Alzheimer’s Association expert discusses prevention of cognitive decline and other brain health issues

Evidence is mounting that people can reduce their risk of cognitive decline as they age by making key lifestyle changes. In an interview, Heather Snyder, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Association director of medical and scientific operations, discusses the prevention of cognitive decline and myths about brain health.

Please can you outline the main findings of the recent survey by Reader’s Digest and the Alzheimer’s Association?

Reader’s Digest and the Alzheimer’s Association partnered to survey approximately 1,600 people in May 2015 about their brain health and their knowledge of how lifestyle habits affect cognitive decline and dementia. The survey found that 91 percent of people believe they can reduce their risk of cognitive decline, but they have misconceptions about ways to keep their brains healthy as they age.

While the brain is the command center of the body and deserves as much attention as the heart and other vital organs, only 33 percent of people surveyed see their brain as important from a health perspective. Further, only 21 percent of people say their brain is an area they focus on when making healthy lifestyle choices.

When it comes to nutrition, only five percent of people surveyed consider their brain when trying to eat healthily, even though a balanced diet higher in vegetables and fruit may help reduce the risk of cognitive decline as we age.

Only 62 percent of people realize that smoking affects their risk of cognitive decline. Not only does smoking increase risk of cognitive decline, quitting can reduce risk to levels comparable to people who have not smoked.

Additionally, the survey found:

• Just 59 percent of people recognize that taking a class is a way to protect your brain from cognitive decline. There is strong evidence linking more years of formal education with reduced risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
• As many as 69 percent of survey respondents incorrectly believe you can reduce your risk of cognitive decline by eating one or two of the right “super foods.” The evidence suggests it is more about the total diet than eating or avoiding any single ingredient.
• 60 percent of survey respondents incorrectly believe that by using the “right” puzzle, game or app, they can reduce their risk of cognitive decline. However, there is no single “brain game” that is proven to reduce the risk of cognitive decline. Evidence shows that consistently engaging in activities that involve learning new skills and solving problems, or that stretch the mind strategically are ways to potentially reduce risk of cognitive decline.

Why do you think there are so many misconceptions about ways to keep our brains healthy?

Misconceptions may exist because people don’t often focus on their brains when they think of their health – they are typically focused on other areas like heart health. However, it is important for people to know that the same habits that are good for your overall health, including your heart health, are also good for your brain.

What are the key everyday lifestyle choices that can make a positive impact on brain health?

The evidence is mounting that people can reduce their risk of cognitive decline as they age by making key lifestyle changes. That is the conclusion of a research summaryrecently published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

With this in mind, the Alzheimer’s Association offers 10 Ways to Love Your Brain, tips that may reduce the risk of cognitive decline.

More information on these tips can be found at:http://www.alz.org/we_can_help_brain_health_maintain_your_brain.asp

How is a healthy diet thought to reduce the risk of cognitive decline?

Eating a healthy and balanced diet that is higher in vegetables and fruit may help reduce a person’s risk of cognitive decline. Although research on diet and cognitive function is limited, certain diets, including the Mediterranean and Mediterranean-DASH, may contribute to risk reduction.

The Mediterranean diet incorporates different principles of healthy eating that are typically found in the areas bordering the Mediterranean Sea:

• Focus on fruit, vegetables, nuts and grains.
• Replace butter with healthy fats, like olive oil.
• Limit red meat.
• Use herbs to flavor food rather than salt.
• Eat fish and poultry at least twice a week.

Mediterranean-DASH is a variation that includes an emphasis on plant-based foods and limited animal and high saturated fat foods. It also specifies berries and green leafy vegetables and food component servings that reflect diet-dementia study findings.

What impact does quitting smoking have on brain health?

Evidence shows that smoking increases risk of cognitive decline. We encourage everyone who smokes to quit – it will have a positive impact on not only your brain health but your overall health.

How much sleep do you need to have each night to keep your brain healthy?

