A review of studies, published in 2023, found that people who ate large quantities of ultra-processed foods of all kinds, not just processed meats, had a 44% higher risk of dementia. Gut health can be negatively affected by ultra-processed foods such as chips, carbonated beverages, breakfast cereals and ready meals. Unfortunately, much of what most of us eat… Continue reading →

Dr. Dean Ornish and his research team demonstrated that an intensive lifestyle intervention without drugs significantly improved cognition and function in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. The trial involved randomly assigning 51 men and women with MCI or early Alzheimer’s dementia to one of two groups. The… Continue reading →

A newer approach to improve diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease involves what is called “precision medicine.” This means taking into consideration a patient’s genes, environment, and lifestyle in order to customize treatment. Dr. Howard Fillitt suggests that research on biomarker blood tests and monoclonal antibody drugs can help primary care physicians to better understand… Continue reading →

It’s probably no secret that our brain’s aging is dependent on both our genetics and lifestyle practices. Some of the lifestyle practices that research has linked to how our brain ages include exercise, avoiding tobacco, and playing an instrument or speaking a second language. A review paper published Thursday in the journal Genomic Psychiatry  suggests… Continue reading →

Modifiable risk factors for dementia include smoking, lack of exercise, hearing loss, obesity, and high blood pressure, among others listed by the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care. One of the more recent additions to their list is visual impairment, which one study (Varadaraj et al., 2021) concluded as having possibly led to… Continue reading →

Many older adults take numerous medications. This practice, called polypharmacy, has been linked to lower memory function. It is becoming apparent that some of those commonly prescribed drugs may contribute to memory difficulties. Some affect short-term memory, which refers to anything that happened within the last 30 seconds. Examples of this are forgetting what you… Continue reading →

In recent research, the emphasis on sleep duration as a key factor for health has shifted towards the consistency of sleep schedules. A groundbreaking study involving over 60,000 participants from the UK Biobank has revealed that sleep regularity is a more significant predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration. This study, which utilized more than… Continue reading →

Everyone has experienced the power of aromas to evoke recollections of past experiences. You may walk into a room and smell something cooking, or the scent of a perfume or cologne a loved one wore years ago, and memories just suddenly surface. This happens because the olfactory system is the only sensory system that has… Continue reading →

People who are experiencing symptoms of cognitive decline should seek a diagnosis. An early diagnosis can make a difference, since it can cause someone to make lifestyle changes and/or start a treatment that can help them maintain or even improve their cognitive abilities. However, Dr. Marwan Sabbagh, a board-certified behavioral neurologist at Barrow Neurological Institute’s Alzheimer’s… Continue reading →