What It Means If You Have A Silent Stroke
When most people think of a stroke, they think of a major life event that can completely change a person’s ability to function. While this is often true, there are cases in which a stroke can go completely unnoticed. Many patients are caught off guard and shocked to learn they’ve had this type of stroke, called a “silent stroke,” at some point in their life and experienced no handicap at all.
Usually, a silent stroke is discovered unexpectedly on a brain CT or brain MRI. These imaging tests can easily distinguish past strokes from recent strokes.
Recent strokes will have certain features that you will not see if the stroke occurred in the past, such as swelling, inflammation, blood clots, and bleeding. Older strokes tend to have certain characteristic appearances caused by calcification and atrophy .
Mild Stroke Or Silent Stroke Symptoms
Silent strokes do not cause any obvious symptoms. You might have mild stroke symptoms like feeling a little dizzy or clumsy for a while. You might feel a little confused or struggle with memory, but you might not have any symptoms at all. If you have several silent strokes over time, damage can start to accumulate. Memory problems, confusion, or clumsiness become more noticeable. Silent strokes may increase your risk for cognitive decline, dementia, and a regular stroke.
Silent Stroke Can Cause Parkinson’s Disease
- Date:
- University of Manchester
- Summary:
- Scientists have for the first time identified why a patient who appears outwardly healthy may develop Parkinson’s disease.
Scientists at The University of Manchester have for the first time identified why a patient who appears outwardly healthy may develop Parkinson’s disease.
Whilst conditions such as a severe stroke have been linked to the disease, for many sufferers the tremors and other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can appear to come out of the blue. Researchers at the university’s Faculty of Life Sciences have now discovered that a small stroke, also known as a silent stroke, can cause Parkinson’s disease. Their findings have been published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
Unlike a severe stroke, a silent stroke can show no outward symptoms of having taken place. It happens when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked for only a very short amount of time and often a patient won’t know they have suffered from one. However, it now appears one of the lasting effects of a silent stroke can be the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra in the brain, which is an important region for movement coordination.
The team then analysed changes in the brain six days after the mild stroke and found neurodegeneration in the substantia nigra. Dopaminergic neurons had been killed.
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Quantification Of Total Human
The concentration of total human -synuclein in brain homogenates was quantified by a colorimetric horseradish peroxidase-linked immunoassay using a commercially available anti–synuclein ELISA kit . Briefly, 10% ipsi- and contralateral brain homogenate was diluted 1:100,000 in dilution buffer, transferred on a 96-well strip plate in triplicates, and co-incubated with 1 µg/mL of the detection antibody at 4 °C overnight. After washing the plate six times, TMB substrate solution was added. The color reaction was stopped after an incubation period of 5 min at 37 °C by adding stop solution, and absorbance was measured at 450 nm on a FLUOstar microplate reader .
How Are Speech Problems Treated
There are many options to help improve your speech. A speech-language pathologist can help you pick the right approaches for you. SLPs are trained health care professionals who specialize in evaluating and treating people with speech, swallowing, voice and language problems.Ask your doctor for a referral to a speech-language pathologist. It is also important to contact your health insurance company to find out what therapy and procedures are eligible for reimbursement and to find a list of SLPs covered by your plan.Finally, visit a SLP who has experience treating people with PD. Call the Parkinsons Foundation Helpline at 1-800-4PD-INFO for help locating a speech-language pathologist in your area. Lee Silverman Voice Treatment, discussed below, is a specific voice therapy for PD but it is not the only way to obtain high quality speech therapy for PD.
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Silent Stroke Can Cause Parkinson’s Disease
Whilst conditions such as a severe stroke have been linked to the disease, for many sufferers the tremors and other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can appear to come out of the blue. Researchers at the university’s Faculty of Life Sciences have now discovered that a small stroke, also known as a silent stroke, can cause Parkinson’s disease. Their findings have been published in the journal Brain Behaviour and Immunity.
Unlike a severe stroke, a silent stroke can show no outward symptoms of having taken place. It happens when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked for only a very short amount of time and often a patient won’t know they have suffered from one. However, it now appears one of the lasting effects of a silent stroke can be the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra in the brain, which is an important region for movement coordination.
Dr. Emmanuel Pinteaux led the research: At the moment we don’t know why dopaminergic neurons start to die in the brain and therefore why people get Parkinson’s disease. There have been suggestions that oxidative stress and aging are responsible. What we wanted to do in our study was to look at what happens in the brain away from the immediate area where a silent stroke has occurred and whether that could lead to damage that might result in Parkinson’s disease.
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Parkinson’s Disease And Parkinsonism
There is also another similar disease called Parkinsonism, which is a condition in which people have some of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, but do not have Parkinson’s disease itself. Parkinsonism occurs when one or more of the regions of the brain that are responsible for Parkinson’s disease become damaged.
