A recent study finds that friends ought not let friends with dementia be lonely. The surprising part? Why staying friends is good for the friend without dementia as well as for the one who has it.
Activities that engage your brain, such as learning a new language and completing crosswords, as well as having high levels of social interaction, can reduce your risk of dementia.
Yen Ying Lim, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Rachel Buckley, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, but treatments are still far from successful in clinical trials. Here is what we know about the disease, and what is yet to be uncovered.
For couples, families or friends who share a significant song, the effects of music can be powerful and persistent, lasting well into old age, even piercing through dementia.
People with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s often have difficulty swallowing, a dangerous condition. Here’s why treatment of these illnesses should include attention to swallowing problems.
New research shows that exposure to fine particulate air pollution may double the risk of dementia in older women by increasing growth of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain.
High blood pressure is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia, but now researchers have found that it may be protective in the very old.
A study was reported to show caffeine protects older women from dementia. But looking closer at the research, we can’t truly claim coffee was the reason some of the women had a lower risk of dementia.
Testing some genes for Alzheimer’s disease, coeliac disease and folate conversion does not lead to improved health outcomes, and may create anxiety or false hope amongst patients.
Improvements in education and vascular health are likely partly responsible for a sharp decline in dementia over the past few decades. The trend may continue, if we also address obesity and diabetes.