|
 “Studies have shown that it reduces the onset of symptoms,” said
lead author Prashanthi Vemuri of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
Minnesota.
But based on the new results, amyloid plaque buildups in the brain -
a common trait of Alzheimer's - do not change based on activity for
most people, she told Reuters Health.
The researchers studied almost 400 people age 70 and older without
dementia. Of those, 53 had mild cognitive impairment, which may
precede dementia.
They were divided into two groups based on years of education. Their
brains were scanned to identify physical signs of Alzheimer’s.
Mental and physical activities were assessed with questionnaires.
The participants rated how often each month or week they had done
light, moderate and vigorous exercise, heavy activities like mowing
the lawn and light activities like laundry or vacuuming when they
were age 50 to 65. For the same time period they estimated how often
they had read books, magazines, newspapers, played games, played a
musical instrument, done crafts or attended social clubs.
Neither brain volume, buildup of amyloid plaques nor brain glucose
metabolism, which is a measure of brain function, were strongly tied
to education level, occupation or mental and physical activities in
midlife.
But people with at least 14 years of education who carried the APOE4
gene, which increases Alzheimer’s risk, who kept mentally fit in
midlife did have less amyloid plaque than similar people who did not
stay mentally active, as reported in Neurology. One in five people
carries the APOE4 gene.
[to top of second column] |
It’s not clear why only APOE4 carriers with 14 or more years of
education would have slower plaque accumulation with midlife
cognitive activity, said Anja Soldan, of Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore.
Soldan, who was not part of the new study, told Reuters Health that
it's important for people to know that the researchers did not look
at dementia outcomes.
Still, she said people should find activities they enjoy. If you
only play chess, which is mentally stimulating, but you don’t enjoy
it, it may not benefit you very much.
“Find something that you enjoy, and try exposing yourself to new
things that are challenging,” Soldan said.
Ideally you should be doing this throughout your lifetime, rather
than just starting in middle age, she added.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1XYEHLT Neurology, online February 24, 2016
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