Alzheimer’s attacks long before diagnosis
The researchers found that levels of a protein called beta amyloid decline in cerebrospinal fluid 25 years before Alzheimer's disease symptoms are expected. Image: Professor25/iStockphoto Changes in spinal fluid and the brain have been observed up to 25 years before people with a genetic predisposition for Alzheimer’s disease actually show signs of this devastating disease. An international study published in the New England Journal of Medicine examined people who have a genetic mutation inherited from their parents that means they will develop Alzheimer’s disease before the age of 60. The study draws upon a group known as the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network, or DIAN. Neuroscience Research Australia, based in Sydney, is one of ten study sites and Executive Director Prof Peter Schofield is co-author of the paper published. “This network is the first chance we have had to look for changes related to Alzheimer’s disease in living people that we know will develop the disease,”...