It has been just revealed that blood transfusion could increase the risks of stroke. Check out the latest reports about this below.
Medical shocking data is out
For many years, stress was thought to be the cause of stomach ulcers. However, in 1982, doctors discovered that a certain type of bacteria was responsible for the painful condition.
Now, scientists are conducting research to investigate whether blood transfusions might be linked to strokes, a leading cause of death and long-term disability.
According to a recent study, blood transfusions from donors who later developed multiple spontaneous brain bleeds were found to be associated with a slightly higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke in recipients.
This suggests that there may be a connection between blood-borne factors and a type of blood vessel damage in the brain that can cause stroke.
Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is the second leading cause of spontaneous hemorrhagic stroke. It is caused by the accumulation of defective beta-amyloid proteins in the walls of blood vessels in the brain. This makes them fragile and more prone to rupture, leading to strokes and cognitive decline.
A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that CAA may exhibit “prion-like” transmissibility.
Prion diseases were previously associated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease, which is a brain disorder in cattle that can be transmitted to humans through contaminated meat. Researchers have also found evidence that CAA may be transmitted to humans through pituitary hormones taken from cadavers contaminated with amyloid-beta and tau proteins.
Scientists theorized that blood transfusions may carry the same risk as exposure to contaminated meat.
A recent study has found that blood recipients who receive blood from donors who had a single stroke after donation may have an increased risk of developing dementia.
Although not directly analyzed, the study revealed a correlation between blood donors who had a stroke and the likelihood of the recipients developing dementia. Dr. Steven Greenberg, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, noted in an accompanying editorial that the study’s methodology rigorously supports the findings.
