Alzheimer's Prevention

Walking and Moderate Exercise Help Prevent Dementia

Seniors who regularly walk and get other forms of moderate exercise appear to significantly lower their risk of developing vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, according to a newly published study.

The four-year study involved 749 men and women in Italy who were over age 65 and did not have memory problems at the beginning of the study. Researchers measured the amount of energy exerted in the participants’ weekly physical activities, including walking, climbing stairs, and moderate activities, such as house and yard work, gardening, and light carpentry. By the end of the study, 54 people developed Alzheimer’s disease and 27 developed vascular dementia.

The study found the top one-third of participants who exerted the most energy walking were 27 percent less likely to develop vascular dementia than those people in the bottom one-third of the group. Participants who scored in the top one-third for the most energy exerted in moderate activities lowered their risk of vascular dementia by 29% and people who scored in the top one-third for total physical activity lowered their risk by 24% compared to those in the bottom one-third.

“Our findings show moderate physical activity, such as walking, and all physical activities combined lowered the risk of vascular dementia in the elderly independent of several socio-demographic, genetic and medical factors,” said study author Dr. Giovanni Ravaglia, with University Hospital S. Orsola Malpighi, in Bologna, Italy. “It’s important to note that an easy-to-perform moderate activity like walking provided the same cognitive benefits as other, more demanding activities.”

Ravaglia says it’s possible that physical activity may improve cerebral blood flow and lower the risk of cerebrovascular disease, which is a risk factor for vascular dementia, but further research is needed about the mechanisms operating between physical activity and a person’s memory.

Contrary to some reports, the study found that physical activity was not associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, but Ravaglia says more research is needed before concluding that Alzheimer’s disease is not preventable through exercise.

The study, published in the online issue of the medical journal Neurology, was supported by grants from the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research.

Key vitamin deficiency linked to tripled risk of dementia: study

Tue Feb 5, 9:25 AM ET
PARIS (AFP) - Lack of folate, also called vitamin B-9, may triple the risk of developing dementia in old age, according to a study published Tuesday.

Researchers in South Korea measured naturally occurring folate levels in 518 elderly persons, none of whom showed any signs of dementia, and then tracked their development over 2.4 years.
At the end of the period, 45 of the patients had developed dementia, including 34 diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, said the study, published by the British Medical Association's Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

When the researchers, led by Jin-Sang Yoon of Chonnam National University in Kwangju, South Korea, remeasured folate levels, they uncovered a strong link with the dementia.

Even after other factors were taken into account -- including age, disability, alcohol consumption, weight change -- "the onset of dementia was significantly associated with an exaggerated decline in folate," the researchers concluded.

Folate and folic acid, another form of the compound, are essential for the creation of new cells in the body.

The compound occurs naturally in leafy vegetables such as spinach, turnip greens, lettuces, dried beans and peas and in certain fruits.

An study published last year in The Lancet showed an improvement in short-term memory, mental agility and verbal fluency among persons over 50 who took a daily dose of 800 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid. The US recommended daily dose is 400 mcg.

Taking folic acid before conception and throughout the first trimester helps a mother ensure that her child will not develop certain brain and spinal cord defects, including spina bifida, according to previous research.