Brain games slow down onset of dementia

When it comes to slowing down the onset of dementia, a new study finds that mental games may do the trick but once the condition hits, there is no such benefit.

Dementia usually occurs as a person ages, and can be very frustrating as one begins forgetting aspects of their life over a prolonged period of time.

Mental activity was defined as doing things such as crosswords, listening to the radio, reading, or going out to a museum.

Researchers followed up to 1,157 people 65 years or older for a 12 year period.

The rate of cognitive decline was slower for those who did not have dementia, but it picked up dramatically in patients who were already diagnosed with the condition.

“The person who has had a more mentally stimulating lifestyle may have more signs of disease in his brain, but the brain has been able to compensate for it better,” says study author Robert Wilson, professor of neurological sciences and behavioral sciences at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center.

The study is published in Neurology.

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