The amount of sleep each person needs depends on several factors, including age. Experts recommend most adults should get between seven and nine hours of sleep per night. Not getting enough sleep due to conditions like insomnia or sleep apnea may result in problems with memory and thinking. Interestingly, getting too much sleep also may be detrimental to your health. Anyone who is having sleep problems or is concerned about how much sleep they need should consult their physician or a sleep specialist.

Many people play brain-training games to try to keep their brains healthy. How effective are such brain games at reducing the risk of cognitive decline?

To keep your brain healthy it is important to challenge and activate your mind. There is no single “brain game” that is proven to reduce the risk of cognitive decline.

Evidence indicates that consistently engaging in activities that involve learning new skills, solving problems, novel experiences, or that stretch the mind strategically are ways to potentially reduce risk of cognitive decline.

For example, building a piece of furniture, completing a jigsaw puzzle, doing something artistic and playing card games, such as bridge, that make you think strategically can all challenge and activate your mind.

The Alzheimer’s Association encourages people to be savvy consumers. Before trying a new treatment or treatment regimen — or before investing in brain games — consult trusted, reputable professionals such as your doctor, pharmacist or the Alzheimer’s Association. Fortunately, most of the activities that stimulate the brain are available at no cost.

What are the main myths you’d like to dispel about brain health?

It’s time to reset the way we think about our brain health, as it is essential for overall body health. We need to leave behind the idea that there is nothing people can do to reduce their risk of cognitive decline.

The evidence that everyday lifestyle choices can make a positive impact on brain health is something that cannot be ignored. By making key lifestyle changes, people can work toward maintaining a healthy brain as they age.

At what point should one be concerned about cognitive decline? Are there any particular signs to watch out for?

It’s never too late or too early to start thinking about your brain’s health – making healthy choices at any age is beneficial to your well-being.

In addition to the 10 Ways to Love Your Brain, the Alzheimer’s Association offers the 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s, which can be found atwww.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_10_signs_of_alzheimers.asp.

These include:

1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life.
2. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure
3. New problems with words in speaking or writing.

The website also includes typical age-related changes that probably are not related to Alzheimer’s.

Where can readers find more information?

For more information, visit the Alzheimer’s Association’s website, www.alz.org.

It includes basic information, guidance and support for people with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers, the latest in research and science, plus how everyone can get involved in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

About Heather Snyder, Ph.D

Heather Snyder, Ph.D., is Director of Medical and Scientific Operations at the Alzheimer’s Association.

Dr. Snyder oversees the Association’s International Research Grant Program, the mechanism through which the Association funds research applications. In addition to ensuring the smooth review of applications and distribution of awards to successful applicants, she is responsible for the dissemination of results and ongoing investigations to a wide range of audiences.

She received her Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and her B.A. in Biology and Religious Studies from The University of Virginia. Since graduating from Stritch, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Neurobiology Program at Children’s Memorial Research Center, affiliated with Northwestern University, in Chicago.

The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research, to provide and enhance care and support for all affected, and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s disease. www.alz.org

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Why I Walk… Stacey’s Story Alzheimer’s

My family is doing the Walk to End Alzheimer’s this year in Orland Park, Illinois. This is the first time we are doing it, and we are dedicating our walk to our beloved Uncle Robbie. We began to sign up for the walk when our uncle was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Of course we thought what an amazing way to raise money for this heartbreaking disease. We had pictured wheeling our Uncle Robbie through that finish line.

