Level of schooling may protect brain against memory loss



Level of schooling may protect brain against memory loss

By Kathleen Fackelmann, USA TODAY

Memory problems, including Alzheimer's, appeared less common in people 70
and older in 2002, compared with seniors nearly a decade earlier, a study
out today says.

Seniors in 2002 might have gained protection from memory loss because they
had more education and were more likely to pay attention to cardiovascular
risk factors that can harm the heart and also damage the brain, says study
author Kenneth Langa at the University of Michigan.

Langa and his colleagues first studied 7,406 people who at age 70 and older
took a standard test of memory and thinking ability in 1993. The team found
12.2% of the group had serious memory problems and possibly Alzheimer's.

The team then studied 7,104 people who reached the age of 70 almost a decade
later in 2002. They found 8.7% of these seniors scored as low on the memory
test, the team reports in today's Alzheimer's & Dementia journal.

What accounts for the better brain health in the 2002 group?

No one knows for sure, but this study adds to evidence that suggests highly
educated people are more likely to have a reserve of brainpower that
protects them from memory problems. Seniors who took the test in 2002 had an
average of 12 years of formal schooling, a year more than those took the
test in 1993.

In addition, the 2002 seniors were wealthier as a group, a sign they may
have worked at more intellectually demanding jobs. People who keep their
brain agile with formal schooling or a challenging job seem to build a more
resilient brain ? one that might offer a shield against Alzheimer's later
on, Langa says.

Other evidence suggests the use of blood pressure and cholesterol medication
increased dramatically in the 1990s. The trend might have helped give the
2002 seniors an additional boost.

People with untreated high blood pressure and clogged arteries suffer from
periods of reduced blood flow to the brain, which might damage brain cells
and set the stage for Alzheimer's, Langa says.

The good news trend almost certainly won't last.

Langa and other experts such as William Thies of the Alzheimer's Association
say the USA can still expect a massive upturn in Alzheimer's cases. Sheer
numbers of baby boomers will fuel the increase from 5 million today to an
estimated 11 to 16 million by 2050.

The obesity epidemic might make those numbers even worse, says Robert
Butler, CEO of the International Longevity Center USA in New York.

Overweight adults and children often suffer from Type 2 diabetes and clogged
arteries, and those health problems almost certainly will add to an
increased risk of Alzheimer's in old age.

"We might lose what we've gained," Butler warns.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Level of schooling may protect brain against memory loss
    ... Memory problems, including Alzheimer's, appeared less common in people 70 ... Seniors in 2002 might have gained protection from memory loss because they ... Langa and his colleagues first studied 7,406 people who at age 70 and older ... What accounts for the better brain health in the 2002 group? ...
    (soc.senior.issues)
  • Ive an odd feeling Ive read this before
    ... memory is a reliable tape recorder. ... feelings of familiarity simply should not exist. ... spanned a wide spectrum, including past lives, precognition, brain ... a professor of psychology at Southern Methodist ...
    (uk.philosophy.humanism)
  • Re: Memory is not infinite
    ... axons and dendrites in synapses in the brain. ... it appears the brain can't remember infinite things because it ... needs to scavenge old connections for new memories, and also, memory length ... The rest of the day-to-day memories ... ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Men more likely than women to have problems with memory and other thinking skills, symptoms cons
    ... pads my neurons could hook up to so that my brain could ... Does memory really work that way, ... I've long thought that dreams must ... physical exercise was necessary to improve memory. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Memory modulates color appearance
    ... remembering, but that's OK: I assure that I do not decide to remember ... Rejecting the concept of "memory" prevents one to use it as a scaffold ... and architectures in brain! ... where others can observe it. ...
    (comp.ai.philosophy)
Loading