Elderly patients who receive anesthesia are no more likely to develop long-term dementia or Alzheimer's disease than other seniors, according to new Mayo Clinic research. The study analyzed thousands of patients using the Rochester Epidemiology Project—which allows researchers access to medical records of nearly all residents of Olmsted County, Minn.—and found that receiving general anesthesia for procedures after age 45 is not a risk factor for developing dementia. The findings were published Wednesday, May 1, online in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
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