AngTherapist.com brings to you excerpts of some of the press releases of the American Academy of Neurology for December 2007.
Stimulating Muscles May Improve Musician’s Dystonia
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Therapy that stimulates the hand muscles may help treat the condition called musician’s dystonia, a movement disorder that causes muscles spasms in musicians, according to a study published in the December 26, 2007, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Musician’s dystonia occurs in musicians who have practiced particular complicated movements for years. The muscle spasms are usually painless and generally occur only when playing the instrument.
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Walking and Moderate Exercise Help Prevent Dementia
ST. PAUL, Minn. – People age 65 and older who regularly walk and get other forms of moderate exercise appear to significantly lower their risk of developing vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published in the December 19, 2007, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The four-year study involved 749 men and women in Italy who were over age 65 and did not have memory problems at the beginning of the study. Researchers measured the amount of energy exerted in the participants’ weekly physical activities, including walking, climbing stairs, and moderate activities, such as house and yard work, gardening, and light carpentry. By the end of the study, 54 people developed Alzheimer’s disease and 27 developed vascular dementia.
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Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs and the Risk of Hemorrhagic Stroke
ST. PAUL, Minn. – People taking cholesterol-lowering drugs such as atorvastatin after a stroke may be at an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke, or bleeding in the brain, a risk not found in patients taking statins who have never had a stroke. But researchers caution the risk must be balanced against the much larger overall benefit of the statin in reducing the total risk of a second stroke and other cardiovascular events when making treatment decisions. The research is published in the December 12, 2007, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the Aerican Academy of Neurology.
For the study, researchers conducted a secondary analysis of the results of the Stroke Prevention with Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) clinical trial. The trial enrolled 4,731 people who were within one to six months of having had a stroke or transient ischemic attack, or mini-stroke, and with no history of heart disease. Half of the participants received atorvastatin and half received a placebo. The participants were then followed for an average of four and a half years.
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Good Physical Function After Age 40 Tied to Reduced Risk of Stroke
ST. PAUL, Minn. – People who have good physical function after the age of 40 may lower their risk of stroke by as much as 50 percent compared to people who are not able to climb stairs, kneel, bend, or lift as well, according to research published in the December 11, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
For the study, researchers examined 13,615 men and women in the United Kingdom from 1993 to 1997 who were between the ages of 40 and 79 and had not suffered a stroke, heart attack or cancer. Participants were then asked to complete a self-reported test on their physical function 18 months later that looked at how well they were able to climb stairs, carry groceries, kneel, bend and lift. Researchers monitored how many strokes were suffered in this group through 2005.
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