SUNDAY, April 6 (HealthDay News) -- Small blood vessel damage
caused by hypertension and diabetes may be among the leading causes
of dementia, according to new research.
The findings provide an additional reason to control these
common conditions, according to Dr. Thomas Montine of the
University of Washington, who was to present the study Sunday at
Experimental Biology 2008 in San Diego.
The autopsied brains of a third of men and women with dementia
or cognitive decline showed evidence of small vessel damage -- a
cumulative injury that can result from multiple small strokes
caused by hypertension and diabetes. The strokes are often so small
that the person notices nothing until the cumulative effect reaches
critical mass, the researchers said.
Meanwhile, 45 percent of the risk for dementia was associated
with pathologic changes of Alzheimer's disease. Another 10 percent
risk was linked to Lewy bodies, which are neocortical structural
changes that indicate a degenerative brain disease known as Lewy
Body Dementia, a possible variant of Alzheimer's and/or Parkinson's
disease, the study found.
The finding about small vessel disease challenges conventional
wisdom and conclusions from most autopsy studies of brain aging and
dementia, Montine said in a prepared statement.
The broader population sample on which the autopsy study was
based may be reason for the differing results, he said. Most
previous research had focused on participants in Alzheimer's
disease center studies, or was limited to one gender, ethnic or
professional group. The individuals in the new study were part of a
large managed care program and representative of the Seattle urban
and suburban area they came from: white, Asian, African-American
and Hispanic, with a range of educational and professional
levels.
In the study, which ran from 1994 to 2006, some participants
suffered cognitive impairment and dementia, while others did not.
Roughly a third of all 3,400 participants died, and autopsies were
performed on the 221 who had given permission for this to be
done.
More information
The American Heart Association has more about
controlling high blood pressure.
