Memory Loss May Not Be The Sole Indicator Of Alzheimer’s Disease

Clinical symptoms are not sufficient to determine whether someone has Alzheimer’s disease or another type of neurodegenerative disease.

Relying on clinical symptoms of memory loss to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease may miss other forms of dementia that do not initially affect memory, a new study warns.

A research team from the Northwestern University have discovered that people who present with atypical forms of Alzheimer’s often miss out on opportunities to participate in clinical trials to treat Alzheimer’s. "These individuals are often overlooked in clinical trial designs and are missing out on opportunities to participate in clinical trials to treat Alzheimer’s," said first study author Emily Rogalski, associate professor at Northwestern’s Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center.

Genetics of Alzheimer’s disease
There are numerous genes that have been discovered that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease and indicate increased risk, aiding genetic counseling and better care.

‘Amyloid is an abnormal protein whose accumulation in the brain is the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Emerging evidence suggests an amyloid PET scan can track the presence of amyloid and this scan can be used to determine the likelihood of Alzheimer's disease pathology. ’

There is more than one kind of Alzheimer’s disease. The presence or absence of memory loss all depends on what part of the brain is affected. Alzheimer’s can cause language problems, disrupt an individual’s behavior, personality, and judgment or even affect someone’s concept of where objects are in space or orientation.

If it affects personality, it may cause lack of inhibition. “Someone who was very shy may go up to grocery store clerk — who is a stranger — and try to give her a hug or kiss,” said Dr. Emily Rogalski.

A definitive diagnosis can only be achieved with an autopsy.

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In the study, the authors identify the clinical features of individuals with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a rare dementia that causes progressive declines in language abilities due to Alzheimer’s disease. Early on in PPA, memory, and other thinking abilities are relatively intact.

PPA can be caused either by Alzheimer’s disease or another neurodegenerative disease family called frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

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Because of this, biomarkers, such as amyloid PET imaging, are necessary to identify the neuropathological cause, the authors said.

In the study, Northwestern scientists looked at individuals in mild stages of language loss caused by Alzheimer’s disease and described their brain atrophy based on MRI scans and their results on cognitive tests.

“We wanted to describe these individuals to raise awareness about the early clinical and brain features of PPA to develop metrics which would advocate for their inclusion in clinical trials targeting Alzheimer’s disease,” Rogalski said.

“These individuals are often excluded because they don’t have memory deficits, but they share the same disease [Alzheimer’s] that’s causing their symptoms.”

The study appears online in the journal Neurology.

Source-Medindia