July 18, 2016.
World research on Alzheimer’s disease is making discoveries every day, seeking to find how to prevent it, to better limit its effects, for lack of being able, for the moment, to cure it. Latest discovery: a warning signal for Alzheimer’s, a drop in blood pressure in the brain.
Alzheimer’s: cognitive disorders start much earlier
A study carried out by researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute has just shown that a drop in blood pressure in the brain precedes the first visible signs of Alzheimer’s disease. But this same study also highlighted the fact that cognitive disorders, even those which push the patient to consult, sometimes under the pressure of his entourage, begin earlier than what was imagined until now. Evidence from medical imaging, which reveals that the brains of patients who will develop the disease later are already showing signs of degeneration.
7,700 brain images analyzed
To arrive at this finding, Quebec researchers analyzed some 7,700 brain images produced by tomography or PET Scan. The next step, for these researchers, will consist in analyzing these images, and others that would be made available to them, to better determine which factors can make it possible to anticipate the onset of Alzheimer’s disease even more.
Recall that to date, Alzheimer’s cannot be cured. On the other hand, several available treatments manage to limit the evolution and stabilize the patients.
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