The telltale signs of susceptibility to a stroke may appear up to 10 years before the event, research published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry suggests.
Stroke patients experienced much steeper declines in cognitive abilities and routine daily functioning, starting about a decade before their first stroke, than people who did not suffer a stroke, the findings showed.
Women, carriers of the APOE gene that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and those with fewer academic qualifications seem to be at greatest risk.
The deterioration in cognitive skills and the inability to carry out routine activities of independent daily living, which are common after a stroke, are attributable to a build-up of physiological changes. It is not clear when these changes start.
The researchers repeatedly used accredited tests to assess the cognitive abilities, such as memory, verbal fluency, reaction times, and manual dexterity, of 14,712 participants between 1990 and 2016.
They also assessed participants’ capacity for basic activities of independent daily living, such as washing, eating, and dressing, and more advanced activities, such as managing finances.
Participants’ medical records were then checked to monitor their health until 2018. Each person who had a stroke during the monitoring period was matched with three participants who had not, based on age and sex.
The researchers then plotted the changes in cognition and daily functioning in both sets of participants to include the 10 years before and the 10 years after a stroke.
During an average monitoring period of 12.5 years, 1,662 participants had their first stroke. The average age at which that happened was 80 years.
Analysis of the test score patterns revealed clear differences in cognition and daily functioning between those who had a stroke and those who did not, up to 10 years before the event.
The study's findings suggested that there might be telltale signs for those at high risk of a stroke many years before one happens.
“Our findings demonstrated that future stroke patients start to deviate from stroke-free controls up to 10 years before the acute event, suggesting that individuals with cognitive and functional decline are at a higher risk of stroke and are possible candidates for prevention trials,” the researchers wrote.
“The accelerated decline in cognition and daily functioning before stroke suggests that individuals with future stroke suffer from accumulating intracerebral damage years before the acute event, such as cerebral small vessel disease, neurodegeneration, and inflammation."
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Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
