The Best Way to Improve Brain Health

By The Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging from Next Avenue

Credit: Adobe Stock

(Advances in science and public health are increasing longevity and enhancing the quality of life for people around the world. In a series of interviews with the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, 14 visionaries will be revealing exciting trends and insights regarding healthy longevity, sharing their vision for a better future. The Longevity Innovators interviews highlight new discoveries in biomedical and psychosocial science, as well as strategies to promote prevention and wellness for older adults. This is the first in the series.)
Renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Keith Black (chair of the department of neurosurgery and director of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles) has pioneered advances in our understanding and treatment of brain cancers and complex neurological conditions. Black is also a research scientist studying targeted drug delivery, cancer stem cells and Alzheimer’s detection through retinal imaging, among many other areas. In an interview with the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, Black talks about the importance of developing a test for early onset Alzheimer’s and his goal to inspire the next generation.

Dr. Keith Black

What is the most important thing that people should know about improving brain health?

People need to know how important lifestyle is to sustain health. Lifestyle, diet, exercise, moderating stress, making sure you get a good eight hours of sleep when you can, making sure you keep your brain engaged particularly in novel activities — all of these matter. You have to remember the brain is a living organism very much like a muscle — the more you use it, the stronger it becomes.

We need to treat our brains better. For example, try to avoid excessive alcohol and make sure that you screen yourself for diseases like diabetes and hypertension that can be devastating to the brain.

What will be the benefits of having a reliable test for early onset Alzheimer’s?

I think there’s a huge misconception that if you get Alzheimer’s or if you’re going to get Alzheimer’s, there’s nothing that you can do about it. And I think the science shows that that perception is incorrect.

We know two things now that address your question. The first is that Alzheimer’s starts about two decades before a person develops symptoms. During that period of 20 years, you’re losing brain cells, and you’re losing brain connectivity. If you can detect the disease at the very start, particularly before you lose enough brain cells to become symptomatic, we may have the ability to stop the process or at least slow it down and prevent an individual from becoming symptomatic.

If people are developing Alzheimer’s in their 50s and 60s, they are going to become symptomatic in their 70s and 80s. If you can slow the overall process and have people become symptomatic in their late 90s or 100s, you have the ability to essentially prevent the disease from being symptomatic in most of our lifetimes. That’s really the major reason to move towards early detection, because preventing brain loss is a lot easier than restoring brain cells once they’ve died.

The other reason people should be interested is that even though we don’t have a pill that can stop the progression, we know that Alzheimer’s also has a lifestyle component. The scientific evidence shows that lifestyle habits such as a Mediterranean diet, exercise, sleep, meditation and other types of mindfulness modify stress levels. We’re seeing that potentially even micronutrients like the omega-3 fish oils may be very important in slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

What’s your take on Pfizer ending research to find new drugs aimed at treating Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases? How do you think it will impact ongoing research?

I think a lot of the trials that have failed for Alzheimer’s disease, including the Pfizer trial, could’ve been better designed and better developed. I think we have a lot to learn from the failure of those trials.

For example, how do we get the drugs into the brain more effectively? How can we better select the right population of patients to treat? I think addressing those potential reasons for the failures of those drugs will lead to successful therapies and hopefully successful approvals.
By The Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging

The Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging aims to improve lives and strengthen societies by promoting healthy, productive and purposeful aging.

Summer House at Villa Gardens: Making Connections

This is the final blog in a three-part series featuring Summer House at Villa Gardens. Visit our archives to read about the innovative care philosophy and life enrichment programming at this unique memory care neighborhood at Villa Gardens Retirement Community in Pasadena, California.

by Katherine Kennedy, MSG

As the manager of Summer House at Villa Gardens, every day I have the opportunity to witness smiles of joy on the faces of our residents as they experience and discover the many life enrichment opportunities we offer. It’s why I do what I do. Yet, many family members seem to miss out on this experience. For some, there is a feeling of weariness and being disconnected that often accompanies anticipatory grief, since some have been on the dementia care journey for close to 20 years. For others it’s due to the perception of memory care as strictly biomedical.

In the early days when Summer House at Villa Gardens first opened, in spite of everything we aspired to create, I felt something was missing. I soon came to realize it was that essential connection with family members; that a vital part of the care-equation should be to offer them support, education, and additional community resources. Positive connections between family and care partners were what could fuel the success of a resident-centered care philosophy. These important connections could encourage positive and possibly transformational engagement opportunities for our residents. We needed a way to make that happen.

Bringing in community leaders in dementia care as guest speakers and hosting quarterly care conferences are just a few of the ways we make connections with families and offer support. This month, for example, our guest speaker from the USC Family Caregiver Support Center will be discussing self-care for family caregivers. We also wanted the ability to share the positive aspects of daily life with our residents’ families. By introducing the The Memory Kit app to our family members we have been able to share precious moments captured throughout the day through photos stored privately within the app. This kind of sharing allows us to celebrate everyone as a group, while also highlighting residents as individuals.

