Being bilingual delays Alzheimer's

• April 26, 2024

Experts from Canada unveiled a study on the bilingualism and its help in delaying up to 5 years the appearance of the symptoms of Alzheimer's .

The research carried out by members of the Rotman Research Institute of Toronto, was published in the journal Neurology and adds its results to previous projects with similar hypotheses .

For the study, data were collected from 211 patients diagnosed with principles of Alzheimer's . 102 of them were bilingual and 109 spoke a single language. Both groups were equivalent in the cognitive levels.

The study makes it clear that the bilingualism does not prevent Alzheimer's , but compensate partially the loss of brain abilities affected by the disease.

The research showed that bilingual patients (who had frequently spoken 2 or 3 languages) were diagnosed 4.3 years later and that they registered the appearance of symptoms (memory, confusion, difficulties to solve problems, etc.) 5.1 years later than patients with only one language.

Fergus Craik, head of the research, explained "We are not saying that bilingualism can prevent Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, but it does help to create cognitive reserves in the brain that seem to delay the onset of their symptoms for several years."

Video Medicine: Bilingualism May Delay Dementia, Dr. Judith Kroll (April 2024).