Greying Matter
To aging baby boomers, 60 may be the new 40, especially with a little help from botox, lipo, or myriad other cosmetic adjustments. But when it comes to maintaining youthful brains, a simple nip/tuck won’t cut it. Instead, “use it or lose it” is the credo for those who want a brain as fit as their bodies
By Susan Pederson
Illustrations By Jordan Drougge
There is a joke that baby boomers, desperately clinging to youth, are getting breast implants and quaffing Viagra, and, in a few years, there will be a bunch of old people running around with large breasts or erections, but they won’t remember what to do with them.
Not true, according to proponents of the growing “use it or lose it” brain fitness move-ment. Doctors, scientists, nutritionists, software developers and those interested in remembering what to do with those enhanced body parts are jumping on the brain fitness bandwagon. Keeping those three pounds of grey matter in tip-top shape, they claim, means pushing it through everything from card games and brain-teasing computer programs, to learning new hobbies or languages.
What’s more, a litany of books, drugs, computer games, vitamins, super foods and physical exercise are all being touted as the next best brain boosters, for any age. A yogurt company even started touting their product, aimed at kids, as good for brain development.
But for those still struggling just to get through the workday while balancing family schedules, healthful meals, romance and elusive “Me” time, the bombardment of still more information about how we’re failing ourselves makes our ever-shrinking brains, well, hurt.
Well, suck it up, because no pain means no brain-gain. It’s time to get those brains fined-tuned and purring like a machine, well-oiled with omega-3 fatty acids.
Everywhere, it seems, people are scarfing down blueberries, playing brain games on their computers and solving Sudoku puzzles, all in an attempt to keep their wits sharp and avoid the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. They’ve heard the facts and they’re scared: According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada website, one in 13 Canadians over the age of 65 has Alzheimer’s or a related disease, and one in three Canadians over 85 has Alzheimer’s or a related disease. The numbers are not dropping.
“The demographic of the population is changing and we’re seeing a large interest in prevention of dementia and growing concern for Gen-Xers who don’t want to pay the cost of caring for those with a chronic and progressive management issue, long term,” says Joan Crockatt, CEO of the Alzheimer’s Innovation Institute. “They are also looking at their loved ones and saying to themselves,
‘I don’t want to end up like that.’”
Losing it
Our brains actually have many different kinds of memory, utilizing different brain regions, although there are no agreed-upon classifications of the kinds of memory that exist. Plus, there are many theories about where and how different kinds of memory are stored and retrieved. But experts note that in normal brains, short-term memory begins
to decline in people starting in their 50s and 60s. In the case of dementia, short-term memory as well as executive function (a set of abilities including self-control, making plans for the future and decision-making) decline to the point of rendering patients unable to care for themselves. While dementia can be caused by reversible factors, such as hormone imbalances or depression, in 60 to 65 per cent of cases it is caused by Alzheimer’s disease, which is considered irreversible.
“It isn’t that you actually lose the memory, you just can’t retrieve it,” explains Crockatt. “Think of it as if you used to live in Edmonton many years ago. Now you try to go back to your old neighbourhood, and there are new roadways and buildings and you get lost, and even though the old paths and roads might be there, you can’t find them as readily . . . just because you can’t find your house doesn’t mean it’s not there. You just have to find a new route there.”
Keeping it
Just as eating healthfully does not guarantee a cancer-free body, taking care of our brains provides no guarantee we’ll avoid these illnesses. Still, many believe regular bouts with stimulating and challenging brain activities, plus taking care of the physical brain, reduces our chances of getting dementia.
“Studies have shown that people who age successfully do tend to engage in useful, mentally stimulating activities. These activities might help keep them sharp psychologically and socially,” says John Ashby, founder and certified senior advisor with the Alzheimer’s Innovation Institute. “The people who chose to be mentally active might be better equipped to fend off symptoms of dementia.”
Mind-body Connection
It turns out that the grandmother burning it up on the treadmill in an attempt to stay buff might also be working on what’s upstairs. Experts say maintaining physical fitness is one key to maintaining our brain power. Exercise, it seems, boosts production of neotrophins, said to foster connections between brain cells. It also increases activity to the frontal regions of the brain, according to Ashby.
In a six-year study of 1,740 adults 65 and older, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers found those who exercised three or more times a week were less likely to develop dementia than those who excercised less than three times a week.
