Strategies for preventing dementia
Lifestyle factors play a key role, says UCI Health neurologist
March 06, 2024
IN THE NEWS: Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative, irreversible disorder that targets the brain’s nerve cells. It affects more than six million Americans. Alzheimer’s and other dementias are the cause of one in three deaths in seniors.
Naturally, such statistics have millions searching for ways to prevent the devastating illness. UCI Health neurologist Dr. S. Ahmad Sajjadi tells U.S. News & World Report about the most effective strategies for curtailing the disease.
“Most of the risk of Alzheimer’s disease seems to be determined by genetic makeup and factors that are yet to be determined. In terms of dementia as an all-encompassing state of cognition though, the story is different in that lifestyle factors, appropriate control of medical conditions, adequate sleep and control of depression and anxiety seem to be effective especially in dealing with vascular causes of cognitive impairment and dementia.”
Sajjadi is an associate professor of neurology and pathology at UCI School of Medicine. His clinical interests include Alzheimer’s disease and atypical dementia. He is an associate professor of neurology and pathology at UCI School of Medicine.
Sajjadi studies neurodegenerative conditions across the aging spectrum, with research focusing on Alzheimer’s disease, primary progressive aphasia, frontotemporal dementia and dementia in the oldest adults. He is the recipient of several grants from the National Institutes of Health and the author of several studies that have appeared in prominent medical journals.
Read more
