Can dementia be defeated?

The fight against dementia is "accelerating," a leading researcher said to CNN. Dr. Gill Livingston led The Lancet Commission, which recently identified 14 risk factors which, properly addressed, "could prevent or delay nearly half" of the 55 million dementia cases identified in the world today. Among the factors: vision loss, high cholesterol, physical inactivity and obesity. "We can protect and help the brain," one expert said to the network, "and should!"

"Most of the reason why we get dementia is down to things we cannot control," said BBC News. Genes determine much of our risk. "But 45% of our risk can be changed" through lifestyle and policy choices. Good education early in life can reduce the risk; so can socializing with friends and family late in life. And red meat? Maybe lay off. With this information, researchers hope to head off, or at least delay, an expected rise to more than 150 million dementia cases by 2050. "Twelve years ago you would have said there's nothing you can do about dementia," said Livingston, "but that's really not the case." 

What did the commentators say?

The number of dementia cases is "going to climb fast in the next decades as humanity ages," said The Economist. In aging countries like Japan, for example, dementia cases have risen dramatically in recent years, and Alzheimer's is now "the fifth-most important cause of death" in China. But the incidence rate of dementia among older people has declined in "rich Western countries" by an average of 13% per decade over the past 25 years. That's a sign that it works to address risk factors — and why risk reduction should "become a global policy priority."

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It is time to phase out "the 'D' word,' Alzheimer’s patient and activist Mike Zuendel said at STAT. The word "dementia" is an "inaccurate, outdated and stigmatizing term" that makes older people less likely to seek diagnosis and treatment for their condition. There are many causes of cognitive impairment — Alzheimer's, depression or vascular conditions — and the antiquated descriptor "covers up these key differences with a single catch-all term." Changing how we talk about such conditions could lead to "earlier diagnosis, better care and improved lives."

What next?

Experts suggest that older people can help themselves by getting tested for vision and hearing loss, said The New York Times. "People who experience sensory loss in adulthood tend to withdraw and not engage as much socially" — and social isolation is a key risk factor for dementia. "The vision loss keeps you from going out to the party," said one expert. Hearing loss can mean "you go to the party but you sit in the corner and you don't talk to anybody."

Not every risk factor is easily addressed. In Japan, researchers have found "a troubling link between heat and dementia," said The Japan Times. Alzheimer's is the cause of roughly half the country's dementia cases, and researchers have determined that "heat stress is likely to worsen the condition." The problem? The planet is getting hotter: July was the 14th consecutive month of record temperatures. "It's clear that rising temperatures pose a significant threat to brain health," said one expert. The fight against dementia, then, is part and parcel with the fight against climate change.