Dementia may be avoidable

DEMENTIA may be avoidable and even reversible, so it's time Australians embraced a positive attitude to combating the condition, brain experts urged yesterday.
In a hard-hitting report, three of the country's leading research institutes said there was growing evidence ageing and impaired brains can renew cells and reconfigure itself.
Doctors traditionally thought that dementia was genetic and therefore unpreventable - the findings give hope to millions with the condition, which causes severe memory loss and speech impairment.
Dr David Burke of St Vincent's Hospital said: "It has always been thought that dementia is an inexorable decline of mental impairment.
"In fact, the brain has a remarkable capacity to generate new brain cells. Basic lifestyle changes can reduce their risk of developing dementia and reduce the rate of deterioration."
More than a fifth of Australians aged over 85 suffer from dementia and 5 per cent of the over-65's develop it.
It is currently treated with medication, but this only slows the loss of memory, rather than curing or improving the sufferer's condition.
The study – a collaboration between St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney University's Brain and Mind Institute and the Black Dog Institute, which researches mood disorders – was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
It found that mental, as well as physical exercise, helped the brain grow new cells.
Dr Burke, whose 81-year-old father is studying a university medical course, said: "A lot of older people have the view that university and learning are for young people and that they are past all that but adult education helps the brain develop new connections and grow new cells."
He said social interaction was particularly important for stimulating brain growth in old age.
The study also found foods rich in fish oils, vitamin B12 and antioxidants aided the brain's cell-growth capacity.
High blood pressure, smoking, diabetes and obesity all impaired the brain's ability to grow.
The findings have implications for those who have suffered brain damage as they suggest the brain has the ability to compensate for damage.Glyconutrients can improve dementia symptoms.