Falling 'sign of early Alzheimer's'
Wednesday 20th July 2011
Falling or balance problems could be early indicators of Alzheimer's disease, according to new research.
Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis found that study participants with brain changes characteristic of early Alzheimer's disease were more prone to falling and general balance problems than those with relatively healthy brains.
Researchers investigated 119 volunteers, all of whom were 65 or older and cognitively healthy. Brain scans revealed that 18 of these participants had high levels of amyloid plaques in the brain, indicating Alzheimer's, while the remaining 101 had normal amyloid levels in the brain.
Participants were asked to note down any falls in a journal, which the investigators followed up through a questionnaire and a phone interview.
Approximately one in three over-65-year-olds experience a fall each year. However, among the 18 participants with higher amyloid levels in the brain, two-thirds fell within the first eight months.
Lead author Susan Stark said: "If you meet these people on the street, they appear healthy and have no obvious cognitive problems.
"But they have changes in their brain that look similar to Alzheimer’s disease, and they have twice the typical annual rate of falls for their age group."
Scientists often stress the importance of detecting Alzheimer's disease early on, before it has had a chance to damage the brain beyond repair.
Now researchers have said that the neurodegenerative condition could be identified up to 20 years before problems with cognition become apparent.
Results from a part of the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Network (DIAN) study revealed that levels of biological markers for Alzheimer's in spinal fluid can be detected years before the onset of dementia.
Randall Bateman, of Washington State University School of Medicine in St Louis, said: "These Alzheimer's-related changes can be specifically targeted for prevention trials in patients with inherited forms of Alzheimer's."
Written by Angela Newbury
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