Thanks for breaking it down in simpler words. My eyes were getting vague as I read this article. After the 2nd time of re-reading the 1st couple of paragraphs, I decided to skip to the Comments and hoping someone did. Whew! Okay..Understand now.
If Alzheimer's disease cannot be slowed down then what does Aricept and Namenda do? My mom was on both meds and she had problems with water tasting bitter and troubled with constipation, we took her off the Namenda and no longer has those problems. And who can actually say it slows down Alzheimer's, I mean what scientific evidence there?
I've heard several analogies along the lines of cognitive reserve. There was one about Christmas tree lights that I couldn't follow at all, but the one I could visualize are the pathways in the brain. We don't get a certain number at birth and that's it -- we can continue to develop new pathways throughout life. Learning new things, thinking new ideas, contemplating new art or music or natural wonders -- these new experiences create new pathways. Pathways are pretty specialized, but can be re-purposed. If some pathways are blocked, other pathways can take up their duties. Dementia can strike anybody, and we don't understand how and why that happens. But the more pathways a person has when the pathology starts to destroy some, the better the chance of there being some healthy pathways that can take over. The outward symptoms of the pathology are not noticeable until there aren't enough healthy pathways left to keep functioning normally. That will happen later in a person with lots of pathways than a person with fewer. Makes sense to me.
The behavior neurologist who follows my husband’s Lewy Body Dementia, is of the opinion that new pathways can be created or existing pathways strengthened even after dementia pathology starts destroying some. He is an internationally known researcher at the Mayo Clinic. He tells us that "novelty-seeking experience is therapeutic:" At each visit he asks about vacations, adventures, and any other new experiences we've sought out. We’ve taken him seriously and, since the onset of dementia 9 years ago we’ve cruised Tahiti, taken an Amtrak sleeper car to Glacier National Park, seen the Grand Canyon, driven Route 66, gone to state fairs every year, taken tours to San Antonio, the Amana Colonies, and many sites in South Dakota, including a buffalo range, spent a day looking for eagles along the Mississippi, seen museum exhibits, and gone to concerts to name a few. My husband has energy for less and less, but we are still doing what we can. Has it helped? Who knows? How can we know what he would be like if we weren’t trying to stay intellectually stimulated, eat reasonably healthy, and get exercise? Whether or not it really helps mitigate the dementia, it has made our life richer. It's a no risk strategy as far as I'm concerned -- until the person with dementia truly can't take stimulation any more.
Hi lew - The article makes sense to me. A cognitive reserve can be compared, I think to a cardiovascular (heart muscle) reserve. If your heart - or any other muscle for that matter, has been built up and is strong, then any disease that affects the muscle and reduces its function, will not be as debilitating as it would have been if the muscle was weaker to begin with. It certainly motivates me to keep mentally active, deal with stress and stay on a healthy diet. I do believe that you can make a difference on your own health. I hope we will see more research about those who have the physical evidence of dementia, but are not very impaired.
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Cognitive Reserve: The First Line of Defense Against Dementia
The behavior neurologist who follows my husband’s Lewy Body Dementia, is of the opinion that new pathways can be created or existing pathways strengthened even after dementia pathology starts destroying some. He is an internationally known researcher at the Mayo Clinic. He tells us that "novelty-seeking experience is therapeutic:" At each visit he asks about vacations, adventures, and any other new experiences we've sought out. We’ve taken him seriously and, since the onset of dementia 9 years ago we’ve cruised Tahiti, taken an Amtrak sleeper car to Glacier National Park, seen the Grand Canyon, driven Route 66, gone to state fairs every year, taken tours to San Antonio, the Amana Colonies, and many sites in South Dakota, including a buffalo range, spent a day looking for eagles along the Mississippi, seen museum exhibits, and gone to concerts to name a few. My husband has energy for less and less, but we are still doing what we can. Has it helped? Who knows? How can we know what he would be like if we weren’t trying to stay intellectually stimulated, eat reasonably healthy, and get exercise? Whether or not it really helps mitigate the dementia, it has made our life richer. It's a no risk strategy as far as I'm concerned -- until the person with dementia truly can't take stimulation any more.