Bangalore: Memory loss could occur at an age as early as 45 suggest a new research. As per the study of Epidemiology and Population Health in France and University College London (UCL) which was led by Archana Singh-Manoux, adults aged 45 begin to suffer a loss in memory and mental reasoning that makes scientists rethink over the way medicine can prevent dementia.

The previous notion that the brain’s decline does not begin before 60 years of age was contradicted by this study as Archana said "Cognitive function in normal, healthy adults begins to decline earlier than previously thought," as reported by Health 24. It was noted that the age at which memory, reasoning and comprehension skills start to deteriorate is important as drugs are most likely to work only when given to people when they first begin to experience mental impairment.

The large study conducted over a 10 year period on more than 7,000 civil servants aged between 45 and 70 assessed their memory, vocabulary, hearing and vision. In this period the participants were tested three times for their cognitive function. It was noted that over time the test scores for memory, reasoning and vocabulary skills had dropped. The test observed that the decline was faster among the older participants.

The research highlighted that cognitive ageing would help in early identification of those at risk for dementia. Singh said "It doesn't suddenly happen when you get old. That variability exists much earlier on. The next step is going to be to tease that apart and look for links to risk factors," reported Reuters.