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- Talking to a Loved One With Alzheimer’s
- 10 Powerful Ways to Commemorate Alzheimer’s Awareness Month
- Making the Most of Mealtimes for People With Alzheimer’s
- Family Members Provide 100 Hours a Month of Unpaid Care for Alzheimer’s
- Alzheimer’s Caregivers Should Be Screened for Depression
- Alzheimer’s Care Costs Far More Than Heart Disease or Cancer Care
- Obesity at Midlife May Speed Alzheimer’s Onset
- Hello from my mom
- Easing the Behavior Problems of Alzheimer’s Without Drugs
- When Alzheimer’s Leads to Legal Wrangles
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- High Blood Sugar Tied to Memory Decline
- Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Gets Closer
- Worried About Your Memory? Alzheimer’s May Not Be to Blame
- Brain Changes of Menopause May Promote Alzheimer’s
- Predicting Who Will Get Alzheimer’s
- Personality Changes Are Not the Earliest Sign of Alzheimer’s
- Midlife Heart Problems Raise Alzheimer’s Risk
- Anemia Tied to Mild Cognitive Impairment Risk
- Being Too Thin Late in Life Tied to Increased Alzheimer’s Risk
- A Sniff Test for Alzheimer’s Getting Closer
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- Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug, Intepirdine, Disappoints in Study
- An Eye Scan for Alzheimer’s?
- Drug to treat Alzheimer’s is Ranked Highest
- Patients Often Fail to Adhere to Alzheimer’s Drug Schedules
- Could Treatments for Diabetes Help Treat Alzheimer’s?
- Pharmacists Can Aid in Alzheimer’s Care
- Two-Drug Combo May Ease the Agitation of Alzheimer’s
- Are New, More Effective Alzheimer’s Drugs on the Horizon?
- Insulin Nasal Spray Shows Promise as Alzheimer’s Treatment
- Inflammation Holds Clues to Alzheimer’s Progression, and Possible Treatment
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- Fitness in Midlife Tied to Lower Dementia Risk in Old Age
- Doctor’s Orders: Exercise for the Sake of Your Brain
- Positive Beliefs About Aging May Help Fend Off Alzheimer’s
- Brain Training May Help to Ward Off Dementia
- How Art Can Aid People With Alzheimer’s
- Music Can Be a Balm for People With Alzheimer’s Disease
- Crossword Puzzles May Help Keep the Brain Young
- 7 Steps for Optimal Brain Health
- Men, Women and Alzheimer’s Risk
- Exercise Vigorously and Often to Boost Brain Health
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- Combining Care Program With Medication Reduces Alzheimer’s Symptoms By 750%
- Fisher Center Scientists make two new Significant Discoveries in the battle against Alzheimer’s
- Dementia Rates Are Slowing, but Alzheimer’s Cases Continue to Rise
- Fisher Center Scientists Create a Novel Imaging Technology Allowing the 3D Visualization of Brain Defects That Cause Alzheimer’s Disease
- Negative Beliefs About Aging Could Prime the Brain for Alzheimer’s
- Recognizing Faces Is a Challenge for Those With Alzheimer’s
- Fisher Center Scientists Discover Pathway That may Lead to Alzheimer’s Disease
- Brain Scans Move Closer to Early Alzheimer’s Diagnosis
- Can Vitamin E Slow Alzheimer’s Decline?
- World Alzheimer’s Month
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- The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation Earns Coveted 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator for the 7th Consecutive Year
- Hear Kent Karosen, President and CEO of the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, describe his new book and the power of art therapy
- Fisher Center Scientists link a Mutation That Protects Against the Development of Alzheimer’s Disease
- Newly Inducted Into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Shaquille O’Neal, Joins the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation to Raise Funds for Groundbreaking Research in the Quest for a Cure
- Pat Summitt, legendary women’s basketball coach, dies at 64
- Celebrating the life of Nancy Reagan for her Impact on the Fight to end Alzheimer’s
- WRNN Interview
- Fisher Center’s 20th Anniversary Celebration and recent activities
- Featured on NASDAQ’s Billboard
- Online Chat on Reddit.com with Nobel Laureate Dr. Paul Greengard
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Speaking Two Languages May Ward Off Dementia
People who speak two languages develop Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia nearly five years later than their peers who speak only one language. It is the largest study to date to show that acquiring a language, an intellectually challenging task, can help to keep the brain robust into old age.
For the study, published in the journal Neurology, researchers studied 648 men and women in India who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. Sixty percent of them were fluent in two or more languages. Some could not read, though India is a society where people often learn to speak more than one language, regardless of whether they are formally schooled.
On average, those who spoke more than one language were notably older when they were diagnosed with dementia than those who spoke only one. Those who were bilingual developed memory loss and other symptoms at an average age of 65.6 years, compared to 61.1 years for their monolingual peers.
Being bilingual provided advantages even in those who were illiterate and had little formal education. Having few years of schooling has been recognized as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s.
“Our study is the first to report an advantage of speaking two languages in people who are unable to read, suggesting that a person’s level of education is not a sufficient explanation for this difference,” said study author Suvarna Alladi, DM, with Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, India.
The researchers suggest that being bilingual provides regular brain stimulation since it requires that someone switch regularly between different sounds, words, concepts and grammatical structures. That’s one reason that some advocate that to keep mental skills sharp, we regularly engage in crossword puzzles, word games and other intellectually stimulating activities
The results provide further evidence for the so-called cognitive reserve hypothesis of brain function. According to this theory, intellectually challenging activities build a robust network of connections between brain cells. If, later in life, a disease like Alzheimer’s destroys brain cells, enough connections remain to keep memory and thinking skills sharp, at least for a time.
“These findings suggest that bilingualism might have a stronger influence on dementia than any currently available drugs,” said Thomas Bak of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, another study author. Until more effective treatments for Alzheimer’s become available, intellectual stimulation – whether it involves completing a regular crossword puzzle, taking a language course, learning to play a musical instrument or reading a novel — may be a wise investment in your brain health.
By ALZinfo.org, The Alzheimer’s Information Site. Reviewed by William J. Netzer, Ph.D., Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation at The Rockefeller University.
Source: S. Alladi, TH Bak, V Duggirala, et al: “Bilingualism Delays Age at Onset of Dementia, Independent of Education and Immigration Status.” Neurology, Nov. 6, 2013.