Is Alzheimer’s Unique For Each Individual?

A new study originating from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) tries to explain why Alzheimer’s disease can progress more or less rapidly for different people.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. It affects memory, behavior and thinking and gets worse over time. The cause and progression of the disease are not yet well understood. Current research suggests that Alzheimer’s is often associated with plaques in the brain and most often the disease is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age.

This new NIH study tries to shed some light on why signs and symptoms of the disease could be so different for various patients. It appears that differences in the brain structures which form those plaques could explain why the disease progress differently over time for each individual.

Analyzing those “beta-amyloid fibrils” structures could first help to diagnose more reliably the disease in patients. This is important as it would help differentiate the natural decline of cognitive abilities such as memory from the disease itself. It would also provide information on how fast the disease could progress over time and allow for better treatments in the future.

Keeping the brain fit is a very important goal. Much like the body, our brain needs to be trained constantly to stay in shape. By brain training regularly, we can help maintain and improve the cognitive abilities which are important in our daily life.