Some People May Have a Weak Spot for Alzheimer’s

Here's more evidence suggesting that Alzheimer’s disease begins long before people are diagnosed because some people have a weak spot for the disease.

In some people, the way the brain develops may make them more vulnerable to schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. The good news: tools for doctors to catch Alzheimer’s early are coming within reach.

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Brain development affects old age

Parts of the brain that are still solidifying in our 30s, which manage impulses and judgment, may be the first to go in old age, according to a multi-site team of researchers from Europe, including the United Kingdom. The findings, based on MRI scans, were published in the prestigious journal PNAS.

People with healthier brain connections in those areas have stronger memory.  The same region can be affected early in life — for example, in schizophrenia, which appears in the teens to early 20s in men and the late 20s to early-30s in women.  

“Our results show that the same specific parts of the brain not only develop more slowly but also degenerate faster than other parts,” said Dr. Gwenaelle Douaud of Oxford University, the lead study author. “These complex regions, which combine information coming from various senses, seem to be more vulnerable than the rest of the brain to both schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s, even though these two diseases have different origins and appear at very different, almost opposite, times of life.”

The upshot: It’s possible that scientists will ultimately find prevention strategies that work for both Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia, and that doctors will recommend them to teens.

Catching Alzheimer’s early

Dr. Douaud has gone on to study genetic markers for Alzheimer’s using the large database the UK Biobank. Scientists now think that the risk of Alzheimer’s is from 60 to 80 percent tied to genes.

Identifying those genes may one day help doctors diagnose Alzheimer’s early.

But genes are not destiny. Damage to the brain begins a decade or even 20 years before the first symptoms appear, which may be a window of opportunity for prevention.

In other research, Swedish researchers, working with blood samples from more than a 1,000 Swedes, have developed simple blood tests that spot nerve cell damage and elevated levels of a brain protein linked to Alzheimer’s. The tests can spot the disease five years before symptoms appear, they say.

Swedish doctors began using one of these tests in 2020 and may begin using another test soon. Technically, Alzheimer’s can be confirmed only after someone dies. In people with Alzheimer’s, scientists have found amyloid plaques that block communication between nerve cells in the brain, along with nerve tangles that block nutrients and other substances from circulating in the cells. Both are believed responsible for producing Alzheimer’s symptoms. A protein, named tau, may also be a culprit.

The best way to diagnose Alzheimer’s is through identifying classic symptoms, such as dramatic memory loss and disorientation. By then, the disease has taken hold; treatment is a matter of symptom management from then on.

But you don’t have to wait for a test result to take preventive measures against Alzheimer’s disease. Exercise, a healthy diet rich in antioxidants, and stimulation of the mind are all steps you can take.

If you’re young — say 20, 30, or 40 — change your lifestyle now to take advantage of what researchers already know. The earlier the better.

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