People can reduce their chances of developing dementia through three key ways which affect a vulnerable part of the brain that is known to degenerate earlier with ageing, a new study has found
People have been told of three key things that can make them more vulnerable to dementia by scientists.
Researchers from the University of Oxford found that an area of the brain that “degenerates earlier in ageing” is most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution and alcohol.
Previously a weak spot had already been identified in the brain that develops later during adolescence and shows earlier degeneration in old age.
Dementia is an overall term for a collection of symptoms for diseases including Alzheimer’s and they are due to abnormal brain changes, with the condition affecting more than 944,000 people in the UK.
The Alzheimer’s Association states: “Dementia symptoms trigger a decline in thinking skills, also known as cognitive abilities, severe enough to impair daily life and independent function. They also affect behaviour, feelings and relationships.”
And in the new study at Oxford University, looking at a susceptible area of the brain for degeneration, it has found that modifiable risk factors, that people can do something about, have the most effect on this region.
Scientists looked at 161 risk factors for dementia and ranked them according to their impacts on the brain during a study of 40,000 Brits aged under 45.
A list of 15 broad categories were made of areas where people could modify their risk of dementia: health/ten-ways-banish-high-blood-9621402>blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, depression, inflammation, pollution, hearing, sleeping, social interaction, diet, physical activity and education.
And from this analysis it was found that the vulnerable area of the brain is most susceptible to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution and alcohol.
Professor Gwenaëlle Douaud, who led this study, said: “We know that a constellation of brain regions degenerates earlier in aging, and in this new study we have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution − increasingly a major player in dementia − and alcohol, of all the common risk factors for dementia.’
“We have found that several variations in the genome influence this brain network, and they are implicated in cardiovascular deaths, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as with the two antigens of a little-known blood group, the elusive XG antigen system, which was an entirely new and unexpected finding.”
Professor Lloyd Elliott, a co-author from Simon Fraser University in Canada, agreed: “In fact, two of our seven genetic findings are located in this particular region containing the genes of the XG blood group, and that region is highly atypical because it is shared by both X and Y sex chromosomes. This is really quite intriguing as we do not know much about these parts of the genome; our work shows there is benefit in exploring further this genetic terra incognita.”
