Brain changes linked with Alzheimer's years before symptoms appear

  • A long-running study found subtle cognitive deficits evident 11-15 years before clear impairment, as were changes in tau protein.

A very long-running study involving 290 people at risk of Alzheimer's has found that, in those 81 people who developed MCI or dementia, subtle changes in cognitive test scores were evident 11 to 15 years before the onset of clear cognitive impairment. They also showed increases in the rate of change of tau protein in cerebrospinal fluid an average of 34.4 years (for t-tau, or total Tau) and 13 years (for a modified version called p-tau) before the beginning of cognitive impairment.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/jhm-bcl051419.php

Reference: 

Related News

A new study shows that a combination of inflammation and hypoxia activates microglia in a way that persistently weakens the connection between

A new function has been found for the

New findings support a mathematical model predicting that the slow, steady firing of neurons in the d

I reported a few months ago on some evidence of a link between disturbed sleep and the development of Alzheimer’s. Now a mouse study adds to this evidence.

Genetic analysis of 9,232 older adults (average age 67; range 56-84) has implicated four genes in how fast your

Another study adds to the evidence that changes in the brain that may lead eventually to Alzheimer’s begin many years before Alzheimer’s is diagnosed.

I commonly refer to ApoE4 as the ‘Alzheimer’s gene’, because it is the main genetic risk factor, tripling the risk for getting Alzheimer's. But it is not the only risky gene.

A new study finds out why curcumin might help protect against dementia, and links two factors associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases: DNA damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS), and excessive levels of copper and iron in parts of the brain.

More evidence that vascular disease plays a crucial role in age-related cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s comes from data from participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.

Carriers of the so-called ‘Alzheimer’s gene’ (apoE4) comprise 65% of all Alzheimer's cases. A new study helps us understand why that’s true.

Pages

Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news
Error | About memory

Error

The website encountered an unexpected error. Please try again later.