![]() Mental Capital through Life: Future Challenges (Government Office for Science, 2008).Īlbert, M. Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project. Kirkwood, T., Bond, J., May, C., McKeith, I. Learning Difficulties: Future Challenges (Government Office for Science, 2008). Workers' mental well-being is an important factor when attempting to improve the mental capital of economies and societies. The workforce is changing both in demographics and in the demands placed on it. ![]() Changing needs for a changing workplace.This can have a direct effect on mental health and well-being across all age groups, and has particular promise in older people. There is great potential in improving diagnosis and treatment, and in addressing social risk factors such as debt. The challenge of tackling mental ill-health is considerable. What science could do in the early yearsĬognitive neuroscience is already uncovering neural markers, or biomarkers, that can reveal learning difficulties as early as in infancy.The genetic contribution to mental capital is well below 50% in childhood, rising to more than 60% in adulthood and old age. There is huge scope for improving mental capital through different types of intervention. This will also allow patients to be diagnosed earlier, allowing them to seek treatment and support, and plan for their futures. Furthermore, new insights into underlying mechanisms, coupled with the use of more selective cohorts in clinical trials (see below), will be essential in the development of effective drugs, including those to enhance cognition or for neuroprotection. Genes have also been shown to play a part in the development of the disease, particularly the E4 variant of the apolipoprotein E (refs 8, 9). Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can also be used to measure brain atrophy, particularly in regions that are affected in Alzheimer's, such as the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus 6, 7. For instance, altered levels of proteins such as tau protein and Aβ42 (a pathogenic form of amyloid) in cerebrospinal fluid can identify patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease 5. The plaques and neurofibrillary tangles that characterize the disease begin to form many years before any clinical signs start to appear 4. Alzheimer's disease, for example, accounts for about 60% of all dementia cases. ![]()
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