Tori Hudson, N.D.
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 Dementia and cognitive decline. Starting EPT after age 65 is not recommended for the prevention of dementia or cognitive decline. The Women's Health Initiative memory study showed an increase in the risk of dementia during the five years in women 65 and older.145 It is not yet clear as to whether ET or EPT can prevent dementia when hormones are started during perimenopause or early postmenopause.
Premature Menopause and Premature Ovarian Failure. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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 One recent study showed a delay in cognitive decline from mild cognitive decline to Alzheimer's in the first year but no effect after three years.8
Based on the evidence, in 2006 the British National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommended that donepezil not be used for the treatment of severe or mild Alzheimer's because its modest efficacy did not justify its side effects and expense. |
John J. Ratey, MD
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 Now, one of the questions researchers have begun to tackle is whether exercise and hormones have interactive effects on cognitive decline after menopause. Research from Carl Cotman's lab at the University of California, Irvine, suggests that estrogen is necessary for exercise to increase levels of BDNF in the prefrontal cortices of female rats. But the design of the study doesn't necessarily translate to the conditions of menopause in humans — the rats' ovaries were removed at three months of age, which equates with young, healthy women. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 First, some amount of memory loss or cognitive decline doesn't necessarily translate to any meaningful impairment of your brain power or ability to function. Second, cognitive impairment doesn't always progress to Alzheimer's. And third, just like there are things you can do right now to protect your heart, your muscles, your liver, and other organs, there are things you can do right now to protect your brain.
"The brain is like every other organ in the body, only more so. |
Jack Challem
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 His dad had diabetes and was showing clear signs of age-related cognitive decline.
Steve's life was not set for favorable change, and as a result he felt trapped by circumstances. His marriage had ended in divorce, he was responsible for a teenage daughter, and his business had taken a downturn. There was no way to nurture his desire for an alternative career in entertainment. He felt sad, disheartened, and depressed. Steve kept eating way too many refined carbs, from sweets to pizzas, and his weight was pushing three hundred pounds. Not surprisingly, his triglycerides were extremely high. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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| And adopting a few simple healthy eating habits—like including fish and vegetables in your regular diet—can slow down cognitive decline by the equivalent of up to nineteen years. Pretty impressive for a nondrug intervention— especially since that same dietary strategy (fish and vegetables) has been shown to reduce heart disease as well.
Food aside, certain nutrients continue to be mentioned, studied, and verified on the subject of preserving brain power. Used in combination, they are a powerhouse for mental protection. |
| Several clinical trials have suggested that acetyl-L-carnitine may delay the onset of age-related cognitive decline and improve overall cognitive function in the elderly. It also protects the brain from damage due to poor circulation and helps to repair injured nerve cells. After three months using recommended doses of acetyl-L-carnitine, there is marked improvement in general cognitive function. One study found that a dose of 1,500 mg of acetyl-L-carnitine taken once a day for ninety days substantially improved reactions to stress, memory function, and mood. |
| These are the two most clinically proven brain nutrients, and both are widely needed, especially since there are no pharmaceuticals available that provide lasting benefit against cognitive decline." If you use this supplement, take it in the morning, as it's possible that taking it late in the day may keep you up well after you're ready for bed. |
Dr. Abram Hoffer, MD, FRCP (C) and Dr. Harold D. Foster, PhD
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 Dietary niacin and the risk of incident Alzheimer's disease and of cognitive decline. J Neurology, Psychiatry 2004;75:1093-99.
12 Foster HD. What Really Causes Alzheimer's Disease. Victoria, BC: Trafford Publishing, 2004.
J3 Hoffer A. Niacin Therapy in Psychiatry. Springfield, IL: CC Thomas, 1962.
14 Hoffer A. Senility is a form of chronic malnutrition. Report of a National Conference on The Crisis in Health Care for the Aging, sponsored by the Huxley Institute of Biosocial Research, New York, March 6,1972.
15 Wysong, P. High HDL cholesterol may protect against dementia. |
Tori Hudson, N.D.
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| Starting EPT after age 65 is not recommended for the prevention of dementia or cognitive decline. The Women's Health Initiative memory study showed an increase in the risk of dementia during the five years in women 65 and older.145 It is not yet clear as to whether ET or EPT can prevent dementia when hormones are started during perimenopause or early postmenopause.
