Local Doctor Says Lifestyle Changes Can Prevent Dementia

For Dr. Majid Fotuhi, the answer to keeping the "brain young" is simple. Ballroom dancing.

"When people say, 'What's the one thing I can do?' I say, 'Dance.' " Fotuhi told CNN for an article titled, "How to cut your risk of memory loss."

Fotuhi is the chairman of Neurology Institute for Brain Health and Fitness and an assistant professor of neurology at , based in Lutherville. His research has made him a leading expert in how the brain ages.

He insists that simple lifestyle changes, particulary moderate excercise, is the best way to prevent forms of dementia and keeping the brain sharp.

From the CNN article:

"Using new, more powerful MRI scanners, researchers have shown how even moderate exercise can actually increase the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for forming memories, essentially turning back the clock and making the brain younger.

"'We have found this treasure, this amazing phenomenon that the brain can grow," Fotuhi says.'"

To find out more about Fotuhi's research, readers should check out "Modifiable factors that alter the size of the hippocampus with ageing," a recently published article in Nature magazine.