May 17, 2017 – Plaque and Alzheimer’s

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Anchor lead: Can assessments in middle age predict Alzheimer’s disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports

Middle-aged people with more risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease also have more of a substance called amyloid, known to be associated with the disease, in their brains, a recent study by Rebecca Gottesman and colleagues at Johns Hopkins has shown.

Gottesman: We cannot say just because there’s more amyloid in people with risk factors there’s more Alzheimer’s but right now we have no way to treat or prevent or modify risk for Alzheimer’s and we do know how to treat and prevent these other risk factors so at least having some more direct connection with something that we know happens in Alzheimer’s patients whether or not its causal is I think really meaningful in understanding how they might be linked. :21

Gottesman says those in mid-life should pay attention.

Gottesman: We did not find a similar relationship when we looked at late life risk factors so I think it’s particularly important for people to know the status of their risk factors, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, and obesity, when they’re middle aged and to do what they can to try to modify these.   :15

At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.