A new study that delves into ancient Greek and Roman medical texts suggests that dementia was rare 2,000 to 2,500 years ago. health day The analysis points out that modern cognitive decline is based on the theory that it is related to lifestyle and environmental factors. The survey results are alzheimer’s disease journal, states that the records of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates and his associates contained only a few mentions of mild cognitive impairment in the elderly. “Ancient Greeks and Romans expected people to have intellectual capacity beyond the age of 60,” the researchers write. Old records focus on the “physical frailty” of older people, but do not describe symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, such as memory and language loss.
Centuries later, when looking at Roman records, symptoms associated with dementia began to surface. “We found at least four descriptions that suggest a rare case of advanced dementia. We don’t know if it’s Alzheimer’s disease,” says lead author Caleb Finch. “So there was a progression from the ancient Greeks to the Romans.” One of those remarks was attributed to the Roman physician Galen, who said that in his 80s he learned new things. I realized that there are people who are struggling. University of Southern California today, researchers believe that new environmental factors came into play during this period. As Roman cities became more dense and more polluted, they were unwittingly exposed to neurotoxins through lead pipes and even lead additives used to sweeten wine. .
Finch matched his findings with research of the Tsimane people, an indigenous people of the Bolivian Amazon with an active pre-industrial lifestyle. The dementia rate for people over 65 is only 1% (much lower than the 11% for Americans), leading to the theory that sedentary lifestyles and environmental pollution are major factors in cognitive decline. This is corroborated. “This is the large group of older people with minimal dementia and the most evidence shows that environment is a major determinant of dementia risk,” Professor Finch said. says. “They give us a template for asking these questions.” (Scientists have discovered a way to sneak Alzheimer’s disease drugs into the brain.)