Premature Menopause and Premature Ovarian Failure. Women who have the onset of menopause early, and especially prior to age 40, have lower risks of breast cancer, but earlier onset of bone loss and CHD. |
Thomson Healthcare, Inc.
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 Antioxidant nutrient intake and supplements as potential moderators of cognitive decline and cardiovascular disease in obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Med Rev; 9:459-476. 2005
Clemens MR, Waladkhani AR, Bublitz K et al. Supplementation with antioxidants prior to bone marrow transplantation. Wien Klin Wochenschr, 109(19):771-776. 1997
Cohen HA, Neuman I, Nahum H. Blocking effect of vitamin C in exercise-induced asthma. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med; 151(4):367-370. 1997
Dawson EB, Harris WA, Rankin WE et al. Effect of ascorbic acid on male infertility. Ann NY Acad Sci; 498:312-323. |
Peter J. Whitehouse and Daniel George
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 Prevention is no easy task, and I must stress that by prevention, I mean delaying the onset of cognitive decline, or slowing its progression, rather than staving it off entirely. Brain aging is a condition that develops to one extent or another in all of us when genetic predispositions, molecular malfunctions, nutritional habit, subtle injuries, and other chance events interact to bring about adverse outcomes. To extend the metaphor from earlier, aging is not a game that we ever "win"; it is a game we try to stay competitive in. |
Gerald E. Markle and Frances B. McCrea
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 Add to that the incteased risk of stroke and the cognitive decline associated with bypass surgery.
"Caveat emptor," said Fran. "Let the buyer beware."
I could only shake my head.
It turns out that stenting and cabbages don't work, but not because of—as previously believed—various technical deficiencies. They don't work because the very model of why a heart attack occurs was incorrect. The old idea was this: "coronary disease is akin to sludge building up in a pipe. |
Wendy Bazilian, DRPH, MA, RD, Steven Pratt, MD, Kathy Matthews
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 Moreover, as we face an epidemic of cognitive decline and impairment among the aging populations, berries in particular, have been shown to lessen the risk of these dreaded conditions related to the brain and cognition. Tomatoes, a featured actor of the health-promoting Mediterranean diet, have demonstrated health benefits, particularly in relation to certain types of cancers as well as heart disease. For those reasons alone these SuperFoods would be critical additions to anyone's diet. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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| A large study in Italy titled cognitive decline in the elderly: A double-blind, placebo-controlled multi-centered study on efficacy of phosphatidylserine administration followed 494 elderly subjects over six months, all of whom had moderate to severe mental decline. One group received 300 mg a day of PS, the other received a placebo. The PS group performed significantly better in both mental function and measures of behavior. Interestingly, symptoms of depression also improved, a finding that has been suggested by another study on elderly women.
Steven Bratman, M.D. |
John J. Ratey, MD
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| Among those with the least cognitive decline over a four-year period, three factors turned up: education, self-efficacy, and exercise. The first two weren't so surprising, but Cotman was curious about the last. "I got to thinking about what the heck was really going on," he says. "The assumption was that exercise didn't act on the brain, but my take on it was that somehow it had to be the brain. |
| The first human reports on this question suggest that estrogen is not an essential ingredient for exercise to protect against cognitive decline. In one study, physiologist Jennifer Etnier, who is now at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, administered tests of mental processing speed and executive function to 101 postmenopausal women and compared the results to their reported levels of regular aerobic activity. Those who were more physically active had higher scores regardless of whether they had been undergoing HRT. |
| Fundamentally, cognitive decline and all neurodegenerative diseases stem from dysfunctional and dying neurons; it's a communication breakdown. Research on aging revolves primarily around the effort to "restore the nerve cells' ability to communicate and stay alive," Mattson points out. "If you can do that, then you can prevent their degeneration and therefore prevent the disease."
As the synaptic activity decreases and dendrites retract, the capillaries feeding the brain shrink back as well, restricting blood flow. |
| Exercise also prevents inflammation, which Cotman believes might trigger the plaque accumulation— inflammation increases in the transition stage from cognitive decline to Alzheimer's.
Mattson found the same sort of result in rats that had their dopamine neurons knocked out to mimic the biology of Parkinson's. The brains of animals allowed to run on wheels showed better plasticity and more connections in the basal ganglia, suggesting that they had adapted by building up circuits to compensate for the dopamine decline. |
| One study showed that people who eat fish once a week slow the yearly rate of cognitive decline by 10 percent. The Framingham Heart Study followed nine hundred people for nine years and found that those who ate three meals with fish oil per week were half as likely to develop dementia. Omega-3s lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and neuronal inflammation, and they elevate the immune response and BDNF levels. |
David W. Grotto, RD, LDN
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 Coffee consumption is inversely associated with cognitive decline in elderly European men: the FINE study., Eur / Clin Nutr. 2006 Aug 16.
