Dementia linked to 'chronic, rather than temporary' inflammation

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Dementia linked to 'chronic, rather than temporary' inflammation

Published Wednesday 4 July 2018

Maria Cohut

Fact checked by Jasmin Collier

Heightened levels of brain inflammation biomarkers have been linked to the development of dementia, but it remains unclear whether inflammation must be present long-term in order to affect brain health.

New research finds evidence that chronic inflammation may be tied to dementia.

Last year, Medical News Today reported on a study suggesting that elevated inflammation levels in midlife increased a person's risk of experiencing loss of brain function and developing dementia later in life.

And recently, researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, have conducted a study analyzing data collected from 1,532 participants.

Of these, 61 percent were women and 28 percent were African-American.

Specifically, the team tracked levels of a blood biomarker of inflammation called C-reactive protein and looked at its relationship with the risk of dementia.

"We found that individuals who had an increase in inflammation during midlife that was maintained from mid- to late life have greater abnormalities in the brain's white matter structure, as measured with MRI scans," says lead researcher Keenan Walker.

"This suggests to us that inflammation may have to be chronic, rather than temporary, to have an adverse effect on important aspects of the brain's structure necessary for cognitive function."

Keenan Walker

The team's Neurobiology of Aging

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