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Column: Memory loss concerns? Prevention can be as simple as going for a walk

Can you count backward from 100 in intervals of seven without delay or difficulty?

This was one of the more trickier questions asked to me by Dr. Mark Simaga, a neurologist for Community Healthcare System, during my recent cognitive memory test in his office. After years of wondering about my memory blind spots, I requested a professional consultation, which led to this Montreal Cognitive Assessment test.

My previous column on this topic explains my test results and also why too many people are leery of testing their memory in a clinical setting. The experience can be stressful, even intimidating. It also can bring peace of mind, as it did for me.

After that column was published, the most common question asked by readers was what they could do to optimize their brain health, at any age.

“I’m only 53 but this subject has worried me for years because my family has had chronic memory problems and dementia diagnoses,” wrote Cecil F. of Homewood, Illinois.

While waiting for my appointment with Simaga I noticed a magazine copy of “Brain & Life: Neurology for Everyday Living.” Its feature story profiled Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the longtime medical correspondent for CNN. Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon, is known for his in-the-trenches reporting on wars, disasters and epidemics.

His latest book from the front lines of brain health caught my attention. “Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age” (Simon & Schuster, 2021) is about optimizing brain health by lifestyle changes. It’s more about prevention than reaction, which is my mindset regarding this potentially frightening topic.

“Most adults recognize the importance of brain health but have no idea how to achieve it or even if it’s possible. I wanted to show how to do it,” Gupta said in the magazine story.

His book focuses on Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia because both illnesses tend to dominate people’s thinking about brain health. Gupta discovered that Alzheimer’s begins often without symptoms decades earlier than is widely supposed. And it may be largely preventable.

“I’m a brain surgeon, but Alzheimer’s and neurodegenerative diseases are generally not surgical conditions. In some ways, I was learning about prevention for the first time,” said Gupta, who identified five main contributors to controllable brain health.

It starts with being more active, as well as keeping the brain stimulated, getting restful sleep, nourishing the body and having a vibrant social life. These are all quite doable lifestyle behaviors, I thought to myself, even during a pandemic. The benefit of physical activity is one of the book’s key take-aways. There’s nothing easier, yet seemingly harder, than getting off your butt a few times each week to do … any kind of activity.

“People ask, ‘What’s the single most important thing for brain function and mitigating disease?'” Gupta said in the story. “The answer is exercise. And it’s as easy as walking.”

Simaga, who’s been treating forms of dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease for more than 30 years, told me the something similar. I keep it in mind on those days when laziness tries to seduce me. Any activity is better than no activity, I tell myself.

According to the Global Council on Brain Health, regular exercise is one of six key behaviors that can delay the onset of dementias or ease its course of memory loss. (For more information, visit www.aarp.org/brainhealth or www.aarp.org/stayingsharp.)

The Alzheimer’s Association Greater Indiana Chapter offers a trove of resources, facts and figures on its website. Ten warning signs and symptoms can be found at alz.org/10signs; diagnosis questions can be found at alz.org/diagnosis. (The organization’s 24/7 helpline is 800-272-3900.)

The organization is currently focusing its efforts on House Bill 1177, which would require the Indiana Family & Social Services Administration’s Division of Aging to develop a strategic dementia plan. The bill is co-authored by Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond, and co-sponsored by Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary.

“House Bill 1177 includes what we feel is one of the most important steps in addressing the public health crisis of dementia across Indiana,” said Natalie Sutton, executive director of the national organization’s Indiana chapter.

“We recognize that this is only the first step in this process, but it is a crucial one,” Sutton testified last month at the General Assembly. “We urge other lawmakers to support this bill as it moves through the legislature.”

Indiana is one of only a few states across the country with no current state dementia plan. Without one, the state could lose out on federal funding through the BOLD (Building Our Largest Dementia) Infrastructure Act, signed into law in 2018.

Dementia costs the state more than $1 billion a year in Medicaid alone, a figure that is expected to rise as more Hoosiers develop the disease and as a result of COVID-19, according to the organization. Health disparities come into play with dementia, just as it does with COVID-19, I learned.

The Black population is twice as likely as whites to develop Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Hispanics are 1-1/2 times as likely. Yet missed diagnoses are also more common among these populations.

“While there is currently no cure for the disease, getting a diagnosis as early as possible is so important,” said Julie Collins, Northwest Indiana program manager for the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Indiana Chapter.

A diagnosis or early warning can give someone the opportunity to prioritize their mental health, make legal, financial, and care planning decisions and possibly participate in clinical trials.

“It’s all about quality of life and the amount of time they have to optimize it,” Simaga told me.

jdavich@post-trib.com