Health
Could Surgery be Linked to Memory Loss?
Surgery may be an accelerator of Alzheimer’s disease.
IT IS NOT RARE for my older patients to suffer from memory loss following major surgery or hospital admission. Still, the conclusions of a recently published study stopped me in my tracks. Researchers at Marqués de Valdecilla-IDIVAL University Hospital, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Bonn Medical Center, propose that major surgery is a promoter of Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is one of our most significant public health challenges. It is the most common cause of dementia and is a leading source of morbidity and mortality in the aging population. In the United States in 2011, 4.5 million individuals over the age of 65 had Alzheimer’s. Dementia is second to heart failure as a leading cause of mortality, accounting for approximately 19 percent of deaths.
From the time Alzheimer’s-associated lesions in the brain develop, it can take up to 20 years before the appearance of symptoms. Scientists look for biochemical markers such as amyloid-β. This substance is one of the main proteins that build up in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s.
We know that the frequency of amyloid-β deposits in healthy people increases with age. By 65 years of age, we…
