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Study: Strokes may heighten risk of Alzheimer's
March 11, 1997
Web posted at: 9:24 p.m. EST (0224 GMT)(CNN) -- Strokes, even barely detectable ones, may dramatically boost the possibility of developing Alzheimer's disease and make the symptoms much worse, researchers said Tuesday.
About 4 million Americans have Alzheimer's, a progressive and irreversible neurological disorder whose victims suffer gradual memory loss, impairment of judgment, disorientation, personality change and loss of language skills.
"We can't do anything today to slow down the development of Alzheimer's lesions," said David Snowdon, lead author of the study published in Wednesday's edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association. But "we can do something about strokes."
Snowdon directs the Nun Study, a federally funded project at the University of Kentucky in which 678 members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame agreed to undergo annual mental tests and to donate their brains to science.
Alzheimer's-dementia link
The study involved 102 sisters who died from 1991 to 1995. Sixty-one had the disease, and 39 had small strokes more than two weeks before they died. Those who had also suffered strokes were more likely to have developed the dementia that marks the worst stages of the disease, the study said.
Most strokes occur when a blood clot gets stuck in an artery in the brain, choking off the supply of oxygen.
"The ones having strokes were going down a much steeper slope and hitting bottom much earlier," Snowdon said.
Alzheimer's confuses the formulation of thoughts in the top of the brain. Small strokes ruin relays within the brain, scrambling the expression of thoughts, Snowdon said.
"The two in combination are much worse than you would have expected if you just added them together," he said.
Early diagnosis is crucial
The study is the worst to find that strokes can quicken the onset of and worsen Alzheimer's. The study also suggested that people may be able to help prevent Alzheimer's by not smoking and controlling high blood pressure and diabetes.
There also are other Alzheimer's reports in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.
Because Alzheimer's tends to assault people over 65, experts on the disease advised at a news conference in New York Tuesday that people in that age group have a yearly mental status exam in addition to a physical.
Diagnosing the illness early is the key to possible treatment, said Dr. G. Webster Ross, who works with veterans. (24 sec. / 264K AIFF or WAV sound)
Gene predicts 'early onset'
In the United States, two drugs have been approved for Alzheimer's, and they've had modest success in helping some patients improve scores on written tests as well as their ability to do daily talks.
Researchers have been able to pinpoint a gene for what's known as "early-onset" Alzheimer's, which occurs among less than 5 percent of families. That disease tends to bring the disease out in middle age.
Improvements may be ahead to determine who is likely to have the disease later in life, the doctors said.
A separate study released Monday indicated that some over-the-counter pain relievers, including ibuprofen, may reduce a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's by as much as 60 percent.
Correspondent Brian Jenkins and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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