How do you prevent dementia?

Of course we should keep trying to find successful prevention. I'm not optimistic that one will be found in our lifetime. However, I do think a successful treatment can be found. Even if the treatment merely stops it from going any further than where it is in a patient, that would do wonders.

When Mom was diagnosed with AD, she was really just experiencing memory loss, a bit of confusion and occasional odd behaviour. If there was treatment that guaranteed her not getting any worse, everything would be so different. At the time of her diagnosis, she was still able to take care of herself.

Zoomdots, your are right. Just because it is not preventable now doesn't mean that isn't a very worthy goal to work toward. I am so glad that great research is going on all over the world to better diagnose, treat, and ultimately prevent all forms of dementia.

I directly all of the memorial gifts I received after my husband died of dementia to the Michael J Fox Foundation, because my husband's dementia doctor is very impressed by the brain research they support. And my husband donated brain tissue for dementia research. (I am now awaiting the autopsy report.)

I think that donnacecilia is exactly right. Medical science was leaps and bounds ahead of social science. Our institutions have no idea how to deal with all these elderly people! So in addition to research to help the elderly stay healthier and avoid the cruel disease of dementia, we also need to work on public health care policies, retirement plans and pensions, social security, etc. etc. I'm afraid at the present time we are putting more effort into the medical research than into the social issues. We need both!

just because we learned this is not preventable does not mean we stop attempting to be proactive

we are an educated generation

spiritually, intellectually and wealthy in research

find a way to prevent this and be proactive

Hi. This is my first post on the site.

IMO, the problem really is that science has enabled the average person to live longer. However, they never imagined the repercussions involved. It appears they didn't take into account the diseases that go with aging.

It's feared the baby boomers will inundate the healthcare system. There won't be enough long term care facilities or doctors to accommodate and treat them.

And I don't believe there is any way to prevent it. My mom has AD and she was always a quick witted, active woman. There's a plethora of intelligent and health conscious people who suffer from some form of dementia.

Our only hope is finding either a cure or successful treatment that will halt it in its tracks.

The best way to prevent dementia is to die young. Sorry.

If anyone has the answer to this question, it would be worth $10 trillion+. One can do all the good things doctors are telling us to do, but one thing that doesn't change and that is your DNA (genetic predisposition). I encourage all who have a family history to participate in one of the research studies going on to find a cure. Mine is Mayo Clinic and Sun Health Research Institute who have partnered with Banner too. One can also donate one's brain at death since that is the only way to know for sure one had Alzheimer's disease. Since my mother's family of 10 had the gene, I am doing my part with exercise, great diet and maintaining the weight I had in high school, but unless there is a cure in the next 10-15 yrs., I will probably get it too. So pray for those researchers finding a cure!

Dear wuvicecream,
What you have written here is so very true:
'''I see people moving to the beat that are otherwise immobile, tapping a bit, picking there heads up, smiling, singing, or just being quiet but you can tell they are in a moment of joy. The files stored wherever music is logged/saved in our brains must be saved in a different way. The words of songs are not forgotten, it triggers good moods, it brings you back to a time and a place.""""

My Mom used to sing and raise and wave her arms back and forth to the beat of the words and song of this old song that she sang with one of the CNA's at hospice. Everybody was shocked that she could do that and remember all of the words and even raise her arms with the beat of the music. Remember that old song by Tennessee Ford? =
"" You load 16 tons,
And what do you get?
Another day older,
And deeper in debt.
Saint Peter, don't you call me,
Cause I can't go,
I owe my soul to the company store""
My Mom used to sing that song with her all of the time and it shocked me that she would just remember it after decades and decades and decades of not singing it or even remembering it. AND if made her sooo happy to sing it too!!!!! Just as you said it does.
It made her sooooo happy to sing it and it made me want to cry every time in happiness when she sang it. I regret not taking a video of her and the CNA, I had planned to the next day or the next, but unfortunately, Mom passed within 4 days and was partially unconcious and too weak to sing it. So, yes, I believe you that music does wonders and we do not know why. But my Mom is proof of that. I always had the radio on in her room constantly even when she was sleeping to a Christian radio station. I wanted her to hear God's Word even in her sleep.

Simple answer: You can't prevent Dementia or Alzheimer disease.

Also, my great grandmother mentioned above had dementia or AD in 1954. This is not a modern day disease/condition. I have letters written by ancestors mentioning caring for "loony" old relatives. I agree with doedoe1237, it is in some families and they will get it no matter what. My father was well aware of his chances but his exemplary lifestyle did not win out. Sometimes you just have to expect and accept.

My husband did all the right things, physical exercise, good diet, interested in a whole
lot of difference things, kept active and busy and he has dementia. His mom had it
and his aunt on his Dad's side had Alzheimers. I think it is in the genes.

I also believe it is inherited. My father was a 50+ year old marathon runner working on his masters degree after a military career and followed a healthy diet. He was diagnosed with AD before he was 60. Four out the seven siblings got it, his mother got it and several of her 11 siblings and her mother. Believe me, this a hot topic at times among my 20 cousins and me.

There really isn't any way to prevent Dementia but there are ways to prevent the risks and slow the process. Diet, exercise, mental stimulation, Higher doses of Folic Acid, B6, B12 appear to slow the progress of Alzheimers. Diets rich in fruits, vegetables, fish and nuts(Omega-3 fatty acids) have a protective effect and decrease risk of dementia. Keep your cholesterol low, higher cholesterol leaves deposits in the brain and is one of the causes of vascular dementia. Take care of your Diabetes and keep your blood pressure normal. Quit smoking and get vaccinated regularly. Also getting an education helps your brain build strong nerve cell network that helps with the nerve cell damage caused by Alzheimers. So basicly just stay healthy, social, and physically/mentally active. This will decrease the risks of dementia and alzheimers.

The bet is, if you live long enough, you will get some degree of dementia. I wonder what the statisitics are regarding Nutritionists with dementia. Of course the quality of our diet is important, along with activity. Think how easy it would be, if it only were a diet issue. Our skin is our largest organ and it is also a pretty important one. People spend billions of dollars trying to prevent wrinkles. With age comes deterioration. Dementia is probably 100% preventable, that is, if we all die before the age of 60.

I'm a strong believer it is preventable otherwise we'd all end up with it. Diet plays a large roll in our health.

When I visit my Mom at the NH I observe a lot of things that go on. I learn or try to get an experience you might say, from all of the residence their actions, reactions, behaviors, etc. both generally and individually. I am just that type of person, the kind that has to know, why, how, when anything at all works. I am inquisitive you might say. One thing I have noticed that no matter what ailment mentally or physically (for about 98%), they all have one obvious behavior change in common. Music is like the battery re charger. It's like a sip from the fountain of youth. I have seen people smile that cry mostly all day. I see people moving to the beat that are otherwise immobile, tapping a bit, picking there heads up, smiling, singing, or just being quiet but you can tell they are in a moment of joy. The files stored wherever music is logged/saved in our brains must be saved in a different way. The words of songs are not forgotten, it triggers good moods, it brings you back to a time and a place.
My point LOL I am trying to make is, maybe if we (science) could figure out these connections, how the brain records/downloads music, and why music usually has a strong tie to memory.

Nobody knows how to prevent dementia. Nobody knows exactly what causes it.

We do know or have pretty good ideas how to promote good health. Being healthy helps maintain quality of life. It is better not to have dementia and also have other health problems.

The current theory is also that building "reserves" in the brain by constantly learning new things and having new experiences can help minimize the symptoms, at least for a while.

It is the great goal of international research to figure out ways to prevent the various kinds of dementia. We're not there yet.