Keeping active can slow down the progression of memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease, a study has shown. A team of researchers from The University of Nottingham has identified a stress hormone produced during moderate exercise that may protect the brain from memory changes related to the disease.
Being overweight is not just bad for waistlines but for brains too, say researchers who have linked obesity to declining mental performance.Experts are not sure why this might be, but say metabolic changes such as high blood sugar and raised cholesterol are likely to be involved.
Obesity has already been tipped as a risk factor for dementia.
A resistance to dementia may be a family legacy, according to new research.
“In very elderly people with good cognition, higher levels of C-reactive protein, which is related to inflammation, are associated with better memory,” said study author Jeremy M. Silverman, Ph.D., with Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.
“Our results found that the higher the level of this protein in the study participant, the lower the risk for dementia in their parents and siblings.”
Alzheimer’s disease is an illness that slowly develops overtime usually affecting those people over 65 years old. It’s the most common form of dementia and is not a normal part of aging. I’ve had the opportunity of being around someone with Alzheimer’s disease and the problems with memory, thinking and behavior are very noticeable. My grandmother was unfortunately someone who was inflicted by it, and every time I saw her it felt like she was just meeting me for the first time; she would ask me the exact same questions such as “Are you married?” and “What grade are you in?” As I grew older I began to understand a bit more about her problem and it saddened me to know that this disease could be so easily avoided.
“I know they say there is no cure for Alzheimer’s… But I was wondering if there’s any development in a cure you know about?” I was asked after my lecture on PET imaging of dementia this past summer. A number of technologists gathered around me, far more eager to hear my response to this question than they were to hear me speak on the continuing education topics.