Northwest Health | SPRING 2009 By Julia Vouri

At 101 years old, Group Health member Evangeline Shuler packed up her dancing shoes and flew to a tango festival in Buenos Aires. Adrian Lawler, who is 88, still runs his own marble-product business while hiking and skiing in his free time. Both are proof that staying active promotes successful aging.

BACK TO: Northwest Health index

Group Health has been at the forefront of research into healthy aging and dementia for several decades. In fact, the longest study in the nation — and perhaps the world — began in 1956 and is still under way at the Group Health Center for Health Studies (CHS). Findings show that lifestyle may affect the development of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

"This gives us great hope that the disease can be prevented or delayed until very late in life," says Eric Larson, MD, MPH, senior investigator and executive director of CHS. Although dementia isn't inevitable, as once thought, studies show that three out of four people aged 95 and older are affected by dementia. The way to beat the odds is to continually challenge your mind and body.

One CHS study found that people who exercised three or more times a week had a 30 to 40 percent lower risk for developing dementia. A cardiovascular workout pumps more blood and oxygen to the brain, which may lessen age-related losses in the frontal, parietal, and temporal areas of the brain cortex. Dr. Larson is such a champion of physical fitness that he writes "prescriptions" for exercise on prescription pads.

But perhaps the most exciting medical research of the past 10 years supports brain plasticity. "It was once thought that destroyed brain cells and connections could not be restored. Now we know they can," says Dr. Larson. This implies that age-related changes in the brain may actually be influenced by lifestyle, education, and occupation.

"Just as physical exercise builds muscles, education helps build brain cells," he says.

Brain-stimulating activities such as having a challenging job or learning a new language cause neurotransmitters to fire in the brain, creating new synapses, or connections, between brain cells.

Preventing dementia is critical because once symptoms appear, the chances for improvement diminish, says Dr. Larson. "Current medications may or may not slow the rate of decline, and multiple studies that have tested vitamins and medications have been disappointing."

Larson remains optimistic, however. A CHS study found that statin drugs, which protect the heart, may help delay dementia, and efforts to develop a dementia vaccine are showing progress.

In the meantime, put on your physical and mental dancing shoes. Role models like Shuler and Lawler are leading the way.