Memory in Elders: Food for Thought

Education doesn't protect against memory loss, but eating less helps.

Two new studies look at preventing memory decline in elders.

The theory of cognitive reserve posits that having more intellectual capability enables one to better withstand an insult to the brain, whether from traumatic injury or dementia. Greater educational attainment has also been associated with lower risks for dementia. To learn whether educational attainment influences the rate of cognitive decline, researchers analyzed data on 6533 individuals (mean baseline age, 72; mean duration of formal education, 12.2 years) who underwent cognition tests every 3 years (maximum, 14 years). Overall, cognition declined at a gradually accelerating rate. More schooling was associated with higher baseline cognition but did not affect the rate of declin…

Reviewing Author

Jonathan Silver, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNorth American Brain Injury Association (Board Member); National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (Chair of Data Monitoring Safety Board for study of donepezil on cognition after traumatic brain injury)

Jonathan Silver, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

Memory in Elders: Food for Thought

Topics

Reviewing Author