PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

First detailed timeline established for brain's descent into Alzheimer's

2012-07-12
(Press-News.org) Scientists have assembled the most detailed chronology to date of the human brain's long, slow slide into full-blown Alzheimer's disease.

The timeline, developed through research led by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, appears July 11 in The New England Journal of Medicine.

As part of an international research partnership known as the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Network (DIAN), scientists at Washington University and elsewhere evaluated a variety of pre-symptomatic markers of Alzheimer's disease in 128 subjects from families genetically predisposed to develop the disorder. Individuals in the study have a 50 percent chance of inheriting one of three mutations that are certain to cause Alzheimer's, often at an unusually young age.

Using medical histories of the subjects' parents to estimate the age of the onset of symptoms for the study participants, the scientists assembled a timeline of changes in the brain leading to the memory loss and cognitive decline that characterizes Alzheimer's. The earliest of these changes, a drop in spinal fluid levels of the key ingredient of Alzheimer's brain plaques, can be detected 25 years before the anticipated age of onset.

"A series of changes begins in the brain decades before the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are noticed by patients or families, and this cascade of events may provide a timeline for symptomatic onset," says first author Randall Bateman, MD, the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "As we learn more about the origins of Alzheimer's to plan preventive treatments, this Alzheimer's timeline will be invaluable for successful drug trials."

As an example, Bateman says that the new data show that plaques become visible on brain scans 15 years before memory problems become apparent. Researchers in the DIAN plan to give treatments that remove or block plaque formation at this early stage of the disease's progression and monitor subjects to see not only if the plaques can be prevented or reduced, but also whether other Alzheimer's biomarkers measured in the study improve.

Primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the DIAN partnership is researching the rare, familial form of Alzheimer's disease that can cause symptoms to appear in affected people in their 30s and 40s--decades earlier than the more common form that typically occurs after age 65.

"These exciting findings are the first to confirm what we have long suspected, that disease onset begins years before the first sign of cognitive decline or memory loss," said Laurie Ryan, PhD, clinical trials program director at the National Institute on Aging, part of the NIH. "And while DIAN participants are at risk for the rare, genetic form of the disease, insights gained from the study will greatly inform our understanding of late-onset Alzheimer's disease."

Because individuals with these inherited forms of Alzheimer's are widely dispersed geographically, there are too few at any one center to conduct extensive research. That led DIAN principal investigator John C. Morris, MD, the Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman Distinguished Professor of Neurology at Washington University, and his team to form the network four years ago.

"These new results could never have been gathered without the collaborative teamwork and dedication of our DIAN partners at institutions across the United States and in the United Kingdom and Australia," says Morris, who also is director of the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Washington University.

Other results from the new study include: Elevated spinal fluid levels of tau, a structural protein in brain cells, appear 15 years before Alzheimer's symptoms. Shrinkage in key brain structures becomes discernible 15 years before symptoms. Decreases in the brain's use of the sugar glucose and slight impairments in a specific type of memory are detectable 10 years before symptoms.

Researchers also tested participants from DIAN families who do not have any of the mutations that cause inherited Alzheimer's.

"Family members without the Alzheimer's mutations have no detected change in the markers we tested," Bateman says. "It's striking how normal the Alzheimer's markers are in family members without a mutation."

Bateman is leading the development of Alzheimer's prevention and treatment trials in DIAN participants. He and his colleagues hope to launch trials later this year.

DIAN researchers now offer an expanded registry for families with inherited Alzheimer's mutations. They encourage anyone with a family history of multiple generations of Alzheimer's diagnosed before age 55 to visit http://www.DIANXR.org/, where they can register for follow-up contact from researchers to determine whether their family is eligible for participation in DIAN studies.

###

Bateman R, et. al. Clinical, cognitive, and biomarker changes in the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Network. The New England Journal of Medicine, July 11, 2012.

Funding from the National Institute on Aging supported this research.

Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Menopausal hormone therapy associated with increased blood pressure

2012-07-12
Menopausal hormone therapy use is associated with higher odds of high blood pressure, according to research published July 11 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. Longer hormone use was associated with further increased odds of high blood pressure, although this association decreased with subjects' ages. The authors of the study, led by Joanne Lind of the University of Western Sydney, included 43,405 postmenopausal women in their study to identify the association. As Dr. Lind explains, the study shows that "longer use of menopausal hormone therapy is associated with ...

It's not just lunch

2012-07-12
Sharing a meal with a former romantic partner is more likely than other, non-food-related activities to make your current partner jealous, according to a study published July 11 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. The authors, led by Kevin Kniffin of Cornell University, asked undergraduate students to rate their jealousy in response to hypothetical scenarios involving their romantic partner engaging with a former partner, either by email, phone, coffee, or a meal. They found that a meal elicited the highest jealousy ratings, potentially pointing to the importance of ...

Personalized genomic medicine faces many hurdles

2012-07-12
When the human genome project was completed in 2003, some expected it to herald a new age of personalized genomic medicine, but the resulting single "reference" sequence has significant shortcomings for these applications and does not account for the actual variability in the human population, as reported in a study published July 11 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. Using genomic data from a large number of individuals, the authors of the study, led by Todd Smith of PerkinElmer in Seattle, Washington, show that current genomic research resources and bioinformatics ...

