In 2011, the National Institute on Aging updated the diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s disease to reflect its progressive nature.
The criteria added a preclinical stage during which brain changes are taking place, but the person is still asymptomatic and, therefore, unaware of his condition.
Biomarker profiles could eventually be used to identify people in the disease’s early stages who might benefit from early treatments.
In a recent study from the University of Rome, researchers found that Alzheimer’s disease progression could be slowed by decreasing neuroinflammation in the brain before memory problems and cognitive impairment were apparent.
The new findings point to the importance of developing therapies that target the very early stages of the disease.
The leader of the study is Caterina Scuderi, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology.
Starting an intervention at the earliest stage of the disease, when cellular and molecular alterations have already been triggered but major damage to the brain has not yet occurred, could offer a way to reduce the number of people who go on to develop full Alzheimer’s disease.
However, there have been few studies in animals examining therapeutic strategies that target timepoints before symptoms can be seen.
In the study, the researchers designed an animal study to gain a deeper understanding of neuroinflammation’s role in Alzheimer’s disease during the early stage of the disease, which might represent the best time for therapy.
They found that rebalancing neuroinflammation in animals that show altered neuroinflammatory parameters could be beneficial.
The results help demonstrate that neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease is an extremely complex phenomenon that can change over the disease’s progression and varies based on factors such as affected brain area.
They hope that these findings will prompt scientists to further investigate neuroinflammation at the earliest stages of the disease.
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