Scientists spot brain changes that may help predict stages of dementia
- Safa Kopbayeva
- Nov 19
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 24
Most individuals are currently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease only after cognitive decline has set in and brain damage has become irreversible.
Alterations in brain metabolism and blood flow to the brain can be identified in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, before the onset of significant brain damage.
A recent study identified specific patterns of alterations in brain metabolism and cerebral blood flow in brain regions affected by Alzheimer’s disease, which could allow for earlier diagnosis.
In recent years, more and more senior citizens have struggled with memory loss. Many claim that it can happen really unexpectedly and no doctor can spot the symptoms and changes before someone gets diagnosed with dementia.
So is it possible to predict early stages of dementia?
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder involving a gradual worsening of symptoms over time. The abnormal accumulation of the amyloid-β and tau proteins is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, and the detection of these proteins in the brain or blood samples has been used for diagnosis.
Researchers have shown that brain imaging scans assessing alterations in metabolic activity and local blood supply in specific brain regions could potentially allow early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) before irreversible damage occurs, according to a study published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
Current protocols for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease involve cognitive tests and brain imaging techniques that detect abnormal aggregates of the amyloid beta (amyloid-β) protein.These diagnostic tests are typically conducted after the symptoms of the disease are apparent and irreversible brain damage has occurred.
According to the Alzheimer association, recent findings suggest that disease progression follows a stage-dependent MVD pattern that can identify at-risk regions. Although each region progresses at a different pace, regions related to memory, cognition, and motor function showed significant early dysregulation. Importantly, these changes aligned with transcriptomic and cognitive signatures.
These findings reveal a distinct trajectory of changes in metabolic activity and cerebral blood flow that was specific for each brain region and the stage of Alzheimer’s progression. These patterns, particularly the uncoupling of metabolic activity and cerebral blood flow in brain regions involved in learning and memory, could be utilized for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.
Jurgen Claassen, MD, Associate Professor at Radboud University, Nijmegen Medical Centre, who was not involved in the study, said, this study suggests that early disease processes occur before the typical markers of Alzheimer’s start becoming apparent.
“This study points towards disease mechanisms in Alzheimer’s disease that are active before the onset of the classic amyloid and tau pathology. This may help us to explain why immunotherapy to remove amyloid-β is unable to prevent disease progression, because it does not tackle these disease mechanisms that precede the accumulation of amyloid-β.”
— Jurgen Claassen, MD
The researchers, however, noted that further research is necessary before these findings can be applied in the clinic. The findings are based on a single dataset and require validation in independent datasets to assess their sensitivity. Moreover, long-term studies are needed to assess whether these findings can be used to accurately predict the development of Alzheimer’s.
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