Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia are terrifying conditions and the number one cause for long term care in an assisted living facility. It's estimated that by the age of 85, fifty percent of the population will suffer from one of these illnesses and there are some indicators of who might develop them: those with a family history of the disease, divorced women and widows, and those who develop high cholesterol in mid-life. These suggest that genetics, loneliness, and lack of daily stimulation as mild as general conversation might be factors. A stronger correlation is the build up of plaques in the brain, just as the same thing in the arteries leads to cardiovascular disease. Not a very encouraging picture, but there are some findings today that present a much more positive outlook about mental health among American seniors
A study at the University of Michigan, led by Professor Kenneth Langa, claims that US seniors are mentally ten years younger and significantly less depressed than those in England, perhaps because of a higher standard of living, better education, better quality of life, and much lower alcohol consumption.
Another factor may be that Americans are more likely than English seniors to exercise. It was once thought that brain cells began to die at birth, continued to do so throughout life, and could never be renewed. That idea is no longer valid. Dr. Verdon Taylor of the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg, Germany, studied the effect of exercise on the brain and found that neurons can be renewed and activated by exercise. So convincing is this new study that Dr. Dilip Jeste of the University of California at San Diego commented that this breakthrough is the most exciting development in the last decade. There is great hope that this new knowledge will lead to effective treatments for memory loss in old age.
Other encouraging news indicates that very simple daily activities may play a part in restoring declining brain activity. Even a few cups of coffee a day might reverse the effects of Alzheimer's and dementia. Experiments in adding caffeine to the drinking water of mice with the "rodent equivalent" of these diseases showed a 50% reduction in amyloid plaque in their brains. Amyloid plaque is the marker for Alzheimer's. The amount of caffeine given to the mice was proportionate to about five cups of coffee daily for a human - or fourteen cups of tea, or twenty cola drinks. The study was conducted by Dr. Gary Arendish of Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Tampa.
Another daily activity that might help is using a cell phone. To date, most research into cell phone use has focused on the potential for triggering brain tumors, but Dr. Arendish believes that it is more likely to improve brain function. He and his team arranged the cages of Alzheimer's mice and young, healthy mice around an antenna emitting electromagnetic waves typical of a mobile phone pressed up against a human head. The treatment worked slowly and may take a very long time in humans because of their thicker skulls, but the experiment found that the electromagnetic waves actually reversed memory loss in the elderly mice by removing the amyloid protein deposits in their brains and the young, healthy mice were protected from memory loss altogether.
Diet has never been much help for preventing memory loss in old age because most nutrients do not cross the blood-brain barrier. Even anti-oxidants, that cure-all for so many ills through their effect on free radicals, fall into this category. However, Dr. Robert Williams of King's College, London, has found a flavonoid called epicatechin, which is found in many common foods, including cocoa, that can affect some aspects of Alzheimer's disease. It appears that epicatechin can protect the brain from the amyloid plaques through a different mechanism than that of free radical control.
A study presented at the International Alzheimer's Association in Vienna earlier this year also showed some effect of diet on aging memory loss by delaying the onset of the disease. It seems that fish oil supplements, or eating Omega 3 rich foods like salmon, can set the clock back by about three years for healthy people in terms of memory loss, though it has no effect on people already showing signs of Alzheimer's.
These are small steps, perhaps, but for so terrifying a disease as Alzheimer's, for the enormous costs to society, and for the restoration of hope for the families of those with memory loss, it is encouraging to see progress in the right direction.
Adrienne Bell is a researcher in natural health and anti-aging.
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