PROFESSOR ROB GALLOWAY: Like most people, my greatest fear is dementia, but there is a PROVEN way to help prevent it

Dementia is nan 1 information I fearfulness astir retired of each nan atrocious illnesses and injuries that I treat. And past week came nan gloomy news that nan number of group pinch dementia successful England and Wales unsocial is group to double by 2040, according to a study published successful nan Lancet.

I've seen hundreds and hundreds of patients pinch this atrocious condition, hollowed retired by nan diminution successful their cognitive abilities, alteration successful characteristic and nonaccomplishment of independence, each of which efficaciously mean you dice years earlier your assemblage does.

For their loved ones, it's besides horrific.

One of nan first patients I ever saw pinch dementia was arsenic a inferior expert galore years agone - an elderly, incontinent and confused man successful his precocious 70s, brought into A&E by his daughter, pursuing a fall.

To find nan severity of his dementia, I went done nan questions we routinely inquire specified patients, including nan time, which he sewage wrong. He intelligibly had precocious dementia.

His girl past told me, pinch tears successful her eyes: 'You do cognize that a fewer years agone he could specify really clip really started. He was a professor of astrophysics.' She proceeded to return from her container 1 his textbooks, containing equations I couldn't moreover statesman to fathom.

We chatted further and I explained what I'd been taught astatine aesculapian school; that dementia - and specifically nan astir communal type, Alzheimer's illness - was a lawsuit of bad luck, pinch genes playing a awesome part, starring to excess macromolecule (amyloid plaques) building up successful nan brain.

But 20 years later, I'm now questioning what I was taught astir nan disease. Yes, location is simply a subset of Alzheimer's which is highly linked to circumstantial genes - and that causes dementia astatine a very early age. However, this makes up less than 1 per cent of cases.

The biggest consequence facet for dementia is expanding age. However, it is not a fixed that you will get dementia arsenic you beforehand successful years.

And, successful immoderate ways, this is nan bully news, because it raises nan mobility of whether dementia really is owed to bad luck, aliases whether we tin power our chances of processing it. And according to nan latest research, nan reply is yes, we can.

But why can't you conscionable trust connected those astonishing caller narcotics we've been proceeding each about, specified arsenic aducanumab, that tin region amyloid plaques from nan brain?

When you look into nan specifications of nan studies, nan results person been underwhelming, contempt what nan supplier companies would for illustration america to think.

Yes, these narcotics person been shown to clear amyloid plaques - but what we don't cognize yet is if it's really going to make immoderate quality to patients' lives.

At nan moment, each we tin opportunity is that these narcotics slow nan diminution successful group pinch mild aliases mean Alzheimer's. They're besides expensive, and perchance person immoderate very superior side-effects.

But possibly we are targeting nan incorrect thing. What if amyloid is nan smoke, but nan occurrence that's really burning down your location is thing else. And that 'something' is precocious humor pressure.

For years, we've known that precocious humor unit was linked to a raised consequence of dementia, but definitive impervious was lacking.

However, caller investigation by nan Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing successful New South Wales, Australia, published past period successful nan respected JAMA Network Open, proves nan domiciled of precocious humor unit successful dementia - and questions nan accepted position of what causes nan disease.

The researchers analysed nan information from much than 34,000 group from a full of 17 studies and looked astatine nan chances of getting dementia if you had precocious humor unit that was being treated, aliases not being treated, aliases if you had normal humor pressure. This study recovered that location was a proven summation successful nan chance of getting dementia - a 42 per cent summation - if you had untreated precocious humor pressure, aliases hypertension.

However, if nan hypertension was treated, your consequence was nan aforesaid arsenic if you had normal humor unit without immoderate medications.

That is an astonishing uncovering and, for me, it yet put to furniture nan statement astir nan awesome domiciled that hypertension plays successful some causing dementia and worsening nan symptoms erstwhile you person it.

But really does this explicate nan amyloid plaques you spot successful Alzheimer's? One mentation is that mediocre humor travel to nan encephalon insubstantial damages cells and leads to dementia - and it's this harm to cells which results successful nan amyloid plaques being formed, alternatively than nan amyloid plaques themselves causing nan problem.

This would explicate why inexpensive narcotics specified arsenic humor unit pills for illustration ramipril trim nan consequence of Alzheimer's. This was proven by nan JAMA study, which besides showed that treating precocious humor unit reduced your consequence of dementia by 26 per cent.

It would besides explicate why nan costly caller narcotics that clear up nan amyloid plaques don't really amended nan symptoms of Alzheimer's.

Based connected this understanding, different things that amended humor travel to nan encephalon would besides trim nan consequence of Alzheimer's.

And that's precisely what was confirmed by a 2020 review, published successful The Lancet, which brought together each nan studies looking astatine what accrued nan consequence of dementia.

Lack of workout accrued nan risks of dementia by 40 per cent; smoking, obesity and glucosuria each independently accrued consequence by 60 per cent each; and aerial contamination accrued nan consequence by 10 per cent.

Knowing this, I now tally regular if imaginable (but astatine slightest 5 times a week), cheque my humor unit each mates of months and person mislaid immoderate weight.

When it comes to alcohol, nan accepted contented is that mini amounts of intoxicant are safe, provided that, successful total, it's nether 14 units a week.

Data published successful nan BMJ successful 2018 confirmed that for each 7 units supra 14 a week, you summation your dementia consequence by 17 per cent.

Surveys show that group now fearfulness dementia much than cancer. If that's you, I deliberation there's a very affirmative connection that you tin importantly trim your consequence by doing a number of elemental things: taking regular exercise, eating healthily (so you enactment a patient weight), not smoking, cutting backmost connected intoxicant and monitoring your humor pressure.

What's more, these steps will besides thief slow nan diminution successful patients pinch dementia - and conscionable really efficaciously is seen successful a study published this period successful nan Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

A group of 55 patients pinch early Alzheimer's were fixed modular attraction aliases modular attraction positive telephone coaching connected manner management.

This included cognitive encephalon training, dietary recommendations based connected nan MIND fare (a Mediterranean fare proven to trim risks of getting dementia), beingness activity, proposal connected slumber (such arsenic aiming for 7-8 hours a day) and accent guidance (e.g. breathing exercises).

The study showed a importantly slower complaint of diminution successful representation successful those who underwent this programme compared to nan power group. But arsenic each these interventions were offered astatine nan aforesaid time, it is not imaginable to opportunity which had nan top impact.

Regardless, nan results make technological sense: nan encephalon training would thief build caller encephalon cells to antagonistic immoderate of nan declining usability from Alzheimer's, and manner factors would amended humor travel and trim inflammatory processes which origin harm successful nan encephalon and nan ensuing symptoms.

Like truthful galore things successful medicine, dementia is much analyzable than we first thought. One day, we whitethorn get a cure - but, until then, make your ain luck and effort to trim your chances of needing that cure by lessening your chances of getting dementia successful nan first place.

@drrobgalloway