Education protects against Alzheimer's impact

Mentally demanding jobs and more education appear to protect people from the memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease, Italian researchers said on Monday. The findings bolster the previous research about Alzheimer's and other forms of brain impairment, said Valentina Garibotto of the San Raffaele University and Scientific Institute and the National Institute of Neuroscience in Milan, Italy. "The theory is that education and demanding jobs create a buffer against the effects of dementia on the brain, or a cognitive reserve," Garibotto said in a statement. "Their brains are able to compensate for the damage and allow them to maintain functioning in spite of damage." The study published in the journal Neurology involved 242 people with Alzheimer's, 72 men and women with mild memory problems and 144 volunteers with no memory problems.

Steve - yet another study lauding the benefits of preventative techniques for combating Alzheimer's.