Dementia is a brain-related disease that affects millions of people globally.
People with dementia experience memory loss, difficulties with thinking and problem-solving, and may find it hard to carry out daily tasks.
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common forms of dementia. What causes dementia isn’t fully understood, and many scientists are trying to find out.
In a recent research study, a group of scientists from The University of Manchester, UK, made an interesting discovery.
They found that there might be a link between signs of inflammation in our bodies and the risk of getting dementia in the future.
The Study: What Did They Find?
Inflammation is our body’s natural response to injury or disease. But sometimes, inflammation can be harmful and lead to other health issues.
Some previous studies have suggested that inflammation might play a role in the onset of dementia.
The Manchester team, led by Dr. Krisztina Mekli, wanted to learn more about this. They used data from a massive health study in the UK, which had information on about half a million people.
The data included results from different cognitive tests the participants took. Cognitive tests are tools that doctors use to measure how well a person’s brain is working.
The scientists also had data on a certain type of inflammation signs called “biomarkers.”
Biomarkers are substances in our bodies that can tell us something about our health. In this case, they were looking at biomarkers related to inflammation.
The team looked at the relationship between these inflammation biomarkers and how well the participants did on the cognitive tests.
They also checked if the participants were later diagnosed with dementia. The team controlled for things like age, gender, overall health, and even some genetic factors.
What they found was intriguing. People with higher levels of inflammation biomarkers were a bit more likely to be diagnosed with dementia later on (3-11 years after).
They also did a bit worse on certain cognitive tests. These tests measured things like memory for future events, reasoning skills, and reaction time.
Now, the link they found was small. But it was statistically significant, which means it’s unlikely to be due to chance.
However, it’s important to note that these findings don’t mean that having inflammation will definitely lead to dementia.
The Future: What’s Next?
Although the results are promising, this study is just a stepping stone. More research is needed to confirm these findings and figure out what they mean.
It’s not clear yet whether inflammation causes dementia, or if they just happen to occur together.
Dr. Mekli said that higher inflammation levels could possibly help identify people who might have a higher risk of getting dementia. But, she emphasized that more studies are needed to understand this better.
So, what’s the takeaway? This study adds another piece to the puzzle of understanding dementia. It suggests that our body’s inflammation might play some role in it.
And in the future, measuring inflammation levels might be useful in assessing dementia risk. But until more research is done, it’s too early to say for sure.
If you care about brain health, please read studies about inflammation that may actually slow down cognitive decline in older people, and low vitamin D may speed up cognitive decline.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about common exercises that could protect against cognitive decline, and results showing that this MIND diet may protect your cognitive function, and prevent dementia.
The study was published in PLOS ONE.
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