Symptoms of Alzheimer's disease may be
harder to detect in people over 80
August 15, 2011 -- Symptoms of Alzheimer's
disease may be harder to detect in people
over 80, according to a new study that
examined the relationship between
age-related brain shrinkage and
Alzheimer's-associated memory loss.
The study included 105 Alzheimer's patients
and 125 dementia-free people who were
grouped according to age, those 60 to 75
(young-old) and those 80 and older (very
old).
The participants underwent brain scans and
were given tests to assess language,
attention and information processing speed,
executive function, and short and longer
term memory.
People in both groups had similar levels of
overall cognitive impairment, but the
pattern of changes associated with
Alzheimer's disease seemed to be less
noticeable in very-old patients than in the
young-old.
Compared to the dementia-free participants
in their age groups, the executive function,
immediate memory and attention-processing
speed in very old Alzheimer's patients was
less abnormal than in young-old patients.
The study also found that very-old
Alzheimer's patients had less severe
thinning of certain areas of the cerebral
cortex and the overall cerebellum than
young-old patients.
The thickness of these brain areas decreases
with age, so there are fewer differences
between the brains of very-old healthy
people and very-old Alzheimer's patients,
the researchers noted.
The study appears in the Aug. 10 online
issue of the journal Neurology.
"Those who are 85 and older make up the
fastest growing population in the world,"
study author Mark Bondi of the University of
California San Diego School of Medicine and
VA San Diego Healthcare System said in a
journal news release.
"Our study shows how age has a dramatic
effect on the profile of brain atrophy and
cognitive changes evident in Alzheimer's
disease."
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke has more about Alzheimer's
disease.
