Silent Strokes May Be Linked To Memory Loss In Older Patients Without Dementia.

ABC World News (12/29, story 7, 1:45, Muir) reported that "silent strokes" may "explain that increasing memory loss over the years," according to a new study  .

        On its website, ABC News  (12/30) reports that investigators "looked at 658 participants with an average age of 79 who had no history of dementia." Participants "were administered a test that gauged their memory, language skills and thinking abilities." The "researchers also measured the size of the participants' hippocampus, crucial to the regulation of memory and emotion, and they also administered an MRI brain scan."

        HealthDay  (12/30, Mozes) reports, "The brain scans revealed that 174 of the participants had experienced silent strokes, and the investigators found that these seniors did not perform as well on the memory exams." The "finding held regardless of whether the part of the patient's brain responsible for memory (the hippocampus) was found to be relatively small or not." The research was published online in the journal Neurology.

        MedPage Today  (12/30, Phend) reports, "Just 66 of the participants reported having had a clinical stroke, suggesting that 'brain infarction is largely a silent injury.'" WebMD  (12/30, Doheny) also covers the story.