📰 This Week in Dementia News 📰

Dementia Prevention Strategies:

• Anti-Inflammatory Diets May Help Reduce Risk of Alzheimer Disease–Related Death (AJMC): research is pointing toward inflammation as a contributing factor for Alzheimer’s disease, and anti-inflammatory diets are proving effective for prevention in recent studies. For more information on anti-inflammatory foods, check out this link from Hopkins Medicine.

• Brain expert says six-minute activity every day reduces dementia risk (SomersetLive): do you read for at least 6-minutes a day? This article tells you why you might want to start.

• Five ways microplastics may harm your brain (Technology.org): the things we avoid can be as important in preventing dementia as the things we do. You may have heard a lot about microplastics in recent years, and what we’re finding out isn’t pretty. Avoiding exposure to these harmful substances may be critical in protecting our brain health.

• Can This Breakfast Staple Really Lower Alzheimer’s Risk Later in Life? (Food and Wine): this long running study points to a breakfast favorite that seems to improve the odds in preventing Alzheimer’s disease, even if you only eat it once a week.

• Caffeine and Alzheimer’s disease: Moderate intake may slow cognitive decline (PsyPost): although my coffee consumption goes far beyond “moderate,” I like to think my morning cup of java is a present to my future brain health!

Predicting and Detecting:

• No discussion of prevention would be complete without mention of last year’s FDA approval of the first Alzheimer’s blood test. There has been more progress made since then, however: we may have a simple finger-prick test on the way, and an AI-enhanced blood test from India is very promising.

• 5 Obvious Signs of Dementia I Missed in My Own Mother (TheHealthy): sometimes simply observing is the best way to detect changes that indicate dementia. Check this list for some signs to watch for.

• Roots of Alzheimer’s disease extend beyond the brain (ASU News): research has also recently shown that the causes of Alzheimer’s disease extend beyond just the systems of the brain. Understanding the link to “gut health” may offer new and better ways to predict and prevent the disease.

• A Hidden Brain Signal Can Predict Alzheimer's Years Before Diagnosis (ScienceAlert): Brown University researchers have found a brain wave that may predict who will develop Alzheimer’s disease in the next 2.5 years.

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Caregiver’s Corner: Information Overload!

There’s lots of information from the world of science in the newsletter this week! Sometimes all of this new research gives me a lot of hope, and sometimes I feel totally overwhelmed by all of the different opinions and evidence that the internet gives me access to. Perhaps you feel the same way.

Some months, I feel like there’s a new study published every day showing a new and stunning thing that causes or prevents dementia. “Cutting the grass 9 times a week prevents dementia!” “Going outdoors on rainy days increases your risk!” Those are silly examples, but there are times when they don’t seem so far-fetched to me.

In my own life, there are a few things I focus on:

1. Keep moving: I’m a martial artist, and that means I hit the dojo four times a week to teach and train. It’s a fun activity that keeps me moving and reinforces my brain-body connection through challenging activity.

2. Try to eat well: this is honestly difficult for me. I’m trying to do better, but I love my sugar and processed foods. This is a work in progress for me, and I think it’s the most important thing I need to be better at in my quest for prevention.

3. Rest up: our bodies and brains need downtime, but that’s often the first thing we sacrifice when chaos strikes. I don’t always get 8 hours, but I do my best to keep a regular sleep schedule. When I’m exhausted, things are so much more difficult than they need to be.

4. Challenge the brain: because of my work, I spend a lot of time every day reading, writing, and creating. When we challenge ourselves, we keep the brain active and healthy, like going to the gym for your noggin.

There are no guarantees. Those are some of my practices, and the research is pretty solidly backing up how important these things are to work on. For me, it’s like taking care of my house: I have to maintain the whole thing, and I have to do it regularly. I might get the floors spotless, but if the roof is caving in then it doesn’t matter too much.

We do our best each day, taking care of ourselves so we can make the most of our time. Although we can’t know what the future holds for us, keeping up our health helps us create the best future for ourselves, as well as the best present moment today.