Brain research - news on predicting your risk of Alzheimer's

- Thu, 1 Nov 2007

Breakthrough research at Duke University Medical Centre has identified a new marker that may help identify those people most at risk of age-related dementia and Alzheimer's Disease. The study was supported by the National Institute on Ageing.

The study followed people with mild cognitive impairment, MCI (clinically diagnosed memory loss and confusion), over three and a half years.  By using fMRI, a tool which provides a live image of the brain in action, they tracked regions of the brain that turn on or off during memory related tasks. Dr Jeffrey Petrella, MD,  told Science Daily that they tested the theory that it wasn't what switched off in the brain that became the source of brain malfunctioning, rather what stayed on. "Our theory is that the brain's 'cruise control' normally deactivates when we are trying to remember things, so resources can be sent to other areas of the brain that encode memories. However, in people with MCI the deactivation does not happen and the [cruise control] remains active." From this evidence they were able to significantly predict which patients would go on to develop Alzheimer's Disease.

The study's co-author P. Murali Doraiswamy, MD, said, "The Holy Grail in this field is to predict with 100 per cent accuracy whether a 50 year-old who forgets names will get dementia or not. We are not there yet but are inching closer and closer every day." To read the full report of the study click here.

Meanwhile other clinical studies have shown that the amount of activity a brain performs over its lifespan brain is related to risk of developing Alzhiemer's Disease, and the LEQ or Life time Expereince Questionnaire can provide your risk score.  You will be able to access the LEQ at HeadStrong Cognitive Fitness. To find out more about  the science of brain activity and how brain exercises work to ensure your brain stays in peak condition regardless of your physical age, click here.