PLIE Helps Patients with Alzheimer's

  PLIE (Preventing Loss of Independence Through Exercise) is a new program that combines elements of Eastern and Western traditional exercises and emphasizes focus on performing basic functional movements,encouraging social engagement and increasing bodily awareness. In the small group studied, patients would arrive at the exercise facility not remembering that they had been there but would start going through the movements of the routine. This fits with what we know about Alzheimer's : memory for events is impaired but procedural memory holds out and resists declination.
65th Annual AAN meeting San Diego March 2013
  In a related study, daily walking has been shown to stabilize Alzheimer's disease across one year.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2013;56(1):96-103

Gene Mutation Increases Risk of Alzheimer's

  ABCA7 genetic mutation in African Americans nearly doubles the risk of Alzheimer's disease. It is not associated with the disease in Europeans.
JAMA April 10, 2013

Hearing Loss is Associated With Accelerated Cognitive Decline

  Cognitive testing was performed on 1,984 older adults at five, eight, ten and eleven years. A total of 1,162 individuals with baseline hearing loss had 41% and 32% greater scores on 3MS and Digit Symbol substitution Tests respectively compared to those with normal hearing.
  The conclusion, those with hearing loss had a 24% increased risk for cognitive impairment.
JAMA online Jan 21, 2013