Young Adults At Future Risk Of Alzheimer's Have Different Brain Activity, Says Study
ScienceDaily (2009-04-14) -- Young adults with a genetic variant that raises their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease show changes in their brain activity decades before any symptoms might arise, according to a new brain imaging study by scientists. The results may support the idea that the brain's memory function may gradually wear itself out in those who go on to develop Alzheimer's. ... > read full article
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Alzheimer's Disease Research
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3 comments:
Wow...thats kind of scary. How did you come across this? What Provoked it?
Very interesting. So are there memory tests we can take to determine whether we will have Alzheimer's in the future without examing a CAT scan in the process? Alzheimer's Disease must be showing us another reason how important it is to write in a journal. Keep record of our own history and memories, so if in the future you forget them, you'll have them still exist in the written form.
I think the main point of the article is summed up in Dr Clare Mackay statement, "We have shown that brain activity is different in people with this version of the gene decades before any memory problems might develop. We've also shown that this form of fMRI, where people just lie in the scanner doing nothing, is sensitive enough to pick up these changes. These are exciting first steps towards a tantalising prospect: a simple test that will be able to distinguish who will go on to develop Alzheimer's."
Hence, this study shows we are able to genetically identify those who are at risk to develop Alzheimer's at young age before they begin to show any signs of the disease. Perhaps this a step towards a cure for Alzheimer’s disease?
Journal keeping is very important to me. I enjoy writing in my journal as a therapeutic outlet and also as a record of my feelings concerning significant events during my lifetime. It’s fun to go back and read old journal entries, to see how you’ve changed, how you felt, etc.
Because these subjects are personal to me (journal writing and Alzheimer's) I guess that's why I enjoy the movie The Notebook.
For two years I worked at a nursing home taking care of Alzheimer’s patients. Although I don't have a deep scientific understanding of the disease, I do know how it affects the patient and their families as I personally witnessed its debilitating effects on each.
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