Alzheimer’s disease is a complex disease with many unanswered questions. New research is showing a link however to those with bilingual language abilities being more resilient to the dementia effects cause by Alzheimer’s disease. This new study shows that those fluent in more than one language are somewhat more protected from dementia. As more people become bilingual throughout the world risk could continue to be lowered for this disease. This study was completed in Northern Italy. 85 patients underwent brain scans. 45 were bilingual and 40 spoke only one language. More research is sure to be completed but this is promising news for those concerned with Alzheimer’s and dementia. The study was published on Monday January 30th. Dr. Clare Walton is very hopeful about the information that this study provides.
Key Points:
- 1People who speak more than one language develop dementia symptoms an average of five years later and are able to cope with a greater level of brain dysfunction than monolinguals living in the same geographic area.
- 2Researchers scanned the brains of 85 people in Northern Italy who were all at a similar stage of dementia due to probable Alzheimer’s disease.
- 3This elegant study provides new evidence that people who are fluent in more than one language have some protection against dementia.
People who speak more than one language develop dementia symptoms an average of five years later and are able to cope with a greater level of brain dysfunction than monolinguals living in the same geographic area.
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