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
Operations Manager
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