Bingo and staying in school could delay Alzheimer's

Bingo and other mind-stimulating activities, when combined with more education, could delay symptoms of Alzheimer’s, but not for most of the population.

New research published in the journal Neurology, suggests that keeping your brain busy throughout your life including by staying in school longer, may stave off some of the brain changes seen in Alzheimer’s disease, but only for people with the ApoE4 gene.

Researchers studied 393 people aged over 70 without dementia, who were part of the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, and divided them into groups based on their education history, the extent to which they kept mentally active in middle age and whether they had the ApoE4 gene (associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease).

Those with the ApoE4 gene, who had at least 14 years of education and were mentally active in mid-life, had lower levels of amyloid build ups in their brains, which is associated with Alzheimer’s.

For people without the ApoE4 gene, education and mental activity had little effect on the level of neurodegeneration seen in their brains.

The paper published in Neurology, stated: “The top four frequent activities in the high cognitive activity group were reading books and magazines, computer activities and playing games.

"A third of the population sampled fell in the category of low education and low cognitive activity and would benefit from engaging in midlife cognitive activities”.

Dr Doug Brown, director of research and development at Alzheimer’s Society, said: ” “Alzheimer’s disease is caused by a complex mix of genetics and lifestyle, and it could be that particular groups of people may benefit from making certain lifestyle changes to reduce their risk.

"This research supports this suggestion by showing that people with the ApoE4 gene – which increases the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease – seem to have better brain health if they keep their minds active throughout their lives.

“Although people with the ApoE4 gene have a higher risk of dementia, there are things they, and indeed all of us, can do to cut that down. This might include staying fit and active, not smoking, and keeping the brain busy – this could be through reading or playing games and puzzles.”

The researchers looked at physical changes in the brain and didn’t test other aspects of dementia such as difficulties with memory and thinking.

The study did not take into account those who went on to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

To read the research paper ,published in Neurology, visit:

http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2016/02/24/WNL.0000000000002490.abstract