Ancient domesticated remains are oldest in southern Africa

2012-07-12
Researchers have found evidence of the earliest known instance of domesticated caprines (sheep and goats) in southern Africa, dated to the end of the first millennium BC, providing new data to the ongoing debate about the origins of domestication and herding practices in this region. The full results are published July 11 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. The researchers, led by David Pleurdeau of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris and Eugène Marais of the National Museum of Namibia, investigated remains from Leopard Cave in Namibia. They could not determine ...

Eye movement direction not correlated with lying

2012-07-12
New research refutes a commonly held belief that certain eye movements are associated with lying. The idea that looking to the right indicates lying, while looking left suggests truth telling, is shown to be false in a report published July 11 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. The researchers, led by Caroline Watt of the University of Edinburgh, completed three different studies to show that there was no correlation between the direction of eye movement and whether the subject was telling the truth or lying. "A large percentage of the public believes that certain eye ...

ATP splitting in membrane protein dynamically measured for the first time

2012-07-12
Bochum, 11.7.2012 No. 242 Tracked step for step ATP splitting in membrane protein dynamically measured for the first time RUB researchers report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry How a transport protein obtains its driving force from the energy storage molecule ATP, has been tracked dynamically by RUB researchers. Using time-resolved infrared spectroscopy, they measured the structural changes in the bacterial membrane protein MsbA and its interaction partner ATP. The researchers led by Prof. Dr. Eckhard Hofmann and Prof. Dr. Klaus Gerwert from the Biophysics ...

Silver nanoparticle synthesis using strawberry tree leaf

2012-07-12
A team of researchers from Greece and Spain have managed to synthesize silver nanoparticles, which are of great interest thanks to their application in biotechnology, by using strawberry tree leaf extract. The new technology is ecological, simple, cheap and very fast. Strawberry tree leaf (Arbutus unedo) and silver nitrate (AgNO3). With just these two ingredients scientists can now produce silver nanoparticles, a material that is used in advanced technologies from compounds for distributing medicines through to electronic devices, catalysts, contaminant solvents. The ...

UK nanodevice builds electricity from tiny pieces

2012-07-12
A team of scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and University of Cambridge has made a significant advance in using nano-devices to create accurate electrical currents. Electrical current is composed of billions and billions of tiny particles called electrons. NPL scientists have developed an electron pump – a nano-device – which picks these electrons up one at a time and moves them across a barrier, creating a very well-defined electrical current. The device drives electrical current by manipulating individual electrons, one-by-one at very high speed. ...

The Iberian wolf lives close to humans more for refuge than for prey

2012-07-12
The Iberian wolf lives in increasingly humanised landscapes, with limited food resources and its presence is not always welcome. But, according to Spanish researchers, food availability plays a secondary role compared to landscape characteristics, which can offer refuge and allow wolves to remain in human-dominated environments in Galicia. The habitat of the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) varies greatly across the Iberian Peninsula and its diet revolves around what is available, ranging from wild animals to domestic waste. In contrast, this predator is able to survive ...

University of Nottingham computer program helps Asian students understand regional accents

2012-07-12
Researchers at The University of Nottingham have developed a unique computer program that helps Asian students to improve their understanding of accented English speech in noisy environments. The team of researchers from the Schools of Psychology, Education, and English, recognised that some Asian students find it difficult to understand the range of different English accents spoken. They identified that some Asian students have particular difficulties with differentiating sounds at the end (e.g. rope versus robe) and start (e.g. tin versus thin) of spoken English ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Underserved youth less likely to visit emergency department for concussion in Ontario, study finds

‘Molecular shield’ placed in the nose may soon treat common hay fever trigger

Beetles under climate stress lay larger male eggs: Wolbachia infection drives adaptive reproduction strategy in response to rising temperature and CO₂

Groundbreaking quantum study puts wave-particle duality to work

Weekly injection could be life changing for Parkinson’s patients

Toxic metals linked to impaired growth in infants in Guatemala

Being consistently physically active in adulthood linked to 30–40% lower risk of death

Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks

Children’s social care involvement common to nearly third of UK mums who died during perinatal period

‘Support, not judgement’: Study explores links between children’s social care involvement and maternal deaths

Ethnic minority and poorer children more likely to die in intensive care

Major progress in fertility preservation after treatment for cancer of the lymphatic system

Fewer complications after additional ultrasound in pregnant women who feel less fetal movement

Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated

The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought

New study reveals surprising reproductive secrets of a cricket-hunting parasitoid fly

Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2025

NSF CAREER Award will power UVA engineer’s research to improve drug purification

Tiny parasitoid flies show how early-life competition shapes adult success

New coating for glass promises energy-saving windows

Green spaces boost children’s cognitive skills and strengthen family well-being

Ancient trees dying faster than expected in Eastern Oregon

Study findings help hone precision of proven CVD risk tool

Most patients with advanced melanoma who received pre-surgical immunotherapy remain alive and disease free four years later

Introducing BioEmu: A generative AI Model that enables high-speed and accurate prediction of protein structural ensembles

Replacing mutated microglia with healthy microglia halts progression of genetic neurological disease in mice and humans

New research shows how tropical plants manage rival insect tenants by giving them separate ‘flats’

Condo-style living helps keep the peace inside these ant plants

Climate change action could dramatically limit rising UK heatwave deaths

Annual heat-related deaths projected to increase significantly due to climate and population change

[Press-News.org] First detailed timeline established for brain's descent into Alzheimer's