continue To Seek Answers

The idea of Alzheimers as a metabolic disease that affects the brain, and Alzheimers markers such as glucose metabolism, have led scientists in various directions. Besides the Mediterranean diet and its variations, they are looking at other diets as well as individual foods and nutrients.

For example, the ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that prompts the production of ketones, chemicals that help brain cells work. Studies show that this diet may affect gut bacteria in distinctive ways in people with and without cognitive impairment, and may help brain cells better use energy, improving their overall function.

Researchers are seeking answers to these questions:

• Which foods are critical to brain health and should be included in diet-based interventions?
• Which groups of people are most likely to benefit from dietary interventions targeting prevention of dementia and cognitive decline?
• Can dietary interventions introduced in midlife lead to better outcomes?

These clinical trials are recruiting participants to test dietary interventions:

To learn more or to find a trial near you, visit the Alzheimers.gov Clinical Trials Finder.

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Specific Potentially Modifiable Risk Factors For Dementia

BMJ.JAMA Psychiatry.

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Risk Factors For Dementia

A risk factor is something that increases your likelihood of developing a condition.

Some dementia risk factors are difficult or impossible to change. These include:

• age: the older you are, the more likely you are to develop dementia. However, dementia is not a natural part of ageing
• genes: in general, genes alone are not thought to cause dementia. However, certain genetic factors are involved with some of the less common types. Dementia usually develops because of a combination of genetic and “environmental” factors, such as smoking and a lack of regular exercise
• lower levels of education

• keeping your blood pressure at a healthy level

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The Importance Of Vascular Health

At present, researchers are still trying to understand the causes of Alzheimers disease and how to treat it.

But, vascular causes of dementia are another story. Vascular disease can cause or worsen dementia. Diseased blood vessels, along with high blood pressure, can cause tiny areas of bleeding or blocked blood flow to the brain silent strokes that may not even cause noticeable symptoms.

But when these small areas of brain injury happen over and over again, a person can develop problems with memory, gait, balance and other brain functions. Researchers are exploring the role of vascular disease in the development of Alzheimers dementia in particular, but its not yet clear if or how this occurs.

Taking steps to improve the health of your blood vessels involves lifestyle changes. Since brain changes can start decades before dementia symptoms appear, the earlier you begin preserving your vascular health, the better for your brain.

Heres a bonus: Improving blood vessel health helps you avoid stroke, heart attack and other serious diseases.

It’s been estimated that one in three cases of dementia is preventable. You cant do anything right now to stop or reverse the underlying mechanisms of Alzheimers disease, but you can do something about hypertension and vascular disease risk factors.

Improve Your Lifestyle For Alzheimers Prevention

Healthy habits may help ward off Alzheimer’s. Consider the following steps to help prevent Alzheimers.

Exercise. “The most convincing evidence is that physical exercise helps prevent the development of Alzheimer’s or slow the progression in people who have symptoms,” says Dr. Marshall. “The recommendation is 30 minutes of moderately vigorous aerobic exercise, three to four days per week.”

Eat a Mediterranean diet. “This has been shown to help thwart Alzheimer’s or slow its progression. A recent study showed that even partial adherence to such a diet is better than nothing, which is relevant to people who may find it difficult to fully adhere to a new diet,” says Dr. Marshall. The diet includes fresh vegetables and fruits whole grains olive oil nuts legumes fish moderate amounts of poultry, eggs, and dairy moderate amounts of red wine and red meat only sparingly.

Get enough sleep. “Growing evidence suggests that improved sleep can help prevent Alzheimer’s and is linked to greater amyloid clearance from the brain,” says Dr. Marshall. Aim for seven to eight hours per night.

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Before we dive into these 11 tips for Alzheimers prevention, check out these seven frightening stats:

Its no wonder people fear losing their memory more than they fear death.

A MetLife Foundation survey found that: Alzheimers disease is the second most feared disease among American adults, behind only cancer.

Before moving onto the less scary more hopeful Alzheimers prevention action items that we can take, lets briefly define Alzheimers disease for a better understanding.

Vascular Risk Factors And Dementia Prevention

Vascular disease can predispose to the development of dementia syndromes, including vascular dementia and AD.6062 Therefore, the amelioration of predisposing conditions for vascular pathology, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes, may be an important target for dementia prevention.

Studies have also examined the potential role of interventions for dyslipidemia, but there is currently limited evidence to support their role in dementia prevention. Prospective studies have found an association of lipid-lowering drugs, and in particular statins, with decreased risk for MCI and dementia,7375 and this association may be independent of other vascular risk factors.74 Despite these encouraging reports, RCTs to date have shown contradictory results and a recent systematic review reported no significant effect of statins on risk for cognitive decline or dementia.76,77 Further studies that control for concomitant vascular risk factors and other potential confounders will need to delineate the potential role of lipid-lowering interventions for dementia prevention.

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Targets Of Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Research

Researchers are exploring these and other interventions that may help prevent, delay, or slow Alzheimer’s dementia or age-related cognitive decline. Other research targets include:

• New drugs to delay onset or slow disease progression
• Diabetes treatment
• Blood pressure- and lipid-lowering treatments
• Sleep interventions
• Vitamins such as B12 plus folic acid supplements and D
• Combined physical and mental exercises

How Diabetes Drives Dementia Risk

Diabetes is linked to the degeneration of small blood vessels as well as strokes which are in turn risk factors of dementia. It is possible beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles, the biomarkers of Alzheimers, play a role in high blood sugar levels, Larson said. But more research is needed to pinpoint biological mechanisms linking diabetes and dementia beyond those related to blood flow.

