Clues to a degenerative disease could be showing up sooner than we realize.
Alzheimer’s disease primarily affects people over the age of 65, but a couple of subtle signs could come up to two decades before.
And both could provide insight into how and when the disease develops over our lifetimes.
The neurodegenerative disease that affects 6.7 million Americans potentially begins long before cognitive skills, attention span and judgement start eroding.
And a new study reports that certain biomarkers of Alzheimer’s, alongside memory concerns, could show that midlife years are a key window for earlier diagnosis.
Looking at data of more than 1,000 people, the researchers found a toxic protein known as pTau181 that’s associated with Alzheimer’s in combination with self-reported memory problems.
Notably, the participants in the study were around 45 years old at the time. Alzheimer’s disease often isn’t diagnosed until a person’s mid-60s or later.
The findings suggest that pTau181 may begin accumulating in the brain earlier than once believed, as early as middle age.
These tau proteins have long been known to be harmful to the brain, building up and interfering with cognitive function.
This study could prove beneficial in a few different ways.
First, many treatments for Alzheimer’s slow the progression of the disease, but can’t restore cognitive function, especially during more advanced stages.
As these medications potentially work best when taken early, identifying symptoms early on could provide better treatment options.
Another benefit of the research is that finding protein buildup in the brain sooner rather than later could offer a minimally invasive way to identify those who have a greater risk of developing the disease.
This could then allow more opportunities for prevention and healthy brain function and aging, such as lifestyle changes like exercise and more social interactions.
Lastly, screening for biological markers like tau proteins, along with reports of memory issues, can help distinguish early signs of Alzheimer’s from normal aging.
Detecting proteins like pTau181 sooner rather than later adds to the growing evidence that signs can show up long before a proper diagnosis — by which point, some treatments may be too late.
Abnormal levels of another protein linked to the disease — p-tau217 — could be detected using a simple blood test to not only determine a person’s risk, but also the year symptoms can begin.
P-tau217 levels rise in a “remarkably consistent” pattern long before memory loss begins, and older adults developed symptoms much more quickly when the protein levels became abnormal.
