Way to forgetfulness

Lost your key? Forgotten your password or an appointment?

In such situations, we like to say offhandedly that this must be “Alzheimer’s“. But only those who are not directly (themselves) or indirectly (family, friends) affected by dementia or Alzheimer’s disease can laugh about it. We should not treat the topic lightly.

Because what starts as fun, can soon turn serious. The first signs of a later disease are recognizable quite early. In the state of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), there are already significant hints of aberrances. Occasionally forgetting a password or losing a key does not count among them at first. But it is not a bad idea to be alert. Tests can show whether memory, attention, and mental activity are impaired. In the case of mild cognitive impairment, there are hardly any limitations in daily life, but the cognitive performance is below the average values of the patient’s age bracket and level of education.

If an MCI is diagnosed – for example through the mini-mental state examination or the clock drawing test – it is high time to become active, because the therapeutic window for preventing or postponing dementia is small. First the bad news: the annual frequency of transition from MCI to dementia is indicated at 10%, depending on the test setting and the MCI definition. The good news: in some patients affected by MCI, the disorder is reversible.

We know the risk factors that accelerate the development of dementia, which means that we can take active countermeasures: through active mental activity and a well-developed psycho-social network. People with a higher level of education and an intellectually stimulating social net seem to be less prone to developing dementia. However, it is also possible that their dementia shows itself only later in its development because there is a greater “mental reserve”.

A balanced diet rich in plant substances, omega-3 fatty acids, and the famous resveratrol (preferably from red wine) is not only beneficial for treating MCI. The risk of developing a vascular disease is increased by an increased homocysteine level, hypertonia, diabetes mellitus, adiposity, and smoking. All of these factors harm the brain-feeding vessels and increase the risk of dementia. We know that in this complex, bioactive plant measures can counteract. However, describing these mechanisms in detail goes beyond the scope of this blog.

My favorite measure against dementia is sleeping and the physiological cleaning processes that take place in the brain during sleep. Only for a few years (since 2013), we know that during the single sleep stages, harmful metabolites are washed out in a kind of “wash cycle”.

This brings us again to a healthy lifestyle that, together with mental activity, exercise, an optimized diet, and sufficient sleep is the basis for being able to access our computers and flats in old age.