Brain function, fats linked

For so many minds, progress through life is not a straight line, but a curve. A newly born brain, capable of so little, grows and learns through the decades until - and here's the kicker - it peaks, after which there is inevitable decline, assuming we are fortunate to live that long. For some it peaks late, with decline only in the final weeks or months before its journey ends. For others, dementia sets in too early.

Can we prevent, delay, or reduce the odds of decline? Often, yes. Knowing in advance may be scary, but it helps. March 10-16 is Brain Awareness Week, a global campaign to increase awareness of brain research, its progress, and impact.

First and perhaps most exciting is the announcement this week of a newly developed blood test that can predict with unprecedented 90 percent accuracy whether someone will suffer from dementia, including Alzheimer's. Family history and other factors are already used as predictors, but none so simple or possibly certain as a blood test.

Also interesting is that the looked-for item in the blood is fat, specifically 10 lipids whose levels are lower in individuals predisposed to dementia. Not all fats are bad; some are necessary for the body and converted to energy. Good fats include fish and olive oil; examples of bad are fatty meat and refined sugar.

This five-year study at Georgetown University's medical school is not the first to tie lipid levels to dementia, but it is potentially landmark in determining the list of 10 as predictors with such high accuracy. A blood test is also easier and cheaper to administer than other currently available tests, such as brain imaging. According to the Mayo Clinic, early diagnosis or predictors can make treatment more effective, and delay onset or progression of cognitive disease.

Knowing also helps encourage better care of the body, which reduces risk of heart disease and improves feelings of well-being. Food, exercise and mental function are inexorably linked and well proven by mountains of brain research.

Results from a 14-year Finland study announced Monday concluded that healthy dietary choices in midlife may prevent dementia later. Those who ate the healthiest diet at the average age of 50 had decreased their risk of dementia by almost 90 percent, compared with those whose diet was the least healthy. This was the first study which investigated the relationship between a healthy midlife diet and later dementia.

So what do scientists mean by a healthy diet? Less beef, sausage, eggs, sugary foods and drinks, bread, saturated fats and processed foods. More fish (baked; not fried, salty or breaded), fresh berries, red or green vegetables, lean dairy. Start with the good and we feel full longer, so we're less likely to binge on the bad.

This isn't about simply adding or removing a few items, but an overall approach to eating, a lifestyle shift. Missing out on long years of dementia, with its many impacts on self and family, are well worth it. But one culinary vice need not be sacrificed: Finnish study subjects who drank three cups of coffee daily were actually less likely to develop dementia. Just skip the fatty, coffee-shack additions.

Feeling short-term memory loss already? Just add another sense to the experience. Research released Wednesday from the University of Iowa concluded that we have an "Achilles ear." We are less likely to remember something if we merely heard it, and more likely to recall it if the memory formation initially included touch or sight.

Imaging tests illustrate that the brain handles what we hear in a different way, and in a different area, than it does what we see and touch. The more areas involved in the initial experience, the better we learn and remember.

In the Iowa study, 100 students were asked to recall items heard, seen, or touched an hour, day, and week later. Things heard were least accurately recalled. The more time which elapsed, the wider the memory gap between hearing and the other senses. Previous research showed the same results in monkeys. Earlier studies of children reveal improved learning retention when an auditory lesson is combined with tactile or visual experience; call it "hands-on" if you will.

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember." - Chinese proverb

Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at sholeh@cdapress.com.