Daily HealthBeat Tip - September 03, 2007

Stay sharp

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Here’s something worth thinking about: A researcher says doing things that require thinking may reduce the odds of Alzheimer’s disease.

Robert Wilson of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago looked at how often older people did things that were mentally stimulating. He followed those folks for warning signs of Alzheimer’s. And he looked at autopsy results.

Older people who kept mentally active were less likely to develop subtle losses in memory and thinking ability that indicate Alzheimer’s could follow. And Wilson says the autopsy results indicated mental activity could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.

"It’s very important to stay mentally active as we age – reading books, writing letters, visiting museums, reading newspapers and magazines, , and the like." (10 seconds)

The study in the journal Neurology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: September, 04 2007