Study Reveals that Alzheimer’s Disease Harms the Brain in Two Phases

A recent study indicates that Alzheimer’s disease injures the brain in two distinct phases. An analysis of genetic activity of brain cells in individuals who have died with Alzheimer’s disease revealed the condition progresses in two stages; a slow increase in inflammation, followed by a more rapid degeneration.

According to the study, the first phase is limited in scope and happens before symptoms such as memory loss appear. This indicates that opportunities for diagnosis and treatment could occur in this earlier stage before the real damage is done.

The second stage is where you begin experiencing acute symptoms of the disease. This stage is characterized by the growth of protein plaques and tangles that coincide with severe damage to neurons. This is what results in a loss of cognitive function.

The researchers studied the genetic activity of individual cells in an area of the brain known as the middle temporal gyrus, which handles memory, language, and vision. According to the researchers, the approach provides a comprehensive understanding of the specific cell types impacted over the course of the disease, where those affected cells are located in tissue microarchitecture, and when they are affected as the disease progresses.

The study

 The study team analyzed the brains of 84 people who had died with Alzheimer’s disease. The study “participants” had an average age of 88. These readings and measurements were then compared to the brains of those without Alzheimer’s disease to identify critical differences. In addition to finding two pathological phases, the researchers uncovered specific damage to a “cognitively crucial” inhibitory neuron in the first phase. This may indicate how problems in neural circuitry are triggered, the team suggested.

In the past, research has focused on excitatory neurons—those that activate other neurons. These have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Inhibitory neurons are those that deactivate or calm neurons, so the connection to Alzheimer’s disease is a novel discovery.

The findings are believed to provide important contributions to the map of damage that Alzheimer’s disease does to the brain. This map, known as Seattle Alzheimer’s Disease Brain Cell Atlas, shows the type of damage and the sequence of damage that Alzheimer’s does to the brain. Researchers hope that by tracking the path of neuron destruction more closely, we can better understand how Alzheimer’s takes hold including what stops it, and what allows it to happen.

As scientific technology advances, we learn more about the complexities of Alzheimer’s disease, its triggers, related conditions, and links to other diseases. That also includes finding a hidden initial stage of the disease that we hadn’t previously discovered.

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Source:

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