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Alzheimers May Start Early

Wed, 08/23/2000 - 12:00am — Karen Stevenson
Description: 

Researchers have found that people with a genetic high risk for Alzheimer's disease had to use more of their brains to perform memory tasks than those at normal risk. Thirty subjects aged 47 to 82 with normal age-appropriate memory performance were tested, and those with higher brain exertion demonstrated noticeable decline in their verbal recall abilities two years after initial testing. The results add to other evidence that physical changes to the brain begin years before dementia. The study was lead by Gary W. Small, director of the Center on Aging at the University of California at Los Angeles, and appears in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

Researchers have found that people with a genetic high risk for Alzheimer's disease had to use more of their brains to perform memory tasks than those at normal risk. Thirty subjects aged 47 to 82 with normal age-appropriate memory performance were tested, and those with higher brain exertion demonstrated noticeable decline in their verbal recall abilities two years after initial testing. The results add to other evidence that physical changes to the brain begin years before dementia. The study was lead by Gary W. Small, director of the Center on Aging at the University of California at Los Angeles, and appears in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).