Ballabgarh villagers in Haryana have lowest Alzheimer’s risk: Report

Ballabgarh in north Indian state of Haryana could come up in the world map for an altogether new reason: The village has perhaps the lowest number of Alzheimer’s disease risk in the world, according to a report.

Occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease is considered to be the lowest in the Ballabgarh community. Record show that the number of Alzheimer’s cases reported in Ballabgarh is far lower than any anywhere else in the world, researchers believe.

University of Pittsburgh researchers studied the disease patten in Ballabgarh for several years, before arriving to this conclusion.

Researchers studied more than 5,000 people for Alzheimer’s disease. They often adopted screening processes designed suitable for the local people considering thier culture educational levels etc.

Pittsburgh researchers found even though that people in Ballabgar did not tend to live as long as is the case in wealthier, more developed areas, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease was very low among them.

When the researchers compared Ballabgarh villagers’ lower life expectancy with that of other developed nations, they found that the rate of Alzheimer’s disease was significantly below those in the UK and less than a third of those in parts of the US, the report said.

Looking for a reason for the low incidence of Alzheimer’s disease in Ballabgar villagers, researchers noticed that they lacked a gene called `APO4E’, which predisposes people to the devastating disease.

APO4E gene was found to be lacking in farming communities in other parts of the world as well  Pennsylvania, US.

However, compared to the farmers in Pennsylvania, Ballabgarh villagers were physically active and unusually healthy.

What is Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that gradually destroys a person’s memory and ability to learn, reason, make judgments, communicate and carry out daily activities.

Alzheimer’s is a leading cause of dementia.Alzheimer’s disease may result from the build-up of toxic beta-amyloid peptides in the brain.

As Alzheimer’s disease progresses, individuals may also experience changes in personality and behavior, such as anxiety, suspiciousness or agitation, as well as delusions or hallucinations.

Most of Ballabgarh villagers are ate a low-fat, vegetarian diet nas they had much lower cholesterol levels.

Obesity, stress were virtually absent in Ballabgarh villagers and they enjoyed strong family support unlike in other, more urban parts of India.

Researchers believe that these could be the factor protecting the Ballabgarh villagers from Alzheimer’s disease.