Spring Arbor Living Blog

Mental health and memory are closely tied to physical health. Physical and emotional vitality are important to maintaining mental health. As you or your loved one gets older, and become less able to do some activities, replacing lost activities can help keep a positive attitude and sense of well-being over time.  If you can no longer run, try walking for example. But just as physical health needs upkeep, so does memory and mental health.

Protect or improve your memory and mental sharpness by:

• Challenging your brain daily. Read, learn a new musical instrument or language, do crossword puzzles, or play games of strategy with others. Just like an active body, an active brain continues to develop and thrive, while an inactive brain loses its power over time.
• Help your memory. Write down dates, names, and other important information that you easily forget. Use routine and repetition. For example, keep daily items such as keys and eyeglasses in a specific place. No matter what your age, having too much on your mind can keep you from remembering new information. And as you age, it is normal to take longer to retrieve new information from your memory bank.
• Preventing depression, which is a common yet treatable cause of cognitive decline in older people. In addition to getting regular physical activity and social contact, avoid the depressant effect of alcohol and sedative use, eat healthy meals and snacks, and include meaningful activity in your daily life.
• Not smoking. Cigarette smoking may speed mental decline. This connection was identified in a large study comparing smokers and nonsmokers age 65 and over.

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The link to healthy diets and brain health is well established. The link to diet and Alzheimer's disease is less clearly established, but new information on curcumin (found in turmeric) may prove to be helpful.

The brain is particularly vulnerable to oxidative damage due to its high rate of metabolism and long-lived neurons. Free radicals can cause oxidative damage to important cellular components such as DNA, or the cell membrane. Cells may function poorly or die if there is too much oxidative damage.

Antioxidants defend the cells from free radical damage. Many long term studies have demonstrated that those with higher antioxidants in their diets from fruits, vegetables and certain spices have slower rates of cognitive decline than those who ate less of these foods.

Curcumin has been studied recently because of the low rates of Alzheimer's disease in India. The Indian population consumes large amounts of curcumin through Tumeric and have a relatively low (4 times less) incidence of Alzheimer's disease compared to the U.S. population.

Curcumin is a member of the ginger family and is the main ingredient of turmeric, a spice used in curry and many Middle Eastern dishes. Curcumin is an antioxidant with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory properties which prevents the damage caused by free radicals. The more antioxidants in the diet, the more the cells are protected.

The National Institutes of Health and other research organizations have been completing Alzheimer's clinical trials. Recently, curcumin has been in the forefront of much of this research. Curcumin's powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties suppress the buildup of beta-amyloid in brain tissue.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) studied mice and found that curcumin crosses the blood-brain barrier to bind with beta-amyloid peptides. These peptides are dangerous when they build up into plaques.

As Alzheimer's disease develops, neurons go through a process from a healthy state to some loss of molecular efficiency, to a loss of synaptic function, to loss of synapses, and, ultimately, to cell death. When curcumin was fed to aged mice, there was a reduction in amyloid levels and the overall amount of dangerous plaque.

More studies are needed to investigate the safety and tolerability of curcumin in the elderly population. Research is also needed in the areas of using curcumin to prevent Alzheimer's Disease as well as to lessen symptoms.

As clinical trials produce more information about the efficacy of curcumin, guidelines will be established for those at risk and for those affected.

Original article on CDApress.com by Seanne Safail, , Ph.D, RD

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An older person who cares for a spouse with dementia is also at an increased risk of developing problems with attention and memory, according to a new review of studies.

This is because the spousal caregiver likely shared lifestyle risk factors with the person with dementia, and undergoes ongoing stress from caring for the person.

Researchers from the University Of Washington School Of Medicine reviewed more than 100 studies that examined the cognitive health of older adults who cared for a family member with dementia, with the majority of the subjects being spouses. They found that these caregivers have more trouble with attention and memory, also known as cognition, than people who don't have to care for a family member with dementia.

The review of the studies showed that those caregivers had a higher risk of cognitive decline or dementia than people who do not have to care for someone with dementia. This could be due to a number of factors, including depression, loneliness, sleep problems, social isolation, exercise, diet and even obesity.

People who are caring for a spouse with dementia may themselves be at risk for cognitive problems which, in turn, will not only negatively influence their quality of life, but may reduce their ability to provide the necessary care for their spouse.

Most care-recipients prefer to be cared for in their homes, and, by remaining in their homes, health care costs are reduced greatly, therefore, often spouses of end up providing care.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

People with dementia are not the only ones who have health problems – a spouse who cares for them are also at risk for attention and memory problems.

Original article on MSN.com

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Recent research by Johns Hopkins and Utah State University has found that a person is more likely to develop dementia if his or her spouse has dementia. Here's what the research suggests.
 
One thousand two hundred twenty-one married couples age 65 and older were selected from the Cache County Study on Memory and Aging, a trial that began in 1995. Couples were followed for up to 12.6 years, with a median follow-up time of 3.3 years. Dementia was diagnosed in 255 of the 2,442 participants.

Individuals whose spouses were diagnosed with dementia had a six-fold greater risk of dementia, even after adjusting for other factors, than individuals whose spouses showed no signs of dementia. Husbands had a significantly higher risk of developing dementia than wives.
 
Bottom line: The physical and mental burden of caregiving, the emotional stress associated with watching a loved one struggle with dementia, shared environmental risks like similar diets, or homogamy (similar individuals are more likely to marry) are among the possible reasons. More research is needed to pinpoint the cause and find the best way of keeping one spouse from sharing the fate of their husband or wife.
 
Reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (Volume 58, page 895)   

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