Intracranial hemorrhages linked to higher dementia risk

Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have discovered that intracranial bleeding, or “brain bleeding” caused by a torn blood vessel in the brain, later double the risk of developing dementia in life.

Although the relationship between dementia and ischemic strokes caused by clots that block blood supply to the brain, the new study, published, published in a stroke, earlier findings extend to bleeding.

We consistently see an increased risk of dementia, regardless of the type of bleeding. “

Dr. Samuel Bruce, first author, university teacher Neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine and neurologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center

This suggests that people who have experienced intracranial bleeding must regularly be screened for cognitive impairment because the results can inform future care decisions for patients and their families.

With the help of Medicare Insurance claims from 2008 to 2018, Dr. Bruce and his colleagues nearly 15,000 people who had different types of intracranial bleeding, who ensure that blood collects in brain tissue or under the skull. Bleeding can occur after head injury, but the researchers focused on those who took place spontaneously. They saw a dual increase in the incidence of the very first dementia diagnosis within an average of 5.6 years after an intracranial bleeding for these patients compared to more than two million people who had no bleeding.

The results contribute to literature from other laboratories that show that bleeding is linked to later cognitive problems. In a study based on medical records in Denmark, for example, 11.5% of people developed dementia after blood vessels tore in their brains, about a 2.5-fold increase in relation to the general population. On the other hand, Ischemic strokes, usually caused by blood clots, raised the risk of dementia by approximately 1.7-time.

“Why does an intracranial bleeding increase the risk of dementia? There are a few possible reasons,” said senior author Dr. Santosh Murthy, associate professor Neurosciences at the Feil Family Brain & Mind Research Institute and Van Neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine. Bleeding can cause dementia directly by the accumulation of a protein called amyloid beta in the brain and to activate his blood vessels that can disturb brain function. Or bleeding and dementia can be indirectly connected because the same factors, such as chronic damage to blood vessels in the brain – break the risk of both disorders.

“Because we see more evidence that dementia can follow bleeding, we really have to take the implications into account,” Dr. Murthy, who is also a neurologist at NewYork Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. “For example, assessing the safety of anti-amyloid beta treatments for Alzheimer’s disease In people who have experienced bleeding, a research priority must become a research priority.”

The researchers conclude that new treatments developed for intracranial bleeding can ultimately lead to patients who live longer after an incident and motivate the need to be regularly screened for cognitive impairment.