Can Dementia Be Prevented?
With people living longer there has been a massive increase in the number of people with dementia which is now being thought of as the end stage of brain failure. But can we prevent dementia by reducing the risk of brain failure?
According to Professor Craig Ritchie from the Psychiatry of Ageing at the University of Edinburgh, the answer is a resounding yes but we need to make our brains healthier in mid-life to reduce the probability of getting dementia.
Prof Ritchie said: “Brain failure is no different in some ways to other health conditions like cardiac failure. Both are often processes taking place over decades before symptoms develop. In cardiac disease we try to reduce the build up of waxy plaque in coronary arteries decades before you might get your heart attack through improved diet, not smoking and weight control. Some people may need drugs or surgery – but all in an attempt to reduce the risk of for example a heart attack”.