�Physical frailness, which is common in older persons, may be related to Alzheimer's disease pathology, according to a study published in the August 12, 2008, issuance of Neurology�, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
For the study, researchers examined the brains of 165 people who had been participants in a larger community of interests study of chronic diseases of aging. While participants were alive, physical frailness measurements were taken yearbook including grip strength, time to walk eight feet, body authorship and fatigue. After death, the brains of these participants were checked for the plaques and tangles that ar signs of Alzheimer's disease pathology.
Of the participants in the study, 36 per centum of the group had dementia, or showed signs of memory loss. "Interestingly, Alzheimer's disease pathology was associated with physical debility in old persons both with and without dementedness," said study author Aron S. Buchman, MD, with Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and appendage of the American Academy of Neurology.
"The level of frailty was approximately two times higher in a person with a high level of AD pathology compared with a person with a low level of AD pathology," aforesaid Buchman. The results remained the same regardless of whether a person had a history of former diseases and regardless of their level of physical activity.
A late study of the same group of participants spell they were alive suggested that old people wHO are physically frail with no cognitive impairment come along to be at higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease as compared to those world Health Organization were less frail. "Together both of these studies suggest that frailty lav be an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease pathology and crataegus oxycantha appear earlier memory loss."
"These findings raise the possibility that Alzheimer's disease english hawthorn contribute to frailty or that frailty and Alzheimer's disease part a vernacular cause. We theorize that the accumulation of these plaques and tangles in the wit could affect the areas of the brain responsible for motor skills and simple movements years before the ontogeny of dementia," Buchman said.
Studies show that about seven-spot percent of people over age 65 are considered frail; that number jumps to 45 percent after age 85.
The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Robert C. Borwell Endowment Fund.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a dr. with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brainiac and nervous system such as epilepsy, dystonia, sick headache, Huntington's disease, and dementia. For more than information about the American Academy of Neurology, see http://www.aan.com.
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