Study finds 40% accuracy in prediction of Alzheimer’s brain tissue damage

The study led by the University of San Francisco Memory and Aging Center, found that the build-up of a harmful protein in the brain can predict atrophy in Alzheimer’s disease patients at least one year in advance.

Whilst previous studies have shown that two tell-tale plaques, amyloid beta and tau, develop clumps which smother and destroy neurons, the team of researchers found that only accumulation of the tau protein was indicative of where damage would occur during the progression of the disease.

The research team say the discovery sheds new light on the age-related brain disease and that either drugs could prevent the neurodegeneration or that scans predicting future atrophy could lead to personalised dementia care.

There are currently around 44 million people worldwide estimated to be living with Alzheimer’s disease.

Lead research author Dr Renaud La Joie, said “No one doubts that amyloid plays a role in Alzheimer’s disease, but more and more tau findings are beginning to shift how people think about what is actually driving the disease.”

Dr Gil Rabinovici, leader of the PET imaging program at the UCSF, said “The match between the spread of tau and what happened to the brain in the following year was really striking. Tau PET imaging predicted not only how much atrophy we could see, but also where it would happen.”

Researchers are hopeful that drugs targeting tau proteins could block the plaque from causing brain atrophy and say that the results could also mean that tau PET scans predicting neurodegeneration could lead to individualised dementia care in patients.

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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