There was a man absent-minded…
Absent-mindedness can be an early sign of a "silent" stroke
Dmitry Kolesnik, Copper News
Adults who often lose their thoughts and tend to be distracted may actually suffer from early symptoms of damage to small vessels of the brain, known as an asymptomatic or "dumb" stroke.
This is evidenced by the results of a recent Canadian study published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging (Cognitive heterogeneity among community living older adults with cerebral small vessel disease). Researchers found that people with damage to the white matter of the brain due to a "silent stroke" reported that it was difficult for them to concentrate, and they were often distracted when performing household tasks. Despite this, about half of the people with detected white matter damage showed normal results in attention tests.
"Our results show that in many cases, people with an increased risk of a "silent" stroke, as well as those who have already had it, had a noticeable difference in the ability to maintain attention even before the symptoms began to be detected using a neuropsychological test. If a person feels such difficulties, he should consult a doctor, especially if he has a predisposition to heart disease," says Ayan Dey, lead author of the study from the University of Toronto.
Damage to the small vessels of the brain is one of the most common neurological disorders accompanying aging. This type of stroke and changes in the blood circulation of the brain are associated with the development of various types of dementia.
Such strokes are considered "dumb" because they do not cause long-term serious changes observed in a normal stroke. They, for example, do not affect a person's ability to speak and do not paralyze. Despite the absence of obvious symptoms, the disease of small vessels of the brain causes damage to the white matter of the brain, which over time can cause problems with memory and cognitive functions. As a rule, this type of stroke is detected accidentally by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
According to the researchers, there are no effective ways to treat Alzheimer's disease, but changes in the blood vessels of the brain can be prevented or reduced by stopping smoking, starting to exercise, switching to a healthy diet, as well as by maintaining control over blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
The study examined data from 54 people aged 55 to 80 years with at least one risk factor for stroke (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, sleep apnea, smoking, micro strokes in the past or over the age of 75).
With the help of MRI, the participants had their brains scanned, and then the scientists analyzed the damage to brain tissue, in particular white matter, to determine the damage caused by a disease of the cerebral vessels. The study participants then performed a series of neurocognitive tests.
In the future, the scientists intend to analyze the functional visualization of the brain and the electrical activity of the participants' brains to determine why some people do not have cognitive impairment, despite brain damage.
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