Heart Disease a Risk Factor for Alzheimer's

Patients treated for vascular trouble had better cognition, study found.

By Carolyn Colwell
HealthDay Reporter
Monday, June 11, 2007; 12:00 AM

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

SUNDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- There's more evidence that cardiovascular problems help drive Alzheimer's disease, scientists say, and that treating the heart might help protect the brain.

The findings "represent hope that interventions with well-known drugs can interfere with the disease's progression," said lead investigator Yan Deschaintre, a neurologist and research fellow at the University Regional Hospital Center in Lille, France.

In fact, cognitive impairment, as measured by a standard test, stayed in the low end of the mild range over 36 months for Alzheimer's patients who got treatments for both the neurological disease and their cardiovascular problems, the researchers reported.

In contrast, Alzheimer's patients with vascular trouble who did not receive these medications experienced declines in cognition that approached the severe level, Deschaintre's team found.

They were slated to present the findings Sunday at the Alzheimer Association's International Conference on Prevention of Dementia, in Washington, D.C.

According to the National Institute on Aging, about 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. Rates rise steadily with age, and experts estimate that "nearly half of those 85 and older may have the disease." One recent study from the World Health Organization, released this week, warned that Alzheimer's -- which currently has no cure -- could affect 100 million people worldwide by 2050.

The new study was based on chart reviews of 891 French patients diagnosed with either Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease plus Alzheimer's disease, or vascular dementia. The cognitive risk factors included in the study were high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, atherosclerotic disease and tobacco smoking.

Treatment was defined as receiving an antihypertensive drug, insulin or drugs to lower blood sugar, a cholesterol-lowering statin, or anti-clotting medications. The patients with Alzheimer's disease typically received medications aimed at temporarily curbing their symptomsthat included Aricept, Exelon or Reminyl.