Treating hypertension diabetes may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, high cholesterol, diabetes and other rates risk vascular factors can contribute to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease in people who are already showing signs of decline in the capacity of thinking or memory problems. The research is also published in the Online Edition, April 13, 2011, Neurology ®, the revista médica of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers follow 837 people with mild cognitive impairment, memory loss phase that often leads to Alzheimer's disease. The group, 414 had at least a factor of vascular risk. Participants received a questionnaire in the history of medicine and blood analyses and also undergo the other tests to measure blood pressure, mass, memory and reflection capabilities.
The participants had risk vascular factors were placed into three groups: those with no risk factors treated, those with some treated risk factors and those with all the risk factors for the treatment . Treatment of risk factors include high use drugs for pressure, insulin, drugs that reduce cholesterol in the blood and food. Tobacco and alcohol have been treated if the person has stopped smoking and drinking at baseline.
After five years, 298 people developed Alzheimer's disease. Others always had mild cognitive impairment. People with risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and cerebrovascular disease rates were twice as likely to develop than those without vascular risk factors. A total of 52% of persons with risk factors developed Alzheimer's disease, compared with 36% of people with no risk factors.
The factors of vascular risk, who received a full treatment were 39 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than those who received no treatment. Those receiving treatment were less likely to develop the disease compared to people who have not received any treatment of 26%.
"Although it was not a controlled trial, patients who were treated for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes had less progression of his memory or the deterioration of thought and were less likely to develop dementia""," said the author of the study Wang Yan-Jiang MD PhD, with the University of military medicine from the third to Chongqing (China).
The study was funded by a grant from the science and Technology Committee of Chongqing in China.
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