Dr. Majid Fotuhi

45% of dementia cases in the world can be prevented by addressing 14 factors.

And those 14 factors include diabetes, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, air pollution, hearing loss, vision loss.

A small amount of decline happens with aging, about 2%, 3%.

But it depends on how well you take care of yourself and how well you take care of your brain.

There is no need to lose cognitive decline to the point of not being able to function.

You may be a little slower in remembering things.

You may be a little slower in using an app or setting up a podcast.

But, you know, you should be able to have a full life, enjoy life to the fullest.

Only about 5% of people, based on my experience of having seen thousands of patients, have a predominantly genetic reason for having a disease.

There's an overlap of a disease process and the wear and tear that happens with aging.

For example, your ability to walk...

is fine as you get older, but you just walk a little slower.

However, some people may have a muscle disease and they really can't walk.

The percentage of people who have a muscle disease is very small.

And the same way, the percentage of people who have a pure disease process that affects their brain is very small.

Now, let me clarify something.

There's an early onset Alzheimer's disease

and there's late onset Alzheimer's disease.

Early onset Alzheimer's disease is a disease, is a pure disease.

It's like 90% of it has to do with the genetics and you could slow it, you could make it a little less severe, you could postpone it a little bit, but it's a disease.