Alzheimer’s Study May Help Diagnose Prevention Early On

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A breakthrough research is showing promise in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease at its early stages that could someday lead to possible prevention of the disease.

In a study conducted by the Boston Children’s Hospital that was recently published in the journal Science., it revealed that the loss of brain synapses among Alzheimer’s patients may occur sooner than was previously expected.

Alzheimer’s is primarily caused by proteins building up in the brain that forms neural structures called “plaques” or “tangles”, that as time passes disconnects nerve cells and eventual loss of brain tissues.

Research lead neurologist Beth Stevens pointed out that their study shows the that synapse loss occurs much earlier through a process called synapse elimination that occurs usually around the time sexual maturity ends in a new-born child’s cycle.

This is also the time when the human brain undergoes a process of removing eliminating neuronal structures in the brain that is no longer important.

Previous theories contend that as the brain develops, it responds to complex structures by strengthening it and eliminates unwanted or simple neurons that serve no function.

But according to Stevens, their research on test mice indicated that the developmental process has gone haywire where some immune cells are ‘eating’ connections between neurons.

Stevens said that a type of glial cell called microglia are feasting on synapses early on through the progression of Alzheimer’s and with the use of two mice subjects, they used an antibody to block one mouse’s brain from setting a microglial feast by pruning the affected neuron and found that they did not lose the synapse.

She concluded that this synapse pruning process could be responsible for the progression of Alzheimer’s in an adult patient’s brain.

Many scientific communities hail this discovery as a breakthrough in understanding the disease and allow science to look for ways to counter its damaging effects in the near future.

The findings were published just days after study findings also corroborate that exercise can regain youthful functions by as much as a decade.

Data from the Alzheimer’s Association, show that more than 5 million Americans are suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and is the 6^th leading cause of deaths in the United States.

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