Alzheimer’s & Dementia Prevention

How To Reduce Your Risk and Protect Your Brain

For many years, we've been told that there's little we can do to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia but hope for the best and wait for a pharmaceutical cure. But the truth is you can reduce your risk by eating right, exercising, staying mentally and socially active, and keeping stress in check. By leading a brain-healthy lifestyle, you may be able to prevent Alzheimer’s symptoms and slow down, or even reverse, the process of deterioration.

Lifestyle choices can protect your brain

Researchers across the world are racing towards a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. But as prevalence rates climb, their focus has broadened from treatment to prevention strategies. What they’ve discovered is that it may be possible to prevent or delay the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias through a combination of healthful habits. While Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 50 percent of dementia cases, vascular dementia accounts for up to 40 percent in older adults, and there is much you can do to prevent this type of dementia.

It’s never too early to start boosting your brain reserves, but whatever your age, there are steps you can take to keep your brain healthy.

The 6 pillars of a brain-healthy lifestyle

The health of your brain, like the health of your body, depends on many factors.

While some factors, such as your genes, are out of your control, many powerful lifestyle factors are within your sphere of influence.

The six pillars of a brain-healthy lifestyle are:

1. Regular exercise
2. Healthy diet
3. Mental stimulation
4. Quality sleep
5. Stress management
6. An active social life

The more you strengthen each of the six pillars in your daily life, the healthier and hardier your brain will be. When you lead a brain-healthy lifestyle, your brain will stay working stronger…longer.

Link: http://www.helpguide.org/elder/alzheimers_prevention_slowing_down_treatment.htm

What is a phobia? (BBC)

A phobia is an intense fear or feeling of anxiety that occurs only in a particular situation that frightens you. 

This might be something as seemingly logical as a fear of heights, or as illogical as a fear of the colour green. At other times you don't feel anxious. For example, if you have a phobia of spiders (as millions of people do), you only feel anxious when there's a spider around, otherwise you feel fine. 

About one in ten people has a significant phobia, although few people seek treatment.

People develop phobias to all sorts of things. Each phobia has its own name. Some (of a very long list) include:

• Musophobia - fear of mice
• Peladophobia - fear of bald people
• Amathophobia - fear of dust
• Pnigophobia - fear of choking or smothering
• Maieusiophobia - fear of childbirth
• Homichlophobia - fear of fog
• Arachibutyrophobia - fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth

Phobias make people avoid situations they know will make them anxious, but this can make the phobia worse. A person's life can become increasingly dominated by the precautions they take to avoid a situation they fear. You may know there's no real danger and you may feel embarrassed by your fear, but you're still unable to control it. It's better to confront your fears, even if it's in a very careful way or with the help of a trained therapist. 

A phobia is more likely to go away if it began after a distressing or traumatic event.

What's the treatment?

Cognitive behavioural therapy - a 'talking treatment' where you learn all about the thing or situation you are scared of and how to change your behaviour - has a high success rate in phobias. Your GP can refer you.

Antidepressant medications may also be used even if you aren't depressed. They work by interfering with brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) such as serotonin which may be involved in causing anxiety symptoms.

Anti-anxiety medication such as diazepam are rarely used, as they can be addictive, but may be offerred on ‘one-off’ occasions such as for people with flying phobias who have to take a flight for work or holiday. 

Source:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/emotional_health/mental_health/mind_phobias.shtml