DEMENTIA PREVENTION
For older adults looking to maintain their cognitive abilities, Crawford suggests confronting isolation. Find an activity that you enjoy and that you are able to participate in; ideally, something that is both mentally and socially engaging.
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between hearing loss and dementia. Addressing something as seemingly innocuous as mild hearing loss early can help reduce the risk of a more severe or faster dementia diagnosis. “The state of dementia research is both exciting and frustrating,” says Crawford. “The pace of dementia research, understanding and discovery has really accelerated. New treatments have come out in the last couple of years, and though they’ve generally not been as successful as there was hope that they would be, I think the research community generally sees that as a positive thing. If you’re doing enough research to generate potential treatments, even if they fail, it says something really positive about the direction of the work that’s happening in the research community.” “There’s still mystery involved in dementia, but it is unravelling, and as it does, we expect we’ll have more options. But in the meantime, that’s where we come back to risk reduction. Let’s use the things that we do know. Let’s take those seriously and do what we can to avoid having to rely on the research down the road.”
For older adults looking to maintain their cognitive abilities, Crawford suggests confronting isolation. Find an activity that you enjoy and that you are able to participate in; ideally, something that is both mentally and socially engaging. The Alzheimer Society has a wealth of resources to connect a person with recreational opportunities. “Join a new program. Find out what’s being offered at your local seniors center. And if you’re not the kind of person who generally is involved in those sorts of things, muster up that courage and go and see what’s there. Because it really can make a big difference for you,” she says. Through generous support, the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba contributed over 30 million dollars to research last year alone. While a definitive cause of dementia has yet to be conclusively established, current research on early detection is promising and further underscores the importance of healthy living to reduce risk. Crawford shared that research is increasingly showing that there is a connection
18 MATURE
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