Scientists from the University of Minnesota reviewed the most effective strategies for improving brain health in older adults. Research published in the journal Lancet Healthy Longevity.
Researchers analyzed scientific articles published in the PubMed database from January 1, 2002 to January 1, 2023. They found that the buildup of stress from a variety of factors, including hypertension, smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, and insufficient sleep, damages the brain over time. This stress creates compensatory repair mechanisms and overwhelms them, leading to irreversible brain damage.
Many studies have shown that an adequate cognitive reserve, that is, the ability of the brain to cope with damage after stroke, injury, chronic illness or age-related changes, can slow brain aging. It is believed that education and a healthy lifestyle contribute to the accumulation of cognitive reserve.
Most brain diseases have long pre-symptom stages in which aggressive risk factors can be managed to prevent or slow disease progression.
Treatments for brain-related diseases are limited, and the authors chose lekanemab as the most effective drug. However, prevention appears to be the most effective intervention. With the rapidly increasing number of older people, the burden of neurological disease is increasing worldwide, and there is an urgent need for programs to promote healthy lifestyles.
As an example of healthy habits, scientists defined the American Heart Association’s (AMA) Life’s Simple Eight concept: adequate sleep, healthy eating, physical activity, smoking cessation, maintaining a healthy weight, normal lipid and blood sugar levels, and maintaining normal blood pressure.
ancient scientists to solveThis intense exercise can lead to stroke when the carotid arteries narrow by 50%.