2021 Celebrations of the Center:

PRESIDENT’S  REPORT

Dear Friends: 

The meeting on Thursday, January 28, 2021, started with a prayer by Mrs. Pratibhaben Butala. The meeting was anchored by Pankaj Parikh, VP. The meeting was recorded and placed on YouTube by Jagdish Patel, VP-PR. 

In his welcome address, President requested viewers to observe a moment of silence to pay tribute to (1) Pravinchandra Doshi, the father-in-law of Dhiren Gandhi, IASCCOFNY’s Jt. Treasurer, and the mother of Amita Gandhi and Anuj Doshi, and (2) Taraben Shah, the mother of Kishorbhai and Rameshbhai Shah and auntie of Kailasben (Dinesh) Shah. Condolences to the families. May God rest their souls in peace. Condolence messages may be sent to (1) Dhiren Gandhi at adrgandhi@gmail.com and (2) Kishorbhai/Rameshbhai at kishshah2@gmail.com

It’s noteworthy that Taraben passed away two days after her family celebrated 100th birthday. 

1 (a): Vaidehi Jokhakar’s Presentation:

Impressed by her presentation on Vaccine a few weeks ago, Vaidehi Jokhakar, LMSW, MPH, was invited today to lecture on Aging and the Brain. Vaidehi was accompanied by her friend Anita Torossian, BA, PhD Student. Both are co-founders of a non- profit organization Mind the Gap Initiative, which aims to bridge the gaps in education and access to mental and physical wellness. 

Armed with a series of self explanatory slides, Vaidehi stated that the cognition level starts declining gradually from age 30 and the decline accelerates after 50. Cognition impacts learning, memory, attention, decision making , speed, sensory perception such as hearing, touch and vision. She explained at length that older adults are prone to mental degeneration and succumb to dementia, Alzheimer, and Parkinson’s diseases. Accident, stroke, and head injuries could change the brain structure culminating into Alzheimer’s which results in to memory loss, difficulties in routine tasks, planning problems, confusion, forgetfulness, impaired visual, difficulties in speaking and writing, poor judgment and change in mood and personality. 

Social isolation, level of education, health care services, and environment significantly impact a person’s health. Food plays an important role in brain since trans fat, sucrose and saturated fat decay memory and learning capacity.

Vaidehi emphasized that healthy body means healthy brain and vice versa and stressed on healthy food habits, normal cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, avoidance of smoking and alcohol, regular enough sleep. Reading, music, and problem solving skills lead to memory improvement. 

Interesting game of counting number of squares in a picture (see attached) kept viewers busy and surprisingly their counts varied.