May 30, 2024 – Older persons are at high risk for Alzheimer's disease People who had significant memory problems up to now 12 months were more more likely to show early signs of the disease within the brain than individuals who didn't report major memory problems, in keeping with a brand new study.
The significant memory changes were also noticed by the spouses, close friends or relatives of those affected. The latest findings point to the importance of asking people and their relatives about changes in memory function to evaluate Alzheimer's risk, the researchers suggested.
The study results were published Wednesday within the Journal neurologyThe study involved 675 individuals with a median age of 72 who had no problems with their pondering skills in the beginning of the study but were considered in danger for Alzheimer's. They all took part in other studies that follow people over the long run to learn more concerning the onset of the disease.
The 675 people within the study answered questions on their mental abilities and likewise had PET scans of their brains. For each of them, a “study partner” also answered questions on the person's mental abilities. A study partner could possibly be a spouse, relative or friend, and 65% of the study partners lived with the people studied.
In the questionnaire, participants and their study partners were asked whether the person being examined, for instance:
- Had a major decline in memory in comparison with the previous 12 months
- Has often misplaced things
- Relied more on written reminders akin to shopping lists and calendars in comparison with the previous 12 months
The researchers reported that early signs of changes within the brain were related to a greater decline in pondering skills reported by themselves and their partners.
Study participants also took cognitive ability tests, which measure how well the brain handles things like learning, remembering, and being attentive. The tests administered to check participants are considered objective and are usually not based on the participants' perceptions of their very own cognitive abilities. These objective test results tended to agree with the subjective reports of study participants and their partners.
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disease that involves the death of brain cells over time. For this study, researchers searched for two forms of protein deposits within the brain which might be related to Alzheimer's disease. One kind of protein deposit is named amyloid plaque, and the opposite is named tau fibrils. Some people within the study were already known to have higher levels of amyloid plaque due to their participation in other studies.
The mere presence of protein accumulation is just not sufficient reason for a diagnosis of Alzheimer's, and never all individuals with these brain changes ultimately develop the disease.
The authors noted that amyloid plaques have already been linked to declines in cognitive abilities reported by people and partners, but there was insufficient evidence to find out whether the presence of tau fibrils was related to the undeniable fact that people reported early problems with their mental abilities.
These latest findings underscore the importance of simply asking about memory complaints, which could also be an early sign of preclinical Alzheimer's disease, said researcher Rebecca E. Amariglio, PhD, a clinical neuropsychologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.
“We now know that the changes in the brain due to Alzheimer's disease begin long before patients show clinical symptoms that a doctor can detect,” she said in a opinion“There is increasing evidence that those affected themselves or close family members may notice changes in memory even before clinical measurements show evidence of cognitive impairment.”
The researchers identified that their study included mostly white, highly educated people and that further studies with a more diverse group of individuals over an extended time frame are needed.