A simple scan can reveal if people are at high risk for dementia in later years

Dementia in later years is becoming more and more common in people after the age of 80.

New long-term studies show that simple, general scans can reveal whether people are at increased risk of developing symptoms in later years.

Dementia in later years develops when brain cells are damaged by several illnesses. Some of them cause narrowing of blood vessels to the brain.

Researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) have found an important link between vascular health and dementia in later years.

This link is the calcification of plaques that can build up in the abdominal aorta, the largest artery in the body, supplying oxygenated blood from the heart to the abdominal organs and lower extremities.

This accumulation of calcium, known as “abdominal aortic calcification” or AAC, is very helpful in predicting the risk of cardiovascular disease such as heart attack and stroke.

However, researchers have discovered that it is also a reliable marker of dementia in later years.

An international team led by ECU’s Institute for Nutritional Health Innovation and Precision Health Center included researchers from the University of Western Australia, the University of Minnesota, the Sarchars Gardner Hospital, and the Marcus Aging Institute of Hebrew Senior Life, Harvard University School of Medicine. ..

They investigated the AAC results of 968 women from the late 1990s and followed their health for over 15 years.

They found that one in two older women had moderate to high levels of AAC, and these women were hospitalized or hospitalized independently of other cardiovascular or genetic factors. He was twice as likely to die of dementia in his later years.

Professor Simon Loews, director of Center for Precision Health, said AAC can identify the risk of dementia early in people’s lives.

There is a saying in dementia research that what is good for the heart is good for the brain.

This study reaffirms this association and provides a better understanding of the risks of late-onset dementia and potential preventive strategies.

What has become clear is the importance of modifying risk factors such as diet and physical activity in the prevention of dementia. There is a need for early intervention and we hope that this study will enable the fastest possible changes and maximum impact.

AAC is important because it has identified the risk of dementia in people who do not have the major genetic risk factors that are present in 50% of people who develop Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. “

Professor Simon Loews

Simple test

Conveniently, AAC can be easily detected using a lateral spinal scan from a bone mineral density appliance.

These machines are common and about 600,000 bone mineral density tests are performed annually in Australia to screen for osteoporosis.

Joshua Lewis, an ECU associate professor and future leader of the National Heart Foundation, said additional scans could be performed to capture lateral images of the spine when people undergo a standard bone mineral density test. ..

“In general, capturing these scans is very quick and easy, less invasive, cheaper and has very little radiation exposure compared to X-ray and CT scans,” said Professor Lewis. I am saying.

“We know that the causes of AAC go beyond traditional cardiovascular risk factors, and many of these causes overlap with dementia risk factors in later years.

“The ECU works with the computer science team to automate AAC assessments, which eliminates the need for trained imaging professionals to read scans, making the process much faster and easier.

“This could be a cheap, fast and safe way to screen a large number of vulnerable older Australians to confirm that these scans are at increased risk of dementia in later years. It means that there is. “

Professor Lewis said that incorporating the risk of dementia into the debate surrounding cardiovascular health could lead to the lifestyle changes people need.

“I think the next step is to tell people about AAC and the risk of dementia in later years and see if this can motivate healthy eating and lifestyle behavioral changes.”

Professor Garry Jennings AO, Chief Medical Advisor of the Heart Foundation, welcomed the study.

“Vascular dementia is an increasingly common disorder in the elderly,” said Professor Jennings.

“This is often associated with risk factors such as heart disease and high blood pressure early in life.

“Josh’s work is a good example of the benefits that come from the Heart Foundation’s future leadership funding program.”