People at high risk for Alzheimer's disease develop abnormal brain function
(before the appearance of amyloid plaques)
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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report in the Dec. 15 issue ofThe Journal of Neuroscience that these patients had a particular form of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene called APOE4. The findings suggest that the gene variant affects brain function long before the brain begins accumulating the amyloid that will eventually lead to dementia.
"We looked at a group of structures in the brain that make up what's called the default mode network," says lead author Yvette I. Sheline, MD. "In particular, we are interested in a part of the brain called the precuneus, which may be important in Alzheimer's disease and in pre-Alzheimer's because it is one of the first regions to develop amyloid deposits. Another factor is that when you look at all of the structural and functional connections in the brain, the most connected structure is the precuneus. It links many other key brain structures together."
The research team conducted functional MRI scans on 100 people whose average age was 62. Just under half of them carried the APOE4 variant, which is a genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Earlier PET scans of the study subjects had demonstrated that they did not have amyloid deposits in the brain. Amyloid is the protein that makes up the senile plaques that dot the brains of Alzheimer's patients and interfere with cognitive function.
Participants in the study also underwent spinal puncture tests that revealed they had normal amyloid levels in their cerebrospinal fluid. Read more: sciencedaily.com
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