Alzheimer's disease progresses more rapidly in the highly educated

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study of New Yorkers shows that high education is linked to rapid decline in Alzheimer's disease.
Previous research has suggested that a high level of education protects against Alzheimer's disease. But researchers at Columbia University now reveal that being well educated is a disadvantage when someone actually has dementia.

They looked at a group of 312 New Yorkers with Alzheimer's disease, monitoring them over five years. Overall mental agility declined for the whole group but did so faster among the better educated. Each additional year of education equated to an additional 0.3 per cent of deterioration.

Why should this be? The researchers put forward the idea of a 'cognitive reserve' - better developed networks of neurons which more educated people have. This holds off Alzheimer's disease, even as damage accumulates to the brain, allowing alternative circuits to operate. But once Alzheimer's does take hold, it has a bigger impact because more damage has had time to accumulate in the brain.

Source
Journal of Neurology Neuropsychiatry and Psychiatry 2006 Volume 77 pages 308-316

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