Speaking two tongues helps lick dementia, study finds
Abbas @ Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:21 pm
Here is something interesting for the CKA community.
$1:
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Speaking two languages delays the onset of dementia by four years, a study found.
Researchers in Canada, where the official languages are English and French, examined 132 patients with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease. Those who spoke two languages experienced the onset of dementia 4.1 years later than those who didn't, the researchers wrote in a study published in the February issue of the journal Neuropsychologia. The patients spoke a total of 25 different languages, including Polish, Yiddish, German, Romanian and Hungarian.
Previous studies have shown that lifestyle factors such as physical activity, social involvement and education may improve overall brain health. Bilingualism may help the brain build what is called a cognitive reserve, which may provide protection against the onset of dementia, the Canadian researchers said.
``There are no pharmacological interventions that are this dramatic,'' Morris Freedman, director of the Memory Clinic at Baycrest Research Centre for Aging and the Brain in Toronto, said in a statement today.
The difference in dementia onset remained even after the researchers factored in the possible influence of culture, immigration, formal education, employment and gender on the results, the study said.
``The data show a huge protective effect,'' co-investigator Fergus Craik said in the statement.
The finding, while in line with earlier research on lifestyle and dementia onset, is preliminary and needs to be studied further, he said. The researchers are working on a follow-up study to further examine the protective effects of bilingualism on the brain.
Researchers in Canada, where the official languages are English and French, examined 132 patients with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease. Those who spoke two languages experienced the onset of dementia 4.1 years later than those who didn't, the researchers wrote in a study published in the February issue of the journal Neuropsychologia. The patients spoke a total of 25 different languages, including Polish, Yiddish, German, Romanian and Hungarian.
Previous studies have shown that lifestyle factors such as physical activity, social involvement and education may improve overall brain health. Bilingualism may help the brain build what is called a cognitive reserve, which may provide protection against the onset of dementia, the Canadian researchers said.
``There are no pharmacological interventions that are this dramatic,'' Morris Freedman, director of the Memory Clinic at Baycrest Research Centre for Aging and the Brain in Toronto, said in a statement today.
The difference in dementia onset remained even after the researchers factored in the possible influence of culture, immigration, formal education, employment and gender on the results, the study said.
``The data show a huge protective effect,'' co-investigator Fergus Craik said in the statement.
The finding, while in line with earlier research on lifestyle and dementia onset, is preliminary and needs to be studied further, he said. The researchers are working on a follow-up study to further examine the protective effects of bilingualism on the brain.
Banff @ Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:23 pm
outside of evangelism isn't talking in tongues dementia ...errr maybe that too 
SprCForr @ Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:27 pm
I credit mine to the massive intake of aluminum and drinking the water from the pot when boiling IMP's.
hwacker @ Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:30 pm
This is easy guys, the disease doesn’t know what language to attack first so it's confused.
Abbas @ Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:31 pm
SprCForr SprCForr:
I credit mine to the massive intake of aluminum and drinking the water from the pot when boiling IMP's.
I will try it but if I die, this is my note to the world that it was YOUR FAULT.
SprCForr @ Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:37 pm
I haven't died yet, but I can't remember for sure...
Go to the Surplus store and buy some IMP's
Individual Meal Pack (Canadian Army hard rations, not the Yank MRE)
Macaroni and Cheese with Green Peas! Yummmm...
We were always warned not to make coffee with the water that the foil bags were boiled in.
Abbas @ Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:59 pm
haha, I will be sure to do that.