How to Stay Sharp in Old Age

Of all the common consequences of aging, none is more frightening thanmemory loss.

Our collective fear of aging has long been exploited for profit; cognitive decline is no exception.

Their claims arebold:Lumosity promises to help usersimprove memory, increase focus, and find calm.

Our collective fear of aging has long been exploited for profit; cognitive decline is no exception.

What is dementia, and what causes it?

Although the symptoms overlap somewhat, these are distinct conditions and its important to know the differences between them.

Age-related cognitive decline is what we call the somewhat normal level of memory loss.

MCIlies between normal aging and dementia on the severity scale.

(As always, determining whats normal is at the discretion of a qualified medical professional.)

They may wander or get lost.

The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimers disease, which can be either early- or late-onset.

Eventually, the damage becomes so widespread that it affects basic physical functions like breathing and swallowing.

The exact physiological causes of dementia are largely unknown, which makes early detection all but impossible.

For most people, dementia symptoms are their only warning, so its important to know your risk.

The single biggest risk factor for dementia isage.

Family history also plays a role.

Additionally,mental illness, particularly depression, is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia.

It is worth noting, though, thatmost people with Down syndrome will develop Alzheimers.

The results aremostly inconclusive.

As a result, very few researchers have observed transfer effects.

(Lumosity was fined $2 millionby the FTC in 2016 for deceptive advertising charges.)

Intensive blood pressure reduction also significantly reduced the combined risk of MCI and dementia.

That doesnt mean this study is bunk; quite the opposite, actually.

MCI and dementia assessment continued for the full five years.

In aJune 2015 Alzheimers & Dementia paper, Dr.

The study was considered a success, and a larger-scale follow-up trialis currently ongoing.

Dodge believes that the human element of video chat is key to their observed results.

Dodge if FaceTiming or video chatting with isolated elderly relatives was a good thing to do regularly.

Of course, a cure or prevention for dementia is a ways off.

When theyre feeling good, or if they slept well last night, they do much better.

However, as Dr.