A Message From Alzheimer Society of Ontario CEO, Cathy Barrick

A key priority in our work is educating the community around modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. When people are informed about the many things they can do to boost protective factors for their brain health, they might find that putting these habits into place becomes less daunting.

Small habits in your daily life, like going for a walk everyday, learning a new skill, reading regularly, and eating a nutrient-rich diet, all boost protective factors for brain health. Living an active lifestyle and eating healthy are a few ways I reduce my dementia risk. When I find myself feeling stressed, I spend more time outside in nature and near the water. An avid reader for as long as I can remember, I also spend a lot of time reading to keep my brain active and learn new things, which creates resilience in the brain.

There’s a lot of preventative medicine already built into the healthcare system — we are reminded to get a mammogram and a colonoscopy regularly to find potential concerns earlier. So why don’t we do this for the brain? Including the brain in preventative medicine, through regularly scheduled baseline cognitive assessments, for example, would be our ultimate goal.

Beyond lifestyle-related factors, our genetics and familial history with Alzheimer’s can impact risk. I underwent genetic testing to understand my own risk several years ago. I wanted to see if I could qualify for any clinical research surrounding Alzheimer’s prevention. My results revealed that I have two copies of APOE3, meaning that I don’t carry any copies of APOE4, a variant that increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. While some people would rather not know if they are an APOE4 carrier, understanding your risk means that you can actively engage in risk reduction behaviors, potentially access disease-modifying therapies, and participate in clinical research.

Thanks for being here,