In the elderly, cardiovascular risk factors (tobacco, alcohol, diabetes, overweight, sedentary lifestyle, etc.) and stroke worsen the risk of cognitive decline, according to a new study.
Cardiovascular risk factors (tobacco, alcohol, diabetes, overweight, sedentary lifestyle, etc.) and stroke increase the risk of cognitive decline in the elderly. Here, summarized in a few words, the conclusions of a new study published in JAMA Neurology.
Synergy
The term “cognitive decline” refers to the alteration of all psychic processes related to the mind. It encompasses a multitude of functions orchestrated by the brain: language, memory, reasoning, coordination of movements (praxies), recognition (gnosias), perception and learning as well as executive functions grouping together reasoning, planning, judgment and organization.
The team of scientists analyzed data from 223 participants aged 50 to 90. All had normal cognitive abilities.
The research was designed to determine whether cardiovascular and stroke risk factors were synergistic with cognitive decline, or whether these three variables each changed on their own without influencing each other. Another objective was to determine if vascular risk was a good indicator of cognitive decline.
The trial results indicate that having vascular risk factors like diabetes, smoking, or high blood pressure can accelerate cognitive decline in older adults. In other words, the vascular risk factors and cognitive decline do not add up, they potentiate each other, that is, they worsen each other.
Targeting modifiable vascular risk factors
Moreover, the effect of vascular risk on cognitive decline is amplified in people with higher levels of amyloid in the brain, which, let us remember, are biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Our results justify targeting modifiable vascular risk factors, alone or in combination with amyloid therapies, to delay cognitive decline. Measurements of vascular risk may also complement existing biomarkers and help identify those most at risk of cognitive decline, ”explains Jennifer Rabin, lead author of the article.
Recent findings indicate that high levels of amyloid in the brain are necessary but not sufficient to predict impending cognitive decline. Concerning Alzheimer’s disease, for example, researchers have just shown that the accumulation of beta-amyloid protein begins very slowly, years before the biomarkers become abnormal.
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