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Posted on Jun 23, 2005, 2 p.m.
By Bill Freeman
WASHINGTON -- Exercise your brain. Nourish it well. And the earlier you start, the better. That's the best advice doctors can yet offer to ward off Alzheimer's disease. There's no guarantee. But more and more research shows that some fairly simple steps can truly lower your risk of the deadly dementia. Also, if Alzheimer's strikes anyway, people who have followed this advice tend to do better - their brains withstand the attack longer before symptoms become obvious
There's no guarantee. But more and more research shows that some fairly simple steps can truly lower your risk of the deadly dementia.
Also, if Alzheimer's strikes anyway, people who have followed this advice tend to do better - their brains withstand the attack longer before symptoms become obvious.
The goal: build up what's called a "cognitive reserve."
"Cognitive reserve is not something you're born with," Dr. Yaakov Stern of Columbia University told a meeting of Alzheimer's researchers Monday. "It's something that changes, and can be modified over time."
In fact, there's now enough research backing this theory that the Alzheimer's Association is offering free classes around the country to teach people - of any age, but especially baby boomers - just how to do it. They call it "maintain your brain."
"There is tremendous interest in making sure that by the time you're 80, your brain is there with you," explains California psychologist Elizabeth Edgerly, who leads the program.
A healthy brain weighs about 2 pounds, roughly the size of a cauliflower. Networks of blood vessels keep oxygen flowing to 100 billion brain cells.
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