My family is doing the Walk to End Alzheimer’s this year in Orland Park, Illinois. This is the first time we are doing it, and we are dedicating our walk to our beloved Uncle Robbie. We began to sign up for the walk when our uncle was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Of course we thought what an amazing way to raise money for this heartbreaking disease. We had pictured wheeling our Uncle Robbie through that finish line. Sadly, that cannot happen because our angel gained his wings on March 18, 2015. Robbie was a son, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend to all. He also had Down syndrome. He was a lovable, caring, funny, extraordinary person. His smile brightened up the room. He loved to sing, dance, eat, and drink pop. His favorite dance was the Moonwalk just like his favorite singer, Michael Jackson. We titled our team “The Rock,” because that’s just what he was. Not only did he love the Rock, the wrestler, but he was indeed “the rock” of our family. He was the most important person in our family.
My family is not only walking to find a cure for this disease, but also to raise awareness for people with Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s. There is a link between the two, and they just don’t know why yet. People with Down syndrome are at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s early on in their lives. Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s affects them at a much more rapid pace. My uncle began to show signs of forgetfulness about four years ago, but we never thought anything of it. Last year, a doctor diagnosed him with Alzheimer’s and said he was pretty far along. My uncle was always able to do things for himself. He was very advanced for someone with Down syndrome. He could wake himself up in the mornings, take a shower, make his breakfast, pack his lunch, dress himself, do laundry, clean his room, etc. The more prevalent the Alzheimer’s got, the less he could do. It started off with him needing help going to the bathroom and bathing. Then things got worse, and he had to be put in diapers. He began to forget how to walk. At times, he didn’t know our family. He began needing equipment to take care of him such as a wheelchair, hospital bed, etc.
Eventually, we had to call in hospice to help us care for him. Initially we called in hospice to get the proper equipment we needed and help us change/bathe him. Our “Rock” began deteriorating right before our eyes. Alzheimer’s disease took the life out of him. He stopped eating and drinking, and we knew his body couldn’t take much more. Since we had Robbie at home, we had family members over every day. We wanted him as comfortable as possible and surrounded by all his loved ones. If there was one thing that Robbie loved most in the world, it was his family. It was so hard to watch the Alzheimer’s disease take our beloved Robbie from us. He didn’t deserve it; No one does. This disease is heartbreaking and so hard for the person suffering and the families. No body’s memories deserve to be taken from them. Our family will continue to raise money to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease as well as raise awareness for people with Down syndrome with Alzheimer’s disease forever. We will do this walk in honor of our sweet angel every year. We may not be able to see him walking with us, but we are certain he will be Moon-walking across that finish line.
-Stacey Kassitas
Click here and join one of our 21 Walks in Greater Illinois Chapter.

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Journalist with Alzheimer’s disease and cancer has future on his mind

Longtime journalist and current Alzheimer’s Association National Early-Stage Advisor Greg O’Brien was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2009. Two weeks before his diagnosis, he learned he also had prostate cancer. As O’Brien’s Alzheimer’s symptoms worsen, he’s decided not to treat his cancer and is thinking about how he wants to spend the final years of his life.

In this installment of NPR’s series Inside Alzheimer’s, we hear from Greg O’Brien about his decision to forgo treatment for another life-threatening illness. A longtime journalist in Cape Cod, Mass., O’Brien was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2009.

These days, Greg O’Brien is thinking differently about the future. It’s been six years since his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and he’s shared with NPR listeners a lot about his fight to maintain what’s left of his memory. He’s shared his struggles with losing independence, and with helping his close-knit family deal with his illness.

What O’Brien hasn’t wanted to talk about until now is the diagnosis he got two weeks before he and his family learned he had Alzheimer’s disease: O’Brien also has Stage 3 prostate cancer. Now, as his Alzheimer’s symptoms worsen, the cancer — which he has decided not to treat — is increasingly on his mind.

“I just don’t know how much longer I can keep putting up this fight,” he says.

This summer, Greg and his wife, Mary Catherine O’Brien, have started talking about how he wants to spend the final years of his life — and what Greg calls his “exit strategy.”

He hopes the cancer will kill him before the Alzheimer’s disease completely robs him of his identity.

Recently Greg sat down with his close friend and primary care physician, Dr. Barry Conant, and with Mary Catherine, to talk about that decision and about Greg’s prognosis.

Interview Highlights

Dr. Barry Conant on the ethics of not treating Greg’s prostate cancer

I think honestly, in a perverse kind of a way, it gives you solace.

Maybe it will shorten the period in your life which you find right now to be something you want to avoid, and so far you’re only talking about neglect of a potentially terminal condition.

