The Incredible Shrinking Brain

The Godfather I and II were the greatest series in cinema history. I never forgot the scene with, "What's his name playing Sonny you know he also played in that other movie with the same person that was...."

Twenty years ago I could remember telephone numbers told to me once and keep them for years in my memory. Now I think I am a genius if I can remember in the morning where I left my wallet, cell phone, and keys.

Do you worry the youngster who they just hired may soon be in your desk and you in the mailroom? Are younger people brighter?

What happens to our memory with aging? Neuropsychological testing shows mental agility begins to dwindle at age twenty-four and every seven years after forty a step down in our processing speed is observed as the brain further deteriorates.

Most of us baby boomers are now in our second to third step-down, or are we? Is there any good news for the Baby Boomers?

Yes! There is a difference between mental agility and mental capacity; it is an important difference. With age comes wisdom, with youth fancy. There is no doubt in my mind what I know now (my overall capacity), outweighs what I knew at twenty-four. Yet, my agility, my ability to process and learn is definitely slower, as are my legs. A recent study showed people in their 50's and 60's could assess and draw conclusions about a problem better than their younger counterparts. Young people were often confused, considering too many possibilities, and they were not able to see the trees from a forest.

Proving this is the fact that some individuals performed their great creative work late in life. Verdi, for example, composed Othello at age seventy-three and Falstaff at seventy-nine. Humboldt wrote the five volumes of Kosmos between the ages of seventy-six and eighty-nine. Goethe produced the second part of Faust when he was more than seventy years old. Galileo, Lapoace, and Schurington continued to make scientific contributions into their eighth decade. High intelligence, well organized work habits, and sound judgment compensate for the progressive processing speed deficiencies in this period.

What is going on is our brain shrinking? Well, simply put, yes! Brain weight may decrease by 15-20%. Blood flow to the brain by 20%. Cardiac output at rest may decrease by 35%. The number of fibers and nerves decrease by 37%. The nerve conduction velocity will decrease by 10%. Yes we slow down! The number of taste buds decreases by 64%. The maximum Oxygen utilization with exercise decreases by 60%. The power of hand grip decreases by 45%. Basal and metabolism rate decreases by 16%. All of these are between the ages of thirty and eighty years of age. The neo-cortex is progressively depleted in the seventh, eighth, and ninth decades. The greatest loss appearing in the small neurons of the second and fourth layers and the frontal and superior temporal gyrus regions may lose up to 50% by the ninth decade. Cell loss in the hippocampus, the memory and learning area of the brain, makes a linear decline of over 25% between forty-five and ninety years of age.

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The cause of all this?

It is felt by many that Alzheimer's represents an acquired age-linked disease, caused by both lifestyle, aging and genetic factors. Lifestyle we can change, our genes unfortunately we cannot. The good news is that only 30% have genes that lead to Alzheimer's disease; thus, 70% of us do not and can prevent Alzheimer's! By changing our lifestyle we can avoid this dreaded disease. You can and you must do it!

"The Anti-Alzheimer's Prescription" and the DEAR program offer a guide to preventing Alzheimer's disease through diet, exercise, mental agility tasks and prayer and meditation. For more helpful information about this program please visit www.DEARprogram.com. or Anti-alzheimer's.com. You can stop the "Brain Drain," don't wait 'til it's too late!

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The Fortanasce Neurology Center is dedicated to providing quality patient care with unrelenting attention to clinical excellence, promoting wellness and an unparalleled compassion and commitment to assure the very best healthcare to all those in need with disorders of the Nervous System.