Alzheimers Research UK explain 'what is dementia?'

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Dementia is a nightmarish thought – the syndrome associated with progressive brain decline currently has no cure. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, affecting between 50 and 75 per cent of those diagnosed. While a cure remains out of sight, gains have been made in detecting Alzheimer’s years before a clinical diagnosis.

A new study published today ignites further hope of preventing and treating the progressive brain decline.

The key finding of a study published today in Neuropsychopharmacology suggests healthy people with a higher genetic risk of Alzheimer’s disease may show differences in brain structure and reasoning and attention before signs appear.

Although scientists believe the association between these differences in people with a higher genetic risk of Alzheimer’s disease were small, the link suggests signs of the devastating disease may be detectable before significant symptoms are obvious.

The research was the largest study to date investigating the genetic risk for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and non-demented structural brain MRI and cognition phenotypes, carried out by researchers from the University of Glasgow.

Alzheimer’s disease is linked to the malfunctioning of several brain regions, but among the earliest includes the hippocampus, which is vital for processing memory and learning.

Genetic factors are known to play a role in developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and researchers can use polygenic risk scoring – a method used to estimate an individual’s genetic risk of developing a particular disease, such as Alzheimer’s.

Researchers calculated a polygenic genetic risk score based on a large number of mutations for 32,790 generally-healthy adults without dementia to see if their lifetime genetic risk of Alzheimer’s was associated with average differences in brain structure and cognitive performance.

Rachana Tank, a lead author on the study, said: “Our findings are novel because they show the effects of genetic risk may, to a certain extent, be apparent long before a clinical dementia diagnosis.

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“Although we cannot say for certain that these differences are early signs of dementia per se, it is important that we do further research in this area.”

Dr Donald Lyall, Lecturer in Public Health at the University’s Institute of Health and Wellbeing said: “These findings could lead to a better, more meaningfully informative way of gauging Alzheimer’s disease risk than current methods of inquiring about a family history of dementia.

“Being able to identify individuals at risk of worse cognitive abilities and potentially accelerated decline could greatly improve diagnosis and treatment options in future.”

Other risk factors for Alzheimer’s

Although it’s still unknown what triggers Alzheimer’s disease, several factors are known to increase your risk of developing the condition.

Age is the single most significant factor.

According to the NHS, the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s doubles every five years after you reach 65.

“But it’s not just older people who are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Around one in 20 people with the condition are under 65,” warns the health body.

Research shows that several lifestyle factors and conditions associated with cardiovascular disease can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

These include:

• Smoking
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol.

In addition, the latest research suggests that other factors are also important, although this does not mean these factors are directly responsible for causing dementia.

These include:

• Hearing loss
• Untreated depression (though depression can also be one of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease)
• Loneliness or social isolation
• A sedentary lifestyle.

Alzheimer’s – main symptoms spot

According to the Alzheimer’s Association (AA), one of the most common signs of Alzheimer’s, especially in the early stage, is forgetting recently learned information.

“Others include forgetting important dates or events, asking the same questions over and over, and increasingly needing to rely on memory aids (e.g., reminder notes or electronic devices) or family members for things they used to handle on their own,” notes the AA.

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