Maraganore explained how exercise may help. “That does three remarkable things. No. 1, it causes the memory structures in your brain, what we call the hippocampi, to grow in size. People who do exercise literally grow that region of their brain. Secondly, the exercise increases spinal fluid levels of two growth hormones that bathe the brain. And these growth hormones stimulate dormant brain cells to sprout and connect and differentiate. And they also inhibit aging brain cells from dying.
“Thirdly, if you do longitudinal assessments of cognitive function in people who are doing aerobic exercise versus people who are not, the people doing the exercise improve in their cognitive performance. And these studies have even demonstrated the same benefits in individuals who are in their 70s and older, or in individuals who genetically are at greater risk for Alzheimer’s.”
Diet also counts toward brain health. “The Mediterranean diet is the diet of Greece, southern Italy and Spain. And it has been shown to not only reduce your risk, at any age, of death by 50% — heart disease or stroke or cancer. But it also reduces your risk for dementia by 50%.”
The physician and his team have identified other health factors, some of which a person can change themselves, even if they already have other dementia risk factors.
“It’s never too late,” Maraganore said. “The evidence shows that if you change your exercise habits, your dietary habits, and if you address your health factors, that can make a huge difference.”
