http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=9469&utm_source=feedburner&...

ST. PAUL, Minn. – New research shows that mentally stimulating activities such as crossword puzzles, reading and listening to the radio may, at first, slow the decline of thinking skills but speed up dementia later in old age. The research is published in the September 1, 2010, online issue of Neurology®,the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

“Our results suggest that the benefit of delaying the initial signs of cognitive decline may come at the cost of more rapid dementia progression later on, but the question is why does this happen?” said study author Robert S. Wilson, PhD, with Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.