TUESDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- The severity of
age-related changes to white matter in the brain affects how well
older people are able to move around and keep their balance, a new
study says.
White matter changes -- called leukoaraiosis -- are common in
older people.
The study participants included 639 women and men, ages 65 to
84, who underwent walking and balance tests, along with brains
scans. The scans revealed that 284 of the volunteers had mild
age-related changes to their brain's white matter, 197 had moderate
changes, and 158 had severe changes.
Compared to those with mild changes, people with severe changes
were twice as likely to score poorly on the walking and balance
tests and twice as likely to have a history of falls. Participants
with mild changes were 1.5 times more likely than those with mild
changes to have a history of falls.
The findings of the three-year study were published in the March
18 issue of the journal
Neurology.
"Walking difficulties and falls are major symptoms of people
with white matter changes and a significant cause of illness and
death in the elderly," study author Dr. Hansjoerg Baezner, of the
University of Heidelberg in Mannheim, Germany, said in a prepared
statement.
"Exercise may have the potential to reduce the risk of these
problems, since exercise is associated with improved walking and
balance. We'll be testing whether exercise has such as protective
effect in our long-term study of this group," said Baezner, who
noted that mobility problems in older people often lead to
hospitalization and nursing-home placement.
Monitoring white matter changes may assist early identification
of walking problems, which have been linked to other health
issues.
"Recently, gait abnormalities have been shown to predict
non-Alzheimer's disease dementia, so recognition, early diagnosis
and treatment of this disabling condition may be possible through
early detection of walking and balance problems," Baezner said.
The causes of white matter changes and the reasons why it's
worse in some people aren't fully understood. However, researchers
have found evidence of a link to insufficiently treated high blood
pressure.
More information
The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging has more about
walking problems.
