3 ms·

I wonder what the actual mechanism is here. I’m sort of under the impression that dementia is a literal destruction of brain tissue at some level. (Via atrophy

I wonder what the actual mechanism is here. I’m sort of under the impression that dementia is a literal destruction of brain tissue at some level. (Via atrophy of tissue, or plaque buildup, or other things) People talk about how staying active helps stave off dementia, but what does this actually do? Are you just rebuilding connections in your dying brain, and therefore doing a bit more with less? Are you actually preventing some of the damage in the first place somehow?

jwestbury 3y ago
> People talk about how staying active helps stave off dementia, but what does this actually do? IIRC -- based on Bill Bryon's "The Body" -- there some good evidence that this is a result of bone density, as bones produce hormones that may be important in whether Alzheimer's develops. There's been some fairly recent research in this area. It's important to note that I don't believe any of the available research establishes a causal link one way or the other, so it's possible that Alzheimer's causes a loss of bone density or that they're both caused by an underlying shared factor; but bone density is correlated with dementia!
- OfSanguineFire 3y ago
  > Bill Bryon's "The Body" Bill Bryson is not an actual expert on anything but a pop-sci journalist who writes whatever naïve publishers will accept. As a linguist, I was shocked that his book on the history of English (The Mother Tongue) has a factual error or urban legend on virtually every single page, and so I would not trust him about any other subjects either.
JamesBarney 3y ago
My guess is activity helps your cognitive systems through better blood flow, reduced risk of cardiovascular events which can set you up for dementia. And probably a minor effect from increased trophic factors like BDNF.
kypro 3y ago
No idea how true this is because I've not look into it all that much, but I believe some people believe alzheimer's disease to be a kind of 'diabetes of the brain'. I think I'm right in saying it's linked to inflammation so if you're in an inflammatory state say because you're diabetic, get little exercise, have poor sleep, etc you're more likely to develop alzheimer's. My guess and I'm almost certainly wrong, but it could simply be that the people who are doing crosswords regularly are in a cohort of people that's less at risk of alzheimer's generally. I agree with you that it seems odd that cognitive tasks would be protective of alzheimer's (given what I understand of the disease), but I'd imagine those who do crossword puzzles regularly eat better, get better sleep and get more exercise. Would be interested if anyone can shed some more light though..

jwestbury 3y ago

> People talk about how staying active helps stave off dementia, but what does this actually do? IIRC -- based on Bill Bryon's "The Body" -- there some good evidence that this is a result of bone density, as bones produce hormones that may be important in whether Alzheimer's develops. There's been some fairly recent research in this area. It's important to note that I don't believe any of the available research establishes a causal link one way or the other, so it's possible that Alzheimer's causes a loss of bone density or that they're both caused by an underlying shared factor; but bone density is correlated with dementia!

OfSanguineFire 3y ago
> Bill Bryon's "The Body" Bill Bryson is not an actual expert on anything but a pop-sci journalist who writes whatever naïve publishers will accept. As a linguist, I was shocked that his book on the history of English (The Mother Tongue) has a factual error or urban legend on virtually every single page, and so I would not trust him about any other subjects either.

JamesBarney 3y ago

My guess is activity helps your cognitive systems through better blood flow, reduced risk of cardiovascular events which can set you up for dementia. And probably a minor effect from increased trophic factors like BDNF.

kypro 3y ago

No idea how true this is because I've not look into it all that much, but I believe some people believe alzheimer's disease to be a kind of 'diabetes of the brain'. I think I'm right in saying it's linked to inflammation so if you're in an inflammatory state say because you're diabetic, get little exercise, have poor sleep, etc you're more likely to develop alzheimer's. My guess and I'm almost certainly wrong, but it could simply be that the people who are doing crosswords regularly are in a cohort of people that's less at risk of alzheimer's generally. I agree with you that it seems odd that cognitive tasks would be protective of alzheimer's (given what I understand of the disease), but I'd imagine those who do crossword puzzles regularly eat better, get better sleep and get more exercise. Would be interested if anyone can shed some more light though..