Did you know that volunteering, joining a step class, reading complicated books or articles, eating more fruit and vegetables or just visiting friends and family can help in the fight against Alzheimer’s and dementia?
That was just some of the helpful information shared at the “Advancing Equity in Alzheimer’s Prevention and Research” panel discussion held at the Deaconess Foundation on North Vandeventer Ave. The session was held on the day (the second Tuesday in March) the Missouri legislature designated “Alzheimer’s Awareness Day.”
The Greater Missouri Alzheimer’s Association (GMAA) also recognized the day by hosting education programs across the state which included St. Louis.
Part of the presentation stressed the important needs for Black people to participate in Alzheimer’s and dementia research studies. Program participant, Washington University’s “CoEqual Advancing Equity in Research” study was created to enlist interested people in joining research studies about Alzheimer-related diseases.
Nationwide, nearly 7 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s and the number, according to GMAA, is projected to rise to nearly 13 million by 2050. The CoEqual website adds that “Black Americans face about double the risk of developing the devastating neurodegenerative disease than non-Hispanic white Americans.”
“How do we move from awareness to action,” Dottie P. McDowell, Clinical Research specialist at Washington University School of Medicine, asked discussion participants. “Talk about these issues with your family and friends; advocate for policies that improve healthcare access; demand inclusivity in research and ask researchers about diversity in their studies and challenge the bias in healthcare.”
McDowell showed slides indicating that 78% of registry participants are Black; 40% are between the ages of 60-to-69 years old with 46% earning more than $35,000 a year.
“Diverse participation in research leads to more inclusive and effective treatments,” she said.
Panelist Melvin Raymond joined WashU’s Alzheimer’s research group in 2015. He described some of the activities he’s gone through such as sharing genetic and family information, spinal taps as well as MRI screenings of his brain.
“They put you into this plastic tube almost like you’re in a coffin. If you’re claustrophobic, it can be a real problem,” The elderly gentleman said jokingly. “There was a lot of knocking and a lot of noise and that surprised me but after a while, I completely relaxed.”
Cognitive tests, Raymond continued, included listening to short stories read to him then, a few moments later, repeating certain elements of that story back to the researcher.
“That is not as easy as you might think,” Raymond said as he further detailed math-related tasks he had to complete, such as counting backwards.
Alexis Walker, community educator with GMAA, provided fact-based information noting that Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia which is caused by many different diseases and conditions and is not part of the “normal aging process.” More than 95% of people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, she said, have at least one other chronic condition, such as heart disease, diabetes, or stroke.
Therapies for Alzheimer’s, Walker added, can treat symptoms for a time, but, at this time, they cannot “cure, prevent or even slow disease prevention.”
On a brighter note, Walker shared data indicating that exercise, spending more time with friends and family, joining groups, learning new hobbies, completing puzzles or reading material that challenges the mind can all support brain health and possibly delay the onset of dementia.
Regarding physical exercise, she advised checking with doctors first, then starting “out small, moving slowly and safely” to increase the heart rate.
“Protecting your heart, protects your brain,” Walker said, because “the brain needs blood flow and depends on oxygen to work well.” More than “25% of blood from every heartbeat goes to the brain.”
According to CoEqual, “factors that place Black people at elevated risk remain poorly understood, partly because Black people historically and systematically have been underrepresented in Alzheimer’s studies.
“Without a sufficiently large pool of Black study participants, it is not possible to investigate thoroughly the myriad social and other factors that put Black people at risk.”
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.