Future Alzheimer’s treatments may be effective before the onset of symptoms

September 2, 2009

By hammersmith

[Source: News-Medical.net] – Memory lapses that occur with normal aging are a source of worry for many who fear Alzheimer’s disease. Now a new Mayo Clinic-led study published in the July 16 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that the carriers of a common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease begin to have memory declines in their mid-50s, far earlier than previously thought.

These and other findings reported by researchers and their tcolleagues in the Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium support the possibility that future Alzheimer’s treatments may be most effective if started in midmdle-aged people, years before the onset of disabling memory and thinking problems or extensive brain pathology.

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