I think I'll get dementia

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When your memory strikes, it can be pretty scary. However, most of them do not go to the doctor straight away. Early measures could at least delay dementia.

Damn it, where are my glasses? And what's the name of the neighbor across the street again? Such dropouts are normal with increasing age and fall into the category of old-age forgetfulness.

But when it becomes difficult to follow conversations for a long time or when the names of new acquaintances basically blow away like autumn leaves? Or when everyday life is no longer manageable without colorful sticky notes and calendar notes? Then maybe there is more to it.

"Every patient in the preliminary stages of dementia notices this in a certain way," says Prof. Tobias Hartmann from Saarland University in an interview with Most of them then talked about it with friends and didn't get any real feedback. “Valuable time will pass before you go to the doctor. Most of the time, they are already in an early or middle stage of dementia, ”says Hartmann.

Change your life!

But is that bad? After all, there is currently no therapy that can effectively treat dementia anyway. Nevertheless: "It is always important to have memory disorders clarified by a doctor," says Hartmann. On the one hand, because other diseases could be behind it, such as hormonal disorders or depression. It is imperative that these are dealt with.

On the other hand, there is increasing evidence that a lifestyle change in the preliminary or early stages of dementia can still make a big difference. In addition to exercise, diet in particular seems to be an important lever in slowing down the development of the disease. Hartmann and his colleagues took a closer look at this connection.

Wonder cocktail?

To do this, the scientists administered a special yoghurt drink to 150 patients with a precursor to Alzheimer's disease. It contained eleven different nutrients, including essential fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid, vitamins (B12, B6, C, E and folic acid) and other nutrients such as choline, uridine monophosphate or selenium.

The concentration of the individual substances was by no means extremely high, but corresponded to the official dietary recommendations. An equally large control group with the same disease characteristics also drank a yogurt, but without any special ingredients.

The attempt lasted two years. Every six months, the participants came for a check-up. The scientists then used imaging tests to examine their brains. In addition, the subjects had to take memory tests, such as remembering a 10-word list or listing as many animals as possible in 60 seconds, and filling out questionnaires about their everyday lives.

Nutrient boosters for the brain

The brain scans showed a clear result: "The hippocampus, the brain region that is also responsible for remembering, shrank by an average of 26 percent less in the nutrient group than in the control group," reports Hartmann.

For the patients themselves, however, the effect that may have resulted from the lower brain shrinkage was much more decisive: They got along better in everyday life. On average, the severity of her dementia deteriorated only half as much as in the control group. This enabled them, for example, to manage their household even better, to remember important events more easily or to cope with financial and business processes.

However, the nutrient booster did not give them any advantage in the memory tests. Here the researchers found no statistically tenable difference between the two groups examined.

Anchor on the Alzheimer's boat

“We cannot heal this way yet. But we see that the earlier you do something, the greater the benefit for the patient. "

There are probably a number of mechanisms behind the positive effect. Previous studies showed that the nutrients used play a role in the development of Alzheimer's. They counteract inflammation, the shrinking of the brain and the formation of deposits in the blood vessels. "We know, for example, that the B vitamins play a role in brain shrinkage," explains Hartmann.

However, the active ingredients didn't seem to really work until they could work together. For example, fish oil, which contains large amounts of docosahexaenoic acid, could not slow down Alzheimer's dementia on its own. "Apparently only the combination of nutrients has a greater effect," says Hartmann.

The recipe is no wonder: When mixing the nutrient cocktail, the researchers adhered to the applicable dietary recommendations. But in real life hardly anyone manages to really ingest all the substances contained in it in sufficient quantities. “It often fails with fish in particular,” explains Hartmann.

You can get the drinking yoghurt under the name "Fortasyn Connect" in the pharmacy. However, Hartmann warns against taking it independently: "You should always discuss this with your doctor." It is particularly dangerous if another disease is actually causing the decline in memory.

Research is booming

There is currently no other Alzheimer's drug that can measurably slow down brain shrinkage. Dementia research is booming, however: Scientists are currently testing 35 potential dementia drugs in clinical studies that could combat the actual causes of dementia in the long term.

Hartmann and his team are continuing to research the effect of nutrient mixes in Alzheimer's dementia. Next, the scientists are interested in how the drinking yoghurt works in the longer term, i.e. over a period of two years.

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