Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Arterial Stiffness and Dementia

Dementia, along with Alzheimer’s disease, is one of the most difficult conditions that a person of advanced age can deal with. Dementia progressively takes a person’s memory and cognitive abilities away. The definition of dementia according to the mayo clinic is “a group of symptoms affecting thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily functioning.” Eventually a patient cannot really function when stricken with dementia. It’s very important that we can see dementia coming, while it’s unavoidable, the sooner you know it’s there the sooner you can help delay some effects.



In a recent study it was shown that PET scans help detect a link between arterial stiffness and dementia. This was an interesting discovery when you think about the fact that the stiffening of the arteries is enough to show a likelihood of dementia setting in without the symptoms actually setting in. It was stated in an article by auntminnie.com that “Arterial stiffness appears to play a role in hypertension and the adverse effects it can have on the brain, including impaired cognitive function and dementia in older adults.” One thing that was noted was the fact that there is no known or clear relationship between arterial stiffness and beta amyloid deposition.

One thing that this is likely to set off is the possibility of greater screening among older patients. Memory loss is a common side effect of aging and in some cases it can be a far greater concern. Due to the fact that aging is a natural process there is not as great of a push as there should be with conditions like dementia simply because they cannot be reversed or cured. Perhaps with greater research in the field and more concentration on screening for the possibility of dementia there may be a way to discover how to slow the effects of the condition.

Chances are that there are many years before this happens. Part of the problem is going to be actually being able to take existing studies and further proving the relation between arterial stiffness and dementia. This discovery is a step in the right direction and it will aide in fighting dementia as well as Alzheimer’s disease.


If you have any questions about diagnostic imaging procedures please feel free to give us a call. Our team of dedicated imaging professionals here at Clermont Radiology looks forward to answering all your questions and aiding you in all your imaging needs.



Charla Hurst General
Operations Manager

Charla@ClermontRadiology.com  
352-241-6100 




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