Years before symptoms arise, Alzheimer’s disease stealthily alters the brain. Now researchers have found new clues about the early stages of this sequence, critical knowledge for future treatment efforts.
A 20-year study in China tracked spinal fluid and brain scans in older adults. Compared to those staying cognitively healthy, eventual Alzheimer’s patients had elevated levels of a culprit protein called amyloid-beta about 18 years before diagnosis.
After that, every few years the study detected another Alzheimer’s-linked abnormality until cognitive impairment emerged. Scientists still don’t fully understand how the illness forms. However, amyloid plaque buildup and distorted tau proteins are known key drivers of neuron damage. To put it simply, the plaque clogs the brain.
Plenty of healthy people show certain risk factors, like plaque buildup. However, Alzheimer’s patients often see a pileup of these risks, according to this study.
“Knowledge of the timing of these physiological events is critical,” Dr. Richard Mayeux, an Alzheimer’s specialist at Columbia University who wasn’t involved in the research, told the Associated Press.
The research has no clinical application currently, but last year an amyloid-clearing drug named Leqembi became the first U.S.-approved medicine showing ability to modestly slow early Alzheimer’s progression.
The findings reinforce that tracking pre-symptomatic changes is pivotal for upcoming drug trials and emerging blood tests aiding diagnosis.
“The more we know about viable Alzheimer’s treatment targets and when to address them, the better and faster we will be able to develop new therapies and preventions,” Claire Sexton, the Alzheimer’s Association’s senior director of scientific programs, told the outlet.
While a cure remains elusive, scientists will hopefully be able to pinpoint the start of Alzheimer’s in individuals, perhaps soon enough to substantially delay dementia.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.