Elderly people with high blood dementia protein levels, risk of delirium after surgery ↑
Apr 18, 2025
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Delirium is a temporary brain dysfunction that causes problems with consciousness and persistence (accurate perception of dates, places, and people) and is known to occur rapidly and be generally recoverable. In addition to physical and environmental factors, drugs are one of the causes. Postoperative delirium is an acute state of chaos that occurs after surgery, especially in elderly patients.
In a paper published in Scientific Reports, Dr. Kwak Yong-tae of the Department of Neurology at Yongin Hyoja Hospital and Yang Young-soon of Cheonan Hospital at Soonchunhyang University said in a study of elderly patients who underwent general anesthesia, they confirmed that high blood levels of dementia protein amyloid beta oligomer (MDS-Oβ) increase the risk of delirium after surgery.
In 104 elderly patients aged 65 or older who had no signs of dementia before surgery, blood was collected and examined immediately after general anesthesia, and delirium was observed for 3 days. Although POD can occur up to day 5 postoperative, it typically peaks between 2 and 3 postoperative days and this phenomenon is especially pronounced in older adults. The research team measured amyloid beta oligomer (OAβ), a biomarker of dementia in blood tests, and compared 31 people who showed POD symptoms with 31 people who did not have POD with the effect of the Alzheimer's disease gene (APOE4).
As a result, patients with delirium had significantly higher levels of amyloid beta oligomer in the blood than those without delirium, and the higher the level, the more severe the delirium symptoms.
The research team explained that this suggests that delirium after surgery may be related to a pathological pathway similar to dementia, suggesting the possibility of identifying the risk of POD in advance and establishing preventive strategies through amyloid beta oligomers. If a patient's delirium can be predicted before general anesthesia, the surgery method can be changed, and the possibility of medical staff and family members preparing for postoperative recovery or care increases.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
