study shows memory loss can start as early at 45

in a reuters article which highlighted the findings of a 10-year study of more than 7,000 british government workers show that loss of memory and other brain function can start as early as age 45*, which contradicts previous notions that cognitive decline does not begin before age 60. and this poses a big challenge to scientists looking for new ways to stave off dementia, researchers said.

*the research findings were published in the British Medical Journal, alongside an editorial by Francine Grodstein of the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who described the results as convincing.

to pinpoint the age at which memory, reasoning and comprehension skills start to deteriorate is imperative because drugs are most likely to work if given when people first start to experience mental impairment.

the research team led by Archana Singh-Manoux from the Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health in France and University College London found a modest decline in mental reasoning in men and women aged 45-49 years.

Archana Singh-Manoux said in a telephone interview that they were expecting to see no decline, based on past research.

Archana Singh-Manoux also said:

"It doesn't suddenly happen when you get old. That variability exists much earlier on. The next step is going to be to tease that apart and look for links to risk factors."

the participants were assessed three times during the study, using tests for memory, vocabulary, and aural and visual comprehension skills.

and over the 10-year period, there was a 3.6 percent decline in mental reasoning in both men and women aged 45-49 at the start of the study, while the decline for men aged 65-70 was 9.6 percent and 7.4 percent for women.

since the youngest individuals at the start of the study were 45, it is possible that the decline in cognition might have commenced even earlier.

factors affecting cardiovascular function -- such as obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking -- are believed to impact the development of Alzheimer's and vascular dementia through effects on brain blood vessels and brain cells.

most research into dementia tend to focus on people aged 65 and over. In the future, scientists will need to devise long-term clinical studies that include much younger age groups and may have to enroll tens of thousands of participants, she said.

and Archana Singh-Manoux added:

"One way to deal with this "major challenge" might be to use computerised cognitive assessment tests, rather than face-to-face interviews, although more research is still needed on this approach."

my comments:

wow, so what was thought to be conventional acceptance that memory loss does not begin until one reaches his/her sunset years has been stirred by this latest findings conducted over a 10 year period.

i know several individuals who has cognitive impairment and they can be classified as being healthy without risk factors like obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. neither are these people smokers and furthermore, they are not in the 'over-the-hill' category because one was in her early 40s who needed a 24/7 full-time care giver and her beloved husband to carry out everyday functions which we take very much for granted.

it is indeed sobering to digest the latest findings that memory loss can start as early as in one's prime of life but it is even more heart wrenching to lose loved ones to mental impairment.

for those of us who are not on the wrong side of the equation, thank God there are tools and solutions to take care of that eventuality (which hopefully will not happen) and engaging a competent financial planner is surely the first step in the right direction.