Most people have type 2 diabetes, which leads to a two-fold increased risk of developing Alzheimers. As cells fail to respond to insulin the hormone that manages blood sugar levels the body produces more insulin, which in turn, leads to overly high levels of blood sugar.

Heres what you can do: Researchers warn that type 2 diabetes and Alzheimers are reaching epidemic proportions, as they urge people to manage their stress, get a good nights sleep, maintain a balanced weight, eat a healthy diet with less sugary beverages, stay active and exercise regularly.

Read more about past research on the link between the brains metabolic function, diabetes and dementia

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Tips For Stopping Smoking

• Talk to your GP or pharmacist about different ways to stop smoking.
• Try using a date or event as motivation for stopping. For example, you could make it a new years resolution.
• Consider using a less harmful nicotine product such as e-cigarettes , lozenges, patches, mouth and nasal sprays, or gum.
• Try using NHS Smokefree support services, which include a helpline, app and local support services.

Nutrition And Prevention Of Dementia

Evidence suggests that diet interventions may show promise for the prevention of cognitive decline. A recent systematic review that included 18 studies, 5 of which were RCTs showed that Mediterranean diet, a nutritional style based on fruits, vegetables, and fish can delay cognitive decline, as measured across multiple domains of memory and executive function.18 These findings were consistent with an independent review that included only RCTs and found beneficial effects of Mediterranean diet on both global cognitive functioning, as well as memory, language, and domains of executive function.19 Despite these effects on neuropsychological outcomes, however, there was overall no significant impact of Mediterranean diet on incident dementia and controversial impact on incident MCI.19 Notably, the beneficial impact of the Mediterranean diet on cognition may be enhanced when combining this dietary style with the Dietary Approach to Systolic Hypertension diet. Studies suggest that this hybrid diet is associated with delayed age-related cognitive decline and decreased risk for incident AD.20,21

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Evidence Linking Major Depressive Disorder And Cognitive Decline

While the sequence and exact role of these pathogenic events remain to be determined, the findings to date suggest that timely identification and treatment of MDD, which is a highly prevalent disorder impacting every age and population, may substantially influence cognitive functioning in late life. RCTs examining this question show that effective treatment of MDD may result in improvements across several cognitive domains, including attention, psychomotor speed, and executive function.110112 Most RCTs reporting beneficial effects have utilized selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors,110,111,113 whereas negative findings have been reported in observational studies114,115 and studies utilizing tricyclic antidepressants.116 The identification and treatment of MDD may be more effective when targeted at high-risk subjects for example, untreated depression has been shown to increase risk for negative cognitive outcomes following stressful life experiences.117

What About Vitamins And Supplements

Observational studies and clinical trials have looked at many over-the-counter vitamins and dietary supplements, including vitamins B and E and gingko biloba, to prevent Alzheimers disease or cognitive decline. The idea is that these dietary add-ons might attack oxidative damage or inflammation, protect nerve cells, or influence other biological processes involved in Alzheimers.

Despite early findings of possible benefits for brain health, no vitamin or supplement has been proven to work in people. Overall, evidence is weak as many studies were too small or too short to be conclusive.

Take DHA for example. Studies in mice showed that this omega-3 fatty acid, found in salmon and certain other fish, reduced beta-amyloid plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimers. However, clinical trials in humans have had mixed results. In a study of 485 older adults with age-related cognitive decline, those who took a DHA supplement daily for 24 weeks showed improved learning and memory, compared to those who took a placebo. Another study of 4,000 older adults conducted primarily to study eye disease concluded that taking omega-3 supplements, alone or with other supplements, did not slow cognitive decline.

For more information, visit the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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Pillar #: Regular Exercise

According to the Alzheimers Research and Prevention Foundation, regular physical exercise can reduce your risk of developing Alzheimers disease by up to 50 percent. Whats more, exercise can also slow further deterioration in those who have already started to develop cognitive problems. Exercise protects against Alzheimers and other types of dementia by stimulating the brains ability to maintain old connections as well as make new ones.

Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each week. The ideal plan involves a combination of cardio exercise and strength training. Good activities for beginners include walking and swimming.

Build muscle to pump up your brain. Moderate levels of weight and resistance training not only increase muscle mass, they help you maintain brain health. For those over 65, adding 2-3 strength sessions to your weekly routine may cut your risk of Alzheimers in half.

Include balance and coordination exercises. Head injuries from falls are an increasing risk as you age, which in turn increase your risk for Alzheimers disease and dementia. As well as protecting your head when you exercise , balance and coordination exercises can help you stay agile and avoid spills. Try yoga, Tai Chi, or exercises using balance balls.

Be Cautious About Alzheimer’s Cures

Because Alzheimer’s disease is so devastating, some people are tempted by untried or unproven “cures.” Check with your doctor before trying pills or any other treatment or supplement that promises to prevent Alzheimer’s. These “treatments” might be unsafe, a waste of money, or both. They might even interfere with other medical treatments that have been prescribed.

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