From: unk...@googlegroups.com   
      
   Brain injuries increase chances of dementia in older adults   
   By Dianne Depra,	Tech Times | October 29, 9:24 AM   
      
      
   Old age naturally increases health risks. A study, however, points out that   
   dementia risks, in particular, spike when an older individual has suffered   
   from a brain injury.   
      
      
      
   Brain injuries are bad no matter what age they occur, but a new study is   
   suggesting that getting a mild concussion after the age of 65 increases an   
   individual's risk of getting dementia.   
      
   According to lead author Dr. Raquel Gardner, clinical research fellow at the   
   San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the results of the study were   
   surprising because it suggested that older brains may be particularly   
   vulnerable to injuries    
   regardless of the severity.   
      
   Another way of looking at it is that younger brains may just be more resilient   
   when it comes to mild traumatic brain injuries or may take a longer time in   
   showing dementia symptoms.   
      
   Gardner explained that most patients and doctors understand that falls are   
   dangerous, and this study points out that preventing falls may also be an   
   effective way of deterring dementia. It did not, however, show how exactly   
   brain injuries can develop    
   dementia.   
      
   Earlier studies have proven that traumatic injuries to the brain early in life   
   increases risks of dementia developing, but establishing whether or not   
   late-life injuries pose the same risks has been more difficult.   
      
   Researchers tracked close to 52,000 emergency room visits between 2005 and   
   2011 in California. All subjects suffered various types of traumatic injuries   
   in 2005 or 2006 and were aged over 55.   
      
   Less than six percent of non-brain injuries developed dementia, while over   
   eight percent of those with mild to moderate traumatic brain injuries did.   
   These results were for patients 55 years old and above. By the time they reach   
   at least 65 years old,    
   even mild injury to the brain already increases dementia risk.   
      
   "If a person falls and gets a traumatic brain injury, then they may be 26   
   percent more likely to get dementia than if they had fallen and broken their   
   arm or leg," said Gardner. As for those who suffered more than one traumatic   
   injury to the brain,    
   dementia risk more than doubles.   
      
   The study does have a few limitations, though. For starters, it didn't factor   
   in family history, other head injuries and prior illnesses. It also didn't   
   identify the type of dementia that a patient developed.   
      
   "Does traumatic brain injury just remove a chunk of brain function and then   
   cause a person to show earlier signs of the dementia that they were going to   
   get anyway regardless of the injury? Does traumatic brain injury actually   
   cause or accelerate    
   degeneration of the brain?" Gardner asked. These issues will require further   
   research.   
      
   The study was published in the journal JAMA Neurology.   
      
   Related Articles   
   Cold sore virus ups risk of developing Alzheimer's, new study suggests   
   Drinking alcohol helps improve memory ... if you are at least 60   
   MRI scans spot dementia signs before symptoms appear   
   Neurotic women prone to Alzheimer's? Stress and jealousy potential indicators   
   World Alzheimer Report 2014 suggests how you can lower your risk for dementia   
      
      
      
   http://www.techtimes.com/articles/18918/20141029/brain-injuries-   
   ncrease-chances-of-dementia-in-older-adults.htm   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)