The same artery-clogging process (atherosclerosis) that causes heart disease can also result in age-related vascular cognitive impairments (VCI), according to a new American Heart Association/American Stroke Association scientific statement published online in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Cognitive impairment, also known as dementia, includes difficulty with thinking, reasoning and memory, and can…    



How Fast You Walk and Your Grip in Middle Age May Predict Dementia, Stroke Risk

Simple tests such as walking speed and hand grip strength may help doctors determine how likely it is a middle-aged person will develop dementia or stroke. That’s according to new research that was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to…    



Regular physical activity reduces risk of dementia in older people

Regular physical activity External link may help older people reduce their chances of getting dementia.
In a new study published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke, older, non-disabled people who regularly engaged in physical activity reduced their risk of vascular-related dementia by 40 percent and cognitive impairment of any etiology by 60…    



Beta-blockers ‘may lower dementia risk’

Taking beta-blocker drugs may cut the risk of dementia, a trial in 774 men suggests.

The medication is used to treat high blood pressure, a known risk factor for dementia.

In the study, which will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in March, men on beta-blockers were less likely to…    



Swedish study suggests reduced risk of dementia

A new Swedish study published in the journal Neurology shows that the risk of developing dementia may have declined over the past 20 years, in direct contrast to what many previously assumed. The result is based on data from SNAC-K, an ongoing study on aging and health that started in 1987.

“We know that…    



Exposure to general anaesthesia could increase the risk of dementia in elderly by 35 percent

Exposure to general anaesthesia increases the risk of dementia in the elderly by 35%, says new research presented at Euroanaesthesia, the annual congress of the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA). The research is by Dr Francois Sztark, INSERM and University of Bordeaux, France, and colleagues.

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction, or POCD, could be associated with…