Playing Majhong causes Epilepsy

Majhong

It's one of those games I have heard of a lot, been intrigued by the name and had intentions to check out sometime when I had time, but never have -- at least not yet.

As I understand it this is a very popular game in China. From its description, it could help avert Alzheimer's since it requires a lot of cognitive skills. But it seems it may also induce some kind of epileptic seizures.

When I first decided to post this news story here, I was thinking there would be no link to Alzheimer's at all in what I wrote. I was just going to post an interesting news story connecting the popular tile game to epilepsy. But as I typed I realized there was a connection.

Studies have indicated that people who maintain a lifestyle that involves active use of the brain are much less likely to develop Alzheimer's. So people who read a lot, do crossword puzzles or jigsaw puzzles, etc -- actiities that involve actively using the brain -- are much less likely to develop Alzheimer's. That means that I am not a good candidate to be an Alzheimer's victim even though my father suffers from it because I read a lot!

If you have a family member or friend with early stage Alzheimer's and you can get them to pursue activities that involve cognitive skills perhaps it will help slow the progress. I am no doctor and I am not aware of any studies to support this for those already with Alzheimer's. It is just a thought and may not be a practical one.

I do know that when we took my father on a trip to the western US last year, the first few days he was more or less in the same condition as we left. But later in the trip (it lasted 10 days) he was more mentally alert than normal. It seemed the constant barrage of new information stimulated his brain. He was better for a short time after we returned home than he was before we made the trip. That is simply my observation.

So to avoid Alzheimer's (to reduce the risk), try activities that stimulate the mind. Doctors talk about doing aerobic exercise to reduce your risk of heart disease, do mental exercise to reduce risk of Alzheimer's. Read books, do Sudoku puzzles, do anything except sit at home and watch TV. Stimulate that mind.

And check out Majhong if you care but be aware that overdoing it could inadvertently trigger epilepsy.