Defying Dementia

In developed countries around the world, life expectancy is increasing. But there is an associated cost. The longer we live, the greater the chance our minds will deteriorate and that, due to dementia, we will be unable to control our own lives or live independently. Yet there are steps we can take now to lower our risk of developing dementia later in life. In this book, neurologist Robert Levine first explains the various types of dementia, its increasing incidence and current treatments, as well as treatments being tested and on the horizon. The role of physiology and new insights from the field of genetics is included. The second section focuses on methods we can all incorporate to avoid dementia, and the reasons those methods can be effective. Vignettes illustrate how dementia in its many forms, can be recognized as it emerges. Levine recognises that Baby Boomers, especially now, are attuned to the incidence of dementia in their parents' generation, as well as their own. But, fuelled by remarkable self-efficacy and the will to live well as well as long, Levine argues that this generation and those that follow can take control of their lives in ways that can increase our chances of defying dementia.