Alzheimer’s disease seems to develop differently in the brains of black patients than it does in the brains of white patients, according to the findings of a new study. But the field has gained a major understanding of how the brain changes with Alzheimer’s and better insight on how and when to intervene medically.
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Among the most useful measures were the Digit Symbol and Paired Associates Immediate Recall tests, which measure memory and cognition; analyzing cerebrospinal fluid for the presence of amyloid beta and tau, which are the two abnormal proteins that distinguish the presence of Alzheimer’s; and MRI scans that assess the volume or thickness, respectively, of the hippocampus and the right entorhinal cortex, which are parts of the brain critical to memory.
For example, the brains of people with dementia sometimes contain infarcts – tiny areas of dead tissue caused by micro-strokes, the researchers explained.
The study is testing whether a new drug, known as an anti-amyloid antibody, can clear plaques from the human brain. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research, to provide and enhance care and support for all affected, and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. “The underlying brain changes were different, which indicates that they probably had different risk factors”.
A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia often results in confusion and uncertainty about the future and what to plan for. The Report also highlights the discontinued and inactive projects in pipeline for Dementia Associated With Alzheimer’s Disease.
But among 41 black patients who died, about 20 percent displayed only the usual Alzheimer’s plaques and tangles. The pathologies include the presence of Lewy bodies.
Blacks also had more frequent and severe blood vessel disease in their brains, such as hardening of the arteries, the investigators found.
“This certainly warrants further investigation, to ask those types of questions”, Snyder said. Last night British researchers said the ground-breaking treatments offered a “sense of hope” in combating the life-shattering disease. After death, autopsies revealed that almost all of the participants had experienced some brain changes related to either Alzheimer’s or dementia.
With about 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day, Alzheimer’s researchers and their advocates say the United States needs to step up the search for a cure or treatments before the costs to family caregivers and the federal government, through Medicare, begin to soar.
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But if there is no significant difference in patient outcomes between these groups, it may be a sign that the drug isn’t having the hoped-for effect on the underlying disease, and instead merely easing symptoms.
