“Our results could provide a new basic framework for preclinical research on Alzheimer’s disease and may provide a neurocognitive explanation of spatial disorientation in Alzheimer’s disease”.
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By examining the function of certain brain cells during the task, the scientists reckon they can identify those with a higher genetic risk of developing the condition.
It’s estimated that one in six people carry the variant, known as APOE4, Axmacher said. They have a threefold greater risk of Alzheimer’s than non-carriers do. Because the grid cells are found in the same region, scientists wondered if the reason Alzheimer’s patients are more likely to get lost and have difficulty navigating could be explained by damage to the network. Strangely, though, both groups performed equally well with the virtual arena tasks, although the way the groups navigated the space was different. The “risk carriers” mostly navigated the borders of the maze, while the others were not afraid to work more in the center. Moreover, risk carriers moved less frequently in the centre of the virtual landscape, which indicates an altered navigation strategy.
Exactly what it all could mean is unclear.
In this small study, researchers say that it is still too soon to know if these signs are definite signs of Alzheimer’s development or if they are only a result of the genetic predisposition.
Gilberto shares that these results need to be confirmed in larger studies. “If you close your eyes and walk ten feet forward and turn right and walk three feet forward, the grid cells are believed to [track your position]”, says neuroscientist Joshua Jacobs at Columbia University. However, when (or if) when they become available doctors will certainly be looking for better ways of pre-determining risk for those who will definitely benefit from the treatment.
Perhaps Dean Hartley-the director of science initiatives for the Alzheimer’s Association-has the most practical understanding of this study. “Now, it has to be verified if such changes also occur in older people at an early stage of Alzheimer’s dementia and if they can be affected by the application of drugs”.
“The field is trying to figure out, when does this disease process really begin?”
At present, there is no curative treatment for Alzheimer’s dementia.
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The latest findings, he said, add to evidence that the disease is a decades-long “continuum”. Alzheimer’s is among the most heavily studied diseases in the world, but researchers have had limited success in preventing or reversing the disease.
