If you’re suffering from inflammation in your 40s or 50s, you may have a greater risk of suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s later.
A new study published today in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found a link between inflammation in midlife and brain shrinkage later on.
Researchers, led by Keenan Walker of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, tested the levels of five markers of inflammation in the blood — such as white blood-cell count — in 1,633 middle-aged people. They followed up with their participants about 24 years later, subjecting them to memory tests and brain scans.
Thomas Wisniewski, director of the Center for Cognitive Neurology at NYU Langone Health, tells The Post that these findings are consistent with prior studies that suggest that inflammation plays a role in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms.
But he doesn’t think patients should start panicking. He points out that doctors should be able to catch warning signs during their patients’ annual physicals.
Taking care of your cardiovascular health, he adds, is probably the best way to maintain a healthy level of inflammation and to stave off the effects of dementia.
“Basically, what’s good for the heart is good for the brain,” he says. “And be sure that you maintain physical fitness — that you keep on exercising.
“All of these things will reduce the levels of inflammation generally and are very likely to be reducing your risk of subsequent dementia — as well as your risk of having a heart attack.”