Keeping fit obviously has numerous other benefits, as does eating well. Everything from blueberries to fish have made the news lately as brain boosters, and the Alzheimer Society of Canada’s website touts a diet laden with fruits, vegetables, grains and low-fat animal proteins, much like Canada’s Food Guide. Foods rich in omega-3 oils such as cold-water fish (e.g. trout, salmon) and in antioxidants (like those found in green tea) can help keep our brains healthy, says the website. Omega-3s, for example have been linked to reduced inflammation and nerve cell regeneration.
This and other websites also recommend B vitamins as a rich source of food for the nervous system. Apparently, the messages our brain sends back and forth between our nerves depend on neurotransmitters that require B-complex vitamins, especially folic acid, vitamin B6 and choline. Iron also helps to transport oxygen to brain cells, and deficiencies in iron have been associated with Attention Defecit and Hyperactivity Disorder, learning disabilities and lowered IQ. The website suggests, therefore, that our reasoning skills could benefit from foods that contain iron. And vitamin E, especially taken along with vitamin C, has been linked to slowing cognitive decline associated with aging.
The Brain Games
Software companies obviously have their brains fine-tuned enough to recognize our computer addictions, so have developed brain-healthy excuses for us to spend more time in front of the screen.
Happy-neuron.com, for example, offers games designed to work out five major brain functions: language, attention, memory, visual and spatial processing and executive function. Fitbrains.com has games for a range of cognitive functions and has features such as brain fitness metrics.
Nintendo’s Brainage.com will have you solving math problems, playing Sudoku and reading literature aloud, while PositScience.com works to improve memory and train the brain on basic processing skills.
Many advocates for brain fitness products point out that software training should be part of a broader approach to brain health. Paul D. Nussbaum, a neuropsychologist and chief scientific officer of Fit Brains, suggests socializing, physical activity, nutrition, spirituality, as well as mental stimulation are all equally important to brain fitness.
Getting it back
For those who have already lost some cognitive abilities, practicing brain fitness may stave off further decline. In fact, Ashby claims he has found a way to actually restore some memory previously lost in dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. Ashby recently rolled out a program called the Ashby Memory Method, based on the brain injury research of his mother, Dr. Mira Ashby, who received the Order of Canada in 1984 for her work with the brain injured. It’s a brain fitness program of week-by-week memory exercises and activities designed to improve brain fitness and function for seniors with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia and memory loss.
“The program is not a do-it-yourself program,” Ashby explains, “but is done with a caregiver or loved one. All materials are series of cognitive exercises graduated at different levels of difficulty.”
It’s not a one-size-fits-all program, either. Clients first go through a life story interview to find out their positive memories and interests, so a farmer won’t be asked questions related to accounting practices, for example. “We have a database of at least 25,000 pages of materials, so there is something there for everyone,” Ashby adds.
“It is not a cure but the initial findings indicate it will be a method for managing your memory loss,” Crockatt says. “We feel the Ashby method is one of the most important breakthroughs in managing diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia.”
According to Crockatt, the company’s field trials with 50 participants in the method have shown a 12 to 14-per cent improvement in standard memory scores over the course of a year.
“No other treatment that we’re aware of helps patients regain memory. Drugs just stabilize the symptoms,” says Ashby.
Got a new drug?
The effectiveness of memory-enhancing drugs has been controversial at best, and, Ashby says, the effects last for a short time — usually a year — before cognitive function continues to decline.
The Alzheimer Society’s website reminds us “there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease and no treatment that will stop its progression. However, several medications are available that can help with some symptoms. These medications can slow down the decline of memory, language and thinking abilities.” (alzheimer.ca)
There are three drugs available in Canada to treat symptoms in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease — Aricept, Exelon and Reminyl. Ebixa (memantine hydrochloride) has been conditionally approved to treat symptoms in people with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease.
Letting go
Dr. David Hogan, a professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary, points out, “Our brains have a great capacity to cope with changes. If it takes you longer to get from point A to point B, then you simply adjust the time you leave.
“You can improve some aspects of mental ability, and I don’t think it’s too late if you’re 60 or 70 or 80. But it’s also important to remember when you’re 75, don’t expect to look and feel like you’re 25 . . . our brains’ ability to regain memory is an active area of research, and it hasn’t been proven that you can reverse memory loss.”
Testing memory is also subjective. “You can improve function on tasks if you do some training,” says Hogan. “One of the tests we give patients for memory loss is to spell the word ‘world’ backwards.’ In my experience, they don’t say, ‘I want to improve my memory so I can remember how to spell the word backwards. They simply want to live their lives better.”
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