Alzheimer’s Disease and Brain Awareness Month

This is Alzheimer’s Disease and Brain Awareness Month around the world.  Best estimates are that fifty-five million people live with Alzheimer’s and other dementia disorders worldwide. Conventional wisdom had us believing dementia disorder happen late in life, you know, one of those old people problems. Yet today the alarming rate of frontotemporal dementia is diagnosed most commonly between ages fifty and sixty. Morevoer researchers also highlight the rise in other early-set dementias in people are young as thirty between years 2013 and 2017 from 4.2 person to 12.6 persons per thousand respectively.

Early Detection

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) serves as a precursor to more severe forms of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, approximately eighteen percent of seniors fall under this category. In fact, MCI is characterized by early-stage memory loss or other cognitive ability decline, while individuals still retain the capacity to independently perform most activities of daily living (ADL). As individuals age, cognitive functions may experience subtle changes, affecting memory, language, and spatial perception. The Alzheimer’s Association defines MCI as a stage where individuals exhibit early signs of cognitive decline while still maintaining independence in performing most ADLs.

Biomarker Research

Studies like the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) study reveals it’s not all in your head by looking at biomarkers. This rare bird research began in 1958 testing the same participants in a prospective, “life-long” design to study how aging happens. The National Institute on Aging funding started in 1962. And in 2003 Professor Luigi Ferrucci created a multifactorial model including frailty, loss of mobility, and cognitive impairment on this cohort. Later in 2011, the research expanded enrollment targeting healthy elders.

It’s Not all in your Head

Why should you care? This type of prospective work examines how our behaviors, across life stages, impacts our mental health in the last decades. The study subjects underwent both physical and cognitive testing. Surprisingly, the findings suggest mitochondrial dysfunction in muscle is related to future risk of dementia disorders. With these initial findings, these researchers will dig deeper into the intersection of our lifestyle and dementia risk. For now, I recommend you continue to do your lunge and squat repetitions.

The AHEAD Study

Focusing on racial and ethnic diversity in drug development is essential to discover treatments that works for all people. In fact, Blacks are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease than the white population that has, historically, been the study participants. Similarly, disease rate in Hispanics is one and a half time their white counterparts. Lastly, women have higher dementia rates than men. The AHEAD study is targeting all racial groups this NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) and the Eisai Corporation headquartered in Japan. This important work is happening at top academic institutions with the goal of finding therapeutics that will reduce memory loss through early detection and treatments.