We have more control over our brain health than we think, says this neurologist
Aging increases the risks of dementia and stroke, but a new study published in the journal Neurology shows that a healthy lifestyle can offset the risk of those diseases, as well as later-life depression. The study of 356,173 adults in England focused on the participants’ lengths of something called ‘telomeres’ in their white blood cells, because telomere length is a known biomarker of aging.
“Telomeres are the very ends of our chromosomes,” explained neurologist Alba Coraini, MD, who practices at Neurologists of Cape Cod in Hyannis. “It’s like a cap at the very end of our chromosomes. As our DNA replicates in life, and that happens millions and millions of times as the cells regenerate, these telomeres become shortened. So, the more they multiply and the more the cells divide, the shorter they become.”
That means our telomeres are much shorter at the end of our life than they are at the beginning.
As the DNA becomes damaged, the level of protection the telomeres provide goes down.
The study’s researchers found that the participants with the shortest telomere length were diagnosed with diseases like dementia, stroke and depression about 1.5 times more than those with the longest telomeres. They further discovered that participants with short telomeres, who also had concurrent brain risk factors of high blood pressure and smoking, were 11 percent more likely to develop a stroke, dementia or depression than those with long telomeres.
In an interesting twist, people with shorter telomeres who practiced lifestyle habits that support brain health did not have a higher risk of developing stroke, dementia and depression.
“They not only found an association with the telomere length and the incidence of stroke and depression, but also an association between risk factors with healthy and non-healthy life choices and the length of the telomeres,” Dr. Coraini said. “That was very interesting. It brings new light to the importance of risk factors for aging and associated conditions in association with the telomere length.”
That means that these brain diseases are not inevitable, no matter how old we become. We have a certain measure of control over whether we develop these brain diseases.
“It’s not just telomere length that determines our health,” she said. “But it’s a combination of genetics, telomere length, as well as lifestyle choices.”
The Lifestyle Choices that Matter
“In our regular practice, whenever we have patients with cognitive changes or risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high glucose levels, diabetes or prediabetes, we always recommend healthy behaviors like healthy diet, good hydration, exercise and avoid smoking, because we know that all of those factors, especially when taken all together, can definitely have an impact on preventing these diseases.”
She said it’s very important for patients to have regular checkups with their primary care provider to get their vitals checked and have someone to oversee their health. That way, if something like high blood pressure or high cholesterol does show up, the primary care provider can prescribe preventive medicine to protect against these brain and other diseases before they become dangerous to the patient’s health.
Dr. Coraini also recommends that patients limit sugar-rich foods and follow a diet like the Mediterranean diet, which focuses on whole grains, vegetables, fruits and olive oil.
“It’s very important, according to this study and other research, that we do have very healthy lifestyle choices and behaviors in order to prevent age-related conditions like dementia or stroke or TIA’s,” she said.
