Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Study reveals a lot on the brain

Tumors and other abnormalities aren't all that rare, it finds.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 1, 2007

ATLANTA - One in 60 older people may be walking around with benign brain tumors without knowing it. Even more may have bulging blood vessels in the head that could burst.

These results come from a surprising new Dutch study that found that brain abnormalities are not all that uncommon.

Should we be alarmed? Experts aren't sure. Most of the abnormalities hadn't caused any symptoms, though some were potentially life-threatening.

But the findings may have implications for patients in the future: As more of these abnormalities are spotted with more sophisticated equipment during routine medical tests, some doctors may urge patients to have surgery or other treatment as a precaution. Or some patients may push doctors to fix any potential problems.

"It's very scary to learn there's something wrong in your head," said Dr. Aad van der Lugt, an associate professor in radiology at Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam and a co-author of the study, published in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

The study is based on MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scans of 2,000 healthy adults with an average age of 63. They were participating in a study to look at the causes and consequences of age-related brain changes.

The Dutch scientists found that 145 people - or 7.2 percent - had some dead brain tissue caused by a loss of blood flow. These are sometimes called silent strokes and usually don't result in a loss of speech or motion.

However, a patient who has had a silent stroke may be more likely to have another, more serious stroke, said Dr. Greg Joseph, a Charlotte, N.C., neuroradiologist. Finding silent strokes allows doctors to prescribe medications or other measures that could prevent future problems, he said.

An additional 32 people in the study - or 1.6 percent - had brain tumors. All but one were noncancerous, but even benign tumors can kill if they grow and shut down vital brain functions.

Bulging blood vessels, called aneurysms, were found in 38 people. All but five aneurysms found in the study were small and not considered dangerous.

The Dutch participants were mostly white, middle class and healthy; whether the same brain abnormalities would be found in other groups of people isn't known, the researchers said.

[Last modified November 1, 2007, 00:15:21]