Trouble Walking? Blame Your Brain!

Ivanhoe Newswire

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Loss of balance and trouble getting around can be symptomatic of old age. But dont go blaming your body! Older people who experience loss of mobility have been found to have more severe white brain matter changes than those with small or moderate changes.

A recent study examined changes in white matter in the brain -- also called leukoaraiosis -- which is common in older people and differs in severity. Participants with severe changes in white matter were twice as likely to score poorly on walking and balance tests as those with mild damage and twice as likely to have a history of falls as those in the mild group. Participants with the most severe changes were one and a half times as likely to have a history of falls as the moderate group.

Walking difficulties and falls are major symptoms of people with white brain matter changes and a significant cause of illness and death in the elderly, study author Hansjoerg Baezner, M.D., Ph.D., with the university of Heidelberg in Mannheim, Germany, was quoted as saying. He added exercise might have the potential to reduce the risk since its associated with improved walking and balance. Dr. Baezner also said monitoring matter change could be useful in early detection of walking problems, which have been shown to predict non-Alzheimers disease dementia.

The researchers do not fully understand why the changes are worse in some than others, however they say there is a clear link to insufficiently treated high blood pressure.

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SOURCE: Neurology, 2008;70:935

Last updated 3/18/2008.

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