Scientists from Karolinska Institute have found that in rare cases, blood transfusions can cause bleeding in the brain. The research was published in the journal JAMA.
The study found that patients who received blood from donors who subsequently had recurrent brain hemorrhages were more than twice as likely to suffer brain hemorrhages themselves.
For the analysis, the scientists used the Swedish-Danish blood transfusion database SCANDAT, which contains data on blood donors and transfusion recipients (recipients) since the 1970s. More than one million patients were included in the study.
The results mean that some factors that can cause spontaneous brain hemorrhages may be transmitted through blood transfusions, the study authors wrote. According to scientists, this factor may be a disease called cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), in which special proteins accumulate in the brain vessels.
Previous research has shown that CAA can be passed from one person to another through brain surgery and possibly a certain type of growth hormone therapy. The new study may provide evidence that CAA can be transferred between people.
Scientists emphasized that potential blood recipients should not worry about the transmission of CAA through transfusion. Only 0.1% of the million donors developed recurrent brain hemorrhage, so there were only a few patients who became ill. However, the authors noted that blood transfusion is a relatively common procedure, making the potential adverse outcomes a significant public health concern.
“This study does not establish a cause-effect relationship, so the observed increase in risk may be due to other factors. More research is needed to confirm our findings and understand the potential underlying mechanism,” said study co-author Jingcheng Zhao from the Karolinska Institute.
Source: Gazeta
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