No proof that mental exercise staves off dementia

[19 March 2007 - Centre Daily - Pennsylvania] At age 81, Honor Hacker is on the cutting edge of the latest fitness fad: Exercising the brain. Once a day, she gives her mind a workout - solving math problems and playing memory games - on a special touch-screen computer. It is all based on a concept that's sweeping the medical world: that what you do in your spare time can affect your risk of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. So far, experts admit, there is no direct evidence that "mental stimulation" can prevent anyone from getting Alzheimer's, a degeneration of the brain that affects 4.5 million Americans. Yet a new wave of products is flooding the market, promising to stimulate brain cells and help stave off memory loss. More