Familial Alzheimer's Could Be Detected 20 Years Before Symptoms Appear

Researchers at the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimers Network have concluded that it might be possible to predict the age at which Alzheimer's disease will appear based on when a person's parent first began exhibiting symptoms of the disease.

Certain types of Alzheimer's disease, known as "familial" strains, are inheritable. In these cases, individuals have gene mutations that make them more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease in middle age.

The researchers hope that this information will allow them to study Alzheimer's progression before symptoms are even visible in the hopes of delaying or preventing future dementia symptoms. By the time dementia symptoms appear, there has already been too much damage to the brain to reverse or prevent additional cognitive dysfunction.

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