Risk of Dementia Increases After Stroke

July 09, 2004

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The likelihood of developing dementia is high after stroke, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal Neurology.

The study also found that the characteristics of post-stroke dementia appear to shift. In the first years after stroke it seems to be an Alzheimer-type disease, then changes to a vascular dementia type in later years.

Dr. Marta Altieri, of the University of Rome "La Sapienza," in Italy, and colleagues followed non-demented 191patients from 6 months after stroke onset for 4 years. The subjects underwent annual neuroimaging and neuropsychological tests.

Forty-one patients (21.5 percent) had developed dementia by the end of the follow-up period.

"Among the 41 patients who became demented, 26 (63.4 percent) met the criteria for probable vascular dementia and 15 (36.6 percent) for possible Alzheimer's disease (news - web sites)," Altieri and colleagues write.

The study "confirms data showing that dementia is a frequent consequence of stroke," the authors conclude.

SOURCE: Neurology, June2004.