Blood clots in the brain linked to Alzheimer’s and dementia

	Tweet

According to researchers, from the University of Manchester, UK, spontaneous blood clots are significantly associated with both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

The researchers say this finding may hold the key to treating and preventing dementia.

It is estimated that Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia represent four fifths of all dementias and to date the reason is unclear.

The researchers in this study monitored the occurrence of spontaneous cerebral emboli in 170 patients, half had Alzheimer’s disease and the other half had vascular dementia along with a control group of 150 healthy people of the same age and sex ratio.

Patients on anticoagulant treatment, patients with severe dementia, and controls with marked cognitive impairment were excluded.

Spontaneous cerebral emboli, or spontaneous blood clots or debris from arterial disease in the brain was found after just one hour of monitoring, to be present in 40% of the Alzheimer’s disease patients and 37% of the vascular dementia patients, compared with just 15% in the control group.

The researchers concluded that spontaneous cerebral emboli are closely linked to Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia and may represent a potentially preventable or treatable cause of dementia.

They say that further research is needed as this study is the first of this type.

http://www.manchester.ac.uk/

RELATED STORIES:
Mental decline may shorten life for seniors   Sleepless in Asia…   Depression is an often undiagnosed source of suffering for elderly   REM Sleep Behavior Disorder at Young Age Linked to Antidepressant Use   Teen pot smokers at high risk of mental illness   Health Effects of Casinos Have Been Ignored, Say Experts   Tsunami nations to see surge of depression, anxiety   New data shows half of all children with autism wander and bolt from safe places   US officials urged to speak out about ADHD drug   Ability to Quit Smoking May Depend on A.D.H.D. Symptoms   Clinical predictors of unrecognized bipolar I and II disorders   Heritability of depression more likely in women   Potential universal strategy for treating drug addiction   Pregnancy does not provide protection against depression   Guide to ‘Neurotica’ charts new age of anxiety

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]