Cognitive Activity Tied to Lower A-Beta Protein

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Cognitively stimulating activity, particularly in early and midlife, is associated with lower brain deposition of the major protein constituent of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease later in life, based on findings from a cross-sectional clinical study.

The study's direct association between cognitive activity and beta-amyloid (A-beta) protein suggests that the lifestyles of those with greater cognitive engagement might play a role in the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD), particularly because participation in cognitively stimulating activities has been linked with other lifestyle practices associated with reduced Alzheimer's risk, Susan M. Landau, Ph.D., of the University of California, Berkeley, and her colleagues reported.

PET imaging of the binding of …