It's not just amyloid: White matter hyperintensities and Alzheimer's disease

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

New findings by Columbia researchers suggest that along with amyloid deposits, white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) may be a second necessary factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Most current approaches to Alzheimer's disease focus on the accumulation of amyloid plaque in the brain. The researchers at the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, led by Adam M. Brickman, PhD, assistant professor of neuropsychology, examined the additional contribution of small-vessel cerebrovascular disease, which they visualized as white matter hyperintensities (WMHs).

The study included 20 subjects with clinically defined Alzheimer's disease, 59 subjects with mild cognitive impairment, and 21 normal control subjects. Using data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative public database, the researchers found that amyloid and WHMs were equally associated with an Alzheimer's diagnosis. Amyloid and WMHs were also equally predictive of which subjects with mildcognitive impairment would go on to develop Alzheimer's. Among those with significant amyloid, WMHs were more prevalent in those with Alzheimer's than in normal control subjects.

Because the risk factors for WMHs?which are mainly vascular?can be controlled, the findings suggest potential ways to prevent the development of Alzheimer's in those with amyloid deposits.

"White Matter Hyperintensities and Cerebral Amyloidosis" was published online today in JAMA Neurology.

###

Columbia University Medical Center: http://www.cumc.columbia.edu

Thanks to Columbia University Medical Center for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 43 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126928/It_s_not_just_amyloid__White_matter_hyperintensities_and_Alzheimer_s_disease

12 12 12 Anne Hathaway Wardrobe Malfunction man of steel man of steel Adrienne Maloof Telemundo real housewives of beverly hills