cognitive decline

Physical activities such as walking help older adults lessen age-related decline in brain structure according to new research from Boston University School of Medicine. The researchers found the relationship between fitness and brain structure only in older adults, but not younger adults. "We found that higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with enhanced brain structure in older adults," explained study author Scott Hayes, assistant professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine.

Researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and the IU Center for Aging Research in Indianapolis have developed a new tool called the Healthy Aging Brain Center Monitor (HABC) to measure 27 items on a four-point scale of cognitive, functional, and psychological symptoms. It is designed to keep track of cognitive decline and improvement and to be used by inidividuals experiencing symptoms of memory loss and decline.

Learning a second language may slow cognitive decline according to a new study from the University of Edinburgh. The study which tracked hundreds of Scottish people for decades is the strongest evidence yet that speaking an extra language slows the mental decline that accompanies ageing. The benefits hold regardless of your IQ and even if you learn your second tongue as an adult. Read more here.

A diet high in protein, particularly animal protein, may help elderly individuals function at higher levels physically, psychologically, and socially, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute of Health and Nutrition in Japan. Men in the highest quartile of animal protein intake had a 39 percent decreased odds of experiencing higher-level functional decline than those in the lowest quartile. These associations were not seen in women.