Differences in brain structure indicate risk for developing Alzheimer's disease
Wednesday, April 13, 2011 - 16:00
in Health & Medicine
Subtle differences in brain anatomy among older individuals with normal cognitive skills may be able to predict both the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in the following decade and how quickly symptoms of dementia would develop. In their analysis of magnetic resonance (MR) images from two separate study groups, researchers from Rush University Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) found that, among individuals in whom specific brain structures were thinnest, the risk of developing Alzheimer's was three times greater than in those with above-average thickness. The study appears in April 13 issue of Neurology.