Dementia Prevention and Risk Reduction

by Alzheimer's Research UK in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

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Research into prevention and risk reduction could help protect the nation’s brain health and prevent up to 40% of dementia cases in future.

Project by Alzheimer's Research UK

By donating, you can help Alzheimer’s Research UK to fund important research projects into brain health and dementia prevention. Find out more about just two of the amazing projects your donation could go towards, and don’t forget you can donate your Nectar points to this project!

Our risk of developing dementia is made up several factors including our age, genetics and lifestyle. But did you know that research has shown up to 40% of dementia cases could be a result of factors within our control? 

While we know that what is good for our hearts is also good for our brains, research is looking at how we can implement prevention strategies to empower people to take steps to reduce their risk of dementia.

Eating well and being physically active can be two ways to keep heart disease at bay, and it may also help to reduce the risk of getting dementia.

Prof Anne Marie Minihane from the University of East Anglia is conducting the first large scale UK-based dementia risk reduction trial called the Med-Ex study, funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK.

She will look at a diet rich in fish, olive oil, fruit and vegetables known as the Mediterranean diet.

The research team has designed a six-month programme to encourage people with a higher risk of heart disease to eat a Mediterranean style diet and take more exercise. If successful, this could pave the way for larger trials and help people to take steps to improve their brain health and reduce their dementia risk.

While research suggests that reducing dementia risk in midlife is the most beneficial, even later in life there are always things we can do to keep our brains healthy. Prof Carol Brayne from the University of Cambridge is now developing an internet counselling tool that will target lifestyle behaviours to aid risk reduction. 

Funding is essential for research projects such as these. You can support our Prevention and Risk Reduction research projects by donating through our website: https://donate.alzheimersresearchuk.org/publicnew/

Or turn your Nectar points into donations through Nectar Donate.

 

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