|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Alzheimer’s Risk Seven Times Greater with Damaged
Temporal Lobe, Brain Blood Vessels
New risk factors to add to worries of senior
citizens about AD
 July 6, 2007 – Senior citizens
fear Alzheimer’s
disease more than any other of the afflictions that strike older adults.
Now, they can add a new risk to that worry. Researchers have found the
risk of AD is seven times greater in cognitively normal adults with
damage to blood vessels in the brain and shrinkage or damage (atrophy)
of their temporal lobe.
“Alzheimer’s disease, a highly debilitating and
ultimately fatal neurological disease, is already associated with other
risk factors such as poor cognitive scores, education or health
conditions,” says study author Caterina Rosano.
“This study, because it focused on healthy,
cognitively normal adults, shows that there other risk factors we need
to consider.”
MRI images of participants’ brains were examined to
identify poor brain circulation, damaged blood vessels and/or atrophy of
the medial temporal lobe. Subjects showing any one or a combination of
these symptoms were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s in the following
years.
“Similarly to heart disease, brain blood vessel
damage is more likely to occur in patients with high blood pressure,
high cholesterol or diabetes,” says Rosano.
“Since we know that prevention of these conditions
can lower risk of heart attack and stroke, it is likely that it would
also lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.”
This study is published in Journal of Neuroimaging.
Editor’s Notes:
Dr. Caterina Rosano is a physician
neuroepidemiologist and assistant professor of epidemiology with the
Center for Aging and Population Health at the University of Pittsburgh.
She is currently developing a model to predict the incidence of
cognitive and physical functional limitations in older adults.
Journal of Neuroimaging addresses the full spectrum
of human nervous system disease including stroke, neoplasia,
degenerative and demyelinating disease, epilepsy, infectious disease,
toxic-metabolic disease, psychoses, dementias, heredo-familial disease
and trauma. Each issue offers original clinical articles, case reports,
articles on advances in experimental research, technology updates, and
neuroimaging CPCs.
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
