What was that word?

Of course not all memory loss is a sign of Alzheimer's disease, but to many baby boomers and older folks, increasingly frequent lapses of memory can be unsettling. Anyone who has known someone with senile dementia knows that it is a horrible fate by any standards. Alzheimer's is ultimately fatal, impairs memory, behavior, and ability to think and reason, and it affects about four million Americans. That number is likely to balloon as the population ages over the next decades. Now there is some reassurance that lifestyle may provide protection for runners and other athletic people, probably reducing their risk of Alzheimer's disease compared to the rest of the population.

It has been shown in numerous studies that exercise improves cognitive function in the elderly. Evidence to show a direct link to Alzheimer's is harder to find, but other conditions associated with the risk of Alzheimer's disease are prevented by exercise including heart disease, stress, and depression.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (the injury treatment of choice for many runners) have been associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease to such an extent that researchers are studying the possibility of treating Alzheimer's with NSAIDs. In a study of over 5,000 men and women aged 65 or older, researchers found that those who took NSAIDs regularly had a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Those individuals performed better on cognitive tests even if autopsy results showed evidence of Alzheimer's disease.

Although these tidbits are a long way from definitive in any way about prevention or attenuation of Alzheimer's disease, it is news that runners can take to heart for some reassurance.

(Archives of Neurology, 2000, Vol. 57, pp. 831-836; Neurology, 2000, Vol. 54, No. 11, pp. 2066-2071; Physician and Sportsmedicine, 1999, Vol. 27, No. 11, editor's notes)