Alzheimer's Prevention
The 2024 update to the standing Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention, and care adds two new risk factors (high LDL cholesterol and vision loss) and indicates that nearly half of all dementia cases worldwide could be prevented or delayed by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors.
The scientific evidence continues to mount that it is possible to slow, reverse or prevent Alzheimer's. Two recent science publications in 2024 offer critical new insights:
The study underscores the importance of risk factors that exist at different stages of life, and creates urgency for adopting habits early in life, and beyond, to reduce risk and overall cases of dementia. Created to review the best available evidence and produce recommendations on how to best manage, or even prevent, dementia, it reported in 2020 that dementia is not an inevitable consequence of ageing and identified potentially modifiable health and lifestyle factors from different phases of life that, if eliminated, might prevent dementia. In 2024, revised findings now suggest that 45% - almost half - of dementia cases could be delayed or reduced by addressing 14 risk factors in early, middle and late life.
A carefully controlled clinical trial showing that people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early-stage Alzheimer’s (AD) – who believe they have agency in their health habits – can make a significant impact on improving their overall brain health. One hypothesis arising from the study stands out: “If intensive lifestyle changes may cause improvement in cognition and function in MCI or early dementia due to AD, then it is reasonable to think that these lifestyle changes may also help to prevent them.”
The Center for BrainHealth® is a research center focused on cognitive neuroscience. We are not medical, and our events, programs and content should not be construed as offering medical advice. For medical issues, please contact your doctor.