Dementia symptoms get better in summer

DEMENTIA symptoms get better in the summer and autumn, scientists have found in an intriguing discovery which hints at new ways to fight the condition.

Canadian researchers studied more than 3,000 people with an average age of 77 and found their mental function declined by the equivalent of 4.8 years in the spring and winter months. They were also 30pc more likely to reach the threshold for cognitive ability where they would be diagnosed with dementia.

Researchers say that screening in winter and spring may be a better way of spotting dementia early as symptoms may be masked in the summer and autumn.

Writing in the journal ‘PLOS Medicine’, Dr Andrew Lim of the University of Toronto, said: “We found that older adults with and without dementia have better thinking and concentration in the late summer and early fall than in the winter and spring.

“By shedding light on the mechanisms underlying the seasonal improvement in cognition in the summer, these findings also open the door to new avenues of treatment for Alzheimer disease.”

Scientists are unsure why cognition improves in the summer and autumn but says it shows that the brains of people with dementia are still capable of improvement. The phenomenon may be caused by differing levels of vitamin D, sex hormones and melatonin, which shift with the seasons. (© Daily Telegraph)