Eating substantial amounts of full-fat cheese and cream could lead to a lower risk of developing dementia, according to one long-term study from Sweden. The Journal of the American Medical Association published a paper which said coffee drinkers could reduce their dementia risk by 18%.
But not all experts on aging are prepared to throw their weight behind a wheel of camembert.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the syndrome marked by cognitive decline affects more than 6 million Americans, and some researchers predict 42% of Americans over age 55 will develop some kind of the disorder.
That is one reason a team in the department of communication sciences and disorders at Illinois State University partnered with the Alzheimer’s Association for a yearlong collaboration including a film screening next week at the Normal Theater.
Jennine Harvey-Northrop, an associate professor with expertise in aging and cognition, said treating dementia is more complicated than just eating cheese or drinking coffee.
“In your brain, we have neural connections that set up the framework for how we problem solve, how we think about ourselves and others, how we communicate with one another,” she said.
“As we age naturally, that changes how we use those neural networks, changes the resources that we have, changes our hearing and our cognition.”
Prior research on Alzheimer’s, a common type of dementia, has let medical professionals know how the brain is changing as the disease progresses. They can see how neurons and the axons that connect each other are being attacked. And that changes approaches to treating the disease, which has no known cure.
Clinical Educator Tricia Larkin, a professional in speech pathology and audiology, said getting your hearing checked is one of the most important first steps if you suspect symptoms of dementia. Hearing loss affects speech, communication and cognition, which can look like dementia for those who don't have it—or accelerate the disease for those who do.
“Here at ISU, we have the ISU Speech and Hearing Clinic, and we can provide care to those individuals, whether they have early onset or later onset dementias of varying types, to help them maintain their cognitive health and help them navigate the loss when the decline starts,” she said.
Shraddha Shende, an audiologist and assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders, said there are many practical ways to slow down the disease, including social interaction and a healthy diet.
"The most consistent evidence in the cognitive aging literature is that physical activity helps,” she said.
Most importantly, Shende added, people with dementia should engage in activities they like, which they're more likely to stick to.
Dementia in the media
In the media, audiences and researchers alike flock to headlines, Harvey-Northrop said. The difference between causation and correlation is an important distinction.
“What really were they studying, and how were they studying it? And how, most importantly, how does it apply to me?” Harvey-Northup said. “So, for example, not everybody can eat cheese. That doesn’t mean that people that can’t eat cheese don’t have other options to help prevent dementia, right?”
“It helps protect and reinforce understanding about what that headline means, but what it means to you is really critical.”
The caregiver role
In addition to free screenings at their clinic, the free film screening at the Normal Theater on Monday is designed to increase community engagement and provide resources and support for both those with dementia and the loved ones who care for them.
Caregiving focuses on stories of what it is like to be the caregiver of an older adult living at home. Angie Raymer from ISU’s Caregiver Support Group will give remarks at the conclusion of the screening.
Larkin said resources for support will be shared with attendees to support what she said is a crisis in caregiving.
“We’re seeing our parents and our grandparents enter into the later life, and for some of those individuals, that includes a dementia experience,” she said.
Larkin said many of the available resources to caregivers in Bloomington-Normal are "invisible." Others don't exist at all. All three professionals interview for this story said an adult "day care," a drop-off program for older adults needing supervised care, is among the community's greatest needs as an increasing number of seniors seek to age in place.
“And so, we’re excited that our work in this yearlong project has also included a focus on: How do we support the caregivers, and how do we make those resources accessible, known broadly?” said Larkin.
