Study Finds Brain Network Weakening in Many Older Adults After Knee Replacement Surgery

A University of Florida (UF) study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found 23 percent of adults age 60 and older who got a total knee replacement had a decline in activity in at least one region of the brain responsible for specific cognitive functions, reports News-Medical . The team performed cognitive and brain imaging tests before and after surgery on 48 persons undergoing knee replacement. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imagery was used to study patterns of blood flow in the brain while subjects were lying still. Fifteen percent of subjects showed declines across all brain networks the team evaluated. "In essence, normally synchronized parts of the brain appeared more out of sync after surgery," says UF Professor Jared Tanner. Subjects who exhibited greater cognitive weakness before surgery exhibited the most network declines following the procedure. "We strongly believe clinicians need to consider preoperative memory and attention abilities in their patients," says UF Professor Catherine Price. "Across the nation, however, cognition is not routinely assessed prior to surgery."