The Dread Disease

(Image from hyperactivz)

Progress towards a cure for Alzheimer's is slow, in good part because scientists have not found a definitive cause for the dread disease. For years researchers had focused on the high correlation between Alzheimer's and amyloid plaques ("a type of protein which is often found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients after they die"), but experimental drugs that reduced the plaques in mice did not reduce their Alzheimer's symptoms.

There is, however, significant evidence that factors that are associated with good health--a balanced diet and regular sleep and exercise---do reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.

Diet: [bold added]

the best evidence for nutritional prevention of Alzheimer's disease is through foods rather than vitamin supplements. Many of the foods that are good sources of vitamin E are also rich in n-3 fatty acids and unhydrogenated, unsaturated fats — the dietary components with the most convincing evidence of neuroprotection to date. Among these foods are oil-based salad dressings, nuts, seeds, fish, mayonnaise, and eggs. Patients should limit their intake of foods that are high in saturated and transunsaturated fats, such as red meats, butter, ice cream, commercially baked products, and some margarines that contain partially hydrogenated oils.

Sleep:

Impaired sleep has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Studies suggest that sleep plays a role in clearing beta-amyloid out of the brain. Moreover, lack of sleep has been shown to elevate brain beta-amyloid levels in mice.

Exercise:

New research shows that physical exercise can “clean up” the hostile environments in the brains of Alzheimer’s mice, allowing new nerve cells in the hippocampus, the brain structure involved in memory and learning, to enable cognitive improvements, such as learning and memory.

A healthy lifestyle is no guarantee that one won't contract the dread disease, but I think of it this way: it increases the odds of my hanging around until a cure is found.