A group of researchers has first discovered that Alzheimer’s disease develops through two main stages. In a study, published by researchers from the University of Washington and the Allen Institute for Brain Science in the journal Nature Neuroscience, more than 3.4 million individual cells from the brains of 84 healthy donors from the Mediterranean region were analyzed, which play an important role in speech and memory processing.
Previous studies have shown that this area is one of the first that suffers from dementia. Using a advanced algorithm, the research group compared healthy cells with those found in previous studies of healthy people and identified two main stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Igor Karmargo Fontana, director of the scientific conference program of the Alzheimer’s Association, explained that changes begin long before they become noticeable to a person. The first stage progresses slowly, with minor changes in the cells that protect neurons and a small loss of cells (which occurs over a long time, not affecting memory).
The second stage is characterized by rapid and aggressive formation of large amyloid plaques affecting the healthy tissue of the brain, leading to loss of memory and understanding. Dr. Richard Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging, which funded the research, noted: "These results reshape our understanding of the impact of amyloid plaques on the brain and can help guide the development of new therapeutics for this devastating disorder."
He added: "Now we can detect early changes, which gives us an insight into what happens in the brain at the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease." Dr. John Nay, director of the Institute of Neuroscience, emphasized that the new findings, acquired in this study, could assist researchers and drug developers worldwide in developing targeted diagnostics and treatments for specific stages of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
