Have you misplaced your keys again this week? Forgotten to put the cat out? Or ever climbed the stairs and walked into your bedroom only to find that you can’t remember what you are there for?

We all experience short memory lapses and so called ‘brain blanks’ from time to time, but how many of us worry that these could be the early signs of a failing memory?

Dementia currently affects 750,000 people in the UK and one person in twenty over the age of 65 suffers from some form of loss of brain function due to a specific condition or disease. Symptoms include loss of memory, confusion and problems with speech and understanding. Alzheimer’s is the most common form and accounts for 55% of all cases of dementia. The number is steadily increasing and the British Alzheimer’s Society believes that careful planning for the future is needed now if we are to avoid a major ‘epidemic’.

This could be difficult when there is no way of knowing if you are at risk. Currently there is no existing method of telling who may develop dementia other than a genetic test for one very rare form of the condition. But Swedish scientists have devised a test (opposite), recently published in the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, which they believe could reveal your level of risk.

The test, which assesses physical and lifestyle factors, indicates a risk score which, the researchers claim, predicts dementia occurrence with approximately 70% accuracy (although results still need to be validated in further studies).

The seven test questions are based on a Finnish study that revealed certain midlife risk factors associated with dementia. Initially, 1,409 middle aged people were studied and then assessed twenty years later for symptoms of dementia. Four per cent of those assessed were affected and the results indicated that the chances of developing dementia were significantly linked to certain factors.

These results were used to develop a simple score system to help predict the likelihood of developing dementia in later life. The team hopes that the test can be used not as definite prediction of disease, but as a simple tool to indicate risk and encourage lifestyle changes in those with the highest danger.

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research Trust, told the BBC: ‘It (the test) is still a somewhat blunt instrument because it picks up too many people who may not develop dementia, so much more work is needed to improve and validate its results.’ She was, however, excited at the prospect of being able to identify those at higher risk who might be able to introduce lifestyle changes to reduce it.

The most important one you can make is to improve your nutrition. Numerous studies highlight links between the onset of dementia and the intake of excess salt and saturated fat. Eating less saturated animal fats can reduce excess weight gain and also help to maintain lower cholesterol and bloodpressure levels, three major risk factors associated with dementia.

Mr Ryrie, research programme director at the Mental Health Foundation, said: ‘If people want to protect themselves against dementia, they should limit the amount of salt and saturated fat they consume and eat more foods containing essential B vitamins, omega 3 and zinc.’

Vitamins B6 and B12, found abundantly in oily fish, meat and eggs, are now widely recommended to people over the age of fifty-five as they have been shown to combat elevated homocysteine levels, an amino acid linked to memory loss and dementia.

Omega 3 fish oils are a rich source of the essential fatty acid, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) which forms one of the most important components of the brain and is essential for its function. Brain cell membranes rich in DHA are able to communicate quickly with each other, as DHA plays a significant role in facilitating their messages. Low levels of DHA can slow the efficiency of these messages and in older people, deficiency has been linked with memory loss and mood swings.

As DHA cannot be readily manufactured by the body, omega 3 fatty acids need to be obtained from oily fish in the diet or from supplementation.

Zinc is also an integral part of the communication structure between nerve cells, facilitating normal brain function. Only 50% of people obtain the 15mg recommended daily allowance of dietary zinc and deficiencies have been linked to impairments in cognitive function.

Other specific nutrients may also benefit cognitive function. Clinical evidence suggests that ginkgo biloba has beneficial effects. A study involving 34 post-menopausal women treated with 120mg gingko daily performed significantly better in memory tests than those who received a placebo¹. The benefits of ginkgo are attributed to its widening of the blood vessels, which allows improved flow to the brain, as well as its antioxidant properties, which help to protect the brain against cell-damaging ‘free radical’ molecules.

Phosphatidyl serine, naturally present in brain-cell membranes, also helps to maintain healthy cognitive function, playing a vital part in the transfer of messages between the cells.

During the last decade, we have come to realise that certain key nutrients have a special function, at optimal levels of intake, in maintaining brain health and preventing age-related cognitive decline’ said Mr Ryrie.

As with the prevention of many diseases, a healthy diet, adequate nutrition and regular exercise are vital in reducing the major risk factors associated with dementia.

¹Hartley et al; Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2003 Jun; 75 (3):711-20.

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