When hospitalized, people can become acutely confused and disorientated. This condition, known as delirium, affects a quarter of older patients and new research shows it may have long-lasting consequences, including accelerating the dementia process. | via ScienceDaily
New research by UCL and the University of Cambridge shows delirium may have long-lasting consequences, including accelerating the dementia process. Episodes of delirium in people who are not known to have dementia, might also reveal dementia at its earliest stages, the research found.
Scientists looked at three European populations — in Finland, Cambridge and UK-wide — and examined brain specimens in 987 people aged 65 and older. Each person’s memory, thinking and experience of delirium had been recorded over 10 years towards the end of their life.
When these were linked with pathology abnormalities due to Alzheimer’s and other dementias, those with both delirium and dementia-changes had the most severe change in memory.
Journal Reference: Daniel H. J. Davis et al. Association of Delirium With Cognitive Decline in Late Life A Neuropathologic Study of 3 Population-Based Cohort Studies. JAMA Psychiatry, January 2017
