There have been one or two threads on here about how Alzheimer's sufferers can respond to music, but I'm referring to an article in the latest "Big Issue" magazine by the modern classical composer, John Rutter, in which he says that it is rare for practising musicians to develop Alzheimer's. I personally know two local to us who have done so.

This is the relevant section:-

"What I would actually observe, but I can’t prove this by any scientific surveys, is that musicians rarely get any form of dementia. I’ve known hundreds of musicians in my career, I can only think of a handful whose lives have ended with dementia. There seems to be something about music that keeps the brain healthy. Composers, unlike sports heroes, can go until we drop."

Note - the "Big Issue" is a UK magazine sold to help homeless people - no equivalent in US except local iniatiatives.