One of the early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is a loss of the sense of smell, which can happen years before other symptoms appear. The symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and Parkinsonism also include a fine tremor, which is very noticeable in the hands and arms and happens when the hands and arms are at rest.
Beyond loss of sense of smell and tremor, Parkinson’s is associated with several other physical symptoms, including slowness of movement , rigidity and postural instability. These symptoms can make walking or generally moving around extremely difficult and can lead to abnormal body posture. Additionally, people who have Parkinson’s disease or Parkinsonism often have very little facial expression, which is typically called a “masked face.”
The areas of the brain involved in Parkinson’s disease and Parkinsonism are called the substantia nigra and the basal ganglia. Parkinson’s disease is normally caused by slowly progressive degeneration of these two areas, which control the rhythm and smoothness of our movements and the tone of our muscles. As the substantia nigra and the basal ganglia degenerate, the typical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease begin to emerge.
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Preparation Of Mouse Brain Homogenates For Biochemical Analyses
For biochemical analyses brains were separated into ipsi- and contralateral hemispheres, snap-frozen on dry ice, and stored at80 °C. Brain samples were homogenized in ice-cold Ca2+- and Mg2+-free PBS in the presence of phosphatase and protease inhibitors by two 30-s cycles at 6500 rpm in a Precellys 24-Dual homogenizer to reach a final concentration of 10% . Total protein concentration was determined using the Pierce BCA Protein Assay Kit .
Silent Stroke Can Cause Parkinsons
A small or silent stroke which shows no outward symptoms can cause Parkinsons disease, scientists claim. In a new study, researchers from the University of Manchester have for the first time identified why a patient who appears outwardly healthy may develop Parkinsons disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.
While conditions such as a severe stroke have been linked to the disease, for many sufferers the tremors and other symptoms of Parkinsons can appear to come out of the blue.
A silent stroke happens when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked for only a very short amount of time and often a patient wont know they have suffered from one.
However, it now appears that one of the lasting effects of a silent stroke can be the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra in the brain, which is an important region for movement coordination. At the moment we dont know why dopaminergic neurons start to die in the brain, There have been suggestions that oxidative stress and ageing are responsible, said Dr Emmanuel Pinteaux who led the research.
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Silent Stoke Treatment And Prevention
If your doctor diagnoses a silent stroke, you should have treatment to prevent more silent strokes or a more severe stroke. This is called stroke prevention treatment and can reduce your risk of stroke by 80 percent or more. Stroke prevention may include treatment for AF, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure. It may also include using a blood thinner to prevent blood clots. Your doctor will decide on the best treatment based on your risk factors.
You can also make some important lifestyle changes to reduce your risk of stroke. These include:
- Working with your doctor to control your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar
- Limiting salt to about one teaspoon per day
- Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight
- Eating a heart-healthy diet
Could Parkinson’s Disease Raise Stroke Risk
Or is the link the other way around? Study finds a connection, but cause-and-effect isn’t clear
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Feb. 23, 2017 — A large new analysis suggests there may some type of link between Parkinson’s disease and the risk for stroke.
However, the study can’t prove that one condition causes the other — or even which direction the link might travel, the researchers said.
For example, maybe Parkinson’s somehow raises a person’s odds for ischemic stroke — the type that’s caused by a clot and makes up the vast majority of strokes. Or, it could be that having a stroke weakens the brain, raising the risk that a patient will develop Parkinson’s.
Or, as one expert who reviewed the findings said, a separate, unknown factor might independently link the two conditions.
“There may be some processes that occur with aging that increase the risk of bothstroke and neurodegenerative disorders” such as Parkinson’s, said Dr. Andrew Feigin, a neurologist at Northwell Health’s Neuroscience Institute in Manhasset, N.Y.
More study will be needed to unravel the connection, said a team of researchers led by Dr. Benjamin Kummer, of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.
In the study, Kummer’s team tracked outcomes for a sample of about 1.6 million U.S. Medicare recipients between 2008 and 2014.
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Silent Stroke Vs Mini
A silent stroke is not the same as a mini-stroke. A mini-stroke describes a transient ischemic attack . A TIA is a stroke that causes noticeable symptoms that reverse and completely improve without any long-term brain damage. It is a warning, but it does not appear on a brain MRI or brain CT scan.
Unlike a silent stroke, a TIA doesn’t cause notable harm to the brain. But a TIA is often predictive of future strokes and warrants the same preventive treatments used if a silent stroke is diagnosed.
