Mild Cognitive Impairment Rates Higher than Expected
The growth in the number of cases of mild cognitive impairment in the
elderly population is outstripping earlier predictions, Mayo Clinic
researchers report. That rate of cognitive impairment increased with age, with
about 3.5 percent of those aged 70 to 79 developing cognitive impairment and 7.2
percent of those aged 80 to 89 developing it. the study also
found that men were almost twice as likely to develop mild cognitive impairment
than women.
Exercise May Prevent Brain Shrinkage in Early Alzheimer’s
Disease
Mild Alzheimer’s
disease patients with higher physical fitness had larger brains compared to mild
Alzheimer's patients with lower physical fitness, according to a study published
in the July 15, 2008, issue of Neurology.
“People with early Alzheimer’s disease who were less physically fit had four
times more brain shrinkage when compared to normal older adults than those who
were more physically fit, suggesting less brain shrinkage related to the
Alzheimer's disease process in those with higher fitness levels,” said study
author Jeffrey M. Burns, MD, of the University of Kansas School of Medicine in
Kansas City and member of the American Academy of Neurology.
Statins Found to Reduce Risk of Memory Loss
In a study by University of
Michigan, School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, individuals
using the lipid-lowering Statin medications were found to be less likely to have
incident dementia/cognitive impairment without dementia during a 5-year
follow-up. These results add to the emerging evidence suggesting a protective
effect of statin use on cognitive outcomes.
Certain Blood-Pressure Drugs Good For Brain, Study Finds
In a study by the Wake
Forest University Baptist Medical Center, a link was found to exist between
taking centrally active ACE inhibitors and lower rates of mental decline as
measured by the Modified Mini-Mental State Exam, a test that evaluates memory,
language, abstract reasoning and other cognitive functions. For each year that
participants were exposed to ACE inhibitors that cross the blood brain barrier,
the decline in test results was 50 percent lower than the decline in people
taking other kinds of high blood pressure pills.
Researchers from Boston
University School of Medicine made similar finding about patients taking
angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) were 35% to 40% less likely to develop
Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia compared with people who didn't take the
drugs. Also, those taking the drugs were less likely to develop delirium, to be
admitted to facilities, or to die. Those patients who suffered strokes before or
during being diagnosed with dementia seemed to especially benefit from taking
ARBs. The study indicates that ARBs might protect people against Alzheimer's
disease and dementia, researchers noted.
