How early do brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease become detectable with imaging?
Because the biology underlying Alzheimer's disease is thought to unfold over decades - beginning long before cognitive symptoms appear - a major research focus is to identify brain biomarkers of impending disease.
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It has long been thought that the earliest detectable signal on brain scans in Alzheimer's is amyloid pathology as seen on PET scans.
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But new research published in Nature Neuroscience suggests that measurable changes in brain structure may occur at least seven years before amyloid pathology becomes detectable with PET. This suggests that harmful processes may already be underway in the brain long before amyloid pathology becomes detectable on imaging.
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The study followed healthy individuals with regular brain scans (MRI) over nearly two decades, allowing the researchers to look back at brain MRI scans in those who later developed amyloid pathology - acquired years before amyloid became detectable.
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We are especially proud to highlight that James Michael Roe, Ph.D., International Scientific Lead at Cercare Medical, is the first author of the study, which he led during his time at the University of Oslo and The University of California, Berkeley.
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The findings provide new insights into how early brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease may begin and could contribute to a better understanding of the brain processes taking place long before cognitive symptoms appear.Â
