A study involving over 1000 older men and women (60-75) with type-2 diabetes has found that those with higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their blood are more likely to have experienced cognitive decline. Higher fasting cortisol levels were associated with greater estimated cognitive decline in general intelligence, working memory and processing speed. This was independent of mood, education, metabolic variables and cardiovascular disease. Strategies aimed at lowering stress levels may be helpful for older diabetics.
Stress raises risk of mental decline in older diabetics
Reference
Reynolds, R. M., Strachan, M. W., Labad, J., Lee, A. J., Frier, B. M., Fowkes, F. G., … Investigators, on behalf of the E. T. D. S. , 2. (2010). Morning cortisol levels and cognitive abilities in people with type 2 diabetes: the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study. Diabetes Care. Retrieved from http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2010/01/21/dc09-1796.abstract?sid=7fd65579-118d-4ad3-88eb-d2370f592e5e
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Inflammation linked to brain health
Link found between chronic inflammation and Alzheimer's gene risk
Data from the Framingham Heart Study has found carriers of the ApoE4 gene were much more likely to develop Alzheimer’s if they also had chronic low-grade inflammation. Indeed, the researchers suggest that, in the absence of inflammation, there might be no difference of Alzheimer's risk between ApoE4 and non-ApoE4 carriers.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/buso-lfb101818.php
Education & IQ linked to later cognitive decline & dementia
Americans with a college education live longer without dementia and Alzheimer's
Data from the large, long-running U.S. Health and Retirement Study found that healthy cognition characterized most of the people with at least a college education into their late 80s, while those who didn’t complete high school had good cognition up until their 70s.
Better physical fitness and lower aortic stiffness key to slower brain aging
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Tracking preclinical Alzheimer's progression
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New research supports the classification system for preclinical Alzheimer’s proposed two years ago. The classification system divides preclinical Alzheimer's into three stages:
Stage 1: Levels of amyloid beta begin to decrease in the spinal fluid. This indicates that the substance is beginning to form plaques in the brain.
Stage 2: Levels of tau protein start to increase in the spinal fluid, indicating that brain cells are beginning to die. Amyloid beta levels are still abnormal and may continue to fall.
Gene variation associated with brain atrophy in MCI
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Analysis of data from 237 patients with mild cognitive impairment (mean age 79.9) has found that, compared to those carrying the ‘normal’ ApoE3 gene (the most common variant of the ApoE gene), the ApoE4 carriers showed markedly greater rates of shrinkage in 13 of 15 brain regions thought to be key components of the brain networks disrupted in Alzheimer’s.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-01/rson-gva010714.php
Greater muscle strength = better cognitive function
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How blood flow is controlled in the brain
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Can computer use, crafts and games slow or prevent age-related memory loss?
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Age differences in the allocation of study time
Journal Article
Dunlosky, J. & Connor, L.T. (1997). Age differences in the allocation of study time account for age differences in memory performance. Memory and Cognition, 25, 691-700.
- It is well-established that older adults commonly need to practice more than younger adults to achieve the same level of performance.
- It may be that such age deficits in remembering are at least partly due to poorer monitoring of their learning.
It has been well-established that, compared to younger adults, older adults require more practice to achieve the same level of performance1. Sometimes, indeed, they may need twice as much2.
In the present study, two groups of adult subjects were given paired items to learn during multiple study-test trials. During each trial items were presented at the subject's pace. Afterwards the subjects were asked to judge how likely they were to be able to recall each item in a test.
It was found that people were very good at accurately judging the likelihood of their correct recall. Correlations between judgments and the amount of time the subjects studied the items suggested that people were monitoring their learning and using this to allocate study time.
However, older adults (with a mean age of 67) used monitoring to a lesser degree than the younger adults (with a mean age of 22), and the results suggested that part of the reason for the deficit in recall commonly found with older adults is due to this factor.
References
1. For a review, see Kausler, D.H. 1994. Learning and memory in normal aging. New York: Academic Press.
2. Delbecq-Derousné, J. & Beauvois, M. 1989. Memory processes and aging: A defect of automatic rather than controlled processes? Archives of Gerontology & Geriatrics, 1 (Suppl), 121-150.
Salthouse, T.A. & Dunlosky, J. 1995. Analyses of adult age differences in associative learning. Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 203, 351-360
Distinguishing normal cognitive decline from more serious disorders
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Data from two longitudinal studies of older adults (a nationally representative sample of older adults, and the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative) has found that a brief cognitive test can distinguish memory decline associated with healthy aging from more serious memory disorders, years before obvious symptoms show up.
Moreover, the data challenge the idea that memory continues to decline through old age: after excluding the cognitively impaired, there was no evidence of further memory declines after the age of 69.