The Myth of The Aging Brain

MEMORY

What people fear most about aging is losing their mental acuity.
Now, there's good news for elderly folk in good health: They will likely
enjoy their golden years with memories intact.

People in the greatest danger of cognitive decline include those
with diabetes, cardiovascular disease or a gene called apolipoprotein E
e4 (APOE e4), which recent studies have linked to Alzheimer's disease,
says Mary Haan, M.P.H., director of the Center for Aging and Health at
the University of California-Davis. Elderly people with these diseases
can lose their short-term memory up to eight times as fast as their
healthier counterparts, she reports in the Journal of the American
Medical Association. But older adults with family histories of
Alzheimer's disease or a high risk of cardiovascular disease aren't
doomed to senility: Haan believes that they can fend off age-related
memory loss by exercising regularly and eating a healthful diet.