Education can guard against Alzheimer’s disease

Highly-educated people are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, a study shows.

The theory that education protects against Alzheimer’s has been strengthened by new research from the University of Cambridge, funded by the EU. The study is published in the British Medical Journal.

According to the researchers, an individual with more cognitive reserve - from higher education or intelligence — uses more efficient processing pathways and can withstand more Alzheimer’s before the initial clinical signs and symptoms emerge.