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Early warning clue for dementia

by Red Brick | 3 years, 1 month(s) ago

Tags: Clue, Dementia, Warning

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Maira

Heightened activity in an area of the brain that deals with memory may give a subtle early warning of dementia decades later, UK research suggests. It was known that carrying a rogue version of a gene called ApoE4 raised the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Now researchers have linked the same mutation with raised activity in an area of the brain called the hippocampus in people as young as 20. The study appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. These are exciting first steps towards a tantalising prospect: a simple test that will be able to distinguish who will go on to develop Alzheimer's The researchers, from Oxford University and Imperial College London, believe over-activity in the hippocampus may effectively wear it out, raising the risk of dementia in later life. They hope their work could be a first step towards developing a simple method to identify people at increased risk of developing dementia. They could then potentially be offered early treatment and lifestyle advice. Carrying one copy of the rogue ApoE4 gene raises the risk of Alzheimer's by up to four times the normal, two copies by up to 10 times. But not everyone with the rogue gene will develop the condition. Researcher Dr Clare Mackay said: "These are exciting first steps towards a tantalising prospect: a simple test that will be able to distinguish who will go on to develop Alzheimer's."
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