Chess vs Alzheimer's Disease

Keene on Chess

Chessville.com

Evidence is indeed emerging that playing chess can be effective in warding off Alzheimers Disease, one which afflicts, in America alone, 4 million sufferers. Doctors at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York have found that one can significantly lower the likelihood of suffering from Alzheimers or other forms of dementia if one engages in playing chess. Purely physical activities failed to lower the risk. Learning and memory were far more important.

The New England Journal of Medicine reports research by Professor Joe Verghese who has discovered that playing chess can reduce the risk of dementia by as much as 74%. Solving crossword puzzles showed a trend towards reduced risk - 38% - but the association was less significant than playing chess or solving chess puzzles according to the official findings.

Professor Verghese stated that, “It is similar to the physical state. If you exercise and build up muscles then you become more resistant to injury and other illnesses. If you exercise your brain then you are also more resistant to the effects of dementing illnesses such as Alzheimers. If you challenge the brain you lay down new connections and promote growth of new cells in areas which are affected by Alzheimers”. The day may not be far off, according to Professor Verghese, "when doctors recommend a game of chess along with physical exercise and a healthy diet."

According to further research by Doctor Gene Cohen, the Director of the Centre for Ageing, Health and Humanities at George Washington University:

“Challenging your brain can have positive effects. The plasticity of the brain is directly related to the production of new dendrites, the branched, tree-like neural projections that carry electrical signals through the brain. Every time you challenge your brain it will actually modify the brain. We can indeed form new brain cells, despite a century of being told that it’s impossible.”