Warning signs of brain damage that can lead to dementia could be detected up to nine years before the disease is diagnosed, researchers at the University of Cambridge have found, which could help identify people who are at increased risk of developing some form of dementia and who could benefit from early intervention, or take part in clinical trials testing new treatments.
Treatments for dementia or other neurodegenerative pathologies, such as Parkinson’s, that are currently available are not very effective, something that is attributed in part to the fact that these diseases are usually diagnosed when the affected person has already begun to show the first symptoms, a significant delay if we take into account that the neurodegeneration responsible for it may have begun to take shape years and even decades earlier, so that when these patients begin to be treated or included in clinical trials it is probably already too late to alter the course of the disease. illness.
Researchers from the Cambridge University NHS Foundation and Cambridge University Hospitals analyzed data from the UK Biobank, which is a biomedical database in which genetic, health and genetic information has been recorded. and the lifestyle of half a million people residing in the country between the ages of 40 and 69.
The database also contained the results of a series of tests carried out on these people, including problem solving, memory, reaction times and grip strength, and information on weight loss and gain and on the number of falls. This allowed the researchers to check for potential red flags when measurements were first obtained (five to nine years before diagnosis).
Symptoms of cognitive impairment that warn of the risk of dementia
According to the results of the research, which have been published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, people who developed Alzheimer’s had lower scores compared to healthy individuals when it came to problem-solving tasks, reaction times, remembering lists of numbers, prospective memory (ability to remember to do something later), and matching pairs. The same thing happened with people who developed frontotemporal dementia.
People who developed Alzheimer’s were more likely to have fallen in the previous 12 months than those who were healthy, and those who developed a rare neurological disorder called progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), which affects balance, were more than twice as likely more likely than healthy women to have suffered a fall. For all conditions tested, including dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease, patients reported poorer overall health at the start of the study.
People who developed Alzheimer’s had lower scores on problem solving, reaction times, remembering lists of numbers, prospective memory and matching pairs
“When we reviewed the patient histories, it became clear that they were showing some cognitive impairment several years before their symptoms were obvious enough to prompt a diagnosis. The deficiencies were often subtle, but in various aspects of cognition,” said Nol Swaddiwudhipong, a junior physician at the University of Cambridge and first author of the work, who affirms that his findings constitute “a step for us to evaluate people. who are most at risk, for example people over 50, or those with high blood pressure or not getting enough exercise, and intervene at an earlier stage to help reduce their risk.”
Lead author Dr Tim Rittman, from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Clinical Neurosciences, adds: “People shouldn’t worry too much if, for example, they’re not good at remembering numbers. Even some healthy people will naturally perform better or worse than their peers. But we encourage anyone who has any concerns or notices that their memory or recall is getting worse to speak to their GP.”
Dr. Rittman also noted that the study results could also help identify people who can participate in clinical trials for potential new treatments. “The problem with clinical trials is that, out of necessity, they often recruit patients with a diagnosis, but we know that at this point they are already advanced and their condition cannot be stopped. If we can find these people early enough, we’ll have a better chance of seeing if the drugs are effective.”
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