Is the Brain Today Blog Worth Reading?

Contributed by: Dennis Fortier, President, Medical Care Corporation
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As an avid reader of the press coverage of the Alzheimer's and dementia space, I am aghast at how inaccurately many stories are reported. This has been my motivation for editing this blog and for writing educational series like "How to Read the News". Some stories are so consistently mis-characterized in the press, even by respected sources, that it makes me question the quality of everything I read.

Last week, a completely unsurprising study was published in the journal Neurology. It showed evidence of a phenomenon that was already widely reported and well accepted, yet the coverage of the story has been twisted and sensationalized beyond recognition.

I am speaking of the study that showed how mental activity is most likely helpful in maintaining cognitive function. However, many notable media sources opted to frame the finding in a sensational light with headlines suggesting that mental activity is detrimental to cognitive health.

Here are a few examples:

NPR
Headline: Mental Stimulation Postpones, Then Speeds Dementia
Headline: Can Cognitive Exercise Speed Up Dementia?

Both of these would leave a headline scanner with the notion that using your brain may be, in some way, harmful to your cognitive health. In the second story, NPR was pretty clear about the finding but, given the overall poor quality of reporting on this study, I think the headline was reckless and lent itself to misinformation.

U.S. News and World Report
Headline: Mental Activity Linked to Alzheimer's Decline

Although this brief story was quite clear, the headline was entirely misleading.

LA Times
Headline: For the intellectually active, Alzheimer's diagnosis begins a steep slide

This headline shows a bit more editorial constraint, making a less clear connection between mental activity and poor cognitive health, but it suggests a pernicious relationship. I would expect more from the LA Times.

CNN
Headline: Brain exercises delay, speed up dementia?

Much like the NPR headline, this strongly suggests that exercising your brain may be bad for your cognitive health. It's unconscionable.

Fortunately, not every source leapt at the opportunity to use wild sensationalism as a hook to attract readership. Businessweek got it right twice with two honest headlines on their coverage and the Washington Post was accurate as well. Neither publication emphasized the optimistic finding that brain exercise might allow you to maintain sharp thinking skills, but at least they were honest. Here are their headlines:

Business Week
Headline: Mental 'Exercise' May Only Hide Signs of Alzheimer's
Headline: Brain Exercise Won’t Help Once Alzheimer’s in Place, Study Says

Washington Post
Headline: Does mental activity prevent dementia?

The point of the Brain Today blog is to read the news with a critical eye and to lend perspective to the news and to the way the news is reported. It is unfortunate, but you really need to read with a discerning focus to keep from being led astray by the popular press. This blog aims to help you with that effort.

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A better understanding and more awareness of Alzheimer's related issues can impact personal health decisions and generate significant impact across a population of aging individuals. Please use the share buttons below to spread this educational message as widely as possible.

Poor Vascular Health is Bad for Your Brain

Contributed by: Dennis Fortier, President, Medical Care Corporation
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We are virtually swimming (if not drowning) in the evidence that managing your vascular health may be the best approach to maintaining a healthy brain. In the past few days, I have blogged about several studies on this topic and many more have been published in the scientific literature.

To emphasize this important theme, here is a quick review of the very recent evidence:

• This study out of UCLA and published in Human Brain Mapping showed a strong link between obesity and less brain tissue.
• According to Helpguide.org and many other sources, vascular disease follows Alzheimer's disease as the second leading cause of dementia.
• As described in this post about strokes, one may be quite different from another but all impair cognition and vascular risk factors almost always play a role.
• Diet and exercise matter for both vascular and cognitive health. This has been repeatedly verified through careful research and will continue to be a popular theme in the news.
• This study out of the University of Alabama and published in Neurology showed that high blood pressure is linked to memory loss.
• In surprising news, Kaiser Permanente published research showing that even borderline high cholesterol significantly raised the risk of dementia.

The facts are abundant. Please take care of your vascular health and keep that brain functioning at a high level.

A better understanding and more awareness of Alzheimer's related issues can impact personal health decisions and generate significant impact across a population of aging individuals. Please use the share button below to spread this educational message as widely as possible.