Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed an approach to estimating when a person with no cognitive symptoms will start showing signs of Alzheimer's dementia based on data from brain scans and the person's age.
Time until dementia symptoms appear can be estimated via brain scan – Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis wustl.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wustl.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A brain protein may help explain the link between circadian rhythm and Alzheimer’s disease, researchers report.
Fractured sleep, daytime sleepiness, and other signs of disturbance in one’s circadian rhythm are common complaints of people with Alzheimer’s disease, and the problems only get worse as the disease progresses.
Researchers say that a clue may lie in the brain protein YKL-40.
The researchers report that clock genes regulate YKL-40 and it’s also involved in clearing away potentially toxic buildup of Alzheimer’s proteins in the brain. Moreover, Alzheimer’s patients who carry a genetic variant that reduces YKL-40 levels maintain their cognitive faculties longer than people without the variant, the scientists found.
Studies by a research team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicate that a brain protein known as YKL-40 may link Alzheimerâs disease with dysfunction in circadian rhythms, suggesting that treatments that target the protein could slow the course of the disease. Their work, reported in
Science Translational Medicine, found that YKL-40 is both regulated by clock genes and involved in clearing away the potentially toxic build-up of Alzheimer’s proteins in the brain. The teamâs studies indicated that Alzheimer’s patients who carry a genetic variant that reduces YKL-40 levels maintain their cognitive faculties longer than those individuals without the variant.
Brain protein indicates a link between circadian rhythm dysfunction and Alzheimer s Disease
Fractured sleep, daytime sleepiness and other signs of disturbance in one s circadian rhythm are common complaints of people with Alzheimer s disease, and the problems only get worse as the disease progresses. But the reason for the link between Alzheimer s and circadian dysfunction is not well understood.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis say that a clue may lie in the brain protein YKL-40.
In a study published Dec. 16 in Science Translational Medicine, the researchers report that YKL-40 is both regulated by clock genes and involved in clearing away potentially toxic buildup of Alzheimer s proteins in the brain. Moreover, Alzheimer s patients who carry a genetic variant that reduces YKL-40 levels maintain their cognitive faculties longer than people without the variant, the scientists found.