8 Ways to Maintain Your Brain

In coming decades, millions of men will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders. Tap the latest science to avoid becoming one of them.

- John Briley

IN JULY 2015, Jeff Borghoff, a high-level IT professional and father, noticed his memory slipping. He was 51. “I used to have no problem recalling entire conversations but that became so hard I started recording some of them.”

He asked for a less demanding job. But before the transfer was set, Borghoff was hospitalised with a stomach virus and facial twitching. Doctors were stumped by his trouble with memory, speech, language and cognition.

After months of frustration, a doctor looked at Borghoff’s family history, questioned his wife, and did spinal fluid and neuropsychological testing. The diagnosis: early-onset Alzheimer’s, a disease that had struck his father, grandfather and uncle.

Borghoff is no longer employed, but he walks, jogs and cycles. He’s watching his diet and is learning to play a musical instrument. He and his doctor are optimistic that a cure will be found soon.

Something needs to happen. Currently, over 413,00 Australians are living with dementia. By 2056, that figure will balloon to over 1.1 million people. Fortunately, the past few years have brought new discoveries, tests and treatments, plus more effective