Inaugural Event

Jane gave a brief introduction to brain function, and outlined the characteristics of the ageing brain before summarising current research findings.

One the dark side, dementias – of which Alzheimer’s is the most usual form – are common in old people. Past 80, one individual in 6 will suffer. Women are slightly more at risk of Alzheimer’s, although more men than women will have vascular dementias. An unfortunate 10% of affected individuals will suffer from both forms. Mild cognitive impairment is yet another form of dementia, and this general-sounding term functions as a diagnosis in itself.

On the brighter side, East Anglia has lower rates of dementia than the general population – although the reason for this is not yet known. And it also appears that moderate alcohol intake in later life reduces the risk…

Jane then turned to consideration of what we might do to prevent or delay any possible onset. She was able to tell us that without doubt aerobic exercise is the best resort: meta-data studies of the research literature are statistically significant. Exercise increases cognitive ability and decreases dementia risk, even if the individual starts late in life and has never exercised before. The exercise must be aerobic – ie raise the heart rate – and be sustained for 20-30 minutes for proper effect. A minimum of 150 minutes per week is recommended, and even gardening and housework as well as brisk walking can count, according to some American data, so long as the heart beats faster.

In concluding, Jane said that the answer to her own ‘must we Use it or Lose it’ question is – in summary – yes and no. Exercise is the best weapon against impairment, but it also seems that brain preservation is more readily achieved if it is communal and sociable. The best recipe might be to combine a range of activities, with exercise boosted by a range of mental challenges such as bridge, crosswords, studying a new subject, maintaining a foreign language, or learning a new one – not necessarily spoken. Learning/practising music would be excellent, for example.

The talk then opened out into questions about distant and recent memories, names, and problems or ease in accessing these. Finally there was a lively exchange of individual suggestions for exercise disciplines and mental stimuli, from walking to joining a choir to visiting the housebound. One or two people expressed surprise that exercise plays such a crucial role, yet it seems that most of us, whether newly retired or on the point of retiring, have our personal recipes for maintaining physical activity and mental alertness.

Thanks are due to Jane Maxim for summing up the recent research and current expert insights with such precision, and for answering our questions in relation to these.  (Summary: Janey King)