Heart bypass surgery increases risk of Alzheimer's disease - New research suggests
Main Category: Alzheimer's / DementiaArticle Date: 26 Aug 2005 - 6:00 PDT
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Researchers say stress and trauma of surgery may be to blame Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers have discovered that patients who have either coronary artery bypass graft surgery or coronary angioplasty are at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
The research, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (http://www.j-alz.com), pinpoints stress and trauma of the surgery as the major cause for the increased risk.
Led by Benjamin Wolozin, MD, PhD, professor of pharmacology at BUSM, researchers compared 5,216 people who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) and 3,954 people who had a percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in 1996 and 1997. Over the course of five years, 78 of the patients who had bypass surgery and 41 of those who had angioplasty developed Alzheimer's disease.
"The coronary bypass patients had a 70 percent increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease," said Wolozin, co-author of the study. "This increased incidence of neurocognitive degeneration associated with heart bypass surgery provides further incentive for more studies to better characterize the risks of cardiac surgery on the brain."
According to Wolozin, previous studies show some heart surgery patients experience memory problems immediately following the procedure. However, at a one-year follow-up most patients regain cognitive function.
Researchers believe this early cognitive impairment is an immediate reaction to the stress of surgery.
"Heart bypass surgery represents a traumatic insult to the brain, particularly by reducing oxygen supply to the brain and increasing the stress response," said Wolozin.
"We believe that the compensation that occurs by one year masks an underlying deficit in the central nervous system caused by the heart surgery. As individuals age, this underlying deficit might exacerbate progressive cognitive deficits associated with mild cognitive impairment, a precursory phase before diagnosis of Alzheimer's."
Wolozin and his researchers are currently working with researchers from the Framingham Heart Study to determine if these same observations can be duplicated in their studies.
"If these observations are confirmed, there are measures that can be taken to protect the brain during heart bypass surgery," explained Wolozin. "Antioxidants might offer some protection, as well as memantine, a medication that helps slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. There may also be other neuroprotective agents still in development that could shield the brain from cognitive degeneration during and following surgery."
The article is "Assessment of the Emergence of Alzheimer's Disease Following Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery or Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty" by Todd A. Lee, Benjamin Wolozin, Kevin B. Weiss and Martin M. Bednar (Communicated by Craig Atwood). It appears in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Vol. 7, Number 4 published by IOS Press.
About the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (http://www.j-alz.com) is an international multidisciplinary journal to facilitate progress in understanding the etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, genetics, behavior, treatment and psychology of Alzheimer's disease. The journal publishes research reports, reviews, short communications, book reviews, and letters-to-the-editor. The journal is dedicated to providing an open forum for original research that will expedite our fundamental understanding of Alzheimer's disease.
About IOS Press
Commencing its publishing activities in 1987, IOS Press (http://www.iospress.com) is a rapidly expanding scientific, technical, medical and professional publishing house focusing on a broad range of subject areas. Headquartered in Amsterdam, IOS Press publishes approximately 100 new books per annum and 70 international journals, covering topics ranging from computer science and mathematics to medicine and the natural sciences. Electronic access to all journals is now available. IOS Press also maintains offices in the Washington, DC area and Berlin and a co-publishing relationship with Ohmsha, Ltd (Tokyo).
Kristen Perfetuo
kristen.perfetuo@bmc.org
617-638-8491
Case Western Reserve University
http://www.case.edu
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15 Feb. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/29679.php>
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Visitor Opinions In Chronological Order (1)
Why doesn't anyone listen to the patient?
posted by Robert Park on 4 Nov 2005 at 2:23 pmWith regard to the potential post-operative effect of cardiac by-passes, in September 1990 I underwent an emergency quadruple bypass and for the following 5 years while under medical supervision I was in a serious state of health. During that period I did not expect to see the next day but I was not afraid of death nor over-alarmed by the operation.
The best way in which I can describe the post-operative symptoms is like this: I had continual and frequent electrical discharges in my brain (or inside my head) and oftem this was accompanied by mini-blackouts. I lost my self-confidence, became nervous of driving and of heights, slept most of the day which did not disturb my nocturnal sleep, lacked energy, and felt pretty awful!
My GP would not accept that I suffered, as the consequence of the by-pass, from neurological problems! On the third occasion on which I expressed my concern (around about the 4th post-operative year) he suggested That I Be seen by a specialist but from previous bad experiences with specialists, I hesitated and said that I would consider it.
At the 5 year stage of suffering I took the initiative to read about the medication I was receiving only to be amazed at its adverse side-effects!
On further exploration into neurology I discovered drugs that could possibly benefit me so obtained those and took them. I first of those drugs was selegiline and amazingly it cleared my symptoms and restored my confidence and it continued to do so. The next drug (or pill) was CO-Q10. I had previously taken this at 5, 10, and 30 mgs with no apparent effect but my reading led me to believe that I should be taking it at much larger doses so took 100mgs and once more the magic worked; it restored my energy! The next drug, hydergine, prescribed for senility but a great brain preserver stopped my chronic apneoa. (I have since discovered that it contols ADHD symptoms). The side-effect of those substances are negligible but they restored me to full health and I have continued to take them since and abandoned the prescription medication.
A few years later I approached the GP and persuaded him to provide the selegiline and hydergine, and he reluctantly did so but only to prevent me from obtaining generic makes from the open market. Sometime later I moved residence and had to argue my case again with the new GP in order to maintain this medication.
Fifteen years later, at the age of 75, I am fit and without aches or pains or any other maladies, and have a crystal clear brain but the GP still treats me with considerable suspicion!
Finally, I later discovered that in order to keep one's arteries clear of furring it is only necessary to take a substance called Serrapeptase (generic name) which would have prevented the need for the by-pass!
The question that this raises is why the medical profession presumes to know more than the patient about the patient's symptoms?
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