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Myth : Aside From Medication There Isnt Much You Can Do
Fact: This it is what it is theres nothing I can do to help myself myth is counterproductive. There is a lot you can do chiefly, keeping as active as you can. A recent study found that patients with Parkinsons who took part in weekly, hourlong exercise sessions were able to do more in their daily lives than those who did not.
How To Recognize Silent Strokes
Silent strokes do not present with any obvious symptoms or signs. However, a person might have slight memory or mobility issues that they have not considered could be connected to a stroke.
Instead, silent strokes tend to reveal themselves on brain scans for other conditions, such as headaches, cognitive issues, or dizziness.
A doctor a silent stroke when they find the following signs on a persons brain scan:
- tiny areas of bleeding vessels
Signs of a silent stroke may be very subtle. They are mistaken for regular signs of aging, such as:
- difficulty balancing
commonly causes irregular heartbeat in people over 65 years, is linked to silent strokes. The condition more than doubles a persons risk of having this type of stroke.
These two conditions also share the same risk factors, including high blood pressure and elevated blood levels of homocysteine.
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Study Population And Pd Ascertainment
This two-step door-to-door study was conducted in two communities: Malu rural community from April to October 2013 and Wuliqiao urban community in 2014. The Malu rural community of Jiading district is located in the north-west rural area of Shanghai. The target population was 24,464 residents aged 50 years or older living in this area from community registry offices.Reference Ma, Hou and Tang13 The Wuliqiao urban community of Luwan district is located downtown, and the target population was 3970 permanent residents who were recruited in our sleep and dementia cohort established in 2009 and followed up in 2011 and 2014.Reference Zhuang, Wang and Cheng14,Reference Ma, Qiao and Gao15
Figure 1 Flowchart of the Malu rural study.
Figure 2 Flowchart of the Wuliqiao urban study.
Whats The Outlook For People With Vascular Parkinsonism
Vascular Parkinsonism is a chronic condition, meaning it will always be with you. But unlike PD, it doesnt necessarily have to progress or worsen over time.
Symptoms of vascular Parkinsonism can remain steady for years if an individual maintains a healthy lifestyle and works closely with a healthcare professional to manage key risk factors. Still, because the condition is caused by vascular disease, those with vascular Parkinsonism are more likely to have cardiovascular issues, such as heart disease, that can reduce life expectancy.
While the life expectancy for someone with PD may be as long as for someone without the condition, the outlook for a person with Parkinsonism in any form isnt as encouraging. Compared to the general population, those with Parkinsonism tend to have a somewhat reduced life expectancy, especially if the condition sets in prior to age 70.
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Quantification Of Oligomerized And Aggregated
Oligomers and aggregates of human -synuclein in brain homogenates were quantified by fluorescence resonance energy transfer using a commercially available kit . Briefly, triplicates of 10-µL samples with 1 µg total protein were prepared from 10% ipsi- and contralateral brain homogenate in 1×lysis buffer. Ten microliter of a pre-mixed antibody solution containing anti-h–Synuclein-d2 and anti-h–Synuclein-Tb-Cryptase were added to each sample. A negative control, Cryptase control and buffer control were prepared as suggested by the company. Twenty microliter of the final mix containing sample and antibody as well as the controls were transferred on a 384-well flat clear-bottom plate , covered with a plate sealer, and incubated for 20 h at room temperature. Fluorescence emission was measured at 665 nm for FRET-dependent acceptor fluorescence and at 620 nm for FRET-independent donor fluorescence on a CLARIOstar microplate reader . The ratio of both fluorescence emission values multiplied by 10,000 is directly proportional to the amount of human -synuclein oligomers and aggregates in each sample.
Silent Stroke And Parkinsons Disease May Be Linked: Study
Silent stroke and Parkinsons disease may be linked, according to research findings. A silent stroke does not present any outward symptoms indicating that it has taken place. It occurs when the blood vessel in the brain becomes blocked for a short amount of time. In most cases, patients wont even know that they have suffered a stroke. Researchers found that a lasting effect of a silent stroke may be the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, which is an important area of the brain responsible for movement.
Lead researcher Dr. Emmanuel Pinteaux said, At the moment, we dont know why dopaminergic neurons start to die in the brain and, therefore, why people get Parkinsons disease. There have been suggestions that oxidative stress and aging are responsible. What we wanted to do in our study was to look at what happens in the brain away from the immediate area where a silent stroke has occurred and whether that could lead to damage that might result in Parkinsons disease.
For the study, the researchers induced a mild stroke similar to a silent stroke in the brains of mice. They found inflammation and brain damage in the striatum post-stroke, which was anticipated. What the researchers didnt expect was damage in the substantia nigra.
Brain changes were analyzed six days after the stroke. The researchers found that dopaminergic neurons had died.
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