9.14 The Aging Brain - How to Prevent It

Physician's=7 Notebooks 9 - http://physiciansnotebook.blogspot.com - See Homepage

14. The Brain and Aging - Update 08 September 2021
The below column shows main subjects of the chapter in order of appearance.

The Aging Brain is Constantly Adapting
Aging Brain Cells are Irreplaceable
Anomia and the Aging Brain
Advices

Although the data show deterioration of almost all functions by age 80 compared to age 30, these are averaged comparisons and do not really tell us how much of the deterioration is due to the bad effects of unhealthy eating, drinking, exercise, life styles, drugs and other habit effects and how much is due to "pure" (genetically programmed) aging. Both types affect the rate of worsening health with increasing age, in each individual, differently and explain the variation in appearances. But you can prevent the bad effects of the unhealthy behavior. 

The Aging Brain is Constantly Adapting:  Some interesting work on the microscopic appearance on the aging brain shows that aging persons with young behavior show degenerative aging changes in the brain despite their young behavior. What that suggests is that the aging brain is constantly adapting to biological aging changes in the neurons and in many individual cases the adaptation has kept the person appearing younger than his brain shows. This has significance for the treatment of aging because it means one can approach the treatment by working on the adaptability of the aging body, e.g., the use of memory recall techniques to repair a failing memory of old age.

Aging Brain Cells are Irreplaceable:  Excepting brain neurons and heart muscle, most cells continue to reproduce in life; but no cell lines are immortal. The DNA program results in cell offspring losing vigor and all dying off at a fixed number of generations. Most evidence suggests c.120 life years is the limit. That is the programming of aging, and the data suggest pure genetic aging does not show itself until after c.age 80. Most aging by 80 is from bad living, accident and misfortune that accumulate if you live long, carelessly. It implies that most of the aging defects could be prevented. Thus the ideal person who took perfect care, or was taken care of perfectly perhaps in a future plastic bubble-shaped longevity colony on the Moon, at age 80, would have no decrease of powers compared to himself at age 30. So do not take a do-nothing view of your aging. Also, do not take a fatalistic – all in the family, in my DNA – view. Early-on, start to follow the practices of healthy longevity, make max effort to preserve your irreplaceable cells by living a stable, safety-first, no bad drug, good nutrition life, and exercising your mind more. And you may then reach 88 as I did on 10 Jan. 2021, thinking useful thoughts, accomplishing creative feats. 

Anomia and the Aging Brain: Talking about functioning of the aging brain, for the last 10 years since age mid 70s I’ve noticed my first aging brain malfunction, anomia, or difficulty to quickly find previously familiar names, like names of popular personalities.  The missing name is usually one I had not used (in my thinking) and almost always pops into my head. Happily, it has not progressed. I’ve found the best way to deal with it is not to obsess but instead spend a few moments thinking about the person or object which seems to set my subconscious mind to the task of finding the name in my brain’s index. It’s a case of rusty synapses related to their aging and non-use.

 If you follow Notebooks' advices to prevent aging and achieve healthy longevity, you will get more intelligent as you age. Most persons, passing age 50, get less intelligent because the brain in the average case deteriorates and its thinking process becomes less efficient. But if you paid attention to Notebooks, you should be more brilliant at age 80 than you were as a young and middle-age adult because you should have accumulated the experiences and education of an 80-year life keeping it all in your still healthy brain and should be able to act on it by good decision, least mistakes, best advice and sharp thinking. That's me, now. At 88.

  

At 88, I can recall 20-digit numbers at a glance, measure Einstein’s Relativity and write creatively. You can too. Just follow Notebooks.

          END OF CHAPTER. To read next click 9.15 Neurology of Movement & Diseases of Movement