Saturday, September 13, 2008
Af en dementia
MedWire News: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a risk factor for cognitive impairment and hippocampal atrophy, even in the absence of stroke, and patients should be considered for evaluation of cognition and structural brain integrity, say German researchers.
AF is an established risk factor for stroke, which in turn increases the risk for cognitive decline and dementia. However, it is not clear if AF independently increases the risk for cognitive impairment.
To investigate further, Stefan Knecht, from the University of Münster, and colleagues compared 122 stroke-free patients with AF and 563 individuals without AF from the same community.
The participants completed a battery of neuropsychologic tests to determine cognitive function, covering learning and memory, attention and executive functions, working memory, and visuospatial skills. They also underwent 3T magnetic resonance imaging to assess covert territorial brain infarction, white matter lesions, and brain volume.
Excluding patients with imaging evidence of stroke, dementia, and depression left 87 patients with AF and 446 individuals without. Patients with AF had lower average age and education than controls, but higher body mass index.
AF patients were also more likely than controls to be male, have diabetes, coronary artery disease and hypertension, and to use antihypertensive and lipid-lowering medications.
AF was independently and negatively associated with learning and memory, as well as attention and executive functions, at respective beta values of -0.115 and -0.105 (p<0.01 p="0.062).">European Heart Journal that AF was significantly and independently associated with hippocampal volume, at a beta value of -0.272 in the full regression model, but not total brain volume or white matter hyperintensities.
"The present findings indicate that cognitive function may also be impaired by AF independently of stroke," the team says. "Whether novel antithrombotic or rhythm-control treatments of AF can prevent cognitive decline should be studied in controlled trials."
Eur Heart J 2008; 29: 2125-2132
AF is an established risk factor for stroke, which in turn increases the risk for cognitive decline and dementia. However, it is not clear if AF independently increases the risk for cognitive impairment.
To investigate further, Stefan Knecht, from the University of Münster, and colleagues compared 122 stroke-free patients with AF and 563 individuals without AF from the same community.
The participants completed a battery of neuropsychologic tests to determine cognitive function, covering learning and memory, attention and executive functions, working memory, and visuospatial skills. They also underwent 3T magnetic resonance imaging to assess covert territorial brain infarction, white matter lesions, and brain volume.
Excluding patients with imaging evidence of stroke, dementia, and depression left 87 patients with AF and 446 individuals without. Patients with AF had lower average age and education than controls, but higher body mass index.
AF patients were also more likely than controls to be male, have diabetes, coronary artery disease and hypertension, and to use antihypertensive and lipid-lowering medications.
AF was independently and negatively associated with learning and memory, as well as attention and executive functions, at respective beta values of -0.115 and -0.105 (p<0.01 p="0.062).">European Heart Journal that AF was significantly and independently associated with hippocampal volume, at a beta value of -0.272 in the full regression model, but not total brain volume or white matter hyperintensities.
"The present findings indicate that cognitive function may also be impaired by AF independently of stroke," the team says. "Whether novel antithrombotic or rhythm-control treatments of AF can prevent cognitive decline should be studied in controlled trials."
Eur Heart J 2008; 29: 2125-2132
# posted by roodbont @ 6:24 AM 
