New research to tackle stroke related dementia

The 'PODCAST' study hopes to find out whether intensive treatment a few months after a stroke can help combat dementia. One in six people have a stroke and thirty percent of stroke survivors develop dementia.

The study, jointly funded by Alzheimer's Society and The Stroke Association and announced this Dementia Awareness Week®, hopes to help prevent this distressing condition in stroke survivors.  One of the key aims of Dementia Awareness Week® is to get people to reduce their risk of dementia by getting regular blood pressure and cholesterol checks.

Evidence suggests that lowering blood pressure and cholesterol may reduce the risk of dementia in people with stroke. This new study will be the first clinical trial to specifically investigate the value of intensive treatment. Both stroke and dementia can be devastating conditions, causing people to lose their independence and having a huge impact on society.

In the first phase of the trial, 600 patients will either receive standard-guideline blood pressure and cholesterol lowering treatment or a more intensive treatment (increase in dose and number of medications) over three years. Various tests will be carried out twice a year to assess patients' progress. If the trial is successful, a larger group of patients will be used and followed for five years.

Lead researcher Professor Phillip Bath, University of Nottingham, says,

'Approximately 250,000 people in the UK are living with dementia because of a stroke or another disease involving blood vessels in the brain.

Early research suggests that many of these cases could be prevented and our study will be the first to see if this is the case. If successful, this pioneering study could lead to a cheap and readily available intervention for stroke survivors, which improves quality of life and reduces the number of people who develop dementia.'

Professor Clive Ballard, Director of Research at Alzheimer's Society, says,

'A cheap, effective and readily available intervention for stroke survivors could drastically reduce the number of people who develop dementia. Even delaying dementia by just 5 years could halve the number of people with the condition.

One million people will develop dementia in the next ten years, yet research is drastically under-funded. The government invests eight times less in dementia research than cancer research. We must act now if we are to defeat this devastating condition.'

Joanne Murphy, Research Liaison Officer for The Stroke Association, says,

'Decline in cognition and dementia are devastating consequences for around 30% of people who have had a stroke. High blood pressure and cholesterol are common after stroke, so it's important that these are controlled to prevent further problems.

This important trial will identify whether an increased dose and number of blood pressure and cholesterol lowering drugs in people with recent stroke could help reduce the decline in cognition and dementia. There has been very little previous investment in research in intensive blood pressure and cholesterol lowering and we look forward to the results of this trial.'

References:

• Didier Leys, Hilde Henon, Marie-Anne Mackowiak-Cordoliani, Florence Pasquier. Poststroke dementia. Lancet Neurology 2005; 4: 752-59
• PROGRESS Collaborative Group. Lancet 2001; 358:1033
• Bath P et al. Prevention of Decline in Cognition After Stroke Trial (PODCAST): a factorial randomised controlled trial of blood pressure and lipid lowering
• Alzheimer's Society and The Stroke Association have provided a grant of £399,145 to be split 50:50 over a three-year period.