The researchers looks at more than 300 people
|
Early signs of Alzheimer’s disease could possibly be identified through brain scans, even when there are no symptoms, new research has found
The researchers looks at more than 300 people in their 70s and 80s who had no memory or thinking problems. A brain scan found that a third of these people had high levels of protein deposits linked to Alzheimer’s.
These people also had unusual levels of metabolic brain chemicals which are associated with mental decline.
Dr Kejar Kantarci, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, US, said, ‘More research is needed that follows people over a period of years to determine which of these individuals will actually develop the disease and what the relationship is between the amyloid deposits and the metabolites.’
Dr Jonathan Schott, from the Dementia Research Centre at University College London, said, ‘If we could identify people in whom the disease process has started but symptoms have not yet developed, we would have a potential window of opportunity for new treatments - as and when they become available - to prevent or delay the start of memory loss and cognitive decline.’
It is thought that 750,000 people in the UK suffer from dementia, 62 per cent of whom have Alzheimer’s.
By Lauren King
| 
Win a pair of coloured contact lenses!
Win two anti-ageing beauty products by Judith Williams!