Alzheimer's disease is the disease that comes into my mind when I hear the word dementia but vascular problems and stroke can cause it also, and there are several other diseases and disorders that can cause it. The scary thing about dementia is that it can't usually be cured and it gets worse over time.
What I want to know is, what can I do to prevent it from happening to me. There are some computer games and mind bending puzzles and things on the market for that and I was wondering if they were helpful or not. Here is what I've learned about Dementia prevention.
1. Since stroke and vascular problems cause some kinds of dementia, the kinds of things that prevent those problems are helpful. Quitting smoking, exercising, stress reduction, and eating healthier are good ideas.
2. For the above reasons, it makes sense that statin drugs would be a good idea for those at risk. This study seems to support that idea.
3. Ginkgo doesn't seem to help, according to this study.
4 While no one particular mind game seems to have been studied, it does seem that using your brain regularly reduces your risk for dementia.
Links:
Leisure activities and the risk of Dementia in the elderly.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
A List of Symptoms
Word of The Day
Aphasia: A loss of language ability. This is usually caused by damage to the brain and can occur in some kinds of dementia. It may only be the loss of some words or it could be an inability to use them properly.
2 comments:
My grandmother has Alzheimers, and so did my great-aunt, who died last week.
Her funeral was today.
So this disease runs in the family, and for all I know, I will end up having it too.
Of all the things that can happen to my health as I get older, dementia is the thing that scares me most. I can deal with pain and illness, but to steadily lose my ability to understand and remember the things around me?
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