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Elderly people can show signs of mental decline without getting dementia

This suggests cognitive decline could be a natural part of life rather than an early warning sign Alzheimer's is around the corner.

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By Tom Campbell via SWNS

Elderly people can show signs of mental decline without getting dementia, according to new research.

Those whose cognitive abilities are waning but show no sign of brain damage, could reverse their fortune by making healthier life choices, say scientists.

Around 900,000 people in the UK suffer from Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia.

The incurable condition affects many brain functions ranging from memory loss to hallucinations and personality changes, which usually become more severe over time.

But now researchers at the University of Cambridge have found older people who show signs of cognitive decline need not jump to conclusions.

"With increasing life span, there is growing importance of understanding the mechanisms of successful cognitive aging,"said author Dr. Ece Kocagoncu.

"Here we test the hypothesis that cognitively frail adults represent a branch of healthy ageing, distinct from latent dementia."

Healthy and 'cognitively frail' adults over 50-years-old from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience study were recruited by the researchers.

A series of tests were used to evaluate each individual's cognitive abilities, while their brain structure and activity was measured using medical MRI, EEG and MEG scans.

The brains of people with Alzheimer's disease were compared to those suffering from more cognitive impairments with noticeable memory problems.

While both groups performed worse than healthy adults on the cognitive tests, the brain structure and activity was different.

"As a corollary, if cognitively frail adults are in the prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s disease, then one would expect similar structural changes in the hippocampus and temporal cortex, and similar physiological change,"Kocagoncu said.

The brains of cognitively frail patients did not show damage in areas typically affected by Alzheimer's disease like the hippocampus, the researchers found.

This suggests cognitive decline could be a natural part of life rather than an early warning sign Alzheimer's is around the corner.

"This conclusion calls for a re-evaluation of the prior findings that associate cognitive frailty leads to higher incidence of dementia and cognitive decline,"Kocagoncu said.

Instead, staying sharp could hinge on lifestyle factors, many of which are reversible and modifiable, like physical activity, stress, education and heart health.

Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia were the leading cause of death in England and Wales before the global pandemic struck.

"Our findings provide new evidence that cognitively frail older adults are neuro physiologically and structurally similar to those with successful cognitive aging, without the hallmarks of mild cognitive impairment despite similarly poor cognitive function,"Kocagoncu said.

"Their underperformance on cognitive tests could be due to lower cognitive reserve and other risk factors across the lifespan."

The findings were published in the journal JNeurosci.

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