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Alzheimer’s, a memory test could anticipate the diagnosis

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Alzheimer’s, a memory test could anticipate the diagnosis

A simple test that measures the ability to remember the objects observed in a precise fraction of time. Could this be enough to predict who will get Alzheimer’s before symptoms occur? This is what researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York tried to understand, subjecting nearly 4,500 people to a mnemonic test, then classifying them into groups according to the score obtained.

The results of the study, published by Neurology (the journal of the American Academy of Neurology), found that in the poor memory performance groups, the percentages of people with beta-amyloid plaques in the brain – a protein considered an important risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease – were higher than those in the groups of participants ranked with the best scores.

A discovery, the researchers argue, is useful in identifying the signs of memory decline that precede dementia by several years. With a concrete advantage: identifying the patients on whom experimental therapies are most likely to work, to be enrolled in clinical trials.

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What the test revealed

Participants, mostly in their seventies and with normal cognitive abilities, were shown images of certain objects and provided clues about the categories they belong to (for example for the image of grapes, the clue “fruit” as a category). At a later stage, the volunteers tried to remember the observed objects, answering specific questions, and those who could not be asked to remember the category they belonged to. This technique – the researchers underline – helps the memory of those who have some difficulty remembering, but not people with dementia problems.

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On the basis of the score obtained, the participants were divided into five classes or stages, from zero to four: in the first three classes (0,1,2) who remembered the objects even after the indication of some clues; in the other two (3 and 4) those who had difficulty remembering them despite knowing the clues.

The scientists hypothesized that the latter could have had greater accumulations of beta-amyloid and a reduction in the volume of the hippocampus than their first-class peers. The brain tomographies carried out seem to confirm it: there would be a correspondence between low memory performance and the presence of beta-amyloid plaques, highlighted in 30% of cases in group 0, in 31% of cases in group 1, in 35% of those in group 2, in 40% of group 3 and finally in 44% of group 4.

In stages 0 to 2, participants’ mild cognitive disturbances also appear to precede dementia by 5-8 years, in the third and fourth stages by just 1-3 years.

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“The study allowed us to distinguish the signals associated with mild cognitive deficits that can progress into severe forms of dementia,” he explained. Ellen GrosserPhD, author of the study and researcher at Albert Einstein College of Medicine: “The test could be used to identify who to enroll in clinical trials and avoid invasive and expensive tests for those who, despite manifesting cognitive impairment, will not develop forms of dementia.”

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The level of education: a limit

The study, however, has a limit: it only involved participants with a high level of education. Therefore, its validity should be verified on a wider segment of the population. In fact, several researches associate a low level of education with a high risk of dementia in old age, and a more intense cognitive, social and intellectual activity with a higher cognitive reserve, or a higher capacity of the brain to resist effects of neuropathological damage.

Image via Pixabay

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