A new study from the University of Helsinki and the University of Tampere in Finland has found that Lewy body disease, a brain condition second only to Alzheimer’s in causing mental decline, might begin much earlier in life than we used to believe.
The researchers discovered that almost one in ten people over the age of 50 had early signs of this disease in their brain tissue—even though they had never been diagnosed with it. This challenges older thinking that Lewy body disease mainly affects people later in life.
Lewy body disease happens when unusual protein deposits, called Lewy bodies, build up in the brain. These deposits contain a protein known as alpha-synuclein.
They can affect areas of the brain that control movement, memory, and emotions. This condition shares many similarities with Parkinson’s disease because both involve the same type of protein deposits.
One of the biggest challenges with Lewy body disease is that it’s very hard to spot in its early stages. It develops slowly and causes a mix of symptoms, including problems with movement, memory loss, and mental health changes. Because of this, doctors often struggle to diagnose it until it’s already advanced.
To learn more about when this disease might start, the Finnish researchers focused on people in middle age who had died outside of hospitals and had not been diagnosed with any brain disease. They studied brain tissue from about 600 people, ranging in age from 16 to 95, who had died and were examined through forensic autopsies.
Their findings were surprising. They saw signs of Lewy body disease in 9% of people over the age of 50—even though these people had no symptoms or diagnosis of the disease. This means that the disease may begin forming in the brain long before anyone notices something is wrong.
Associate Professor Liisa Myllykangas, who led the study, said these early findings are important and need more research to confirm them. But if they are correct, it opens the door to new ways of helping people before symptoms appear. Catching the disease early could mean better treatment and a better quality of life.
This study has major implications. If Lewy body disease really starts in middle age, it could change how doctors screen for and treat it. Early detection may give people a chance to slow down the disease or even stop it before it causes serious damage.
Scientists hope that by learning more about how and when Lewy body disease begins, they can develop better treatments in the future. This could bring hope to millions of people around the world who might be living with early brain changes without even knowing it.
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These research results were published in the Annals of Neurology.
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