- Adults who had higher levels of amyloid in their brain lost their memory quicker
- This protein build-up is known to cause toxic clumps in the organ of sufferers
- These tangles are believed to cause symptoms of the progressive disorder
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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Alzheimer’s disease ravages the brain of sufferers years before any devastating symptoms appear, researchers warn.
Screening middle-aged adults for levels of amyloid protein in the organ could halt the irreversible damage, a study suggests.
This build-up is known to cause toxic clumps in the brain, which are believed to be the signature hallmark of the disease.
Participants who had higher levels of the protein lost their memory quicker than those who lost it through ageing, scientists found.
Amyloid plaques develop in parts of the brain that play a role in visual recognition and memory, causing symptoms of the disorder.
However, such problems are also linked to growing older, possibly explaining why Alzheimer’s is most common in pensioners.
The University of Southern California, San Diego, research implies treatment, which is often delayed due to the disease’s links to old age, should begin much sooner.
Healthy adults who had much higher levels of amyloid protein in the organ lost their memory quicker, a new study found
Lead author Dr Paul Aisen said the findings, published in JAMA, add to reports that have found Alzheimer’s begins before symptoms appear.
While it could also mean millions of people may already have the most common form of dementia without knowing, San Diego Union Tribune reports.
The exact cause of Alzheimer’s is unknown, although a number of factors, including age, are thought to increase the risk of developing the progressive disorder.
Screening people in middle age could stop the process by giving them access to experimental drugs to stop the damage, Dr Aisen said.
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Vision of the future
He added: ‘My vision of the future is that many people will have screening for amyloid accumulation as they get older.
‘Some may decide not to have screening, just as some don’t have a colonoscopy for colon cancer or don’t check their cholesterol for cardiovascular disease.
‘But I think that screening for amyloid abnormalities is going to be part of health care, when we have effective therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.’
How was the study carried out?
The findings were based on a study of 445 cognitively healthy participants who were followed for a period of 10 years.
They were measured for their levels of amyloid. Some 202 had an elevated count, the rest were deemed normal.
What did they find?
After four years, 32 per cent of the volunteers with higher levels of amyloid had developed early symptoms of Alzheimer’s. This was compared to just 15 per cent of those in the other group.
At the ten year mark, 88 per cent of those in the group with elevated levels showed signs of mental decline – compared to 29 per cent of the others.
ARE YOU AT RISK OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE? FIND OUT…
If you want to know whether you’re at risk of Alzheimer’s disease, taking this test could help you.
Those unable to tell which character is the odd one out could well be at risk of the devastating disorder.
Known as Greebles, the purple characters have been designed by scientists at the University of Louisville in their ongoing quest for a cure.
A study found those at genetic risk of the disease struggle to distinguish a subtle difference in one of the images.
Which is the odd one out?
ANSWER: 4
For those eagle-eyed readers, the fourth Greeble was the one with the subtle difference.
It was built with a slightly bigger and wider horn on the front of its head. Its arm also sticks out of its body more than the others.
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