Progression of Alzheimer’s is more difficult to slow than previously thought
Being physically and mentally stimulated helps delay cognitive decline but the alterations to the brain involved in Alzheimer’s disease do not seem be affected in most individuals.
The progression of Alzheimer’s disease appears more difficult to slow than previously thought. In past few years, evidence of keeping your mind and body active through mid life and into old age helps keep the brain nimble. But evidence of the role of continued mental activity on Alzheimer’s pathology is not that well documented.
Efforts to find if lifestyle enrichment minimises any neurological changes that are part of Alzheimer’s have not shown definitive results. Most studies have been cross-sectiona ie havent followed the patients as the brain ages, rather, they have selected a population cross section at one point in time. It is difficult to draw conclusions from this as the individual progression is not sufficiently known.
Research, by the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, is tryng to bridge these gaps by investigating the effects of a number of lifestyle and genetic parameters on underlying pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s over time.