Alzheimer's disease is an ageing related disorder in which memory, speech and thought processes steadily decline
Researchers have created a new tool — a
prediction model — for estimating one's risk of developing memory and thinking
problems, usually associated with an onset of Alzheimer's disease, up to 10
years before symptoms may appear.
Women could be at a higher risk over a
lifetime of developing the neurodegenerative condition or mild cognitive
impairment, which is considered to precede Alzheimer's disease, said the team
from Mayo Clinic, a US-based integrated, not-for-profit medical group practice.
Alzheimer's disease is an ageing-related
disorder in which memory, speech and thought processes steadily decline and can
eventually affect one's daily functioning.
Men and women with a common genetic
variant — 'APOE e4' — also have higher lifetime risk, the researchers said.
Published in The Lancet Neurology journal,
the study analysed data from 5,858 participants and builds on decades of
information, including brain scans, collected via the 'Mayo Clinic Study of Aging'
project.
"In this retrospective, longitudinal
cohort study of data from participants of the population-based Mayo Clinic
Study of Aging (Olmsted County, Minnesota, USA), we computed lifetime and
10-year absolute risk of cognitive impairment in participants who were
cognitively unimpaired and aged 50 years or older at enrolment," the
authors wrote.
The tool combined factors, including age, gender, genetic risk and
amyloid levels in the brain —considered a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease —
detected in PET scans (positron emission tomography) to estimate an
individual's risk of developing mild cognitive impairment or dementia within 10
years or one's predicted lifetime.
Amyloid levels, in which proteins in the brain accumulate to form
clumps, detected using PET scans were noted to be the strongest predictor for
lifetime risk of developing mild cognitive impairment or dementia.
Co-author Ronald Petersen, neurologist and director of Mayo Clinic
Study of Aging, said, "This kind of risk estimate could eventually help
people and their doctors decide when to begin therapy or make lifestyle changes
that may delay the onset of symptoms. It's similar to how cholesterol levels
help predict heart attack risk."
While the risk prediction tool is currently a research instrument,
it represents a major step towards a more personalised care, with future
versions possibly looking at blood-based biomarkers, the researchers said.
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