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TO HEALTH, MEDICAL, AND NATIONAL EDITORS:
Study Examines Risk of Early Death for People with Mild Cognitive
Impairment
PHILADELPHIA, April 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- One of the
first studies to look at a relationship between death and the two
types of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or problems with memory and
thinking abilities, suggests that people who have thinking problems
but their memory is still intact might have a higher death rate in a
period of six years compared to those who have no thinking or memory
problems. The research was released today and will be presented at the
American Academy of Neurology's 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia,
April 26 to May 3, 2014. The same was suggested in the study for those
who are experiencing MCI with memory decline; however the first group
had the highest death rate.
MCI is often a precursor to Alzheimer's disease. There are two main
types of MCI. In one type, the most noticeable symptom is memory loss.
In people with the other type, language, attention, decision-making
and other abilities are declining, but memory is still intact.
"Currently there is little information about death and the types of
memory loss that affect many millions of Americans," said study author
Maria Vassilaki, MD, with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
"Exploring how memory may or may not be linked with the length of life
a person has is of tremendous significance as the population ages."
For the study, 862 people with thinking problems and 1,292 with no
thinking problems between the ages of 70 and 89 were followed for
nearly six years. Participants were from Olmsted County, Minn., and
were given tests at the start of the study and every 15 months to
assess their thinking abilities.
Over six years, 331 of the group with MCI and 224 of the group without
MCI died. Those who had either type of MCI had an 80 percent higher
death rate during the study than those without MCI.
People with MCI with no memory loss had more than twice the death rate
during the study than those without MCI, while people with MCI with
memory loss had a 68 percent higher death rate during the study than
those without MCI.
"We will continue to study the how and why regarding the relationship
between memory decline, thinking decline and death. This research
brings us one step at a time closer to the answers." said Vassilaki.
The study was supported by a grant from the National Institute on
Aging.
Learn more about brain health at www.aan.com/patients.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 27,000
neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting
the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is
a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and
managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's
disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury,
Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit
http://www.aan.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and
YouTube.
SOURCE American Academy of Neurology
-0- 04/24/2014
/CONTACT: Rachel Seroka, rseroka@aan.com, (612) 928-6129, Michelle Uher, muher@aan.com, (612) 928-6120
/Web Site: http://www.aan.com
CO: American Academy of Neurology
IN: HEA MTC MNH
SU: SVY TRI
PRN
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0000 04/24/2014 14:03:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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