OPEN CLIPART, EGGIBThe world’s population is aging. By the year 2030, 20 percent of the US populace will be 65 or older, and similar changes are occurring globally. One challenge associated with population aging is the expected increase in prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association currently estimates that there are more than 5 million cases of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the U.S. and predicts that number will increase to more than 14 million by 2050. AD is both a frightening and fatal disease—currently the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.—and unfortunately, there are still no effective treatments. Even in the absence of dementia, millions of older adults struggle with declines in memory and thinking.
Given the lack of success in identifying treatments for AD or cognitive impairment, researchers have turned their attention to prevention. AD has a decades-long preclinical, or asymptomatic, period, where the pathology associated with the disease takes hold in the brain but cognition and functioning remain intact. Ongoing clinical trials are investigating drugs that modify the underlying pathologies of AD in people without symptoms in hopes that reducing or eliminating the early stages of pathology will prevent the onset of symptomatic disease.
Meanwhile, products already on the market claim to build, support, and protect brain function. Companies like Lumosity, for example, produce online games that promise to train your brain for better performance in memory and other aspects of cognition. With millions of dollars invested in ...
