Is it possible to prevent dementia?

Abstract

It is a robust trend that the World's population is growing older. The proportion of elderly compared to other age groups and especially the number of oldest old, above age 85 years, is steadily increasing. One of the most common disorders in later life is dementia, the major cause of functional disability and the need for long-term care. This has prompted intensive research towards identifying risk factors associated with dementia. For current therapeutic intervention of incipient dementia and future prevention trials it is important to identify subjects at high risk of developing dementia. This article reviews clinical and biological findings of the quest to identify pre-dementia in subjects with mild cognitive impairment. It gives an overview of the present knowledge in this area and discusses strategies that may be useful in delaying the onset of dementia.