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Keeping
the mind active
A healthy future for seniors - preventing dementiaMonday,
01 October 2007
By Rebecca Scott
University of Melbourne
Medical
research and staying active later in life could hold the key to a healthier future
for older Australians, reports REBECCA SCOTT.
Sudoko every night keeps
David Solomons mind alert but that is not the only activity that keeps the
77-year-old on the ball. The world-renowned scientist, who co-invented the first
plastic bank note, holds some of the worlds most cited patents and is widely
honoured and recognised but he is not prepared to rest on his laurels.
At a time of life when many are content to retire, Professor Solomon continues
to work as a researcher, one day a week in the University of Melbournes Department
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “I am very lucky to be able to stay
on in the workforce and contribute to projects,” says Professor Solomon. “If I
was not working, Id have problems. Id have to do something else. “When you do
research you never switch off,” he says. “Even when I am away from the office
at my holiday house, I am always trying to solve problems. I guess I have always
been interested in how things work.”
Research suggests that by continuing
to work, Professor Solomon may be doing more than just indulging in his passion
for science he could also be keeping his brain healthy.
That,
combined with a focus on education earlier in life which saw him study at night
school while working for a paint company may also be a factor.
Professor
David Ames, Director of the National Ageing Research Institute at the University
of Melbourne, says that people who stimulate their minds early in life have a
better chance of warding off dementia. “There is a possibility that the more educated
you are, the less likely you are to get dementia,” he says.
“according
to the Spare Capacity theory, if the brain is stimulated early in life and more
brain cell connections are developed, the extra capacity means that the person
can afford to lose some later. “Growing old does not mean someone will develop
dementia but the disease does affect one per cent of people aged 6064 and above
25 pe rcent of people over 85 years old.”
University of Melbourne researchers
such as Professor Ames are among an army of scientists worldwide trying to determine
what causes some people to develop dementia, while others brains remain healthy
well into old age.
“The issue of ageing is the largest challenge apart
from climate change, facing Australia and the world in the next 50 years,” Professor
Ames says.
The percentage of elderly people in the population, currently
at 13 per cent, is set to rise. It is expected that by the year 2050 over 25 per
cent of the Australian population will be over the age of 65.
Professor
Ames says animal studies have proved that more brain cell connections are developed
if the brain is stimulated.
An Australian-first longitudinal study into
risk factors associated with dementia aims to investigate if the same is true
in humans.
The Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle Study of
Ageing (AIBL) is a collaborative study between the University of Melbourne, Mental
Health Research Institute, National Ageing Research Institute, Neurosciences Australia,
Austin Repatriation Hospital, Edith Cowan University and CSIRO.
The
$10 million study is investigating lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, high
blood pressure, obesity, exercise, social connectedness and education in order
to determine the causes of dementia and Alzheimers disease. Dementia is a decline
in mental function due to brain disease.
Professor Ames says dementia
has many different causes, the two most common being Alzheimers disease and vascular
disease of the brain. Vascular disease is caused by accumulation of fatty deposits
in a persons arteries, which in turn restricts the blood supply to the brain.
Research reveals that the risk of getting dementia can be increased by your family
history and lifestyle. He says that people who are obese, have high blood pressure,
Type 2 Diabetes or smoke will have a marginally increased chance of getting dementia
than someone who treats their body well. “We can draw some conclusions about vascular
disease being linked to poor health but it is not so easy to determine what causes
onset of Alzheimers,” Professor Ames said.
Currently 200 000 people
(1 per cent of the population) have dementia, by 2050 it is estimated 730 000
or 2.8 per cent of the population will have dementia.
Professor
Ames says advances in modern medicine have caused the recent increase in dementia.
“Because modern medicine has eliminated many of the diseases that used to kill
many people, death later in life is increasingly due to dementia,” he says Professor
Colin Masters, Executive Director of the Mental Health Research Institute and
Laureate Professor in the Centre for Neuroscience at the University of Melbourne,
says that early intervention provides a chance to delay the onset of dementia
and Alzheimers. Professor Masters says there tends to be an incubation period
of about 10 years before the diseases set in. He says prevention needs to occur
between 60 and 70. “It is at this stage that we need to deliver more specific
diagnosis with targeted treatments to delay or prevent the diseases occurring,”
he says.
Professor Masters recently won the 2007 Victoria Prize for
his work into neurodegenerative disease research and the discovery of role of
the protein PBL2 in dementia. The discovery revealed protein is expressed profusely
in people with the disease. Professor Masters and colleagues are currently investigating
ways to target the protein to slow down and prevent the neurodegenerative diseases
from occurring.
After 20 years of research in the field, Professor Masters
says it is an exciting time with some real possibilities of new methods of diagnosis
and treatments. “We are taking a two armed attack to the problem,” he says. “Through
the AIBL study we are trialling a highly sensitive PET scan and a blood test which
detects the protein.” Professor Masters says this could provide a much needed
cost effective early detection test.
The second approach involves the
development of targeted PBL2 protein drugs which is currently in phase two of
a safety trial being conducted by University of Melbourne spin-off biotechnology
company Prana.
Professor Masters says the future looks bright for people
with dementia with the targeted drug treatments expected in the next few years.
“We are very positive about the results and expect that in the next few years
we would move into phase three, larger human trials,” he says.
By 2020
it is hoped the combined early detection tests and targeted treatments will be
able to delay the onset of dementia by five years, moving the medium age of onset
from 80 to 85 years.
Professor Masters says this will have major socioeconomic
effects on aged care infrastructure including nursing home services in Australia.
according to preliminary analysis by Deloitte, prepared for Neurosciences Victoria,
aged health expenditure in 2003 was $738m for Victoria, of which $620m was spent
on aged care, with a total of 40 000 Victorians suffering dementia.
The report reveals that at the current rate of ageing, by the year 2020,
there will be 70 000 people with dementia. It says if the onset of the disease
can be delayed there will be increased workforce participation by over $150 million
per year and a further $300 million less spent on aged care.
Professor
Masters says people approaching 60 should consider staying in a productive capacity
for as long as they feel they can contribute. “To work part-time and be active
like getting out into the garden is a great combination,” he says. “It is important
that you keep as fit as possible. This will ensure a much more active healthy
life into your 80s.”
Professor Ames says quality of life will be improved
for people with dementia in the future if the disease can be compressed into a
shorter and later period of life. In his practice he sees patients dealing with
the issues of ageing. “Most elderly do not fear death, they accept death is coming;
they just dont want to be dependent, in pain or lose their dignity as time goes
by,” he says.
Meanwhile, well into his eighth decade, David Solomon
continues with his passion for research. His latest project involves working with
colleagues to find a way of using a non-toxic chemical to minimise water evaporation
from dams [BH1]. Professor Solomon says his friends cant believe that he continues
to work when he doesnt have to. “They retired they counted the days until they
could,” he says. “I feel sorry for people who did work that wasnt interesting
for them. “Im lucky I can still contribute to projects. If not, if I was just
a passenger, I wouldnt be in there.”
Professor Solomons honours
include an Order of Australia (AM) and election as a Fellow of the Royal Society,
London, and the FAA (Australian Academy of Science) and the FTSE (Australian Academy
of Technological Sciences and Engineering)
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