People who stay in education for longer appear to have better ability to compensate for the effects of dementia on the brain, a study suggests. A UK and Finnish team found those with more education were as likely to show the signs of dementia in their brains at death as those with less. But they were less likely to have displayed symptoms during their lifetime, the study in brain said.Experts said scientists now had to find out why the effect occurred.

    Over the past decade, studies on dementia have consistently shown that the more time someone spends in education, the lower the risk of dementia will be. But studies have been unable to show whether or not education—which is linked to higher socio-economic status and healthier lifestyles—protects the brain against dementia.

    The researchers in this study examined the brains of 872 people who had been part of three large ageing studies. Before their deaths they had also completed questionnaires about their education. The researchers found that more education makes people better able to cope with changes in the brain associated with dementia. It also showed that for each year spent in education, there was an 1% decreased risk of developing dementia.

    In addition, the researchers used data from the Eclipse collaboration, which combines the three European population-based longitudinal studies of ageing from the UK and Finland which have assessed people for up to 20 years. Thisis the largest study ever to confirm that hitting the books could help people fight the symptoms of dementia in later life. What is not known is why a longer education is so good for people. Another reason could be that educated people find ways of managing or hiding their symptoms. What is needed now is more research to find out why an education can make the brain more 'dementia resistant'.

    Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "During dementia, proteins build up in the brain and nerve cells become damaged. This research suggests that education is not able to stop the damage but enables the brain to cope better and alleviate its impact".

(Adapted from http ://www.bbc.com/news/health- 10741274)

What do the researchers need to find out about the relationship between dementia and education?