Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia

Biography

Biography: Ana Patricia Aguilera Hermida

Abstract

As part of the process of aging, some older adults experience diminishment of cognitive abilities. The decline may become sufficiently serious that older people are not able to live independently or manage their lives. It has recently been shown that cognitive training can promote neural and cognitive plasticity (Draganski et al., 2006). Slowing decline of the aging mind is both an economic and quality of life issue that impacts the emotional well-being of older adults and their families or caregivers (Greenwood & Parasuraman, 2010; Goh & Park, 2009). I developed a course for preventing cognitive decline as a primary prevention strategy. When courses are focused on specific cognitive functions, such as memory or visuospatial ability, participants found them irrelevant and not related to their lives (Fang et al., 2009). Therefore, the structure of this course is holistic. Cognitive decline has a multifactorial etiology, resulting from interactions between both genetic and environmental factors (e.g. gene APOE, diabetes, vascular insults, neuronal damage, and high cholesterol/triglycerides), so the interventions have to be conducted multidimensionally, combining interventions for multiple risk factors (Srisuwan, 2013). Following a multidimensional and holistic structure, the course will have six basic components: education, meditation, cognitive stimulation through senses, emotions, social impact, and physical activity. I am presenting the structure of the course and the possible benefits for older adults.