Emily Clionsky MD And Mitchell Clionsky PhD - Dementia Prevention

Tell Me Your Story

Most everyone knows or has known someone with dementia. And most people fear that they, too, will develop memory problems as they age. As much as many of us joke about it, dementia is a frightening idea. Whether we call it Alzheimer’s disease, Vascular Dementia, Fronto-temporal Dementia, Lewy Body Disease or several others, the progressive loss of our ability to remember, to think, to make decisions and to communicate scares us more than almost any other aging condition. But what if half of all dementias could be avoided? Half of all dementia nursing home beds emptied? Half of all caretakers freed up to lead more normal lives with parents and spouses who still “have it?” What suffering could be avoided and what staggering healthcare costs could be saved? And what if this was not the result of taking some pill, eating some superfood, playing some mind game, or holding your fork in the left hand instead of your right? What if it was a matter of understanding the science that exists today and applying that knowledge to yourself? What if you could keep you thinking like you are 50 when you become 80? Two experts in brain preservation, Emily Clionsky MD and Mitchell Clionsky PhD will show you how to stack the dementia deck in your favor by reading and following the prescription in Dementia Prevention: Using Your Head to Save Your Brain, (John Hopkins University Press; April 4, 2023). The Clionskys are a physician (MD) and a neuropsychologist PhD) who have published research in dementia, developed an accurate dementia test for doctors, and personally treated more than 10,000 patients who have dementia or its preceding condition, Mild Cognitive Impairment. Moreover, they understand the disease personally, having cared for loved ones with dementia in their immediate families. Their goal in this book is to expand their reach, to move from what they now do in their office consultation rooms to the much larger audience of readers who want to use medical science and behavior change to maintain their brains. In Dementia Prevention, they take you on a guided tour through dementia types, teach you the history of these neurological diseases, and discuss the more than 15 different factors known to affect your risk. They build a visual model of dementia risk, chapter by chapter, pulling all of this information together in a clear picture of how these various pieces interact. When you fill out your individual “Dementia Risk Checklist” that is included in the book (and available online through www.braindoc.com) you will create your own picture of your strengths and your areas needing improvement. But having factual knowledge and theoretical understanding is not enough. This is a book about change, about succeeding in modifying your risk. They supplement the many facts and statistics with fascinating real-life examples to answer the overriding question: How can you become “the one” in the “one of two” people who do not have to age into dementia? Drawing on decades of experience as therapists and behavior change experts, the Clionskys will give you practical and proven cognitive behavioral methods that you can apply so that you can improve your brain in the near future and keep your brain healthy for decades. In Dementia Prevention, you’ll learn about: The roles of genes, early-life experiences, and gender in dementia risk—and how even postmenopausal women born to mothers who smoked, drank alcohol, and abused them can take steps to optimize their chances of improved brain health in their future. Midlife medical conditions that affect dementia risk, including hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. And why even some areas you never considered, such as hearing loss, over-the-counter medications, and isolation can become areas for improvement to help keep your brain sharp.