I was a doctor caring for Alzheimer’s patients. At 57, I became one. Here’s what’s next

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As an internal medicine doctor, I used to care for Alzheimer’s patients. Now, at just 60 years old, I am one. My diagnosis is not the future most people hope for — but there is finally a generation of Alzheimer’s treatments that work for many patients, and I am one of them.

Before my diagnosis, I was a busy, high-performing physician and a present husband and father. Over my career, I completed an internal medicine fellowship at Johns Hopkins, oversaw a medical practice and ran an academic clinic where I taught residents and medical students. I coached my kids’ basketball teams and served as a deacon at my church.

I was someone who helped others, not someone who needed help myself. Then, three years ago, everything changed.

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Your Lifestyle Choices Could Halve Your Dementia Risk

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Nearly half of dementia cases may be influenced by modifiable factors like smoking, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure.

Research suggests that many dementia cases are connected to risk factors that people may be able to change. A new study from Lund University identifies several lifestyle and health conditions linked to two of the most common forms of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

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Should you test for Alzheimer’s disease?

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With cases rising at a rapid clip and expected to double to roughly 15 million US residents by 2060, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is expected to take a toll on those affected and their families. The global toll of those living with dementia is approximately 55 million, and women are two-thirds of those affected.

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Brain Training Games May Have Long-Term Benefits

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Older men and women who completed five to six weeks of a computerized brain training program showed benefits up to two decades later, according to a new report. The study found that those who engaged in a program designed to speed the brain’s processing were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease years down the road.

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Challenging your brain helps keep it healthy. Here’s how to do it

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“Exercise your brain,” experts advise people hoping to stave off dementia. But how? Stretching your brain might be the better description.

Do a crossword puzzle a day and you may just get good at crosswords. Instead, research increasingly shows that a variety of habits and hobbies are like a cognitive workout, building knowledge and skills that may beef up parts of the brain as we get older.

One recent study linked a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline to lifelong learning, meaning intellectually stimulating experiences — reading and writing, learning another language, playing chess, solving puzzles, going to museums — from childhood into retirement.

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