Medical-Records Study Links Dementia-Related Brain Changes to Hospital Stays For Critical Illness

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Shrinkage of Brain Structures Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease Tied to Critical Illness and Infection

Researchers at Johns Hopkins report that a novel analysis of more than a thousand patients adds to evidence that hospitalization, critical illness and major infection may diminish brain structures that are most commonly affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

Results of the study suggest — but do not prove — that critical illness and major infection can promote such brain structure changes and accelerate the process of cognitive decline, the researchers say.

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Walker cautions that the findings may be limited due to undetected or misclassified billing codes that define diagnosis in the medical records; a lack of information about potentially relevant comorbidities such as delirium; and the “observational” nature of the study, which was not designed to — and cannot — determine or prove cause and effect.

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