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Alzheimer's & Dementia

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Fish reduces Alzheimer's risk for those with APOE gene
  • A new study finds that seafood consumption reduces Alzheimer's pathology, but only in those with the Alzheimer's gene APOEe4. While fish oil didn't appear to affect brain health, the omega-3 acid found in flaxseed did.

I've spoken before about how the presence or absence of the “Alzheimer's gene” may affect which lifestyle changes are beneficial for you.

Reduced face memorization ability in those with MCI
  • A small study suggests that the ability to remember faces specifically is impaired in those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

A small Japanese study has found evidence that those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) show a specific decline in their ability to recognize faces, and this is accompanied by changes in the way they scan faces.

Inflammation linked to brain health
  • Study indicates APOE4 carriers are only at greater Alzheimer's risk if they have chronic inflammation.
  • Large study finds increasing inflammation linked to more white matter damage.
  • Common causes of chronic inflammation include cardiovascular disease, heart failure, diabetes, high blood pressure and infections.

Link found between chronic inflammation and Alzheimer's gene risk

Education & IQ linked to later cognitive decline & dementia
  • A large, long-running study found those with a college education maintained good cognition substantially longer than those who didn't complete high school.
  • A very large online study found that higher levels of education were strong predictors of better cognitive performance across all ages (15-60 years), but this was more true for types of cognition such as reasoning and less true for processing speed.
  • A large study of older men found that their cognitive ability at age 20 was a stronger predictor of cognitive function later in life than other factors, such as higher education, occupational complexity or engaging in late-life intellectual activities.

Americans with a college education live longer without dementia and Alzheimer's

This brain training program cuts dementia risk
  • A large 10-year study investigating the benefits of a brain training program for older adults found that training designed to improve processing speed & visual attention in particular reduced dementia risk.

Findings from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) Study, which followed 2,802 healthy older adults for 10 years, has found that those who participated in computer training designed to improve processing speed and visual attention had a 29% lower risk of deve

High stress in middle age may increase women's risk of dementia

A study that followed 800 Swedish middle-aged women from 1968 to 2005 has found that high levels of stress in middle age increased Alzheimer’s risk by 21% and risk of any dementia by 15%.

Dementia sufferers become unaware of memory problems years before diagnosis
  • A large study found that people who developed dementia started to lose awareness of memory problems some 2½ years before dementia onset.
  • This loss of awareness was associated with three examples of neuropathology, including tau tangles and brain infarcts.

A ten-year study involving 2,092 older adults (average age 76) has found that people tended to lose awareness of memory problems two to three years before the onset of dementia.

Spatial impairment early sign of Alzheimer’s
  • A cognitive test has been shown to identify early shrinking of the brain region first affected by Alzheimer's.

A Canadian study involving 40 older adults (59-81), none of whom were aware of any major memory problems, has found that those scoring below 26 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) dementia screening test also showed shrinking of the anterolateral entorhinal cortex.

Alzheimer's gene linked to worse cognition
  • Review found APOE4 carriers scored lower on IQ tests during childhood and adolescence.
  • A large internet-based study found that adults with a first-degree relative with Alzheimer's performed worse on a paired-learning task.

Alzheimer's gene affects IQ from childhood

Analysis of some old longitudinal studies has found that those carrying the APOE4 gene scored lower on IQ tests during childhood and adolescence. The effect was much stronger in girls than in boys, and affected reasoning most strongly.

Neuron death a natural protective mechanism
  • Fruitflies genetically engineered to express amyloid-beta show that neuron loss is not always bad, but reflects the removal of defective neurons.

A fruitfly study suggests that losing neurons is not necessarily a bad thing. The study used fruitflies genetically engineered to express human amyloid-beta proteins in their brains.

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