If you decided to be more proactive, that’s where the discussion becomes more interesting. Some people would say I’m violating my Hippocratic oath by discussing that, but I think — I don’t feel uncomfortable having that discussion. And, while you still have the ability to reason, it wouldn’t be a bad discussion to have with your family.

Conant — who, like O’Brien, has cancer — consoles Greg that his family will be OK

Nobody is indispensable — nobody. And if you or I were to immediately vanish from the Earth, our families would do fine. They have family support. They have friends’ support. They’re in a nice community. It’s a terrible sense of loss that they’ll have, but they will do fine. And if they’re honest with themselves, they’d realize that they’re going to do fine.

Greg and Mary Catherine discuss Greg’s prognosis

Mary Catherine: Going through Alzheimer’s, it’s not the plan.

Greg: Where do we go from here?

Mary Catherine: That I don’t know. …

Greg: It’s getting so frustrating for me. I mean I care, obviously, deeply about you and the kids. I could see three or four more years of this, but I can’t keep the fight up at this level. We talked about that the other night. How did you feel about that?

Mary Catherine: Wow … (chokes up). I don’t want to talk about it.

Greg: Can you see it coming?

Mary Catherine: Yeah, I can. Fast.

Greg: Are you OK with me not treating the prostate cancer?

Mary Catherine: Only because you’re OK with it. You need that exit strategy, and the exit strategy with Alzheimer’s is horrible. Well, they’re both horrible.

Greg: You know I’ve been there with my grandfather and mother, and don’t want to take my family and friends to that place.

Mary Catherine: Right. I know. I understand.

Greg: Do you still love me, dear?

Mary Catherine: Yes, I do, dear.

Greg: I love you, too.

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Last chance for a gift you’ll – Alzheimer’s Association

The Alzheimer’s Association recently released 10 Ways to Love Your Brain — tips that may reduce the risk of cognitive decline, and possibly even dementia. And now you can support the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, while receiving a very special gift to help keep your brain healthy.

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Alzheimer’s Research: Get Informed, Get Involved

Alzheimer’s Research: Get Informed,Get Involved is a series of education and awareness events brought to you by the Alzheimer’s Association®, Greater Illinois Chapter. These programs will feature local researchers who will discuss current trends, efforts and directions in dementia research. Information will be provided about the benefits of participation in research and local studies that are currently recruiting participants. Register today.

Alzheimer’s Research: Get Informed, Get Involved

Cost: Free

Alzheimer’s Research: Get Informed,Get Involved is a series of education and awareness events brought to you by the Alzheimer’s Association®, Greater Illinois Chapter. These programs will feature local researchers who will discuss current trends, efforts and directions in dementia research. Information will be provided about the benefits of participation in research and local studies that are currently recruiting participants. In addition, participants will be given the opportunity to enroll in the Alzheimer’s Association’s TrialMatch® program. Registration is required and space is limited, so please register today.

Wednesday, May 13, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Senior Resource Center
110 W. Woodstock Road, Crystal Lake
Click here to register >>
Wednesday, May 20, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
St. Mary’s Hospital
1800 E. Lakeshore Drive, Decatur
Click here to register >>
Wednesday, May 20, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Ela Area Public Library
275 Mohawk Trail, Lake Zurich

Alzheimer’s Association Greater Illinois Chapter Annual Research Symposium
Friday, October 23, 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Hamburger University and Hyatt Lodge at McDonald’s University
2175 Jorie Blvd Oak Brook, IL 60523
This full-day Symposium will focus on Alzheimer’s research, the leading role of the Alzheimer’s Association in dementia-related research, and the importance of participation in clinical studies. World-class researchers will be invited to the conference to discuss local, national, and global research with a special focus on translating research into care.
This Symposium is designed for clinicians, researchers, patients, families and caregivers and other professionals in the areas of healthcare, wellness and aging interested in connecting with others while learning more about Alzheimer’s disease research. Continuing education credit will be available for health care professionals. All participants will receive certificates of attendance.
Click here to view and download the sponsorship opportunities brochure >>
For more information contact Terrianne Reynolds at 847.324.0371 or by email

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