25% of Elderly Lose Memories to Cardiovascular Damage
Print
EmailST. PAUL, Minn. – 'Silent strokes,’ or small spots of dead brain cells, are found in one out of four older adults.
Researchers are linking these ‘silent strokes’ to the memory loss experienced by elderly people.
The video to the right illustrates the effect of strokes on the brain and how they often lead to vascular dementia.
Adam M. Brickman, PhD, of the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, authored the study.
Dr. Brickman pointed out that,
“The new aspect of this study of memory loss in the elderly is that it examines silent strokes and hippocampal shrinkage simultaneously.”
The study is published in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
For the study, 658 people were found who were dementia-free and 65 years or older. They were given:
- MRI brain scans
- Memory tests
- Language assessments
- Information processing speed measurements
- Visual perception exams.
Silent strokes were found in 174 participants.
According to the study, participants who were free of silent strokes did measurably better on memory tests. The actual size of a person's brain, and of the memory center of the brain called the hippocampus in particular, made no difference. This would imply that silent strokes effect all brains equally.
Dr. Brickman concluded,
“Given that conditions like Alzheimer’s disease are defined mainly by memory problems, our results may lead to further insight into what causes symptoms and the development of new interventions for prevention. Since silent strokes and the volume of the hippocampus appeared to be associated with memory loss separately in our study, our results also support stroke prevention as a means for staving off memory problems.”
Related Videos & Articles
More Information
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of 24,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. Click here for more information about the American Academy of Neurology.http://www.aan.com.
.
