In a new study, researchers show that seniors who exercise their minds in order to keep Alzheimer's at bay experience a more rapid development of the condition, once it does set in.That is to say, while they may be delaying the first symptoms of this form of dementia, the disease sort of catches up in the end.
The way it does this is through rapid cognitive and mental decline, impaired thinking and poorer memory. The rates at which these capabilities of the brain decline are faster in people who kept the disease at bay for a while.
“The benefit of delaying initial signs of cognitive decline by keeping mentally active may come at the cost of more rapid dementia progression later on,” explains Robert Wilson.
The expert is a neuropsychologist at the Tush University Medical Center, in Chicago. He is the leader of the research team that conducted the new investigation.
Details of the work were published in the September 1 online issue of the esteemed scientific journal Neurology,
Science News reports.
Previous investigations have shown that doing crossword puzzles, reading, and performing other mind-stimulating activities can delay the onset of Alzheimer's after the age of 65.
However, when people who do this start developing the condition, it moves at much higher speeds than in individuals developing it gradually. How and why the disease makes up for the lost time is unknown.
“This cognitive trade-off is a good one if a mentally active person suffers with clinical symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease for a shorter period of time,” reveals Yaakov Stern.
He is a neuropsychologist in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at the Columbia University, in Ithaca, New York.
Studies have also evidenced the fact that people developing the condition normally are not as severely affected. They tend to experience cognitive decline over longer periods of time, the experts say.
However, it may be that the diseases set in gradually because it take over an inactive mind.
Find us on Google+
