Brain scans reveal Alzheimer's-related changes up to seven years before plaques appear
Researchers tracking healthy seniors for nearly two decades found structural brain alterations that precede detectable amyloid plaques by at least seven years.
Scientists at the University of Oslo followed a cohort of cognitively healthy older adults with regular MRI scans over almost 20 years, discovering that brain structural changes emerge at least seven years prior to the appearance of amyloid plaques on PET imaging. James Michael Roe, then a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, led the analysis, which compared participants who eventually showed plaques with those who never did.
Anders Martin Fjell, professor and head of the LCBC, highlighted that these pre-plaque alterations may stem from processes either driving plaque formation or operating independently of amyloid accumulation. The results call into question the sensitivity of amyloid-PET as the sole early-detection tool and suggest that therapies targeting non-amyloid pathways could be crucial. Published in Nature Neuroscience, the study underscores the need for further research into the earliest biological changes of Alzheimer's disease.
Why it matters
Early detection of Alzheimer's could enable interventions before irreversible damage occurs.
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