In an effort to continue to grow our family connections, we’ll soon be inviting our family members to participate in activities using It’s Never 2 Late (iN2L), a 70-inch interactive smartboard. By creating personalized “My Pages” for each resident, families can use iN2L to upload photos and videos to their loved one’s page that can then be viewed on the smartboard. Family members will also be invited to use the smartboards alongside residents to engage in residents’ favorite iN2L programs and activities (see Part 2 of this blog series).

Through the use of these innovative tools and a holistic approach to memory care, we’ve found that we’re not only able to offer stimulating activities customized to our resident needs, but that we can begin to bridge the gap between residents and care partners, residents and families, and care partners with each other as we work together to create a supportive and nurturing environment at Summer House at Villa Gardens. 

In observance of National Alzheimer’s Awareness month in November, we are proud to highlight this three-part blog featuring Summer House at Villa Gardens, a memory care neighborhood. Read more about our care philosophy in Part 1 of this series and our innovative approach to Life Enrichment in Part 2.

Katherine Kennedy graduated with a master’s of science in gerontology from USC in 2015 and received a bachelor’s of science in psychology from Santa Clara University. While in graduate school, she worked at the USC Family Caregiver Support Center helping caregivers of adults with brain impairment and completed her graduate internship with Belmont Village Westwood as its operations intern and activities assistant with a focus on memory programs. After graduation, she worked at Alzheimer’s Orange County in the Outreach and Advocacy Department facilitating community outreach projects related to dementia education and advance care planning, as well as became involved as an advisor for The Memory Kit, an app that seeks to unite care partners in celebrating a loved one or a community group. Katherine is now the Summer House manager and administrator in training at Villa Gardens, a Front Porch retirement community where she manages and oversees the care of and therapeutic programming for 19 individuals with Alzheimer’s and related dementias and the care partners who work to accomplish the programs.

Summer House at Villa Gardens: A Unique Approach to Life Enrichment

This week’s Summer House at Villa Gardens blog will focus on innovative life enrichment programming as a distinctive component to memory care.

Art created by residents at Summer House at Villa Gardens

by Katherine Kennedy, MSG

Life enrichment programming is a vital component of our approach to memory care at Villa Gardens. Combined with a multi-faceted care philosophy, the success of life enrichment opportunities is achieved through focusing on individual needs, capabilities, and the interest level of each group participant. Cognitive status, diagnoses, general observations, and social behavior are all considerations when customizing activities for residents with dementia stages from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to late stage. When appropriate, groups are combined for certain programs such as live music entertainment and garden walks. To make sure we are matching a resident with the suitable environment and stimulation and thereby capitalizing on their strengths, we collaborate with a local psychologist to conduct neuropsychological assessments and therapy. 

Programs considered for Summer House must meet physical, emotional, cognitive, and social aspects of wellbeing to ensure a holistic approach to memory care. In October, we introduced iN2L or “It’s Never Too Late,” a 70-inch smartboard designed to allow users, regardless of physical or cognitive abilities, to engage with touch screen technology. With its customized content geared toward life enrichment and wellbeing, it has expanded the ways that our team connects and interacts with residents. To create a personalized experience for each resident and care partner, a ‘My Page’ platform is included in the iN2L system allowing favorite music, games, photos and videos, even websites to be easily accessed.

To engage residents physically, iN2L includes programs like “Conductorcise,” cycling and chair dancing that also activate physical activity for residents in a way that is interactive. In addition in-person classes are taught such as chair Yoga, art, “Ageless Grace” and a drum circle.

Emotional and spiritual needs can be met through activities such as pet therapy, “PARO,” “Music and Memory,” aromatherapy and ceremonies such as religious communion. iN2L programs available to meet those needs include “Reminiscence,” “Pastimes,” “Comedy,” and “Radio and Commercials.” 

To maintain cognitive status as long as possible, iN2L features programs such as “Trivia,” “Sing Along w/ Susie Q,” “Travelogue,” “Guided Tours with Rick Steves,” lectures and special events. These activities also create a point of engagement with residents and allow care partners to learn more about our residents.

Lastly, socialization is an extremely important aspect of wellbeing especially for residents with dementia. New residents who move in often times have problems socializing in larger environments and may isolate themselves and decline physically and mentally as a result. To address this need we create opportunities for socializing through activities outings, special events, cultural days, and birthday luncheons.

One of the greatest feelings about living in Summer House is that our residents are surrounded by people they know – whether at a meal, an outing, or a “Celebration of Life.” We are family here and we try our very best to create a genuine and thoughtful approach to all the aspects of wellbeing for all our residents.

Do you have a loved one living with dementia or Alzheimer’s, what activities have you found helpful?

In observance of National Alzheimer’s Awareness month in November, we are proud to highlight this three-part blog featuring Summer House at Villa Gardens, a memory care neighborhood. Read more about our care philosophy in Part 1 of this series and resources and support for family members in Part 3.

Visit the Front Porch Communities YouTube channel to find out more about the many life enrichment programs available at our Summer Houses:

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iN2L comes to Sunny View

Music and Memory