Researchers find
conditions such as high blood pressure, smoking may contribute to risk.
Psychosis, including
delusions and hallucinations, affects about half of Alzheimer's disease
patients and researchers have set out to clarify the link between these two
conditions.
Canadian researchers
said they found that cerebrovascular disease, a group of conditions that
restrict the circulation of blood to the brain, appears to play a significant
role in psychosis for those with Alzheimer's disease.
About 19 percent of
people with Alzheimer's disease living in the community (rather than in a
nursing home) have delusions. Another 14 percent have hallucinations, the
researchers said.
Psychotic symptoms
among people with Alzheimer's disease can cause added burdens on loved ones and
caregivers. These symptoms can also speed up the progression of Alzheimer's
disease, the study authors explained.
For the study, the
researchers analyzed autopsy data from more than 1,000 people who had been
treated at 29 Alzheimer's centers in the United States between 2005 and 2012.
An Alzheimer's disease diagnosis can only be confirmed after death by autopsy.
The research team led
by Dr. Corinne Fischer from St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto said that 890 of
the study patients had been clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease while
still alive. Of those, nearly 730 had Alzheimer's disease that was confirmed by
an autopsy, according to the report published on 5 January 2016 in the Journal
of Alzheimer's Disease.
The autopsies
revealed that those with confirmed Alzheimer's disease who had been diagnosed
with psychosis didn't have more physical evidence of Alzheimer's disease in
their brains (such as protein deposits).
Instead, the
researchers were surprised to learn that risk factors linked to blood vessel
problems such as, high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking history, appeared to
be strongly related to psychosis.
Because researchers
haven't known the underlying reason for psychosis in Alzheimer's disease patients,
they've been limited in how well they can treat the issue, the study authors
explained in a hospital news release.
(Source: Health Day - St. Michael's Hospital, News Release, 5
January 2016)
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