Study:
Alzheimer's Disease symptoms more subtle in
people ove
r 80
August 10, 2011 – A new study suggests that
the relationship between brain shrinkage and
memory loss in Alzheimer's disease changes
across the age spectrum.
The research is published in the August 10,
2011, online issue of Neurology®, the
medical journal of the American Academy of
Neurology.
"Those who are 85 and older make up the
fastest growing population in the world,"
said study author Mark Bondi, PhD, with the
University of California San Diego School of
Medicine and VA San Diego Healthcare System.
"Our study shows how age has a dramatic
effect on the profile of brain atrophy and
cognitive changes evident in Alzheimer's
disease."
The study involved 105 people with
Alzheimer's disease and 125 people who were
free of dementia and recruited through the
Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.
Participants were grouped into those who
were between the ages of 60 and 75 and those
age 80 years and older. All were given tests
that measured language, attention and speed
of processing information, executive
function, and immediate and delayed ability
to recall information.
Participants also underwent brain scans to
measure the thickness of the outermost
tissue layers in the cerebrum of the brain.
Even though the two groups had similar
levels of overall cognitive impairment,
researchers found that the pattern of
changes associated with Alzheimer's disease
appeared to be less noticeable in people
over the age of 80 (very-old) compared to
those between the ages of 69 and 75
(young-old).
When compared to their healthy counterparts,
executive function, immediate memory and
attention/processing speed were less
abnormal in those considered very old
compared to those considered young-old. The
very-old also showed less severe thinning of
portions of cerebral cortex and the overall
cerebrum than the young-old, as compared to
their healthy counterparts. This is in part
because these brain areas decrease in
thickness due to age, so there are fewer
differences between the healthy very-old
brain and the very-old brain with
Alzheimer's disease, Bondi said.
The study was supported by National
Institute on Aging, the National Institutes
of Health, the National Institute of
Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering,
Abbott, AstraZeneca AB, Bayer Schering
Pharma AG, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eisai
Global Clinical Development, Elan
Corporation, Genentech, GE Healthcare,
GlaxoSmithKline, Innogenetics, Johnson and
Johnson, Eli Lilly and Co., Medpace, Inc.,
Merck and Co., Inc., Novartis AG, Pfizer
Inc., F. Hoffman-La Roche, Schering-Plough,
Synarc, Inc., Wyeth, the Alzheimer's
Association and Alzheimer's Drug Discovery
Foundation with participation from the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration, the Northern
California Institute for Research and
Education and the Dana Foundation.
The American Academy of Neurology, an
association of more than 24,000 neurologists
and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated
to promoting the highest quality
patient-centered neurologic care. A
neurologist is a doctor with specialized
training in diagnosing, treating and
managing disorders of the brain and nervous
system such as epilepsy, dystonia, migraine,
Huntington's disease, and dementia.
For more information about the American
Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com.
