Amyloid protein, whose accumulation in the brain is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, begins to settle within neurons from the age of 20, a much younger age than scientists imagined , according to the latest study developed by the Northwestern Medical University and collected by the journal Brain .
“The discovery that amyloid begins to accumulate so early in life is unprecedented. This is very important, because we know that amyloid, when it is present for long periods of time, is harmful ”, explains Changiz Geula, leader of the study.
To reach this certainty, the scientists analyzed cholinergic neurons , closely linked to attention and memory, and also those that fail in Alzheimer’s (a large number of neurons are lost both in the hippocampus and in the cerebral cortex), to try to discover why they are the first to die in normal aging and in greater numbers in this disease .
In total, the brains of three groups of deceased patients were examined : the first group with 13 people between the ages of 20 and 66 and cognitively healthy; the second group with 16 people aged between 70 and 99 years without dementia; and finally, 21 people between the ages of 60 and 95 with Alzheimer’s disease.
The results revealed that the amyloid protein was already beginning to be deposited in the youngest brains and that its accumulation did not cease throughout life . The scientists observed tiny toxic lumps even in the 20-year-old patients. These groups believed in size as the years passed and also in those individuals with Alzheimer’s.
” This would indicate why these neurons die earlier. Small clumps of amyloid can be a key reason. The accumulation throughout life of amyloid in these neurons probably contributes to their vulnerability in aging and its loss in Alzheimer’s ”, clarifies Geula.
