featuring TERRY STICKELS

Every 70 seconds someone in America develops Alzheimer’s disease and more than 5.3 million people are living with the progressive disease, reports the Alzheimer’s Association.

There is no cure. However, the Alzheimer’s Association offers a preventative step in the right direction with THE BIG BRAIN PUZZLE BOOK. A recent study conducted over a five-year period by researchers at New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine, published in the August 4, 2009 edition of Neurology online, found that people who regularly stimulate their brains by working through puzzles are more likely to maintain sharp, vital minds. In the study, for every additional activity a person participated in, the onset of rapid memory loss was delayed by 0.18 years.

“The point of accelerated decline was delayed by 1.29 years for the person who participated in 11 activities per week compared to the person who participated in only four activities per week,” said researcher Charles Hall.

THE BIG BRAIN PUZZLE BOOK is filled with brainteasers created by internationally-syndicated puzzle writer Terry Stickels. Stickels is well known for his three columns: “Frame Games,” published in USA Weekend magazine; “Stickelers,” featured in more than 200 newspapers daily including The Washington Post; and he is the featured puzzle columnist for London’s largest newspaper, The Guardian.

The proceeds from THE BIG BRAIN PUZZLE BOOK will aid the Alzheimer’s Association in their efforts to fight Alzheimer’s disease.

Reviews:

“Terry Stickels’s puzzles are perfect brain stimulators for young and old alike…They’re fresh, varied and well thought-out, and they build on problem-solving skills that are useful both academically and in everyday life.”

—Will Shortz, crossword editor for The New York Times

About the Alzheimer’s Association