We all know that certain health conditions may play a role in developing Alzheimer’s or other dementia-related illnesses. We know to watch our blood pressure, to exercise regularly, to keep our cholesterol counts as low as possible, to eat heart-healthy meals, to have regular check-ups and watch for diabetes. We all know this! A February 21 article at Science Daily emphasizes these notions. Here’s an excerpt:
Laura Fratiglioni’s research group at Karolinska Institutet is a leader in identifying the risk factors that lie behind developing dementia and using this knowledge to develop possible preventative strategies. The group’s research has shown that the risk is partly determined by an individual genetic susceptibility, and that active involvement in mental, physical and social activities can delay the onset of dementia by preserving cognitive functions. Further education early in life has a protective effect, and the group’s research has shown that it is never too late to get started.
“The brain, just as other parts of the body, requires stimulation and exercise in order to continue to function. Elderly people with an active life — mentally, physically and socially — run a lower risk of developing dementia, and it doesn’t matter what the particular activities are,” says Professor Laura Fratiglioni.
Laura Fratiglioni’s research has shown that physical factors are also significant. Not only high and low blood pressure, but also diabetes and obesity when middle-aged increase the risk of developing dementia after the age of 70. “What is good for the heart is good for the brain,” she says. (ScienceDaily (Feb. 21, 2011)
What isn’t mentioned, though, is that in spite of all our careful attention, we may still develop brain illness. What may be overlooked is the deep humanity that resides in our brains. For all our best intentions, sometimes people simply get sick. When my husband’s parents were both diagnosed with dementia, it wasn’t because they were not educated, active and healthy individuals. Indeed, it was their active lifestyles and otherwise healthy bodies that allowed them to live well into their very elderly years, dementia or not. When Pop was 76, he could still shoot his age on the golf course. 76 — and on a very tough golf course at that! Most of us couldn’t flail our way below 100 on our best day. Golf takes skill, coordination, imagination and thoughtful planning in order to arrive at the satisfaction of hearing the sound of a golf ball dropping to the bottom of the cup. Mom, on the other hand, was a daily walker. She averaged three to five miles a day, walking into town on hilly terrain that would kill the legs of anyone else. She was also a voracious reader, as well as, the family accountant. She was active, skilled, college educated and imaginative — until dementia.
We need these studies, of course. They help us form a cogent response to calls for disease prevention in everyday ways. Still, Alzheimer’s is not yet a one-size-fits-all disease. It seems to be no respecter of person. It’s still just a mean bully of a disease that turns our loved ones upside-down and shakes them for all they’re worth — and it does so for years.
Nevertheless, thank you to the Karolinska Institutet and the many research units that are fighting so hard to cure Alzheimer’s and other dementias. I look forward to the day that your notable work is no longer needed.
(Karolinska Institutet (2011, February 21). Look after your brain. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 24, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2011/02/110220142811.htm)
