(25 Jul 2017) LEADIN:
Staying active and socialising are two ways of helping to keep your brain healthy as you get older, according to dementia researchers.
Now scientists in the US are combining both those activities in a study that's taking participants on a trip down memory lane.
STORYLINE:
Walking, talking, reminiscing.
This group is taking a stroll down memory lane - with a difference.
They are walking to locations that remind them of their youth, with the goal of slowing down memory loss that could lead to Alzheimer's.
There are 21 people taking part in this study run by researchers at Oregon Health and Sciences University.
It's called SHARP, which stands for "sharing history through active reminiscence and photo imagery".
Researchers pair seniors experiencing memory problems with others who are cognitively healthy for their age.
"What we find when we walk all of us, is that there are a lot of things that we haven't had to remember and that we can't remember. And then as we walk and talk the memories pop up and it's reassuring that they are still there, number one, and that we can access them," Steen says.
The groups use a map with directions that's loaded onto a tablet computer and follow the route to different neighbourhood sites.
At each stop, the group looks at old pictures and shares memories.
"Walking is good for brain health. We know being socially engaged is good for brain health and there is also memory work involved in this because they are looking at historical photos of the neighbourhood and they are all culturally celebratory," says Dr. Raina Croff, a researcher at Oregon Health and Sciences University.
All the study participants are African American and are over the age of 55.
Researchers say this is an important group to focus on, because African Americans are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's or other types of dementia as older white Americans.
New studies suggest that stress associated with poverty may be a factor in raising the risk of developing Alzheimer's among this demographic group, says Dr. Maria Carrillo, the Chief Science Officer at the Alzheimer's Association.
"Socioeconomic factors and early life experience and even lifelong stress contribute to cognitive decline and risk of dementia. This happens more so in underrepresented populations like African Americans," Carrillo says.
The SHARP study is also looking at why non-white communities do not tend to participate in clinical studies, something that advocates say needs to change.
"Ninety-five percent of the population that participates in clinical trials is actually white Americans and we need to change that because we need to understand actually what might be different in underrepresented populations that increase their risk," says Carrillo.
Croff says that along with jogging participants' memories, the study also encourages them to stay active in the community and to build new relationships.
"There is something very powerful about saying I'm still here, I'm still part of this community and you are going to see me," says Croff.
Making new friends and new memories - all while remembering the past.
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