Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Attention Fat Lazy Slobs
Study ties strokes to Alzheimer's
2005-05-31 -
By Lisa Fitterman - Toronto Star - Most Alzheimer's
cases are inextricably linked with "silent" strokes,
which have no immediately noticeable side effects,
according to a groundbreaking study by a neurology
professor at the University of Western Ontario.
The strokes appeared to trigger full-blown Alzheimer's
and other forms of dementia, Dr. Vladimir Hachinski
says in a paper to be presented at a conference in
Italy next week.
His findings are based partly on a model developed by
his researchers, in which a protein that causes
Alzheimer's disease was injected into the brains of
rats.
While the rats exhibited some behavioural changes,
those changes were greatly magnified when strokes were
induced into their brains' cores.
Strokes are caused when the flow of blood to the brain
is interrupted, resulting in long-term damage ranging
from partial paralysis to speech impairment.
Alzheimer's, meanwhile, is a progressive disease
leading to loss of memory and cognitive function.
Hachinski based his work on a U.S. study of the brains
of hundreds of dead nuns.
That study showed 57 per cent of those with
Alzheimer's lesions had had some difficulty
functioning in everyday life, but if the nuns had
suffered a stroke in the outer part of their brains,
that percentage increased to 75 per cent.
If the strokes occurred in the brain's core, it soared
to 93 per cent.
In other words, some people have a predisposition to
Alzheimer's, but may never know it, while stroke seems
to be a trigger in other cases.
"There is an evil synergy here. And doctors have to
break down the barriers and have a common approach to
diagnosis and treatment," said Hachinski, who is
president of the International Society for Vascular,
Behavioural and Cognitive Disorders and also edits the
academic journal Stroke.
"That's the whole point.
"We think that early control of stroke risk factors,
such as high blood pressure, cholesterol levels,
smoking and obesity, may actually help preserve the
brain."
Hachinski's research was funded in part by the
Canadian Stroke Network, which brings together
scientists, charities, governments, health
professionals and pharmaceutical companies in order to
increase knowledge of stroke prevention, treatment and
rehabilitation.
A study by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
found that one-third of elderly Canadians have had a
stroke or some kind of cognitive impairment.
Each year, more than 50,000 Canadians have a stroke,
and more than 300,000 Canadians are living with the
consequences of stroke, making it a leading cause of
adult disability.
Douglas Kearn, 65, an Alzheimer's patient living in
east Riverdale, said he thinks it's perfectly possible
that mini-strokes could have triggered his dementia,
but it's to no avail. "Frankly, I think that medicine
has a lot to learn, especially with the baby-boom
generation now reaching a point where they're facing
it themselves," he said. "That should push them."
Don't bet on it Doug - who's going to waste time trying to help somebody who won't even remember to say thank you!
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