Ramel Carlos
The Neurology Clinic, USA
Title: Vascular diseases in dementia and Parkinson disease in the Island of Guam
Biography
Biography: Ramel Carlos
Abstract
The risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Parkinson disease (PD) increases with aging. Numerous researches have shown that these vascular diseases may be influential in increasing the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases. This study aims to determine the occurrences of vascular diseases in patients with dementia and PD in the Island of Guam. This is a retrospective review of medical records of patients in the only Neurology Clinic in Guam with the diagnosis with dementia and PD from August 2006 to December 2014. There were 348 patients with dementia and 206 patients with PD. The mean age of diagnosis for patients with dementia is higher for both genders than PD patients. There were more females (60%) diagnosed with dementia while more males (61%) have PD. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyper-lipidemia, heart disease and stroke were identified in 76%, 49%, 60%, 30%, and 35% of patients with Dementia, respectively. In addition, Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus, Hyperlipidemia, Heart Disease and Stroke were identified in 80%, 50%, 58%, 21%, and 29% of patients with PD, respectively. There is an increased occurrence of various vascular diseases in patients with dementia and PD in Guam. It is recommended to optimally control these vascular diseases early on at the diagnosis to potentially prevent progression of neurodegenerative diseases. It is also recommended to implement an awareness program in Guam to educate the public in prevention and treatment of vascular diseases, which are highly prevalent in neurodegenerative diseases.
