Dramatic increases in the prevalence of dementia are predicted for the “baby boomer” population. The scale of the problem is only just beginning to be recognised and drug companies are keen to capitalise on the profits to be made if they can only find the holy grail of dementia treatment.
This is not going to be easy. Only this week, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson announced that they have scrapped further studies of bapineuzumab IV*, one of the most anticipated experimental drugs for Alzheimer's disease, after a second high-profile clinical trial.
Many scientists and researchers believe that for any treatment to be successful it must be used at a very early stage of the disease – or even before it occurs. Indeed, most had expected the late-stage studies of bapineuzumab IV would fail because they were treating patients whose brains were already damaged.
Many now believe that the only way to treat the disease is by treating people before they become demented (a task that is probably as challenging as predicting the British weather).
But even so, there are likely to be many new research initiatives over the next couple of decades. And it won’t only be drug therapies that are investigated – already there are growing numbers of online “brain exercise” websites for people eager to maintain their brain skills and stave off MCI (mild cognitive impairment).
And with frequent computer use becoming increasingly common among all age groups, researchers have also been examining how this, too, might relate to ageing and dementia.
According to a recent research study by the US-based Mayo Clinic, using a computer might protect against a person’s memory loss late in life, as long as they also ensure that they exercise.
In the study, which included older adults, computer use and exercise reduced the risk of memory loss, whereas doing either activity alone did not.
Participants who engaged in moderate physical activity (such as brisk walking) and used a computer were 64 percent less likely to have mild cognitive impairment compared with those who did not exercise and did not use a computer.
Ironically however, the study relied on participants being able to remember how often they had exercised or used a computer in the past year. (Need I state the obvious?)
Of the 205 study participants who did not exercise and did not use a computer, 20 percent showed signs of MCI. Of the 314 who both exercised and used a computer, only 6 percent showed signs of MCI.
People who either used a computer or exercised experienced some protection against MCI, compared with people who did neither activity, but according to the study, that finding could have been due to chance.
Also, researchers speculated that people who engage in both physical activity and computer use may be healthier, more disciplined individuals (in other words, these activities could simply be a marker for a healthy lifestyle) and may benefit the brain directly. Exercise may increase production of growth factors that promote the survival of nerve cells. Computer use, and other mentally stimulating activities, may enhance connections in the brain, making it more resistant to damage.
Having written this post on my computer, I'm off to get some exercise now...
*Bapineuzumab IV is an injectable monoclonal antibody that works by attacking a protein called beta-amyloid that is believed by many researchers to be a leading cause of Alzheimer's disease.
Source: May 2012 issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings; Reuters, 7 August 2012
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