Infections may lead to faster memory loss in Alzheimer's disease: research
WASHINGTON. September 8. KAZINFORM Getting a cold, stomach bug or other infection may lead to increased memory loss in people with Alzheimer's disease, according to research to be published Tuesday in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
The study found that people who had respiratory, gastrointestinal or other infections or even bumps and bruises from a fall were more likely to have high blood levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, a protein involved in the inflammatory process, and were also more likely to experience memory loss or other types of cognitive decline than people who did not have infections and who had low levels of the protein.
The blood levels and cognitive abilities of 222 people with Alzheimer's disease with an average age of 83 were measured at the beginning of the study and three more times over six months. Caregivers were interviewed to determine whether the participants had experienced any infections or accidental injury that could lead to inflammation; Kazinform cites Xinhua.
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