Folsom AR, Parker ED, Pereira MA. Coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: an 11 -year prospective study of 28,812 postmenopausal women. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Jun 26;166(12):1311-1316.
Klatsky AL, Morton C, Udaltsova N, Friedman GD. Coffee, cirrhosis, and transaminase enzymes. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Jun 12;166( 11): 1190—1195.
Lee WJ, Zhu BT. |
James F. Balch, M.D. and Mark Stengler, N.D.
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 It has been shown to have some benefit for people with Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline. Huperzine A prevents the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
Indications: Age-related cognitive decline Alzheimer's disease
Precautions: Do not use it if you are currently taking a pharmaceutical medication for Alzheimer's disease.
Dosage: Take 100 to 200 meg two to three times daily. Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA)
Description: Hydroxycitric acid is a compound found in the fruit known as Garcinia cambogia. |
Byron J. Richards, CCN
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 An out of control inflammatory situation in the brain is at the root of Alzheimer's and cognitive decline. This is confirmed by the evidence that excess amounts of TNFa and other inflammatory markers are all elevated along with the excess amount of NF kappaB.716-717'718,719
These studies show that this is not a trivial side issue that happens as a result of Alzheimer's. Rather, these are causative issues related to the severity of the problem and risk of death from Alzheimer's. In centurions, those that have the most cognitive decline have the highest amount of circulating TNFa. |
Bottom Line Health
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| A new study has found that older people who regularly eat fish reduce the amount of cognitive decline they experience.
THE STUDY
In the study, Martha Clare Morris, an epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, and her team collected data on 6,158 people age 65 and older who lived on the south side of Chicago and were part of the Chicago Health and Aging Project.
The participants filled out a questionnaire about what they ate, and had their cognitive ability tested every three years during the six-year study. |
| Cole, associate director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, says that although Morris's study "also finds reduced cognitive decline associated with increased fish intake, it doesn't find much evidence to relate this to greater omega-3 fatty acid intake.
"One problem is that the questionnaires on fish intake were not that highly correlated with actual blood levels of omega-3," Cole says. |
| The University of California, San Francis-— co, has more information on aging and cognitive decline at http://memory.ucsf.edu. Click on "Normal Aging" under "Topics" in the pulldown menu under "Education."
Memory-Boosting Supplement
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows phosphatidylserine (PS) makers to claim that their products can reduce the risk of both dementia and cognitive dysfunction in the elderly.
If you want to try PS supplements, start with a dose of 300 milligrams (mg) per day— the amount used in many studies. |
Mehmet C. Oz., M.D. and Michael F. Roizen, M.D.
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 These healthy fats, which have been shown to slow cognitive decline in people who are at risk, not only help keep your arteries clear but improve the function of your message-sending neurotransmitters. Aim for 13 ounces of fish a week, or, if you prefer supplements, take 2 grams of fish oil a day (metabolically distilled), or DHA from algae (where fish get their omega-3s), or an ounce of walnuts a day. DHA is the omega-3 that seems best for the brain.
YOU Tip: Try Chi. |
| It's been shown that vegetables-any kind, any place-slow cognitive decline even more than fruits. Eating two or more servings a day (just two!) decreases the decline in thinking by 35 percent over six years. Pass the sprouts, please.
YOU Tip: Add a Dash of This and That. Several substances have been shown to help cognitive function. These are the ones we recommend:
ž Carotenoids and flavonoids, which are vitamin-like substances that can act as antioxidants. Not essential for life, they tend to give color to fruits and vegetables.
ž Lycopene and quercetin. |
James F. Balch, M.D. and Mark Stengler, N.D.
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| DMAE is used to improve mental alertness and reduce age-related cognitive decline. It has also become popular as a topical agent for skin wrinkles.
Indications: Age-related cognitive decline
Alzheimer's disease
Wrinkles
Precautions: DMAE is believed to be nontoxic. Dosage: Take 100 to 400 mg daily.
Enzymes
Description: Enzymes are protein molecules that are found in every cell. They are required for the life-sustaining enzymatic reactions that occur in the body. |
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