Do Crosswords Prevent Dementia?
You’ve probably seen ads for programs that claim to prevent dementia by exposing your brain to regular exercise—in the form of logic games, crosswords, and arithmetic. Perhaps you’re stocking up on Sudoku books to keep yourself sharp for your golden years.
Unfortunately, it has been hard to separate hype from hard science. At present, there is no convincing evidence that any specific intervention prevents or delays the onset of dementia. Certainly, there’s no evidence that commercial cognition programs offer more benefits than less organized activities, like reading the newspaper and doing the crossword puzzle. Although some research has shown that the combination of brain exercises, actual physical exercise, and diet can improve brain function, the effect has been pretty small.
Because there is no quick fix, the best plan is simply to maintain a healthy lifestyle: eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; minimize your consumption of red meat and added sugar; exercise often (at least thirty minutes of jogging, cycling, or aerobics most days per week); and remain socially active and engaged.
You were the star high-school quarterback. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, has been in the news lately because of the high frequency of this disease among professional football players. CTE results from repeated blows to the head and causes irreversible dementia along with headache, impulsive behavior, tremor, and depression. A related condition is known as dementia pugilistica, or “boxer’s brain.”
Your memory has been gradually getting worse over the years, and now it’s interfering with your everyday life. People with dementia suffer progressive memory loss that interferes with everyday functioning and is usually noticed by other people too. Additional issues may include problems with speech, recognizing your location, or routine tasks. You need to undertake a complete dementia workup with your physician, which will consist of a thorough history and memory test, a review of your medications, some blood tests, and possibly a brain scan. The most common type of dementia in people over sixty-five is Alzheimer’s disease, which occurs when protein plaques build up in the brain.
Get to the E.R.
You’re not the person you were last week. If you experience the rapid onset (over the course of hours to days) of memory loss along with personality change, headache, and/or fever, you need to get to the E.R. for an urgent assessment, likely including a brain scan and possibly even a spinal tap (removal of fluid from around the spine for testing). You could have a brain infection, stroke, bleeding around the brain, or an imbalance in key chemicals in your blood.
You caught a baseball with your face. A concussion is a mild brain bruise that results from head trauma. Common symptoms include confusion, dizziness, vomiting, headache, tiredness, and memory loss. See the section on head injuries for more details.