Dementia is a condition that develops with age. However, there are factors that favor it but also reduce the risks of its occurrence
Loneliness and sleepless nights can lead to dementia. What we need to change in our life to prevent “elderly disease”
The probability of its occurrence decreases by 40% if we sleep 8 hours a night, walk 10,000 steps every day, reduce alcohol consumption, socialize. At the same time, we must avoid foods with a high fat content.
The disease seriously affects the life of the patient as well as the family because he becomes unable to feed himself, has difficulty communicating, has memory loss.
There are several new drugs for Alzheimer’s, one of the most common forms of dementia, but they are only effective for people in the early stages.
Factors favoring the onset of dementia
– sedentarism and lack of movement
– excessive consumption of alcohol
– few hours of sleep
– social isolation
– hearing loss
– lack of intellectual activities and creative concerns that stimulate the brain
– inadequate diet, poor in nutrients
– hypertension
– obesity
– diabetes
– brain damage
– smoked
– depression
– pollution
The first signs of illness
“Cognitive reserve,” said to be depleted when dementia sets in, is the brain’s ability to withstand injury or neurodegenerative disease. If there is a loss of tissue or function in one part of the brain, other brain cells (neurons) work harder to compensate. This means that experiences and activities throughout life create a barrier against the damage of disease and aging.
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s amazing ability to adapt, learn, and recover from injury. The main takeaway is that neuroplasticity can happen at any time and at any age, meaning that learning and activities should be lifelong.
Many of the risk factors for dementia are likely to work in combination, which is why a comprehensive lifestyle approach is crucial. For example, studies have shown that exercise, cognitive and social engagement stimulate your brain and maintain its plasticity by developing new neural connections and building cognitive reserve.
The mechanism behind this is a combination of factors: increasing oxygen and blood flow to the brain, stimulating growth factors that keep neurons healthy, and reducing inflammation.
The opposite is also true. Poor sleep, diet, social isolation and untreated depression are linked to decreased cognitive reserve.
The same reasoning applies to hearing loss, a key emerging risk factor for dementia. As a person’s hearing declines, it can be difficult to engage socially with others, leading to a loss of sensory input. The brain has to work harder to compensate for this, reducing its cognitive reserve and leaving it less able to resist dementia.
Stress responses and inflammation are the body’s complex response to injury. Inflammation is an important component of the body’s immune system, helping to defend against threats and repair damage at the tissue level. While short-term inflammation is a natural and good response, chronic or prolonged inflammation disrupts normal functioning and causes damage to brain cells.
Dementia and depression
One of the commonalities between dementia and untreated depression is the inflammatory process. Prolonged exposure to stress hormones can lead to chronic inflammation. High blood pressure, physical inactivity, smoking and air pollution are also associated with chronic inflammation and stress, which can damage blood vessels and neurons in the brain.
Social isolation is linked to inflammation, according to research. As we learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, the brain is wired to respond to social engagement as a means of bonding and emotional support, especially during times of distress.
Studies show that more than one in three Canadians feel isolated. Lack of social connection and loneliness can trigger the body’s stress response and neuroendocrine changes, and prolonged exposure to this inflammatory process can damage the brain.
Several of these risk factors and their biological pathways relate to several chronic diseases. Evidence accumulated over decades of research supports the concept of “what’s good for your heart is good for your head.”
This means that making positive lifestyle changes not only reduces the risk of dementia, but also the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems. This highlights the complex nature of dementia, but also provides a strategy for dealing with the multiple health problems that can arise as people age, according to dcnews.ro.
2023-11-29 19:15:30
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