A sophisticated vocabulary helps ladies stave off Alzheimer's disease, says a health news story today. Yeah, in your face, brain lesions!
As someone who works in the health arena, I'll be the first to say NEVER believe without question everything you read or hear about the latest, hottest new health finding. Health research is a gradual accretion of discoveries and evidence, some of which hold up over time and some of which are refuted by further investigation. The researchers who conducted the study that's the focus of this news report cautioned that no conclusions can be drawn from this small, preliminary study.
But I sure hope further research confirms this tantalizing suggestion that women who developed sophisticated language skills as young adults were less likely to develop dementia or Alzheimer's later in life -- even if they had the tell-tale lesions associated with Alzheimer's at their deaths. The hypothesis is that developing complex language skills builds neural connections that may help stave off the ailment's symptoms. I hope it proves true, because then I could add a tagline to my blog that says, "Vocabulary: It's Not Just Fun; It's Good for You, Too!"
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