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Significant
Dementia Risk attributable to Small Blood
Vessel damage
Newswise — Autopsy data
of 221 men and women found that the brains
of one-third of individuals who had dementia
before death showed evidence of small,
cumulative blood vessel damage that can
arise from hypertension or diabetes.
Dr. Thomas Montine and
colleagues analyzed the brain tissue of
select volunteers from the Adult Changes in
Thought (ACT) study, wherein 3,400 adult
participants (65+) in the Seattle region
agreed to undergo neurological and
psychological tests every two years until
their death
While some results were
unsurprising, such as showing that changes
due to Alzheimer’s disease or the formation
of Lewy bodies (structures indicative of a
degenerative disease known as Lewy Body
Dementia) accounted for significant dementia
risk, the researchers also found that about
33% of dementia risk was associated with
brain damage from small vessel disease.
This small vessel
damage is the cumulative effect of multiple
tiny strokes caused by hypertension and
diabetes, strokes so small that the person
experiences no sensation or problems until
they reach a tipping point.
While unexpected, this
finding may be good news, because while
Alzheimer’s treatments remain
investigational, there are many options to
reduce hypertension and diabetes.
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